El CCM!!

Everybody! First, I have to apologize for the horrible typing. Im stil trying to figure out this keyboard. But the CCM is great! I got here on tuesday afternoon with about 15 other missionaries, and they picked us up and drove us through the city! The grounds here are so beautiful, and the weather is basically perfect. Every couple of days, some clouds will roll in at about 5, and it´ll pour for like an hour, so crazy.We´re right in the middle of a valley, and I dont know what the Mexicans are celebrating, but they are setting off fireworks and stuff all the time, even during the day. There are always sirens going off, and you can hear that the city is really busy outside the wall. So its nice that we have our little sanctuary in the middle of everything!

Basically they took us to the front door of the main building, gave us an envelope with nametags, a map, and our companion´s info in it, and let us loose. Theres a bunch of residence houses, and we´re in number 43. theres like 5 bedrooms in each house, each has their own bathroom, and 2 bunkbeds in a room.

But I have to tell about my companion! her name is Hermana Taufo`ou. A short lesson in pronounciation: TAU-foo-oh. It took me a full 72 hours before I could say it right, haha. She´s from Idaho, but her dad is full Tongan, so thats where the name comes from. She plays soccer and basketball, and is basically the sweetest girl ever. And she´s going to nicaragua! She´s teaching me how to shoot, but I cant say I´m the best or most capable student, haha. We share our room with 2 sisters on their 4th week, hermanas Tolman and Vance, who are both very nice. Basically everyone is super nice!

Our district is great too. We´re all in a classroom together for most of the day, so we get along pretty well by now. There´s me and Hermana Taufoou, one other set of sisters going to El Salvador, and 3 sets of elders, all going to different places, and all stateside! I just realized that, haha. Everyone has taken some spanish, so we´re all on the same level. We´re all becoming good friends! So our schedule actually changes a lot. Usually we have a couple hours in class with our teacher, Hermano Klabacka, and we switch between language and spiritual study. Then we have lunch, and time to prep and teach our investigator, Lisa! That usually takes several hours, because each companionship gets 1/2 an hour. Then theres always more personal and companion study, and something called TALL, which I cant remember what that stands for, but its a church language learning thing on the computer. On sundays we go to lots of meetings and watch a lot of devotionals, which actually was super great, as long as you´re not tired, haha. I gave my talk on the first sunday here! It actually went really well. I have a goal to always be prepared for sunday talks. But thank goodness next week is fast sunday, haha.

So that´s basically what each day consists of, but it comes in different order. Being a missionary is great! I´m tired 100% of the time, but I love learning more each day. I´ve never been closer to Heavenly Father in my life, and it´s an incredible feeling. I know that He loves us, and for that reason, He sent His son to die for us. I know that´s true. Another great think about being a missionary is that you get to memorize a bunch of stuff! I have the missionary purpose, baptismal invitation, and almost the first vision, all in spanish, and all in the first week! Its basically just the Holy Ghost, and mi compañera repeatedly drilling me, haha.

One of my favorite verses this week is Mosiah 7:33. If we are diligent and trust in the Lord in all we do and in all our work, we will be delivered out of bondage. Hopefully its not literal bondage, haha! But He can help us through our inadequecies and weaknesses to make us strong.. Ive definitely seen proof of that in just this first week here, in others and even my self.

Les amo todos! Everyone have a good week!
And send me letters! They take about 12 days to get here, haha.

Hermana Watkins