Today is my Second Month!!!

The first month fleeeew by. The second month? Not so much, but hey 2 months down! This week was a pretty good week, but yesterday was one of the weirdest days of my life. I’ll get to that later, but first I’ll recount what happened earlier in the day. So I have a cold AGAIN because the air here isn’t the best, and I had a crap ton of mucus in my chest. And before church, we went to pick up our investigators. The only two that came were cute Marilisa and Ronny, the little kids. Well during someone’s talk in sacrament meeting, I had a complete and total cough attack. It was so bad that I literally had to run out of the chapel to the bathroom because I thought I was going to throw up. My comps ran after me and half of the R.S. (Relief Society) as well. So I was not excited to return back to sacrament. Then later on I was supposed to teach the lesson for Sunday school, but none of our recent converts or investigators were there, so we didn’t have class, which was a tender mercy because I just didn’t feel good.

After church we had some time for studying, and then we had lunch with the stake president. He and his wife were chilling in their pajamas it was awesome. All of their kids live in Utah, and I believe one is actually in med school at the University of Utah. The food was awesome and they fed us so much veggies, meat and rice, then after ice cream.

We had two lunch appointments yesterday back to back. After the first one, we went to Hna Adela’s house. Hna Adela is an adorable recent convert that loves to feed us. She didn’t go to church because she slept in and she wanted us to come over. This was great because her sister Tomasa is one of our investigators who is ridiculously hard to get a hold of. She will only talk to us when she works and it’s on a busy street with so many distractions. She has had all the lessons, and her kids are baptized, but she doesn’t want to be. We found out it’s because she thinks her church and our church are the same and doesn’t see the point. She thinks the Book of Mormon is the same as the bible. So we have no idea what to do with her. My companion told her an analogy to try to convince her, which was if you could have a bag full of blessings, would you take it and a bag of something else? She didn’t want to take it. I didn’t understand it all.

Before we taught her though, we had another huge lunch with ice cream. Hna Adela has two little girls that are so adorable, and a son that is 25, but isn’t a member. I love going to her house because she is so loving. She is also a hairdresser and braided all of our hair it was so pretty. I will try to send a picture later.

Now to the weird part about yesterday. We visited the mission leader’s family later that night. Their house is like our second house, but I had no idea what in the world they were all talking about. During our visit, my companions lied to me and said we were staying the night here, and I was just ridiculously confused. Anyways, they were worried about my cough and gave me this drink, which felt so great. Then they had me go into a bedroom and told me to show them my chest. I had no flipping idea what in the world was going on, but the wife of the mission leader was doing something to help my chest not feel so congested. She got a shirt and a hot iron, ironed the shirt, and then pressed it on my chest. Then they decided to do the same thing on my back without asking me and just started to pull my sweater out of my skirt. It was so loco; I was surrounded by 5 crazy Chapinas (Guatemalans). But whatever they did helped a lot.

After their treatment, they wrapped a giant scarf around my neck and gave me a thick poncho. Let me tell ya I was dying of heat. I was also supposed to put the scarf on my nose while walking. I thought I was going to die of heat, but I feel much better today, so it must’ve helped. When I got home I took some melatonin and went straight to bed. Let’s just hope and pray this is the last time I get sick. I have Mucinex and some antibiotics left as well. My stomach is also feeling much better as well as the fleas for now.

Anyways, I want you all to thank Heavenly Father every day for your house and your laundry machines. Our house in Utah looks like an absolute mansion compared to here, and I will never complain about laundry, the house being dirty or anything like that ever again. We are so ridiculously blessed!!

