Hola a todos!
Long time so see huh? Well, we ended up writing last week on a Wednesday because of holidays and stuff shutting down and whatnot, so I don’t have a whole lot to report on today… but here’s what I do have:
I have a new mission president! He’s cool, really short and kinda reminds me of the guy from Three Amigos. Very vaguely written I know. It’s just I don’t have a photo to send you. Sorry. But we did meet him and his wife and they’re great. Honestly. They’re Los Smart and I’m very excited to work with them and see what they’re going to offer to this mission. I’m ready for them and their special gifts God has given them to help us right now, in this time, in the Puerto Rico mission.
While last week I completed my 6 months here on the mission, this last Saturday Hna. Zimmy completed her 5 months. So we’re literally right next to each other on the whole mission thing. It’s crazy that we’ve been put together as a compañerismo <companionship> when we have barely any time in the field. We celebrated with a pineapple soda called Mirinda of which she’s obsessed with. lol. Then we ate mac and cheese bc she’s also obsessed with that and we listened to music and just enjoyed the night.
With the two of us both being so new and green in the mission, it’s hit us in the face hard how missionaries need to act. We both came to some realizations this week about how we’re working with the Spirit and how we’re communicating with our Lord. Honestly, I cannot stress enough how important it is to have the Spirit in your work as a missionary. Yeah, we can walk around handing out Libro de Mormon, and telling people how their lives can be blessed by this message, but unless the spirit is with us there is no way we can testify properly of what we’re saying. We’re no better than car salesmen when we are without the spirit and we’ve been very blessed to understand that concept before we did any work without the Spirit. He is our best tool and he is what teaches and testifies to people. We are merely messengers with cute dresses and gringa accents.
We’ve also come to learn the importance of a proper communication with Dios <God>, como yo dije <as I said>. How amazing is it that we have a God who is so cool and so powerful yet every time we pray to him he stops and listens? Who cares who you are or what you’ve done in your life? God wants to hear from you and will do anything to help you. And when we pray with respect and in a way that we can show the same love for him he is so ready to answer our prayers.
I spent a few days forgetting my nightly prayers cause I was just DEAD inside. I was working hard and walking tons and feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders with all the stress I had come to shoulder. I felt physically, emotionally, and spiritually dead and I couldn’t figure out why I felt so alone, so confused about what I was doing. But after once realizing I was making crappy decisions to skip my nightly prayer, I changed that habit real quick. I realized I missed talking to Him as much as he missed talking to me. It’s hard sometimes praying to someone who isn’t there for you in the flesh… but I promise you he is there and he wants to hear from you so badly.
We pray a lot as missionaries and we have to rely on the power that that gives us. My companion and I made a goal of praying just about every half hour. Every time we need to make a decision and every time we see a little miracle to give Him thanks. Honestly, it’s the best decision of my life. Because sometimes it’s just praying to ask if we should walk like 4 miles to the closest urbanization or if we should trek out to a faraway one and its really not that big of a deal – but He always helps; always answers. It doesn’t matter if you pray about something small and basically meaningless because He’s there to help with all the big and little things in your life.
Well, I officially feel like I’ve given you all a charla <chat> over email, but hey – maybe someone needs this? Who knows. I’m just feeling the spirit and writing what I feel. I feel bad I don’t have a bunch of things to report on but here are a few fun facts:
- I tried star fruit this week and yes, they still look fake even when they’re real and they’re DIVINE.
- We found a vegan here in Cabo Rojo! She’s a menos activa (less active) for like 7 years, but hey we’re helping her get back to church. Her daughter is adorable and she says all she needs left to finish her life is to find a cute vegan boy to marry. I can relate to her on so. many. levels. One day I will be like her with my cute little vegan family, the only difference will probs be that I’ll be in Nueva York <New York>.
- There’s some weird fruit here called noni (I think)… and it’s disgusting. Fun fact, not all tropical fruits are good fruits.
- Puerto Ricans can’t make sushi. It’s really not that great and its SUPER expensive. We don’t have the chavos <?> for expensive crappy sushi – so it looks like I’m waiting another year to enjoy a spicy tuna roll.
- You know you’re a missionary when a Testigo de Jehova <Jehova’s Witness> tried to contact you while you’re contacting. We ended up mutually contacting each other and called it a day without bible bashing.
- Did you know there’s a crab season here? It’s like Junio y Julio <June and July> and they just come up out of the earth like the undead and crawl around everywhere. People will usually just sit on the side of the beach/street and stick their hands down holes to catch them and eat. I have yet to try them ‘cause it looks sketchy and the Spirit told me not to stick my hand down a hole to get a crab.
We finally found some swings realllly close to some people we’re visiting in our area and I don’t think Hna Zimmy has ever been so happy en her entire life. We took a swing break and enjoyed getting slapped in the face by crazy wind and rain while swinging and singing hymns. I love this cute little comp of mine. 🙂
I promise you, I have not been translated in this photo, the flash just made it look all crazy. But we found some vines in a rainforesty part of the street that looked clean enough to try to swing on. They may look reeeeeeeally small, but they’re also realllllllly strong. Tarzan-but-cuter-goals: achieved.
Well, that’s all I can fit for now folks. I’ll attach more photos in an attached email. 🙂
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Hermana Thelin