Week 4 from the CCM

Hey everyone!!

Only two weeks more in the CCM. Everything is going pretty well here at the CCM. This week wasn’t too crazy or as exciting as some others but there has been a lot of growth for me. First off, I started to read only stuff in Spanish and not in English, so I am trying to grow in my Spanish learning faster by doing this. So I have finished 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon and it is so awesome to understand parts of what I am reading, so that is an improvement. Also I have started to study the Predicad Mi Evangelio only in Spanish, so my vocab is growing just from studying that for an hour a day at least. My grammar classes are going well also. I learned so much from my lessons and I have been able to practice them a lot with the Latinos in the CCM right now, so more practice.

Elder Larkin, my companion, and I are doing pretty well. No problems have ever arose between us. He isn't catching onto the language as much but I am trying my best to help him out. Our lessons with the investigators are going well, we have the Restauración lesson down pat and we have been getting better at teaching the Plan de Salvación also. We are still trying to be the best at lessons but sometimes it is so hard to say something in Spanish that you know so well in English.

Also in our district, we got new teachers in the morning yet again! So we have two female maestras for the morning class now. They are so nice and are really sweet to our whole district. They will be our teachers the last two weeks I am here. But our district is so crazy at times. We probably have the craziest one and sometimes that gets in the way of the spirit in our classes. We have gotten better over the last week though, and it is pretty crazy still, but we have learned to be more reverent. I’m trying my best to keep my sanity around some of them, but we have gotten so close and just love each other.
Also another thing that has occurred is that we got new roommates yet again because our Latino roommates left after their two weeks. So we got 3 new roommates in our room and they are all Latinos again. So more practice with Spanish for me again! It is actually quite helpful. But we haven't talked to them much yet.

Also, we got to go to the temple again today and again it is such a blessing to be able to visit the house of the Lord. So amazing inside and I will definitely miss the opportunity I have to go here in the CCM when I don't have a temple in Cusco to go to. So it was my fourth time going to the Lima Temple here. We shopped around after at the store. I got a lot of snacks as usual, but everything is so cheap here. The Peruvian sol is like 3 soles for 1 American dollar. So I can buy a pack of cookies for about a dollar here. So I am enjoying that for sure. haha If anyone wants me to buy them something, it is pretty cheap here, haha.

Oh and on another note, something I found out was so weird. Another Hermana here at the CCM also has a family of 14 kids!! How crazy is that!? I just though it was so weird because I was always the one with the biggest family around, so definitely weird. Well, most of the weeks to come will be pretty quick and my time here in Lima is coming to an end. Crazy to think I have been here for 1 MONTH, WOW!

Miss you guys like crazy! I can definitely feel all your prayers for sure! I just want to let everyone know that I love you guys! I am trying my best to learn the language and get ready for Cusco, but at times it is hard. But I know that with the help of prayer and with the help my Savior Jesus Christ I can get through this. This is definitely one of the hardest things I have done and it really hasn't even started yet, but I am so excited to get out in the field. But next week will be my last email to you guys at the CCM because I leave the next week and I wont be able to email that week since I will be transferring to Cusco. So I hope all of you guys are doing well and are blessed. Love you! Talk to you guys next week!


PS-------  Watch the video “Missionary Work and the Atonement” on Youtube!! So goood!! Definitely a humbling video.