Hermana Vernon-Called to Serve: Week #3

Hey hey family! Thanks again for an amazing email. I had a great week! The homesickness is sooo much better and I am really starting to enjoy my time here. I wish I had more time to answer all of your questions but I will try my best.

Thursday we went to Interpol to work on our visas. We took a car ride to a different part of the city. We were able to see more of the neighborhoods and they truly build their houses right up the mountains. When we got to Interpol we had to wait in line for a few hours. We of course got some strange looks, but I am learning very quickly that the Peruvian people are very nice. We had to get our teeth checked, which I don't quite understand why, but they took us into this room one by one and had us lay in this old chair while some guy practically stuck his face in our mouth. I passed, and they took our fingerprints and we are one step closer to getting a Peruvian ID.

Today we went to the temple again and it was beautiful. We took the younger group with us and showed them around the city. It's crazy that today is my half way mark of my time at the CCM! it feels like I have been here a day and also for years. I really am starting to love it here and I'm thankful for the experiences I am having.

I wear my hair curly every day becuase of the crazy humidity. On Wednesday I straightened my hair (or tried to) and 3 or 4 different elders in my district asked me if I did something different with my hair. I was told I looked like a model off of a hair commercial. haha. So I guess I look a little different with curly hair. So to answer a few questions….We have a fireside about once a week. There are only 90 missionaries in the CCM right now so we are a pretty small group. All the firesides are in Spanish, but they give us headphones to wear. However, I am trying my best to use them less and I am surprised how much I actually understand. I use my Spanish scriptures in all the lessons we teach, as well as during personal study. I am glad we bought them before because they really come in handy. The Spanish continues to improve. It's really hard, but I am working harder. Today in the temple I listened to the whole session in Spanish. I felt the spirit so strongly and it was amazing how much I understood. The gift of tongues is real. I am getting braver talking in Spanish as well. When we teach our lessons I feel like I can speak a little more freely and I love it. We got a new teacher this week and I love her! She is just the cutest. She is a very powerful speaker but also so loving. She loves my curly hair so whenever we have breaks in class she asks if she can play with it. My district is super close and it's nice to feel like I have a little family here away from home. The girls in my district (same girls in my room) are wonderful. We are all so different, but that's the reason why it works so well. Four of us are from Utah, and one is from Florida. However, we all went to BYU at the same time so that's kinda funny. We have a lot of fun, but we also work hard. They are very dedicated girls and that helps us focus on the reason why we are here. I will miss them when we separate in three weeks. I am sending home a picture today of them.

Thank you for the Valentine's day cards! I loved reading them. I especially loved Dad's Spanish card. The cafeteria gave us a little Valentine's day treat so it was a good day. The days are starting to go by soo fast. Because the days are all so similar, they start to blend together. Classes are getting more enjoyable though because I am starting to understand more Spanish.

I don't get to play the piano a ton because a lot of the missionaries here play, but I have a few times. Thank you parents for making me stick with piano lessons. The hymns in Spanish are so beautiful. I recommend looking up "Nearer my God to Thee" in Spanish. It's beautiful.

One of the Elders in my group is from Gilbert, Arizona and knows Shawna and Brett. It's funny how many little connections we make here in the CCM. Because most of us went to BYU or are from Utah we all find a way to connect somehow. It's so cool.

Sorry you guys have been sick! Luckily I am still feeling very healthy here. The food is getting a little old, arroz y pollo cada dia, but i still like it. They treat us very well here. I think being here is a completely different experience then going to the Provo MTC.

Sister Beatty and I continue to get along and work together really well! She really is a great companion. She is a lot more outgoing than me, but I think we balance each other out. During our lessons we work well together though. She knows a lot more Spanish than I do, but she is patient with me and lets me teach, even when she could do it a little better.

I am finding joy in the little things. Each day I feel the Spirit so strongly. We have been learning how to teach with the Spirit and during one of our lessons this week I finally understood what that means. I have the first vision in Spanish memorized, and I shared it in our lesson. After I finished I bore my testimony and I could feel the Spirit so strongly.

Yo se que el evangelio de JesuCristo es verdadero. Yo se que Jose Smith fue un profeta de Dios y trabuje el libro de mormon con de poder de Dios. Nostros somos hijos de Dios y el tiene un plan para nos.

I love you guys! I feel your support daily. I will send you a few pictures and tell you a few more things about the week. I hope I am writing enough so you can experience my stay here at the CCM along side of me.

I love you guys!

Hermana Vernon