Learning the Language

My days are very full with lots of hard work but I think I am getting into the routine of things. After I wrote my email last week, we rode the bus to the temple. It took about an hour to get there but it was amazing to see Mexico City. I really can not believe how lucky I am. Our afternoon teacher said he would come to the temple with us. We were on the bus and then an elder in our district, Elder Trospberg said "Hey look! It´s Hermano Enriques". He was on the city bus right next to us haha! The Mexico city temple is SOOO beautiful! It was all in Spanish but we got to wear English headsets. We went with 2 other districts; one Latino district in our zone and another American district. I truly felt that Heavenly Father loved me and had never felt so much love in my life. 

After Pday (preparation day) it was back to work. Hermana Person and I had to teach the zone meeting. Usually it is done in English but since our zone is half American and half Latinos we taught in Spanish. We taught about the Spirit and how we need it in our callings. I felt like it wasn´t being received well because I was teaching and speaking in Spanish and had been there for less than 2 weeks. But then we asked people to share experiences about how the Spirit guided them to serve a mission. After that, I bore my testimony about the Spirit. The Gift of tongues is SOOOO REAL! The words just came out of my mouth and I could tell that people were feeling the Spirit. I did not stutter and I was able to get my message across. My district was like "Dang Hermana! Your Spanish was so good!" I think I really needed that experience and that was why I needed to be assigned to be a zone sister trainer. 

The next day at church our district was in charge of sacrament meeting so I got to play the piano! Hermana Person and I had to teach relief society-in English thankfully-and it went very well. The new Elder Zone Leaders got called and they are from our district too! The Zone leaders and my companion and I got to meet the new districts that came. We had 2 new districts and the Hermanas are great!. 

My roommates are amazing. One is from Washington and the other from Canada. Hermana Morgan, from Canada is hilarious! 

I've been able to make a lot of friends because of gym time. I´m the hermana who knows how to serve a volleyball. I think the Lord has blessed me because now I can spike hahaha! 

We had a devotional last Tuesday and we got the last two seats. We didn't realize we were in the choir seats until the choir stood up to sing. We were like "Oh no! We do not know the song". But it was just a hymn and we sang along. 

The language is coming along. We have a little red book called Basic Core and we had to finish it all in 10 days. It took me 14 days but it included 72 phrases, 340 words, the mission purpose, Moroni 10:4 and 5, the baptismal invite, and the first vision --- all in Spanish. Since Monday I've been trying to make higher goals for myself; 50 words a day, 10 phrases and 1 scripture. My teacher said I can do better so he wants me to do a minimum of 120 words a day. 

To answer some questions:
 I didn't meet my companion till Tuesday night really because I was working the front desk all day and hung out with the girls who were working with me because we didn't know our companions yet. lol. 
The food is amazing! 
My days are usually just full of classes and very little personal and companion study times. 
We have a morning teacher and an afternoon teacher. They are both great. They pretend to be investigators and we teach one of them every day.

I love you guys so much.

Settling in to the CCM

What an eventful week. Life has been challenging but I`m doing great!    Tuesday I was blessed to meet up with two elders on the same flight. I accidentally introduced myself as Lily Pita oops haha. We landed and made our way through customs with a breeze! We met up with 6 other missionaries, 2 of them were hermanas, and we made our way to the CCM.

I felt out of place going through orientation and did not feel close to the hermanas I came with, but after we set everything down in our rooms they put us to work. The three of us hermanas were in charge of helping all the incoming 200 missionaries email their families. As we were serving together we became so close and I was so open with them. One of the member of the presidency of the CCM's wife had me run the front desk and give directions. It was funny because everyone was asking me what to do even though I was just as new as they were haha. 

Wednesday I met my companion. Her name is Hermana Person. 

Funny - she is from the Lansing Michigan Stake and is serving in Ventura too! I met my District. It was just us two and a trio of elders. It was a busy day of getting into the language but fun. Thursday we found out from the elders that our District had been dissolved so we went to reception and asked where we should go and found out we had been moved from 11c to 5c Branch 5. We were so late to class and that stressed me out. We met our new District and they are amazing. 

Friday through Saturday were just filled with devotionals, classes and a lot of Spanish. Sunday our sacrament meeting was all in Spanish which was cool. In our zone,  we have 2 Latino districts. It is fun to talk with them and to practice Spanish. Our classes are mainly in Spanish and I have really seen how the gift of tongues is real. I have been able to memorize and speak and it feels like words come to my mouth. My teacher says that our minds need to be a library so that the Spirit can pull out of our minds what we need to say. 

During a Sunday meeting with my Branch President he assigned my companion and I to be Zone Leaders (sister trainers) for our zone. It is a big responsibility especially since a lot of our sisters do not speak English, but it was humbling. We got to remove our white stickers saying that we are not the new missionaries at the CCM. 

The days go slow sometimes but the weeks go by so fast. We get to go to the temple today and I will take a lot of pictures so that I can show everyone what my District looks like, but missionary work is amazing. I can not believe how much I have grown and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a part of this work. There are over 700 people here and it is so amazing to see everyone united in one purpose! I miss home, but I am slowly starting to get the idea of forgetting myself and going to work! 

And She's Off!

She's off to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So proud of her and know that she'll be a blessing to many and have wonderful experiences - but already miss her more than words can say. We know these 18 months will be one of the greatest adventures of her life and we can't wait for Spring of 2020! 

Last Hugs!

Making her way toward the MTC.