When It Rains ... It's Not Very Much ...

June 23, 2014

 

... at least not here. It sprinkled the other day and that was super-great because it was in the evening and there was a breeze and dear goodness it was a beautiful thing!

 

It's getting hotter but I think I'm getting used to it. I for sure am being blessed to be able to live, not to mention work 10-11 hours a day, in this sun. But Hermana Martinez recognized a big blessing in this: This week more than one person we talked to – one a member and the other an investigator – had gotten sick because they spent too much time in the sun. But we're happy and healthy (and tired and sweaty, but hey, that's la vida misional). We're super-duper being blessed to carry on the work here, which is incredible and great because this white girl needs all the help she can get. 

 

Ok, highlights:

-I'm fairly certain I'm close to mastering sleep walking.

-A less-active member offered us tattoo sleeves. Not actual tattoos, but the fake ones. We could wear them on our arms to protect them from the sun. I had to work so hard to keep it together, the thought of us wearing them ... I'm still laughing.

-All the time people ask me if I like this fruit or that fruit. And I have no idea what it is. Then they flip out and say, “What! You've never had this?! Eat this now! And eat lots!!”

-I get great ideas for decorating my future home, ideas like taping the toilet seats shut, putting a bathroom in that space under the stairs (yes, like where Harry Potter lived), and having a bunch of clocks in different parts of your house but none of them working and all of them stopped at different times. I heart Mexico. :)

-When a member tried to include me in the conversation and asked me if Colorado had any special food, I told them, "We have Rocky Mountain Oysters, but I don't know the words to describe them in Spanish." You should have seen everyone's face after they Googled it. Haha! "You've eaten that? Did you like it??! Ok, we use all the parts of a cow, minus that!" I died laughing.

-There is a Spanish version of Pig Latin, but you put an “f” in front of every syllable. Weirdest thing ever. Naturally I want to learn it. After I learn Spanish, that is.

-What I need for my training is an episode of 'The District' where they talk to a stubborn old Catholic woman.

-We had a Father's Day party this week and as a treat we had Tacos de Cabeza. Yes, head tacos. The meat was from the head of a pig. I asked my companion three or four times if it REALLY was from a pig. It really was. And it was delicious.

-Being “adjusted to the heat” means you're used to sweating all the time.

-DELICIOUS SUMMER FOOD! Ok, this is super-easy and super-wonderful. Buy seedless grapes. Wash and dry said seedless grapes. Freeze the seedless grapes. Enjoy this frozen deliciousness. You're welcome.

-Cockroaches are immortal. Yesterday we had one in the bathroom. Fortunately it was in the door so I could do this:

Then I cut off the head with scissors. Here's the best part: For several HOURS after I cut off the head, the Legs, Kept, MOVING! Like it was still trying to run away!! EW!!

-Or new apartment is great but it lacks a few things. Like spoons. And forks. And butter knives. So this is how I spread my peanut butter:

Ghetto fabulous. Rustic. Dangerous. Call it what you will, I'll have some interesting habits to break when I get home. Oh, and my comp eats cereal with that.

 

Miracle!! OK, I feel like most of the time we have to work and wait, and hope and just have faith (oh, and sweat lots) before we can see miracles, but yesterday was an exception! As we were walking, Hermana Martinez said "I'm hungry." I replied, "Me, too." And then there was a mango on the sidewalk in front of us. It's early for mangos, but this baby was ready and had fallen from the tree earlier and was just waiting to feed a couple of hungry sister missionaries. :D

 

Have a fantastic week everyone!

 

Hermana Anderson

Call Me Hermana Esmeralda

June 16, 2014

 

Hello lovelies!

 

So, I feel like a gypsy (or like Esmeralda from Hunchback of Notre Dame). Remember how I don't really like change? Well, I think I am getting more than most. Two weeks in the MTC, change to a my first area and house, live there for four weeks, change to my second area and house, live there one week, then change to a new house! Yeah, I spent a good portion of my day today packing and cleaning and moving and cleaning the other house (clean to Elders is not the same as clean to Sisters) and unpacking. And there's still a lot to do. But it is nicer and it's safer. We changed houses because the other one was across the street from a really dark area of trees and there had been a couple instances last transfer where people had followed the sisters to try to find out where they lived, so the Mission President had us change with one of the sets of Elders in our district. We now live above a member's store and across the street from the district leader and his companion and a member family, and it’s a lot lighter, so all is well!

 

Highlights:

-A member told me that later this summer the wind is going to feel like a hair dryer. Yaaaay.

-On the way to an appointment, a member gave us a cup of fruit ... with chili on it. When I say chili, think chili powder mixed with water, and then pour it on your lovely watermelon. Then add a little lime juice. My companion (who is from Monterey, Mexico) didn't understand why it was so weird to me.

-I am the first White sister missionary in this Ward. No pressure, right?

-Speaking of my new Ward:

   *An Area Authority Seventy lives in my Ward, and his wife is so, so nice. He is too, but I talked more with his wife.

   *They like to have missionaries give impromptu talks in Sacrament Meeting. Guess what the new girl got to do. Makes me really grateful for the practice I got from that random time I had to bear my testimony in stake conference.

-I now have, like, 20 Mexican houses, because so many people say "Be comfortable, and come here with confidence. This is your home."

-Missions are weird because they make you love little silly things. Like peanut butter. We didn't have PB in my first house, but I discovered it in the fridge this week and I just couldn't stop smelling it. I looked like the biggest weirdo ever, but it was like heaven in a jar.

-While we were contacting the other day a guy pulled up on his motorbike and said to me, "You look like a movie star! I had to circle back around because you look like someone in a movie! I don't remember which one, but I swear you do!" I was so surprised (I feel like I look super icky here all the time, considering I sweat non-stop) and flustered that I didn't think to use it as an opportunity to be a missionary. I just stood there. Next time … I'll be ready next time some guy feels the need to turn around and tell me I look like someone famous. :-p

-The bishop's son found out that I'm from Colorado, and he said, "Oh, marijuana is legal there, right?" Yes; yes it is. "That explains why you're so serious and calm. " Ha. Ha.

 

My new companion is the bee’s knees. She is such a blessing I can't even say. She's super patient, dedicated, loving, and tells me all the time to not worry about things I don’t know or my little mistakes or whatnot, which I need all the time. She's from Monterey, Mexico, as I mentioned, has been out for six months, and I just love her so much.

 

Another blessing: the Mission President and his wife. I went to a training session for all the newbies and they were there to run it and teach us. At the end while we were talking, Sister Munive said "Sometimes, you don't have to speak for the other person to hear and feel your testimony. People are converted when they're touched by the Spirit, never by our words." Talk about what I need when I need it!"

 

Tough as Mexico is, blessings come from every side!

 

Love you all!

Holy Crazy, Batman

June 9, 2014

 

Heeeeeyyyy!!!!! This week was, you guessed it … crazy!! I don´t even know where to start. First, Happy June! One month in Mexico and no sunburns yet!

 

Highlights:

-I was fed salad...with ketchup. And it´s not as gross as it sounds.

-One member who sells clothes fed us lunch this week and wouldn´t let us leave without taking a skirt or shirt. I have a lovely dark purple skirt.

-I had my first ward activity! It was a talent show, and it ranged from me being a vampire to an 11-year-old’s rendition of "What Does the Fox Say?" I totally sang along.

-Me being a vampire was a sketch, and it went like this: Two missionaries were walking and were cornered by a vampire. As a last request, the missionaries taught the vampire, and the vampire was converted and baptized. But one night the vampire reverted to her former ways and found someone to drink their blood. They tried to hold up a cross to protect themselves, but the vampire just said, "HA! Soy mormona!!"

-I´m getting better at spicy food.

-You can´t eat ice cream slowly. On that note, my cone almost fell on the ground, cartoon-style.

- I´m starting to get a Northern Mexican accent. That means that my ´ch´ sounds come out like ´sh´. Mushas gracias.

-A member told me that I´m like one of those really old photos – the vintage ones where no one smiles. Her daughter said I look like a porcelain doll ... apparently I´m an old soul here, too.

-Music in English is the worst. It gets stuck in my head. Mexican music goes in one ear and out the other.

-I think there is a universal magnet in all small children to all church stands/ pulpits.

-I am going to come home addicted to limes. I can eat them with salt now and hardly pucker my face. Like a boss.

-Today I had to go to another city for visa stuff, so I went with a senior missionary couple and we took a bus, the nice kind with potties and TVs, not the regular Mexican ones where they drive with the doors open (true story) and are missing windows. They showed The Hobbit and The Avengers. I was starting to worry my inner Nerd was dying. No worries; it´s alive and well. Also, Golum´s voice in Spanish is awesome.

 

OK, my favorite part of the week: I was on divisions in a different area (we had two divisions this week, and the second was really last-minute) and we went to an investigator´s house for the first time and at one point during the lesson he asked me if I could speak English, because he couldn´t tell because my accent was so good!! YAAAYYY!! Then, after then lesson, he wanted me to pray in English and so I did. And ‘lanta that was hard! Spanish totally slipped in there! Yay progress! I still struggle and there´s so much I can’t say, but it feels so good to know I am getting better!

 

I´m being transferred already! After four weeks! But it´s just one ward over, so not too drastic. Here´s hoping I did everything I was supposed to in Barrio Mayo. Barrio Sochiloa, here I come!

 

I love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

From your missionary in progress, 

Hermana Anderson

 

Perks of Being a White Girl

Perks of Being a White Girl

June 2, 2014

 

OK, I know the subject of this email might not sound very missionary-like, but it was a whole lot shorter than "People just randomly stop and talk to me and my companion(s) when we're waiting somewhere or just walking simply because I'm white and stick out, but that's a good thing because we want to talk to lots of people anyways!" That was just too long. Plus I got to semi use a pop culture reference (I don't have a lot of opportunities for that here. Weird) But seriously, SO many times this week. But, all but one of them have led to a contact/referral nearby. It's seriously been awesome to see.

 

OK, highlights:

-I bought yogurt one night for breakfast in the morning, but turns out it was pudding. I’m still working on my Spanish....

-I saw a man in his house using a brick for a pillow.

-My companion told a less active to turn to Adán, chapter 4....she meant Génesis. I just about died laughing.

-I had lunch in a house built for midgets! It was deceptive though, because the house appeared TOTALLY normal, until you got to the bathroom and sat on the toilet and your knees were almost to the wall.

-I saw a dead cat and a dead rooster in the road (On different occasions).

-I promise I do more than just look at dead animals.

-People like to use their English on me, no matter how much(or little) they know. In the past three weeks I have been asked far too many times, "Are you boring?" They meant bored...I hope.

-Brothers and sisters are the same everywhere. We had lunch with a family yesterday and for dessert we had Oreos. When the brother went to put them away, the sister held her hand out for one and said "wait, I didn't get one." He grabbed her hand, shook it, and said "Nice to meet you." They're 24 and 26.

-For the first time in my life I had the thought "I want an umbrella hat." Wait, not true; the first time since I saw Bill Murray with one in the movie Space Jam.

 

Other than these and other adventures (like the tree that a bunch of cockroaches kept falling out of) this week has been hot and full of humidity and humility. At least I'm trying to be humble. It's not so easy. That's why Heavenly Father sent me here – to sweat the pride out of me.

Also, because I know it's super important, here's me ghetto-eating a waffle the district leaders made (it’s ghetto because we had paper towels for plates and no forks. Woot woot).

 

 

 

 

 

Also again, turns out that I am rubbish at washing clothes by hand, but I still feel super proud of me for doing it. (And also I hope they are actually clean).

 

Love you all!!!

 

Hermana Anderson