We visited a family who I knew was really poor, but I didn’t know how poor until we brought them dinner one night. Their house is made of cement bricks and has two rooms, a tin roof and a dirt floor. There were tons of bugs, and there was just stuff everywhere because they have nowhere to put their stuff. This lady is a recent convert, and has a boy and girl who’re both about to be teenagers, and an older son. She doesn’t have a husband. There’s no shower, and their bathroom is a shack down a ways from their house, and I am pretty sure they only time they get to shower is when it rains. I wanted to bawl my eyes out. And yesterday they didn’t come to church so we went and asked why. At first she said there were no problems at church, but it turns out one of the ward members isn’t very nice to her, which breaks my heart. So look around at what you have and thank Heavenly Father every day. Don’t worry about what you don’t have. Things are not important. I just wanted to stress that.

You should also thank God that you have a washer and drier because we don’t have a pila of our own (a pila is where you wash the clothes). We used to have this awesome lavanderia that was soooo cheap, but now it is closed and it’s the worst. All of the other lavanderias here are ridiculously expensive. But thankfully Heavenly Father blessed us and Hna Vicky, the member’s house we live in, had her husband install a pila. So yeah don’t complain about dirty laundry because you have machines that wash them. Hahahaha.

Hna McGill and her companion had two baptisms this week from the same family on different days. The first one getting baptized is a very intelligent autistic kid, and the next day is his mother’s baptism. We went to his mom’s and it was so beautiful. She didn’t want to be baptized at first for a while, but she was beaming after she did. We brought cute Marilisa and Ronny with us, and we would’ve brought their mom too, but she was working. We explained to them what happens during the baptism and confirmation, and how the sacrament ties into it. After the baptism they said they wanted to be baptized. They are the cutest. I will try to get a picture this week of them and send it next week. Dora (their mom) works a lot and has a boyfriend, so she is harder to get a hold of, but their family seems pretty promising, especially the kids.

Cristian, our other investigator, is even harder to get a hold of it’s ridiculous! He’s either never there or one of his family members lie to us and tell us he isn’t there when he is. It’s so frustrating, we had such a great lesson with him and his dad, so we just want to teach them more. And every Sunday we try to get him to come to church, but it never works.

Spanish is ridiculously hard and would be absolutely impossible to learn without the help of the Holy Ghost. The other gringos always tell me not to worry and that I’ll learn. I am just grateful I’m not in panama like Evan because even the Guatemalans can’t understand them because they speak so fast. So I count my blessings

Oh my lanta, so the other day we had lunch with these cute sisters, and she gave us black salt to try with the fruit. Black salt is the best thing. Try to find it if you can. Its soooo good with fruit. Or as they say here, muy rica!!

Anyways I love you all, thanks so much for your emails! They are the best. Love you so much!

Hermana Lindsie

Huehue week 2: Companions, bus trip, and investigators

Hola Familia,

So my dear beloved sister brought to my attention that I wrote a crappy letter last week.* Sorry I was all over the place, but when you don’t have a lot of time and you want to tell everyone everything, it’s kind of difficult.

First to clarify, I am in a trio. Hna Lopez is my trainer. So basically she is in charge of me and is supposed to help me learn. Hna Gonzalez is also my companion. Her mission is temporarily here in Xela. She isn’t technically my trainer, but we are just in a trio. I love them both. Sometimes it’s difficult, but they are so fun.

Hna Gonzalez is so crazy and so fun and says the funniest things in Spanish. Hna Lopez is a little more serious, but has her fun moments. Other than that, being a missionary can be hard sometimes, but I am hanging in there and totally relying on the Lord. I am trying to focus on the positive.

Last Tuesday, Hna Lopez and I had to go to Xela for a meeting for new missionaries. Hell is being a gringa on a chicken bus for 2 ½ hours there and back. That’s a five hour trip, my friends, for a 3 hour meeting. The people here are crazy, but you got to love them. There are two men that work at the door of the bus that yell where it is going, and they are constantly jumping off the bus, or climbing onto the roof while the bus is moving. No biggie. And buses don’t really like to have to stop for more than 5 seconds. So it’s do or die: jump onto the bus or get left behind. They will stop longer for women with children thank goodness.

