February 13, 2006

 

It's P-day!



 

Hello lovelies!

WOW! What a crazy 3 days it's been! 

Wednesday: 

When I first got here they sent me inside to get my name tag which was probably the best part EVER! I'm a freaking MISSIONARY! Haha! Anyway, so when I got to the table there was a sister already there. Shortly after introducing ourselves we found out we are going to the exact same mission! Language and all! We also found out that we are companions! Her name is Hermana Rhein(Rine like a watermelon) and she is from Mesa, AZ. She is a very organized and precise person, but also a very sweet and sensitive person. If you didn't think that was crazy enough we found out we were in a TRIO with a girl who is ALSO going to our exact mission language and all! Her name is Hermana Allen and she is from Highland, UT. She is a very laid back and chill person, but man is her testimony strong! I love them both so much! I also found out, I'm finding out a lot of things, that I'm a solo missionary. What that means is that I'm the only girl in a class full of boys. This is the only time I can be by myself or when I have to go to the bathroom. I love it though! There are only four students total. We are the only intermediate students in our district. So that's awesome! The elders in my class are a trio as well. Their names are: Elder Esplin from Orange County, CA, Elder Layton from Rexburg, ID, and Elder Diaz from Philly, PA. We all live stateside and are all serving stateside, Spanish speaking. Our teacher's name is Hermano Byers. He lives here in Utah and is married with a baby on the way. He's taught at the MTC for about 3 years now and served his mission in Mexico. He's really nice and very easygoing. He is always so willing to help us out. They have such strong testimonies! I'm very excited to work with them. So being the only very fluent Spanish speaker in my district does have it's perks, but it is also very intimidating. Nonetheless I'm glad I can help! So a huge shoutout to my mother for teaching me Spanish! We got to meet our Mission Presidency and sang 3 awesome songs! As Zions Youth in Latter Days, Called to Serve(of course), and We'll Bring the World His Truth. Singing these songs brought the chills! We also had the opportunity to go to three rooms and talk with 3 different investigators. It's amazing how just finding out a few things about them and then through the power of the Holy Ghost we received such a strong love for the, God's love. My favorite investigator of the day was Jose.(we shouldn't have favorites, but it's just for fun haha) He's had a rough life, but it was amazing to me how strongly I felt the spirit that day. Then later on we met our Zone leaders...THEY ARE CRAZY! Haha in a good way though! And apparently Four Square is life. We shall see. In our bedroom we have a total of 5 girls. The other two girls are Hermana Keys and Hermana Virgin. Hermana Keys is from Rocksprings, WY. Now she is the sister I met through a missionary page on instagram so I thought it was way cool that we are rooming together and she is also going to my same mission Spanish speaking. She is a very funny, stylish person with a very sweet testimony. Hermana Virgin is from Orange County, CA and loves waterpolo. She's very bold and has a very strong testimony, but also has a kind and gentle heart. She too is going to my same mission Spanish speaking. A room full of Jersey girls! 

Thursdsay: 

So the start to my day was definitely quite the adventure. Our original time to wake up is 6:30am, but because I'm a little more high maintenance I wanted to wake up at 6. So I set my alarm for 6...Or at least I thought I did. Anyway, so having 5 girls in our room means 5 alarms. Only two of us were waking up and 6. So clocks were set and we all went to bed. I heard Hemana Rhein's alarm clock go off first. I thought my it was strange that mine didn't go off, but I went with it anyway. So I said my morning prayer and went to wash my face and such. I came back to the room and Hermana Keys asked, " Are you going back to bed?" I told her that I wasn't and she then said, " Well it's 1:30am so..." WHAT?! Hermana Rhein's clock broke and I was almost fully ready to go! Also there's this thing...I guess it's some form of a initiation...but in our zone if we get a banana we have to peel it the right way. That means we have to smack the banana on our foreheads and pull...it gave me such a rush! Hahahaha! In my class we found out that we were going to be teaching our first investigator on FRIDAY afternoon! Her name is Carla. She is such a sweet young lady! She is from Mexico and has lived here for like 5 months with her Aunt and Uncle. She works in a Paneria, which is a bread shop basically. She loves making bread! I only know these things cause she sent us a video to help us know what to expect. Later that evening we met with our Branch Presidency. They are really nice. They gave us the opportunity to talk about ourselves and bear our testimonies. SO AWESOME! 

Friday:

So we finally got to exercise today! I can't even believe that those words are coming out of my mouth! And I'm here to say that FOUR SQUARE IS LIFE! The missionaries that have been here a little longer than we have are crazy in the square. It's like I'm watching ninja's throwing fire! I didn't start out very good, but it's just so addicting that I wanted to keep playing! I feel like I get better everyday. So we had our Lesson today with Carla and let me just say...trying to do a lesson with 4 people is HARD! I thought we were all on the same page...but not really. Elder Esplin and I had to try and redirect us back on the path of the point we were trying to make. I know that if the spirit prompts us to go in a different direction we should, but we weren't being directed another way. Eventually we got to a mutual ground and were able to invite Carla to pray if the things we taught her were true and to pray and ask Heavenly Father if he loves her. She said she would and we rescheduled to meet with her on Monday so I'll let you know how that goes. After we had our lesson we are to return to our classroom and evaluate our lesson. The last question we are to answer is if we think she will endure to the end. So I asked that question and without hesitation Elder Diaz says, "NOPE!" The rest of us just looked at him in shock and we all busted up laughing! He then realized what he had said and begged that we not tell our teacher, Hermano Byers. "I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I WASN'T PAYING ATTENTION!" Bless Elder Diaz's heart. Towards the end of my day we had one more class time and the Elders and I decided that we were going to memorize our missionary purpose in Spanish. It was a little challenging, but we sort of have it down! 

Overall, I am having loads of fun and loving every minute. It's a little strenuous, but that's normal! I love the spirit here and the blessing of having him so close. I love the opportunity to be a missionary! It truly is the greatest thing you can do with your life! I love you all and I'll talk with you again on Saturday! I'll send some pictures in a bit! Thanks for the prayers! Also have a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! 

Much love, Hermana Arevalo (:

 

 Picture numero 1: From left to right: Hermana Allen, Hermana Rhein, Yours truly, Elder Diaz, Elder Esplin, y Elder Layton. This was at one of those investigator meetings.

Picture numero 2: We all brought pearl necklaces and decided we were going to wear them on Friday. Twinners! 

 

Picture numero 3: Hermana Keys and I. We cute! (: