Week 1 - Buenos Aires CCM

Wow! There is so much to write and so much that has happened and only an hour in my email time! In case you haven't figured out by today, my Preparation Day is on Thursday! Please forgive all incorrect grammar. Keyboards are weird down here! Also, it seems my English has to go kaput before I can learn Español. 

Alrighty! This week has been one of the hardest, but most amazing weeks of my life! I can't wait for more! 

I felt crazily serene the entire traveling process. So, when I got to Atlanta, I landed in terminal D and I had to go to E, so it was so easy and didn't take long to find my next flight. I immediately saw tons of missionaries right by my little flight terminal thingy too. It was easy to find them because they were all in skirts or suits and were talking English not Spanish  Everyone else was talking Spanish around our terminal. The plane to Buenos Aires was HUGE! The food was pretty good that they fed us and, all things considered, the sleeping wasn't that bad as long as I cranked my neck at a 90 degree angle. haha 

We got to Buenos Aires and went through crazy customs and people not understanding a lick of English, and us not understanding a lick of Spanish  and finally saw two guys standing with a sign that looked like our church logo, but with the letters all mixed up. Turns out, they didn't sent any English speakers to pick us up, so it was confusing but so fun! We all ran out to some little buses and two guys threw our luggage into one while we piled into the other. When they finished putting up our luggage they put out their hands and said "Tips! Tips" so many missionaries threw out fives and tens.  $1 equals fifteen pesos here. The driving was crazy, but we got to the CCM safely! 

 

We were assigned to our companions. I am in a threesome with Regen Simmons and Molly Sabolsky (the nurse my friend told me about before I left! What are the chances?) The rest of the day we waited in a room to be interviewed by the CCM president. We got to go to sleep an hour early on Thursday and Friday because they knew we were jet lagged! There are only 75 missionaries at this CCM and most of them are Latinos. It is so fun to have such a small amount of people. The food at the CCM is AMAZING! But they give us huge portions!  They give us a piece of steak that's probably the size of a baby doll and an equally large serving of pasta or papas fritas with dulce de leche pudding or flan. It is so yummy! 

I am only allowed to take pictures on Sundays during an allotted time and we aren't allowed to send pictures from the CCM computers because it will crash the system. I will send them when I get out in the field. 

I absolutely love my companeras! They are so amazing! We have had our ups and downs this week because of stress, but we have been there for each other to help each other get going again. They are so sweet and have a great love of the gospel! And they're just really funny! 

The CCM president is hilarious. He is extremely animated. He is shorter than I am and always smiling the biggest smile you have ever seen. He is from Utah and so is his wife. They are just the sweetest, happiest people ever. 

Right now, I sleep in a room with 8 other Hermanas. Only two of them are Latina and one speaks English!! It is so fun being with these amazing, strong spirited girls! It's been a little cold lately. The water here does taste good. They filter it at the CCM and it tastes like strawberries a little bit. 

I think since there is sooooooooo much that happens in one week, each email will be "What is good, what is easy, what is difficult?" It seems I do not have nearly as much time as I thought I would have to email and I feel like I have done a month's worth of stuff in a week. 

What is good? What isn't good! Everything is so beautiful here! One of my teachers has a huge personality and is so good at speaking Spanish so that we can understand it instead of fast and with huge words. I love my district! I am with them pretty much 24/7. The food is great and I have started playing volleyball and enjoying because it's not competitive. I love the spirit that I feel here and that everyone is so nice and willing to help us learn. 

What is easy? Eating! The food is great! Did I mention that? Because it is yummy! Also, I think that gospel classes are fairly easy in comparison to everything else. It is also very easy to fall asleep at night! It's like I hit the pillow and I am out!

What is difficult? Spanish. It is so hard to keep all of the Spanish words straight. And not just that, it is hard for me to open my mouth and practice like I need to. I am definitely learning to do that, but it is harder than I thought. I am learning that the gift of tongues, or any gift from God does not always come easy. It is usually something that we have to put our entire heart and effort into. When we fall short after we put all of our effort in, then God makes up for what we could not do on our own. It seems I have to unlearn English before I can learn Spanish. It will be fun to continue on doing this! It is a such a miracle, really, all of the Spanish that we have learned already! BTW my two favorite words are servilleta: napkin and entonces: so. I like servilleta because of the Argentine accent of jzh for the LL's. 

Oh yeah! I went to the temple today! It was Spanish session, so it was hard to catch on to what exactly was gong on, but I am glad I got to go so often in Baton Rouge before now so that I could understand what I did get. The temple is beautiful here! 

 

Spiritual thought of the day: Alma 31: 35 

"Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee."

When we are on the Lord's errand we need to make sure that our heart is in the right place with charity for the people we are meant to serve. That has been a verse that the teachers have been reading to us a lot this week

I love you guys! The next group for the computer lab is waiting outside already! 

See ya in no time! 

Hermana Sant

Pictures attributed to google.