The bus drivers think they rule they road and will constantly change into the oncoming lane to pass people. Thought I was going to die. The buses here are old school buses, so they’re teeny tiny and I was so squished. And I have never seen so many people fit into one automobile before. It’s so tightly packed that it feels like you’re close to breaking the law of chastity. But thank goodness I got a seat every time, so I wasn’t the freak show for the whole bus standing up. My legs were still killing me though. Aside from those unpleasantries, Guatemala is beautiful and it was so good so see my district from the CCM at the meeting.

Sunday (7-21) was an awesome day. We had 5 investigadores (investigators) come to church: a family of three, a lady named Tomasa and a guy name Cavin.

The family of three is Dora and her two kids Marilisa and Ronny. Dora went to the open house of the Xela temple and really loved the feeling there. Sunday was her first time going to church, so my companion got her a skirt that was too big, and I bought Marilisa a new dress for 20 quetz, or 2 to 3-ish dollars. Nothing was greater than seeing the whole family all ready for church. I was so flipping happy.

Tomasa is an ongoing investigador, and her two kids got baptized, but something is holding her back. She is ridiculously hard to get a hold of, so we have only had one short lesson with her.

Cavin was a street contact. The spirit told me to go talk to him. He may be coming to all of our activities just because he thinks I’m cute, but hey he is coming. We have an activity with our ward every Thursday night, and Cavin came to that and he showed up to church. I think he likes how friendly everyone is. But we found out he isn’t in our area so we have to give him to the other sisters.

The activity with the ward is really fun. A ton of people showed up this week (7-18). We had a lesson about obedience and then played a game. I just talked with the little kids because they seem to be the only ones who understand me haha. I have been trying to speak more. It’s hard, especially when you have to guess half the time what people are saying. So I feel like the members are starting to warm up to me a little bit more now too.

As far as other investigadores, we also have an investigador whose name is Cristian. He is in his 20s and it’s really hard to get a hold of him as well. He was supposed to come to church, but didn’t answer the door or the phone. We taught him about the Book of Mormon, and the spirit was so strong, which is good because that is when my Spanish is the best. Anyways we have to follow up with him to see if he read and prayed about if the gospel’s true or not.

We also have been teaching a chick at a hair salon. She knows a lot about the bible, but is willing to read and find out for herself if the Book of Mormon is true. Her name is Lydia. She is a sweetheart.

There is a lady who is a recent convert and she has two kids. We spend a lot of time with them because the sisters before us had to work hard to get her baptized, so we are trying to make sure she stays active. Her two little daughters love us so much and they crack me up. It took them a while to figure out that I don’t really know Spanish at all, but they make me so happy.

On Sunday (7-21), we went and visited a lot of the less-actives. We went and visited Sergio, the old man that shakes. Alison, doctors down here don’t help, and there really isn’t much they can do for him. Also doctors are expensive. Sergio is the only member. His wife is Catholic, so his kids go to the Catholic church with their mom. But we talked with Sergio’s older daughter, and we have another appointment with her, so we are going to teach her about the plan of salvation because she has the cutest little kids.

Things are good. I am loving it. It’s hard, but it’s great.

Love you lots,

Hermana Lindsie

Oh yeah, two side stories:

I have Guat-gut, which I am pretty sure I will have for the rest of my mission. Also, our water happened to not be working the day I get diarrhea. Of course. It was awesome...not. I had to dump buckets full of water into the toilet all day.

On a brighter note, there is a store in Xela called Xelapan, and it has the best desserts and bread in the entire world. Oh my goodness it’s mouthwatering. There is this chocolate bread covered in chocolate it’s fantastic.

Editor's notes:

* I (Alison) did not say it was crappy last week (previous weeks' letters, yes I said some were). I just said it was confusing because she didn't put when she left the MTC and stuff like that.

