I pray life is
treating you well wherever you find yourself this week. I know school/college
is starting back up for many of you and I hope that this new year has been
smooth sailing so far! I can't believe it has only been three, YES THREE,
days since my parents dropped me off (seriously, we pulled up and a sister
missionary helped me get out my bags, I hugged my family one last time, and she
left with me in tow... all this happened in like, 2 minutes MAX) at the
Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Feels like weeks. Since then, it has
been a whirlwind of Spanish and the Gospel. Right after I arrived, I dropped of
my bags in the Residence Hall and went to class. Talk about drinking from a
firehose. Spanish. The Gospel in Spanish. Spanish. The Gospel in Spanish.
Spanish. All day, Every day. Our teacher only speaks in Espanol and half the
time he gets blank/confused stares. Even though I feel whelmed (not
overwhelmed, simply whelmed) I testify that the gift of tongues is REAL. The
amount I have been able to learn, retain, and use is amazing. Thank goodness I
have 6 weeks here before I head to Atlanta.
My companions are
Hermana (women on missions have the title of Sister ____ but in Spanish, the
word for sister is hermana) Paskins and Hermana Esplin. They are both from
Utah, Hermana Paskins is from Draper, Utah (haha) and she played on the Utah
Valley University soccer team before leaving on her mission. Hermana Esplin is
from Sandy, Utah and is the sweetest human. They are both so patient, kind and
are beautiful examples of Christ. Hermana Paskins is headed to San Diego,
California and Hermana Esplin is headed to Des Moines, Iowa!
In my district, there
are also 6 Elders (young men on missions have the title of Elder). They are
great. They keep class VERY entertaining.
We taught our second
lesson today IN SPANISH to our investigator Erika. She is a student at the
college here and she is interested in learning more about the Gospel. It is
difficult to teach in Spanish when my knowledge of the language is slim, but
tonight, oh my goodness, the Spirit was so strong in the room as we testified
of God's love for all of His children, including her. Especially her. In our
last lesson she had told us that God didn't love her, He loved everyone else,
but because she had done so much wrong she felt He didn't love her. We told the
stories of the Prodigal Son and The Lost Sheep (in Luke 15) and then the story
of Alma the Younger (Mosiah 27 in the Book of Mormon). When we were talking to
her about Alma the Younger and his experience with repentance, she was so
focused. We referenced Isaiah 1:18 about
how our sins can be as scarlet but through Christ they can become as white as
snow. The Spirit was there as she prayed for the first time with us. Hearing
her express her desire to have a change of heart and return to Him brought
tears to all of our eyes. It was a humbling experience, and all in Spanish.
Even with our poor Spanish and struggling to figure out how to say things, the
Spirit was there. The Holy Ghost taught Erika of the truthfulness of the
Gospel, not us.
I love this beautiful
work that I am about. Yes, it is difficult. Yes, I struggle. But I know that
through Christ I can do all things. Each of us are here on this earth for a
purpose and I am so grateful that I made the decision to serve a mission. To
share a glorious message. I testify that no matter what you are going through,
God loves you and no matter how far you may stray, Christ's Atonement is
Infinite. President Thomas S. Monson said: "God's love is there for you
whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there."
Con Amor,
Hermana Draper
PS: Funny Moments,
because let's be honest, I love those:
In class, one Elder
was saying the word for desk. The word in Spanish is pupitre. Except he pronounced
it poopy-tray. That Was Marvelous.
My companions and I were
walking into the cafeteria for lunch and we walked past an Elder who was
sitting at one of the lunch tables... we stopped and did a double take. He had
9 bowls of cereal in front of him!!! All lined up, three by three and filled to
the brim with frosted flakes. We walked past again just to check on his
progress and the guy was sweating bullets and choking down his sixth bowl... I
guess it was a dare?
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