Hello Everybody!
Well, I've made it halfway through the MTC! It's crazy how it feels like I've
been here forever, but not any time at all. Time is crazy on a mission, or so
I've heard from other missionaries :)
Ok, so info about what I'm doing every day. Every day is pretty much the same,
we wake up, eat breakfast, do language or personal study, have a language
class, additional study/teach one of our progressing investigators (our
teacher) go to lunch, have more personal study, an hour of physical activity,
more language study, another class, teach our other investigator (if we didn't
in the morning), have another class, and then daily planning. More or less that
is what I've been up to everyday :) lots and lots of studying and speaking Spanish.
Our teachers are returned missionaries living here in Lima. They are so
wonderful!! Our district has two specific teachers, Hermano Granados and
Hermano Meza, but we know a lot of the other teachers and they come in to our
classroom and talk to us all the time. It is so interesting to talk to them and
hear about how their way of life is so different from ours in the United
States. Por ejemplo, dating is WAY different. You don't ask a girl on a single
date unless you know that she is the girl you are going to marry. There were
some more things they told us but I can't think of them right now! One of the teachers, Hno. Gonzalez is SO funny. He always comes in
and shakes all of the hermanas hands, and then does a superhero handshake with
the elders. He told us that one of his life goals is to go to the United States
and make a snow angel. Also, every time he leaves the classroom he says,
''Hasta la Vista WaaWaa's!'' (WaaWaa is the Quechuan word for baby, I don't
know if I spelled it right...)
There are only three buildings here, the administration building, the cafeteria
building with the auditorium above it, and then the classrooms/dormitory
building. The classrooms are on the bottom floor, then the dormitories are on
the second and third floors. Elders on one side, Hermanas on the other :) It is
really small here, but I love that! Everybody knows everybody. It's also cool
because Presidente and Hermana Cardon know all of us too and we get to talk to
them all the time. The thing thats not so cool about it is that sometimes you
are teaching the lesson in your district for Sunday school and Presidente
Cardon(The MTC president) walks in and sits down and stays for the entire
thing. That was only a little intimidating :) haha. On Sunday I also got
to play the piano for Sacrament meeting for our branch! So that was fun. We are
the Manti branch (which includes all of the Norteamericanos-beginners,
intermediates, and advanced) and then there is the Zarahemla branch which
includes all of the Latinos.
Physical activity is always fun! The other day the sun was out and we decided
to play sand volleyball and it got a little crazy. We had 5 hermanas, and 4
elders playing and it was probably the funnest game of volleyball I've ever
played. I also discovered that diving for a volleyball in the sand doesn't even
hurt! I think I spent more time on the ground in the sand then not. I'm still
finding sand in my hair :)
Hmmm, what else. My district and I think we're hilarious. We are always
laughing, and trying to get our teachers to understand our American jokes.
We've started taking American sayings and translating them into Spanish, even
though it doesn't mean anything down here. Por ejemplo, one of our favorites is
''¡¿Que en el Mundo?!'' (what in the world?!) or another one is ''Oh mi
palabra!'' (Oh my word!) We've gotten some of the latinos to start saying them and
we're pretty sure they're gonna become a saying down here eventually. :)
Another one we like to say after language class is, ''That was claro como
lodo'' (clear as mud) or sometimes we say ''claro como chocolate'' tambien.
Apparantly a popular saying down here when you greet your friends is ''Hola,
Hola Coca-Cola'' so we've been saying that too :)
We don't have any native speakers in our district, but EVERYTHING is in Spanish
and our teachers only mostly speak Spanish so we are talking in Spanish most of
the day :) I have been sleeping so well! It's amazing what 16 hour days will do
to you. I'm really grateful that I haven't had any troubles sleeping. I've only
had one minor episode with my heart so I'm grateful for that too. Unfortunately
I've had plenty of other problems to keep me humble though :) Our entire
district has been sick with a cold since we got here, (I think I've finally
gotten over it) and I've also been having pretty bad stomach pains all week.
Hermana Cardon put me on an all liquids diet so I have only had water and
gatorade and broth in the past 24 hours. I also have a bruised knee and a blood
vessel popped in my right eye so I've been wearing glasses for the past two
days. Pero, esta bien. I'll be fine :)
This week has probably been the hardest week for me here, but I know that it is
just so I can be broken down and built back up by Heavenly Father into the
missionary he needs me to be. I am feeling all of your prayers and it is
knowing that I have all of you back home that keeps me going!
I hope I answered all of your questions! I love hearing about what is going on
at home, so thank you! I left my primary music stuff at home, so it should be
there somewhere! I have only been sending my weekly emails to you, Ashley and
Spencer, so feel free to forward them to whoever wants to read them :) I get
emails from Jackie but not Maddie. I am warm enough, and we are able to go
shopping on P days to get what we need. Also, I am 99.9 % positive that I will
be staying in Lima for my mission :) yay!
Ok, I don't have any more time, but I love you all! Thank you for your love and
support! I hope I answered all the questions. Oh! This Saturday I will be out
on the streets of Peru proselyting for six hours so extra prayers would be
appreciated :)
Love you!!
Hermana Shelton