Photos sent with this letter:

Lindsie’s first day in the field (7-9-13)

Lisonbee, Lindsie, Richards, McGill (7-9-13)

So to clarify some more about the last letter: of course the mission home is in Xela, and it’s where the President lives. Then there is the mission office. Different places. Hna Lopez wasn’t there, so I stayed in Xela for the first night with the sister missionaries near the mission office. One of the sister missionaries is the mission nurse. It kind of sucked I’m not going to lie. But the first part of the day rocked.

Hna Gonzalez, Lindsie, Hna Lopez (7-22-13)

Huehuetenango scenery (7-22-13)

Member-owned restaurant (7-22-13)

Lindsie at a member-owned restaurant 2

This is at a restaurant that is owned by a member, and all the missionaries sign the wall. It was soooo good.

5-29-13 Lindsie’s first day at the CCM

Don’t worry I am alive

Oh my goodness I have so many things to tell you all. First off, since I am using Google Chrome and typing in English, spell check thinks all of the words I type are wrong haha kind of funny.

Saying goodbye to the CCM was sooooooooooooo hard. I love those people so much; they really feel like family. I loved the CCM. Of course it had its moments, but it was great. The 4th of July was so fun at the CCM. All of the nortes (northerners, slang for Americans probably) wore red, white and blue. That day I had to go to the immigration office to sign stuff, so we got a little tour of the city. My companion wasn’t with me because she already went.

The guy driving us to the immigration office served in Xela and loved it so much. He was hilarious and was making fun of how nortes speak Spanish. It’s so true, we say “um,” and “yeah,” and a lot of filler words because we don’t know the word we want to say next. After that we did some teaching and all that and then went to lunch. They made us American food and made our flag out of cupcakes—it was the cutest. They gave us all American food that day. It was great and my teacher took pictures for us that day.

Lindsie’s CCM District Photo 1 (7-4-13)

Lindsie’s CCM District Photo 2 (7-4-13)

Lindsie’s CCM District Photo 3 (7-4-13)

Lindsie’s CCM District Flag she helped sew

The night before I left the MTC, my district had a testimony meeting. The spirit was so strong and afterwards we got everyone’s emails. Hermana Garis and Clark had to leave for Quetzaltenango at 2 AM; I know because I didn’t sleep well that night because of nerves. So I said bye to them, which was sad.

Later that morning Hermana Lisonbee and I left at 7 o’clock for a 4-hour bus ride to Xela. I have never been so car sick in my life. There were so many curves that I wanted to die. We stopped at a gas station, which was literally an answer to my prayers because I was about to puke, and spent some time there. It was a pretty gas station that was located just outside of Xela.

Before we got to our ultimate destination, we visited the mission home. There we met the mission president and his wife. I looooooooove President and Hermana Bautista! They are so nice and lovely and don’t look anything like they do in their photo. The mission home is gorgeous; it feels like a temple in a way. We had orientation and a whole box of pizza each for lunch.

Later they announced our mission trainers. Hermana Lisonbee has a good trainer and I hope they are getting along ok. There was some mix up with my trainer and she wasn’t there, so I had to wait for her with the mission home’s nurse and her companion. I was excited at first because I thought it would be fun, but their personalities drove me nuts. It was ok though because we decided to visit some local members that were new to the area. We were supposed to teach them lessons, but of course no one was home. The first night I stayed at the mission home was horrible, and I was homesick for the CCM and America. I was sick at the CCM before I left and I thought I was over it, but it decided to come back that night. It was the worst; I was coughing up a lung.

The next day we had district meeting, and I bore my testimony. After the meeting was over, the president and his wife drove me and some other missionaries up to our new areas. We took a mini bus to our new area and we literally had to jump on the bus and I about fell on everyone when I did. We had to jump off the bus later on too.

It was so fun driving with president and his wife. I love them soooo much, words can’t describe it. We talked about missionary work and the new approach to it. We talked about our lives and the president shared some crazy stories. We even pulled over to see a church building that was built on a cliff in the mountains it was awesome. There were children everywhere it was fun.

