Hola Familia!
Sadly, our teachers are receiving a new district tomorrow so
we don't know yet what we're going to be doing. It seems there was a glitch in
communication between scheduling and travel, so we're going to the consulate in
Salt Lake City on Thursday (I don't know why we aren't going to Vegas). But the
ball is rolling so I'm satisfied.
Spanish is lovely. I love speaking it. I can't wait to
really and truly be speaking it all the time again, and I'm really really
grateful that I already know it because I have seen missionaries struggle with
it, and it makes it harder to focus on what they're really hear to learn: the
language of the Spirit (yup, cliche used all the time in the MTC phrase, but it
really is the only thing that encompasses the right image I'm trying to
convey).
This past week: I learned that MTC apple pie is NOT as good
as I expect it to be when I look at it. Unfortunately I've had to learn that
lesson multiple times. It's not bad, it's basically the same filling as the
mini-kind from the front of Costco, but I'm spoiled rotten by delicious food
from my childhood. The food really is pretty good. If you ever ate at the
cannon center, then you know pretty much what it's like. I feel sometimes like
I'm back to my freshman year. Except I have a calling, am set apart and wear
the name of Christ on a badge above my heart - that's a little different.
The cafeteria on main campus is literally four or five times
the size of ours. We ate there twice on Friday for our in-field orientation,
which was AWESOME (in Field orientation - the food was pretty standard MTC
fare). I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to serve with the Ward
Missionaries, because a lot of the information there seemed like a review, so
I'm hoping that will help me hit the ground running once all of the Visa stuff
gets solved. It was a reminder to me to be a missionary people will want to
refer their friends to, and made me ask myself, will I be willing to trust the
missionaries with my friends when I am not a missionary? I honestly don't have
an answer to that right now, and I probably won't for another year and a half.
I hope I will, because missionary work is impossible without the members being
involved.
Yesterday we had a substitute teacher for our evening class
because our normal teacher was in California for the weekend - an opportunity
came up for her to visit her mission, so she took it. It was cool for us, too,
because her progressing investigator character Raquel, who we came to love a
lot, is one of the people she will be visiting while she's there. (She probably
is already back, but we haven't seen her). ANYWAY - the substitute teacher,
from Puebla, actually served in the Tuxtla Gutierrez Mission under the
president that is there now. She says that it's absolutely beautiful. Hot, but
beautiful. Sorry, mom, I didn't ask all of the questions you probably wanted me
to, but we were in class, so I think it's excusable.
** Note of explanation: for teaching practice, we have the
Teaching Resource Center, which is mostly staffed by volunteers, but our main
teaching experiences are with our teachers. They think of a person, often an
investigator they taught on their mission, and act as them, 'progressing
investigators'.
One of the coolest things has been teaching our progressing
investigator Julio, because Hermano Williams goes home and teaches his
non-member friend April the things that we teach Julio who is based on April.
We took a picture of the two companionships teaching Julio for him to show her.
Dad asked about gym time - usually we've been going into the
second bubble, which has the ellyptical (sp? I don't know) and bike machines,
plus weights. My shoulders and elbows haven't been hurting since I got here, I
think the weight lifting is doing it's job. My hands haven't been hurting
either, which has really reinforced my theory that the repetitive motion jobs
were what did me in.
Yesterday though, my companion and I joined a game of
volleyball in the third bubble (I still haven't been in the first one). My
first serve was absolutely horrendous (which I told my team it would be) but I
actually did pretty well as the game went on. I even hit it over the net a few
times during the course of a volley, not just during a serve. It was fun, and I
think we might play again in gym time tomorrow.
It's been raining today. It started out sunny, but when we
came out of the temple it was overcast and drizzling. I'm the oddball, and it
makes me really happy, because a) it reminds me of home and b) it means it's
not cold enough to snow so I won't freeze in my Mexico-ready wardrobe.
My favorite part of P-day is going to the temple. Getting
emails from you, especially with the advice, gives me warm fuzzies, but being
in the House of the Lord is just so restful. That rest is much needed. I'm
grateful for your advice though, both of you. I wrote it down so I can refer to
it more often than on P-day, because I think it'll come in handy.
I love you all. Give Isabel a hug from me, and Ben also if
he'll accept it, if not whack him. (softly, and tell him he's not allowed to
retaliate).
Love,
Hermana Juliana