PICTURES

I love getting out of the CCM on pdays!!!

 

 

FIRST BOM DOWN

Hey all!!! I cannot believe I have already been here for two weeks. This week has been a blur so this email will be scatter brained!

 

So this week, we started teaching! We have taught so much. Our investigators are our teachers but they act and have real stories and everything. It is so hard teaching in spanish, it is so frustrating when I cant say what I want to!! But my companion and I are improving everyday which is all we can strive for.

 

So I LOVE my district. I think I said that last week, but really I do. We made these lists the other day about silly things like most likely to get married first after the mission and what not. Well we made one and it was most sassy to least sassy and I was voted most sassy. Haha so thats fun. Not sassy in a bad way though dont worry.

 

SO thursday we went to Interpol to do all of our Visa stuff. It was HORRIBLE and sooo boring just for some fingerprints. BUT I gave out my first BOOK OF MORMON!!! Thats my title. It was soooo awesome! It took a ton of courage. I gave it to our driver. He wasnt a member of the church but said he believed in God and the Bible and went to church. I didnt know how to say much but I asked him if he knew anything about the BOM and he said no and then I just told him how it is another testament of Jesus Christ and gave it to him! He was smiling and gladly accepted it! Probably because he just felt sorry for me since I cant really speak spanish hahah but at least he took it!

 

Sunday was the BEST DAY EVER! Sundays in the CCM are the best because they are super spiritual but more relaxed than other days. We have devotionals and listen to talks by apostles. We listened to an awesome talk by Richard G Scott about prayer!! So awesome serrrrrioussllyyyyyy. Then we had a district Testimony meeting. SO GOOD. We all shared why we chose to come on missions and what has made us stay so far. LA MEJOR. (the best.)

 

Fun Facts

1. They have this really weird alien looking fruit here called Granadia. I hated it at first but it has grown on my and eat at least 1 a day. They are super good for you!

2. The buses here in Lima are crazy! We went to the temple this morning and coming back on the bus I feared for my life.

3. So the other day at lunch I was sitting next to the President of the CCM, Presidente Gonzalez and his wife Sister Gonzalez and we were talking about monkeys. Well monkey in Spanish is mono. Pres and Sis Gonzalez are from Colombia and there mono means blonde so Sis Gonzalez said that people there just say hey mono and they are calling you blonde. So say it in peru and people are calling you monkey. Haha.

4. I can pray in spanish!!! It is so fun. I try to say my nightly personal prayers in spanish but it is mostly spanglish because most of what I want to say I just say in english because I dont know it in spanish. Haha. But the basics I can say en espanol!

 

This week was awesome! It is getting harder here at the CCM. I am struggling to have the spirit with me all the time and to teach with it, but I am trying! This is the hardest thing I have ever done. Missions make you realize everything you need to work on in your life. But they also bring out your strengths and allow you to help others!! I love it. Yo amo el evangelio much. (I love this gospel a lot.) Yo se que el evangelio es verdadero y yo se que Jesuscristo es mi salvador!!! Until next week!

 

Hna. Miceli!!!

SANTA BACA

My title says it all!!! It means Holy Cow. This week has been INSANE. It feels like an eternity since I have seen everyone but it has only been 7 DAYS. WHAT. The CCM (Missionary Training Center in Spanish) is sooooo fun!!! I love it so much more than I thought I would. Sorry if this email is all over the place. I only have an hour and there is sooo much I have to tell!!!

 

So, the journey getting here was pretty stressful. I was all alone on my flight to Lima so when I got here and had to go through customs all alone, mind you no one spoke english, it was scary. I couldnt find any other missionaries when I got through customs and I was freaking out ahhhhh. But then I said probably the most fervent prayer I have ever said in my life and when I turned around I found all of the other missionaries !! I have never been so happy. We got to the CCM at like 1 30 (sorry this spanish keyboard is weird so there is no colon!) and had to get up at 7 30. Safe to say Wednesday was rough. But it was my first day and it was SO MUCH FUN. Seriously I cant explain how fun everything was. My companions name is Hna. Wattles from Las Vegas! And then for now, my roommates are Hermana Crowder from Maryland and Hermana Montgomery from North Carolina. We have two more beds in our room so next week when new missionaries come I think we will get two others. I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH. They are the best seriously. In my district there are two hermana companionships and two elder companionships. I HAVE THE BEST DISTRICT EVER. IT IS ALL IN CAPS BECAUSE I CANT EXPRESS HOW INCREDIBLE THEY ALL ARE. Seriously I have been so blessed. Me and my companion laugh all the time and our district is soooo close already just in one week.

 

SO. DAILY SCHEDULE. It is crazy.

6 wake up

6 45 breakfast. Usually they have eggs (fake gross eggs), yogurt, fruit, and toast. I usually eat everything and I try to try everything!

7 30 personal study. In this time we can do whatever we want essentially. Study the scriptures, read preach my gospel, study spanish, anything that is productive!

8 30 to 12 is class. WE LEARN SO MUCH AHHHH. Most days it feels like my head is going to explode. I have the best teachers. Hermano Carpio and Hermana Coca. They are both so funny and so patient with us.

12 is lunch. Okay... SO MUCH RICE AND CHICKEN AND BREAD. The rice is good though! They make it different than in the states. And the bread ahhhhh it is so homemade and good. It is dangerous! So many carbs all the time.

Then in the afternoon we have more class and we get an hour for exercise!! Usually we just run or play basketball or volleyball sometimes with the latinas.

 

The days in the CCM feel like 10 thousand years each. seriously. but I LOVE IT. My spanish is coming along sooo well. The gift of tongues is so real. I am so grateful for how much I have been able to speak and for how much I know already. I am really trying to be humble as well. My comp struggles with spanish so I try to help her as much as I can. It has been such a teaching experience for me! I have sooooo much to learn still in spanish, but I am doing really well!!

 

We taught our first investigator yesterday! They are just our teachers, but it is fun! IT IS SO HARD TO TEACH IN SPANISH AHHHH. But it went okay.

 

Sorry this email is getting way too long. I love you all so much!!! I am so grateful for everything I have and for all of you. The support I have felt this week has been amazing. I cant wait to get out in the field!!!

 

Hermana Miceli!!!

I AM HERE!!!

Dont worry I made it!!!!! These spanish keyboards have no apostrophes so theres that. Peru is soooo different, but beautiful in its own way! On my flight from LA to Lima I was the only missionary so that was scary. Customs and all that was rough and once I got out I couldnt find anyone from the mtc or any other missionaries. But finally I found them!!! I said so many prayers yesterday it was crazy. I wish so badly that I was fluent en espanol ahora (now) because it is so frustrating not being able to communicate and say the things I want to. But it will come! The CCM (MTC) is BEAUTIFUL compared to the rest of the city. We really are in paradise. Mi companera es Hermana Wattles. She is from Vegas and she is sooo great!! We already get along really well and have laughed a lot. I love it here already. We havent done much but I am excited for whats to come. Breakfast this morning was.... interesting. I will leave it at that. Haha. We got our missionary tags this morning so it is official!!! It is still so crazy. I will send pictures next week. Here in the mission training center we can only take pictures on our preparation days. OKAY i am out of here until next week!!! I love you all and am so grateful to be here!!!