- - -

My new area is Huehuetenango, pronounced like way-way. I have never seen so many motorcycles in my entire life. Everyone here has one, even the kids that I’m sure aren’t supposed to be driving yet are riding them around. Motorcycle in Spanish is moto, so I call this area Mototenango.

The leftmost red dot is the location of Huehuetenango. Source

I am in a trio companionship and my trainer is Hermana Lopez. She is from Guatemala and is adorable. My companion’s name is Hermana Gonzalez and she’s from Guatemala also. Hna. (short for Hermana) Gonzalez is waiting for her visa in Venezuela and is serving in Quetzaltenango in the meantime. I love them both. At first I felt like they were judging me because they thought I had tons of stuff, but in actuality they have way more than me. Either way for my next transfer I’ll need to make my suitcases lighter because I won’t get to ride with the president next time. I’ll have to use public transportation instead. 

Our apartment is pretty nice and biggish, but according to my comps it’s expensive. It’s 70 bucks a month for me and for Hna. Lopez, so they have been keeping an eye out for a new apartment. I didn’t really want to move at first because I felt safe where we are at, but I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to give us a nice and safe place to live if we move. Well Heavenly Father came through, as always! Turns out a member is moving in August and said we can move into their house for 800 quetz./month. So when you split that in half, I pay $50/month for a house! Not an apartment, a house and it’s so nice and big! It has a place to do laundry and everything—it’s the best! I can’t wait for August! 

The first day I got out on the field, I really didn’t have a clue what in the world was going on. Yeah the CCM helped, but nothing is like being in the field and hearing the locals speak Spanish. It made me realize that I really don’t know the language at all. We went around and introduced ourselves to the members since we are all new. Later that night we had a zone conference, and Elder Dalton and Hna. McGill are in my zone. It was so good to see them, and I can’t tell you how good it was to see Hna. McGill. At the conference we had pizza, marshmallows, and strawberries.

When it was over, my companions and I all walked home together and had a meeting with a less-active. You know how I have cute-old-man syndrome? Well this old man set it off. He is so tiny and so cute, even though he is so unhealthy and was shaking like crazy. It was so sad, my heart was about ready to break. His house is also in horrible condition, and he doesn’t go to church because he’s so sick.

We came back another day and visited with his wife too. We are trying to find a member with a car so they can go to church and get blessings for their health. When we visited the second time, she told us about her daughter, who can’t speak anymore because something happened to her. Or something like that…I don’t really know because I don’t understand Spanish, but the spirit told me to share D&C 121:7-8. The spirit was so strong it was awesome.

We have been visiting other people too, and getting to know the members and our investigators. One lady is basically totally deaf, loves to talk and definitely loves Jesu Cristo. She is kind of crazy, but adorable.

There are also two recent converts who are kids, and they come around with us. They are dirt poor, but the happiest children I have ever met. They are going to be awesome missionaries when they get older. One is a 14-year-old girl and the other’s a 10-year old boy. They helped us find the members’ houses.

There is a lady that has an infection in her leg, and the doctors told her cold water is the cure for it, which is an absolute joke. It’s so bad; I wish I was a doctor already so I could help these people out. We saw her today and she told us she’s going to the hospital. Hopefully the doctors there know a little bit more. 

So the second night I was here, we had to teach the members about the Sabbath day. We have a meeting with the members every week and we teach. I was freaking out, but the spirit definitely helped me teach. The members are so nice and all look at me like, “you poor thing, you don’t understand a thing do you?” It’s so true; I only get in like 4 words in per half an hour. It’s getting a little bit better, but basically I really don’t have much of a clue of what is going on.

After the meeting we all piled into the back of someone’s pickup truck and he drove some people home. It was crazy and everyone was laughing at me because I was the only gringa in a truck full of Guates. We went up a hill, and because there were so many people, the truck didn’t have enough momentum to make it up the hill, so two people jumped out and pushed. So hilarious.

