AHHH!!!! I'm in the field!!! And the library is SOOO
quiet!!! Do you think they'll get mad if I scream REALLY loud? Just
once? Ah. Nobody understands. Well. well. well. WELL! Where do I
start?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ah!!!!! I'm on a MISSION! I'm not yelling, I
promise. I am just... writing with feeling... in a loud tone...but just
in my head...Don't worry about it. Ah! Okay... where to start? I'm
just too excited! My companion is Hermana Trimble. She is great and OH!
I have so much to tell you all. The only person who is going to want
to read this crazy letter is my mom :P But that's good. Oh mom, I love
you sooo much :) Deep breathing.
I'm okay now. First, I am very excited because everyone from my MTC districts just sent me a bunch of emails and I love them and they make me so happy :) They are serving so well! Second, I was in the MTC on the night of ...the night before I left. I set my alarm for 2am so I could make sure everything was ready before I got to the travel office at 3:30am (my assigned time). Long story short, one of my companions woke me up at 3:15am. It was scary :) Because if I had stayed in the MTC any longer I may have cried. BUT I got there right at 3:30 and it was great. A bus full of happy and wide-awake missionaries drove to the airport.
On the plane, I sat next to Gerald. He was a sweet old man who managed to live in Utah 30 years without being Mormon. We talked about religion the whole way and read a little from the Book of Mormon. He was great. And he was a hugger. When we said our goodbyes he tried to hug me and...it was weird. But don't worry, I only shook his hand. I want to tell you every detail, but... let's get to THE WORK!
So, I got to Illinois and was congratulated as I got off the plane (by those who were LDS, of course). I ate Israeli food with my mission president and his wife, the zone leaders and the sister training leaders. They taught me some technicals about the field. I met my companion and the sight of her was wonderful! We ran to get some food from Walmart before p-day ended and then we went straight to our appointment. My very first! AND GUESS WHAT? I invited him to be baptized and he committed! August 10th! It was our first appointment with him too. Am I allowed to give details about my wonderful investigators? I never checked on that...
I'm okay now. First, I am very excited because everyone from my MTC districts just sent me a bunch of emails and I love them and they make me so happy :) They are serving so well! Second, I was in the MTC on the night of ...the night before I left. I set my alarm for 2am so I could make sure everything was ready before I got to the travel office at 3:30am (my assigned time). Long story short, one of my companions woke me up at 3:15am. It was scary :) Because if I had stayed in the MTC any longer I may have cried. BUT I got there right at 3:30 and it was great. A bus full of happy and wide-awake missionaries drove to the airport.
On the plane, I sat next to Gerald. He was a sweet old man who managed to live in Utah 30 years without being Mormon. We talked about religion the whole way and read a little from the Book of Mormon. He was great. And he was a hugger. When we said our goodbyes he tried to hug me and...it was weird. But don't worry, I only shook his hand. I want to tell you every detail, but... let's get to THE WORK!
So, I got to Illinois and was congratulated as I got off the plane (by those who were LDS, of course). I ate Israeli food with my mission president and his wife, the zone leaders and the sister training leaders. They taught me some technicals about the field. I met my companion and the sight of her was wonderful! We ran to get some food from Walmart before p-day ended and then we went straight to our appointment. My very first! AND GUESS WHAT? I invited him to be baptized and he committed! August 10th! It was our first appointment with him too. Am I allowed to give details about my wonderful investigators? I never checked on that...
This is a long email. What else? I haven't even gotten to the good stuff. We are opening up a brand new area so that is really exciting. They are all just dying to hear the word. My companion uses metal utensils when she cooks with pots- I told her you wold not approve, mom. Spanish people are sooo sweet. My first Sunday in the ward was amazing. The people are SO excited to have sisters after 2 years. They've been feeding us well. Over feeding us? Yes. No gross food yet though.
My Spanish is improving. You don't want to hear this. I just dont know what good stuff to put in here! I'm a little too excited. I LOVE IT HERE. It is soo much like NY! I love the humidity, the people, the little branch, the FIREFLIES!, the fact that there are actually non-members here! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.
We have been working so hard. Moving every minute. P-day is 11-6pm, but we just had to meet with one of our investigators during prep time. She likes having us over to teach her and her family, but she just likes talking about religion. She has so much desire to do what God wants. We've done all we could for her and she just hasn't been keeping any commitments. She hasn't read the Book of Mormon really, prayed, or attended church. And she isn't willing to. Lesson here: Learning is great, but if you never *apply* truth to your life you will never ever KNOW (Ether 12:6 etc.) and things will never ever change. "If nothing changes, nothing changes." -Someone wise.
I love my little apartment. It feels so much like home :) We've only been in the area a week, but the other elders (2 companionships) have been there longer. All of the members are pumped about the work and helping a ton. I lucked out being called Spanish-speaking. You get to give hugs and be hugged (just by the women) all the time!
I love always having a reason to smile. It's all about thinking about other people. A happy missionary helps the ward a whole ton and so I'm striving to be that kind of missionary. I have to give a talk in church in a few weeks. We'll see if anyone can understand my Spanish!
The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real and powerful. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God that restored His church in this dispensation. Gather truth, increase in light. The more you put faith in action, the more light you receive. The more light you get, the more truth you understand. Then you keep growing and learning and becoming more like Christ. Yay! Be anxiously engaged in a good cause and exemplify charity like you've never exemplified it before!
Sorry again. I'll have a more normal update next week. I'll jsut write it out beforehand or something :) I am just, I'm just too excited to function right.
Love,
Hermana Sanabria
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