So, it has officially been a week and it feel like I've been here forever! But not in a bad way, it just feels like I've been here forever because of all the many things we do in one day!
The people here are super, super nice and even though I've only met most of them like once I already love them :) The first day we got here we taught two lessons (well, I mostly just sat and listened because I had no idea what they were saying....haha) and then we went tracting and I gave out two Books of Mormon! It's a little intimidating knocking on random people's doors and telling them about the church, but once I start doing it it's really not that bad.
My companion's name is Hermana Lopez and she's from Texas! She's a native speaker which is super nice because I can ask her for help on my horrible Spanish. The funny thing is that because she's a native if I ask her if something is conditional, or why this word goes there or ask her about indirect and direct objects she's like, " I have no idea! That's just the way it is!" But I totally understand because I had absolutely no idea what those were until I started learning Spanish :) I've decided the best way to learn English is to learn another language, you learn so much about english!
So the first day we got here we went to the meet one of the counselors in the Relief Society Presidency and they were eating dinner (Oh, we had a dinner appointment in like an hour) but we told them we had an appointment and we weren't really hungry, BUT they forced us to eat :) And then I was cutting my meat with my fork and knife and they were like, "use your fingers! use your fingers!" so they made me just tear it apart with my hands... hahaha it was so funny! The food is soooo good though!
The second day we went and talk this man, Fidel, and he is a super, super nice guy. He's been a little iffy about letting the missionaries come over and teach him, but he's reading the Book of Mormon and he really loves reading it, but we WON'T pray specifically about it and ask if it's true and just from the first time meeting him I can tell he KNOWS it's true already, but he won't pray about it because then he'll know he knows it's true! Oh, he also wouldn't even start reading the BOM because one of his co-workers told him that when his dad read the promise in Moroni that he instantly started to feel it was true, so Fidel wouldn't even OPEN the book because he didn't want to feel that!
It's weird, I don't know why he's so scared to feel that it's true. He's a super, super nice guy and he really wouldn't have to change his lifestyle at all! He doesn't smoke or drink or anything! So we just keep praying he'll have the desire to know he knows it's true :)
So we already have an investigator with a a baptismal date! Her name is Isabela Simon and I feel super bad for her, she's got a rough life. She's 40, has three children and the two oldest are from a different dad than her youngest one. She's divorced from her first husband and her boyfriend that she had the third baby with got deported back to Mexico. So, she's single, has three kids and absoultely no money (she used her last 5 dollars to pay a taxi to take her to church yesterday because she understand how important it is to come to church!) and no permanent place to stay. Her kids are 13, 11, and 7 months and the older two are mad at her because of their life situation so she just cries when we teach her because she feels like she's a horrible mother and is scared about what's going to happen to them.... It's ridiculous how blessed we are and we don't even realize it!
But, she's super excited to get baptized! We told her to just keep praying, reading the BOM, and have faith.
The people here are super nice and they always are super willing to help me with my Spanish :) We were at the ward mission leaders house the other day and his wife asked me something in Spanish and I knew she said something about the amount of time someone had been a member of the church for so I assumed she was talking about me so I answered that I'd been a member my whole life and she said, "No...." and asked me again. So, I just sat there and was trying to figure it out in my head and her husband said (in english) "She asked like what generation you are of being a member in your family." And she hits him and says, "Only speak in Spanish to her!!" Haha it was so funny :) But it's true, I just need to keep hearing and speaking it, if they speak english to me than I'll never learn spanish very well :)
A lot of them do speak English really well so it's nice because if I have no idea how to say a word they tell me what it is in spanish :) But, most the time I really just sit there and have absoultely no idea what's going on! I can understand a ton of stuff about the gospel because that's practically all we learned in the MTC, but when Hna. Lopez starts talking to them about every day things I just sit and listen really hard and hope one day I'll be able to understand them :)
The kids here are so stinkin' cute! They don't even know me and they run up to me and give me hugs :) They all speak really good spanish and english and I have no idea why, but I think it's SOOOO cute when they speak spanish!! :)
Yesterday we had 5 investigators at church and that's the most Hermana Lopez says she's EVER had! Oh, and this is her last transfer, so that's the most she's ever had in the entirety of her mission! It was pretty cool. I just say hi to everyone and I meet like 30 people a day so I don't remember their names but one of the investigators came and Hermana Lopez was super disappointed we didn't get to say hi to her and church because she (the investigator) left super fast, so we called her after and Hna. Lopez told her she was sorry we didn't get to talk to her at church and over the phone I hear our investigator tell her that she met her companion and church and I just started laughing and Hermana Lopez knows I don't remember anyones name I meet so she explained that and that I met a gazillion people at church and didn't remember her so I told the investigator sorry and she just started laughing :)
Oh! And Saturday one of the members took 10 of us missionaries out to breakfast at this buffet and she is the funniest lady! Her name is Hermana Unger and I have a feeling this story sums up her life: She moved to Utah from Venezuela a LONG time ago. When she moved there she assumed everyone was LDS, so she got married and THEN discovered that her husband wasn't LDS! Hahaha I have no idea how they dated and never talked about religion, or going to church together!
Apparently every time she takes the missionaries out to breakfast (every other week) she picks on this one elder, Elder Budge, EVERY time! He said sometimes she picks on him for not eating enough food, or the right type of food, or for speaking spanish to her and then for speaking english to her - so basically whatever he does she picks on him :) But this time it was because he touched his watermelon and then ate it and she says to him (in her spanish accent) "what you touching your food for? you might as well touch everything and then eat it with your hands!!" Hahaha we were all trying so hard not to laugh!! It was great :)
Well, my time is almost up, but I love it here! And hopefully one day I'll be able to understand what people are saying to me and I'll be able to respond :)
I miss you all SOOOOOO much and love you even more! :)
Looooooove,
Hermana Roberts!
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