There are two things I miss a lot since I’ve been here: the English language, and the sanity of America. God really did bless America, and we really don’t have much to complain about. And even though I have been to Guatemala before, it’s not the same as living here.* I’ve had so much culture shock. It’s not too bad, but it still shocks me every day. And I knew I would stick out, but I never realized how much, and let me tell you, the men here love the gringas (white women). I get hit on all the time it’s ridiculous. Even when I look so nasty, and no white man in their right mind would ever think I am attractive, the men here still think I am. It’s sooooo annoying. You can take your life back mom ‘cause I don’t want it haha.**

- - -

So Sunday (7-14) was a great day. I understand a lot of what’s said because they use gospel/scripture vocabulary. We went and greeted everyone in the ward. Church starts at 8, and even if you’re in crazy Guatemala, the church is true no matter where you are—Relief Society even gets out late here. After church I saw Hna. McGill and it was so good to see her. She is feeling the same as I am, and it’s so nice to know I’m not the only one struggling.

During the past couple of days, there have been big fiestas and parades here in Huehue. And after church, a new convert and her two kids wanted us to walk with them to their house. One of the little girls held my hand, and the other held my companion’s, it was so cute. Well because we walked with them, we ended up on a road that was having the parade. And because there was sooooooooooooooooo many people, we had to walk along the parade. I am taller than basically every human being here, so I was trying to crouch so people could still see. It was hilarious. I should’ve thrown pamphlets out to people while I was walking.

Once we got out of that mess we went back to the apartment for personal study and lunch with the bishop and his family. It was so flipping good. After the meal I developed a migraine and had to go sleep it off for a bit. Then we went to a house we had an appointment at. The wife is willing to have us there, but her husband isn’t. I saw a frog at the side of the road on the way there too. It was cool. Sorry I am being random, but I just want to tell you everything. 

There’s also another creature here that loves gringas way too much: fleas. I have them and they are the most vile things on the planet. Every flea can burn in hell forever. I am trying to get rid of them by spraying all my clothes with Off! and wearing the bands too. I have no idea how to get rid of them, but I am trying, and the triamcinolone cream is a blessing from heaven. Anyways I am going to try to write some personal emails back.

Love you lots,

Hermana Lindsie

P.S. I love my companions, they are the best! 

Editor's notes:

* Lindsie was in Guatemala for a month on a medical explorers’ program trip to help teach Guatemalan kids about proper hygiene and such.

** Lindsie’s mom is from Scotland and got hit on frequently when she was younger by questionable men, especially when she lived in France for two years. 

Last P-day in the CCM!

Hola Familia!

This time next week I will be heading to Quetzaltenango!! It’s insane; I am terrified, but so excited all at the same time!! Last P-day was an absolute blast! We went on a bus tour of Guatemala and it was so funny to hear everyone’s reaction to what Guatemala really looks like. We saw a guy on a ladder hanging on to the power lines fixing them. It brought back good memories.

Then afterwards we went to this map place and it’s a giant structure of Central America to perfect scale. The measurements were done by some dude from forever ago. We got our cameras that day and I took a ton of pictures it was the best! After that we went to the market. That was fun; I didn't buy anything considering Guatemala is my home now and I already had the market experience. Our last stop was a cathedral and then we went back home.

The trip was an absolute blast—take that Provo MTC! Words can’t describe how happy I am that I am in the Guatemala MTC. We are all super close to everyone and I have the best friends in the world here. They feel like family, so I am sad to be leaving them.

We also found out on P-day that Hermana Alvadero is no longer our night teacher. She got switched to the mornings. I was so upset about it at first, but she is now our tutor and hangs out with us all the time. We also got a new schedule and we have sports at night, so she wouldn't have been teaching for long anyways. We still have Hermano Malnado though, which is good.

We got another night teacher named Hermana Melgar. She makes us work and from 4-7:30 PM and speak only in Spanish. If you speak even one word in English, you get one of your “papers” taken away. There’s a winner every night, so if you get it taken away, then you can’t win.* Speaking only in Spanish is fun, but hard. I accidentally said a bad word in Spanish: punta without the n (puta means b**** in English).

