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| My district at the CCM |
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| at the CCM |
23
June 2014
Familia!
As
you know, I'm in Los Andes near Calle Larga. Supposedly our area isn't on
Google maps but you can check. I'm so glad I get to be here instead of the big
city at first because it is so much easier to approach and talk to people in a
small town setting. People are more warm and chatty here than in Santiago and
patient with my Spanish. I know this isn't a third world country or anything
but the neighborhood where I live still shocks me. The houses are the size of
mobile homes and don't have heating. Most people use a tiny stove to warm up so
the air is very polluted and smells like camping. I need to take the picture of
my call opening out of my brag book before I show members because I don't even
want to show them our fireplace, which we don't even need to use except for
fun, and painted walls, and carpet, and beautifully framed pictures. None of
those things exist here. We do have bikes but we haven't used them yet because
we mostly just walk.
Hermana
Dodds is the best! She reminds me so much of Lauren, I can't even explain it.
The first day I was super tired and I kept thinking, "What if this is
actually Lauren?" Perhaps if I hadn't seen Lauren recently I would have
asked. Hermana Dodds is so positive. She says that our area is a place of
miracles. She is grateful for every tiny detail of our mission and expresses it
often. She made me pancakes the first day while I showered.
Flashback.
I forgot to tell you about the plane ride. I sat by a Hungarian geography
professor. He spoke little English but was fascinated by the landscape and
loved taking pictures out the window. I had the Spanish Liahona with me and
showed him pictures of temple square which he had visited. He looked at the
picture of the apostles and asked how many wives they had... He also visited
national parks like Bryce and it was fun to see his pictures and talk to him
about Utah because he loves geography and was obsessed with everything.
A
lady on the plane in front of us heard that we were missionaries and gave
Hermana Clark and me twenty dollars and another twenty to the elders across the
aisle. We thanked her and she looked toward the sky and said, "I just do
what I'm told." People are so generous.
At
the CCM we woke up at 6:45 to "Called to Serve" over speakers every
morning. On my P day hours we went to the AMM, a tiny distribution center where
I bought Spanish scriptures. Hermana Mota and I took some pictures at the park
where we exercise.
I
was the surprise speaker in church on the 15th at the CCM. I spoke on diligence
and obedience in Spanish. The same day I played the piano for a morning
devotional and sang a duet of "Beautiful Savior" with Hermana Resek
for the evening devotional, it's the same song I sang with Haley in our student
ward. Thank her for the music for me.
The
food in the CCM was a choose your own adventure story of carbs. Bread, rice,
potatoes, mashed potatoes, pasta, bread, bread, bread. Then you could choose
meat. Mostly carbs. Breakfast was bread with jam, bread with ham and cheese,
bread with scrambled eggs, bread with manjar (I love manjar, it's like caramel
nutella).
Now
I am in Los Andes. We took a bus from the mission home and arrived late in the
evening. We left my suitcases at our house (it's a house!) and the first thing
we did was buy produce down the street. Pears, grapes, bananas, oranges,
squash, cucumbers, peas, and that night I ate my first Chilean avocado. I know
I was called to the right place.
The
days are so warm. I don't believe it's winter. But nighttime is freezing. Last
night I wore two pairs of yoga pants, thermals, and pajama pants with
a jacket to bed. I also have about seven blankets. We do have a space heater
but we aren't allowed to keep it running at night.
We
take colectivos often, little taxis with set routes. It costs about 500 pesos,
one dollar. We use them when we go to church on Sunday, district meetings
during the week, and on P days like today. Wednesday we had a district meeting
and after I had my first Chilean empanada. 3 to 6 that day was a World Cup game
and we had to stay indoors during those hours but trust me, we knew how the
game was going because when Chile scored it was so loud. We're allowed to go
out today but it's just as crazy because Chile is playing the Netherlands. My
mission vs. your mission, Dad!
The
President asks us to make 10 contacts per day, 70 per week, per missionary.
That's 140 per companionship. It counts as a contact only if you invite someone
to learn more about the church and ask to meet with them later. It's not enough
to just talk about the church, you have to invite them to listen to a lesson. I
made 27 contacts this week. It wasn't 70 but it's a start.
My companion and I taught a lady, Regina, who is an older woman with a house full of things she knits and crochets. Hermana Dodds wants to learn how so we're going to try to buy knitting needles today and make scarves or something easy.
Have a great week! Thanks for the mail!
Love,
Hermana Eva VanCott
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