November 17, 2010

Hola Mi Familia!!!
Como están? I am glad to here everything is settling down over
there in Arizona for you, Mom and Dad. That sounds like quite the
chore to clear all those boxes. I know I´m not there to keep a
watchful eye out for all the scorpions, so I hope you have not had any
attacks yet! And I love that you got chicks!! How cute! Remember
Peanut and Roadrunner? Mom, I bet you are a good mother hen with your

new pets :) How many do you have? Oh and hearing that you went to

Rosa´s I almost shed a tear. Not that I don´t love the rice and more
rice, but I could go for a bean burrito!

This week has been...wow...great, difficult, wonderful,
stressful...everything! But first I must appologize for my last
letter. I hope I wasn´t too explicit in my use of the word "hell" and
I thought about it after that that probably wastn´t good missionary

language, but I thought our family would think it was funny. Sorry if that was

offensive! I continue to say offensive things on accident here! Oh my.

But still, sorry about that!
How is everything else? Are you all getting ready for Turkey Day!!
I hear we get a Thanksgiving feast even though the old pilgrims didn´t
land here, so we will see what that entails. Probably rice with a side
of rice! Ha, just kidding. It´s just dandy.
Well this week has been...wow! Last Thursday was probably one of
the tougher days here so far. Our whole district seemed so discouraged
with the language and it seemed like every head in our room was
hanging down. That night after we got back from teaching lessons to
each other, we bore testimony to each other of the reality of the
power of God and that with him, we can do anything. What started out
being a rough day, ended to be such a faith-building day. Then,
Saturday we got on a bus early in the morning and drove about 3 hours
north of here to a place called Huaral (I think) and it was past the
beach and the scenery on the way there was beautiful. We went there to
meet the members, teach less active members of the church, and to find
those searching for our message! It was so wonderful. In the morning
we left with a member(me and my companion Hermana Luquez) and we went
and started to knock doors...I knocked my first door as a missionary!!
Wahoo! But the funny thing was that I didn't understand one thing
that they said. I probably looked like a dear in the headlights to all
the people because I didn´t even understand when they would say the
simplest question, "De donde es?" I would just smile and say, "si"
which is not a good idea. They would just laugh. So quickly I became
mute and I let the others do the talking. By lunch we met up with all
the missionaries again in our group at the church to regroup. I was
feeling myself becoming frustrated that I didn't understand anything
and everyone was telling about their neat experiences and we knocked
and knocked more doors in the morning. I decided that I wouldn´t get
frustrated, but that I would just accept the fact that I couldn´t
speak and just enjoy the day, taking everything in and I´d let the
others do all the talking. So after lunch we went with my teacher,
Hermana Flores, to a less active members house and we were there for a
while. I could tell she loved the church and the missionaries, but I
had no idea what was going on. Then my companion, the member, and my
teacher were all crying and bearing testimonies and I didn´t know why.
Then they asked me to bare mine but I had no idea what to center my
testimony on for her. As we left the house, my eyes filled with tears
because I wanted so badly to help this sweet lady but I did not
understand anything or have the words to help her. I just thought,
"Why am I even here if I cant talk to them!" And I thought that this
would be the time I could cry because everyone else was and they´d
just assume I was crying because I was touched. But then I remembered
a promise I had made to myself before coming on a mission. I promised
that I would not let the language get the best of me. i would not let
it get to me because it takes time to learn a language. So I said a
silent prayer and I had this feeling that everything was going to be
okay. I then had this thought that Heavenly Father did not send me
here to fill the space in a chair...like I was planning to do the
whole day. He called me to preach the gospel and he promises us in the
scriptures that since he called us, he will qualify us. That when we
open our mouths, he will fill it with the words we need. So I pulled
myself together and we went and taught this sweet man in his store. We
taught him about Joseph Smith and the Book for Mormon. I actually
understood about 25% of what was going on and I was able to testify
more and not sit on my testimony. After that, we went to the home of
Leoncio who was taught the first lesson once before and who is
investigating the church. It was wonderful. I understood much of what
he was saying and I was able to teach a lot more. The spirit was so
strong and I could tell what we were saying was making sense to him.
It was a wonderful experience. I finally feel like a real missionary
being able to teach other people than missionaries! I just feel that
we have so much work to do becuase this message about the gospel,
families being together forever, and Christ's atonement for us is so
wonderful and important. I am so very happy to be a missionary....now
all I need to do is study more and more spanish!! But from that day on
I promised myself that I would not hold my tongue for lack of words.
My companion is wonderful and we have a lot of fun together. We
laugh a lot. She is so good at helping me understand and giving me the
opportunity to teach....and then exercising patience with me when I do
teach. She knows the scriptures very well and it motivates me to study
them better. Elder Ballard said in the talk right before I left the
provo MTC that when we know the doctrine better, we can teach with
greater conviction. I want that. But I feel so lucky that I have such
an understanding companion. She leaves next week and I´m sad, but
change is a part of the mission! Next week all the Latinos leave and
all the advacned missionaries leave that were here when we got here.
So that means next Tuesday and Wednesday will only be the Americans
that all flew here the same day 2 weeks ago-with me. That is about 24
of us and Hermana Garlock and I will be the only two advanced sisters
(that's what they call the people that are on their last 3 weeks in
the MTC). Next wednesday we get to tour Peru and go to the beach and
to touristy things!
Word has already leaked that I am a nurse and so the MTC
president's wife already has me doing duties for her (don't worry
Dad, no dead-guy duty)! The doctor here is the doctor for several
missions so he is gone a lot. So this week I got to give a sister
antibiotic injections for an infection. Pretty good stuff. I have
sisters coming to my room to check their throats and feel their
foreheads. I do love it!
Honestly, I hope you are all doing so well. I love being a
missionary and I know I say that all the time, but I do. I know I am
supposed to be here with all my heart! Every day I feel more and more
the reality of this church and I love testifying that Joseph Smith
actually did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and that this church
is the same as it was when Christ was on the earth. Oh, nothing
better. I feel I am changing so much already and I am continually
humbled by the love of the Lord. I hope you never doubt His love. It
is real and tangible and the power of Christ's Atonment is just as
real. I love him so much. It has already changed me much more than I
even knew I could. I am learning to be more patient with myself and
others. I am humbled by the people. They have nothing, but seem to
have everything.
Thank you for your love and support. I can feel your prayers and I
pray for you all during every day!
Te amo,
kate