On Sunday our district sang in sacrament and we rocked it. And I made it through the hunger games this week and next week is fast Sunday, so I don’t have to speak in church! Yay! Sundays are one of my favorite days though because they are so spiritually uplifting and I always learn so much. We had a lesson about the promises of obedience by President Nicholaysen. It was awesome and made me rededicate myself. We have Relief Society two times on Sunday kind of, and Sister Brinton, one of the couple missionaries, spoke—she is so cute. She and her husband remind me of John and Vibeke (Utah ward neighbors). By the way, they have the best banana bread here in the whole world.

Oh yeah here’s a story I forgot to tell you last week. Our classroom is in the chapel, and we get to walk by the temple every day, it rocks. Anyways, one of the elders found a dead cockroach in the chapel, and Elder Dalton is absolutely terrified of bugs, so I said, “Hey put it in Elder Dalton’s scriptures.” Mean I know, but it was absolutely hilarious. Elder Dalton was teaching, and then when he came back and opened up his scriptures, he found it and started flipping out. Another elder picked up his scriptures and the cockroach after Dalton ran out of the church building. Then the elder pretended to throw the cockroach out the window, but actually put it back in Elder Dalton’s stuff. So flipping hilarious.

Another story I forgot to tell you about was one of my watches stopped working cause I dropped it on accident, so I prayed for it to work again. When I was trying to get it to work, Hermana Garis was like, “hey let me see it,” so I threw it over to her and she dropped it. Then she said, “maybe the jolt of the fall will make it work now,” and when she picked it up, it was ticking. Miracles people, miracles. Also the other week Hermana Garis sniffed cayenne pepper to help her headaches—funniest thing I ever did see. Also her cousin won Miss Pleasant Grove when Kylee was in it. Small world.

I am learning so much. One of the things I have learned is that I hate Spanish. It’s coming to me, but it’s hard and I always speak it the best when I am teaching sometimes. Teaching is hard, especially when you know what you want to say, but you can’t say it in Spanish. English-speaking missions have it soooo easy.

Then it’s weird, a bunch of sisters here have been telling me how much they look up to me. I got a note from two on my bed and it was the sweetest thing ever. I have no idea why they think that. It just makes me want to work harder since people are watching the things I do. Random side note: we now have to wear our name tags on the right side instead of on the left. It’s the weirdest thing in the world. The Provo MTC told us to do that because apparently it helps people see your name better when you shake their hands.

Thanks for your letters; I couldn’t reply back to all of the emails. I will try to next week sometime. Lillian, you walk with determination and I will write you back next week. Your letter was beautiful thank you.

Ali I can’t believe you sent me a picture of Simon’s butt! I was covering it up so my whole district didn't see it. The blog is beautiful, thanks Ali. I’m pretty sure it’s the best in the world. I am glad you are taping Golden Girls for Alison’s work dad, and I am glad Ali is hanging in there with her job. I don’t know if you guys have been dearelder-ing me because I haven’t got any, but it’s ok if you don’t. How is Jordan doing? Haven’t heard much about him.

Oh yeah, we have this thing called CRE and we teach random people from the street, and usually the people around the temple. There are always tons of families there getting sealed, it’s the greatest thing in the world. Anyways CRE went well for the first time in my life and the spirit was totally there and I knew what to say and what to ask it was awesome. It was great, we were teaching a less-active, but he was really a RM and he spoke some Spanish and he said we did great. It was definitely a confidence booster. Well I am out of time.

Looooove you, thanks for your prayers and support!

Hermana Anderson

*This is what Lindsie wrote originally: “…if you speak a word in ingles, you get one of your ´papers taken away then we have a winner everynight its fun but hard.” So I’m assuming they get papers and they can trade in the “papers” for rewards. I don’t know though.