Week 2

My P-Day will generally be on Wednesdays, but this week we have it on Tuesday because tomorrow Elder D. Todd Christofferson will be speaking to us. I get to participate in a small choir for that devotional and I'm really looking forward to it. We also get to go to the temple today, which will be wonderful.

I love and miss you all so much! If I get too homesick, I just suck on one of the lemon candies that dad gave me and it makes me feel better. Luckily, they keep us extremely busy, so I don't have much spare time to think about home. Each day is wonderful and spiritual, but so long. I feel like they try to fit three days' worth of work into one day, so we all feel like we've been here for about a month already. I feel like I start every journal entry with 'I'm exhausted', but it's the good kind of tired.

There are a little over 90 missionaries here in total. Only 19 of us are from America. We are the first American missionaires to come to this MTC (CCM). We are still in the old Mexico CCM, so we will also be the last American missionaries here before they move tot the Mexico CCM. It's definitely a new and interesting experience for all of us to be in the minority. All of the Latinos are wonderful though. They are extremely friendly and they think we're all really funny. We always end up laughing with them, usually at our inability to communicate. We eat all of our meals with them. They usually teach us Spanish, but occasionally we teach them some English. Their favorite words so far have been marshmallow and cantaloupe. They think those are really strange words and struggle with saying them.

This truly is a program of immersion. They only speak Spanish to us and we are only supposed to speak Spanish with eachother. My mind is kind of in this transition stage. I can't fully think in Spanish yet, but English is beginning to sound like a foreign language too. It's actually taking quite a bit of effort to write this in English.

We started teaching our first 'investigator' on Thursday . . . also completely in Spanish. For the record, that's extremely difficult when you don't speak the language. Neither one of my companions knows Spanish very well, so I'm left to use the little Spanish that I know to take point on the lessons. I had a strong spiritual experience during our first lesson. I didn't feel like the lesson was going in the right direction, so I decided to put my books down (the ones that tell me how to speak Spanish) and just bear my testimony to the investigator to the best of my ability. I was blessed by the Spirit with el don de lenguas, the gift of tongues. The Spirit was so strong. It was a much needed experience because I had been getting a little frustrated with the language.

Yesterday, one of the latina hermanas got to see her mom on the temple grounds. Her mom didn't speak English, but she wanted to meet us. She told us that she knows this work is difficult, but it is so important for us to do. Then she gave us both hugs and told us that our families love us. Even though I had never even met this woman before, I was able to feel a really strong connection to all of you through her. It was definitely a tender mercy from the Lord. I am blessed with so many tender mercies every day. We all are. They're testimonies to me that Heavenly Father loves us so much.

Sunday was also a wonderful day. We got a much needed break from our usual classes. We only meet with the American missionaries. My branch presidency is amazing. President Christiansen reminds me a lot of Jimmy Stewart and I love talking to him. He also doesn't speak any Spanish, so he kind of understands how flustered we all feel.

In one of our Sunday lessons, we spoke about true conversion. We read a lot from the scriptures and from Elder Bednar's October 2012 General Conference talk. I encourage you all to read it, it's an inspired, beautiful lesson on conversion. President Pratt's wife taught a lesson about the Book of Mormon. She pointed out that the people of ancient times, the Nephites, Lamanites, etc, didn't have the Book of Mormon. This is a book that is meant specifically for us. The prophet's saw our day and included what they were inspired to know was necessary. We have to talk advantage of that blessing.

I don't have much time left, but I want you all to know that I love you all so much and that I know this gospel is true. I'm so grateful for all of you.

Hola!

Hola mi familia! I miss and love you all so much, but I know I'm where I'm supposed to be! I arrived at the MTC around 8 o'clock last night and we were all exhausted. On the flight to Atlanta Hermana Sanchez and I sat next to a man on his way home to Alabama named Bobo Jackson. He was an extremely sweet older man with a deep southern accent. He knows the bible like the back of his hand and spoke to us about it for the majority of the flight. Towards the end of the flight, he told us that we have many more years left than he does and that we should spend those years sharing what we know with people. He was not a member, but he told us that every time he has had interaction with LDS missionaries, he's been able to tell that there is something special about them. Even though he did not have the fullness of the gospel, he had the Spirit with him. We were so blessed to be able to sit by him.

We just finished going through orientation and I am definitely going to learn Spanish by immersion. For the most part, they only speak Spanish to us (which made orientation interesting) I'm understanding it fairly well because they're speaking slowly and being very patient with us all. The dorms that we're living in are fairly nice, and I have a feeling we'll be missing their 'luxury' once we get to Panama. Also, the food here is wonderful. So much fruit!

Mexico City is beautiful! It was pouring rain when we got here last night and I thought the temperature was perfect, but all of the natives were freezing (it was about 75 degrees). We're entering the rainy season, so it pretty much pours every afternoon. The MTC is right next to the temple, so that was the first thing we got to see. That was a wonderful way to be welcomed into the city, and it felt like all the craziness of the streets was left behind us. It's such a radiant building and I'm hoping we get a chance to go while we're here.

I am in a companionship with 2 other sisters. Hermana Sanchez is almst 20 and from Taylorsville. Her dad is from Mexico, but she doesn't know any Spanish because they didn't speak it much in the home. Hermana Bennett is 19 and from Idaho Falls. I'm the youngest one of the group. We are also the only English-speaking sisters going to Panama. The latino sisters arrived this morning, but we haven't gotten much of a chance to meet them, then there's also the issue of the language barrier. I guess it's a good thing that the Spirit is a universal language. I think there are also 6 English-speaking elders that are going with us. We all got to know each other pretty well on the plane and we were able to find some cool connections between us all.

I was studying the love of God most recently. One of the key attributes of Christ was His complete selflessness and His love for people; that is what allowed Him to touch so many lives. Also, in Alma 20, King Lamoni's heart was changed once he saw the love of God in Ammon, that's what made the difference. I think that's what missionary work is all about. We can reach people by serving them and teaching them the love and joy that they can feel when they live the gospel and make personal covenants with God. We've been so blessed to have the knowledge that we do and the truth that we have sets us apart from the rest of the world. I'm looking forward to sharing it with others. The more the merrier!

I don't have much else to say yet because it's all still fairly new to me, but I can feel that there is a sacred Spirit in this building and with these people. The MTC president and his wife are wonderful and so kind. We're in good hands.

I love you all more than I could possibly express and I'm grateful for each of you!

Go forward with faith,

Hermana Falslev (: