Well, it happened! I got sick! And I'm not surprised, they
just stick the tubs of peanut butter and nutella out there on the tables and
you just sort of end up going at it and who knows how many people double dip.
Yeah, it's a great life ;) We pretty much worship peanut butter and nutella
here. They finally got syrup up in this joint so that's a blessing since we've
had to pull a tres leches deal and pour yogurt on our waffles or pancakes
sometimes. Usually I just went with the pb and nutella option though of course.
So now we're just waiting for the mantequilla to make its debut.
So I just have
like cold symptoms so it really isn't bad. But the other night!!! Goodness, I
thought I was going to have to come home I was feeling so sick. I went to bed
on the top bunk above Hermana B2 cuz it was empty and I was like what the heck
why not?! So everything was great and I don't hit my head on the bunk anymore
obviously. So I was falling asleep when of course.....attack of the mosquitos!!! So
dumb. It was just one but it started like going all crazy and flying around my
head like they always do, trying to chew my face off so I went into like cocoon
survival mode and had only my head exposed. So somehow I fell asleep. Then BAM.
I woke up at about 12:40 and felt SO sick it wasn't funny. I was just like what
the heck is wrong with my body?!?! I felt so bloated and nasty. I went to the
bathroom after realizing I was not just going to "shake this" as Troy
Bolton so quaintly puts it in the chorus of that one basketball song in High
School Musical. So I climbed down and parked myself next the toilet,
and....nothing. Of course. I was just like seriously, whatever this is, needs
to get out of my body so I tried and nothing happened. So I went back to sleep
on the bottom bunk again with the trash can next to me. The bed wasn't made
but I didn't care, I just grabbed a blanket and then like two minutes later I
started feeling nasty again so I went and nothing happened. Joy. I mean gozo :)
So I went back and tried to fall asleep and then I got these horrible chills. I
got so freaked out. Meanwhile a nurse is sleeping right above me and I didn't
even think to wake her up. Leave it to me to not want to wake someone up
when I feel like junk. So I somehow fell asleep and woke up as if nothing
happened. I just felt super tired. Then I was like "maybe nothing happened!!
and it was all a dream!" then I was like "oh yeah, minor detail, I
woke up in another bed". So now I only have like a runny nose and I'm a
little achy and sneezy but it's all good! We just make sure to pray for salud!
So if y'all are praying for me, thank you!!! I sneezed at least like 12 times
yesterday though during TALL. Sorry if these sick details are TMI, but we've
honestly realized that there is no such thing as TMI in a companionship or just
on a mission in general. You get so close to your companions in such a short
time its not even funny. HAH! I love it!!!
 |
| Me singing to MoTab :) |
I also love Motab! It saves me every
day! Here is my typical playlist :) Cuz y'all totally care :)
1. On this day of joy and gladness (TOP FAVE)
2. Lord dismiss us with thy blessing (PRETTY MUCH THE SAME
AMOUNT OF FAV)
3. Praise to the Lord the almighty (its just always been in
my top faves)
4. Did you think to pray (good reminder and so pretty!)
5. Lord we ask thee ere we part (close second #totesdef)
6. Lead kindly light (that "the night is dark and I am
far from home part? Yeah, gets us everytime)
7. Faith in every footstep (if you feel like crying)
8. Abide with me tis eventide (as a missionary, its just so
applicable)
9. We thank thee oh God for a prophet (the chords are just
amazing)
10. Where can I turn for peace? (always a goodie)
But you have to listen to the Motab conference versions,
none of those weird congregation ones :) There is no better choir, so proud :) Seriously
though, go listen to them. All of them. #missionarymusic #motabrocks
SO I LED THE MUSIC IN FRONT OF LIKE ROUGHLY A THOUSAND
MISSIONARIES. It was like the sickest thing I've ever done! It was so
empowering. I LOVED IT. I can't even describe the feeling and I love how that
keeps happening, having feelings I can't even describe. But really though
Heavenly Father answers prayers because just the Sunday before I was thinking
"dang that would be so cool to say a prayer or conduct or play the piano for all these missionaries"...wait for it ;) So then the other day
during gym, Hermana B2 wanted to find this guy Melchizedek, yeah that's his
name...she wanted to find him cuz he makes
these like $40 scripture cases for missionaries here but they're leather and it
would totes get ruined in Honduras so we're opting out of that and just getting
some in Honduras. So we were in the Joseph F. Smith building and I'm chillin'
there with Hermana B pumping some iron in the lobby while we wait when
this lady from upstairs yells down to us and is like "Missionaries! Please
I need you up here!" and of course my natural instinct is
like "I didn't do it! What did I do?!" So my heart starts
pounding again even though we had just been running hah. Then she's like
"Who plays the piano perfectly?" and I'm like "I can
lead!!!!!!" SO I DID IT YOU GUYS!!!! I lead the music and Hermana B
played the piano and Hermana B2 held the hymn book for her while she
played. I couldn't help but smile the whole time! None of the Natives meet
with us during those big meetings because the meetings are in inglés so
they just go have separate ones but apparently the max in that auditorium
is roughly a thousand. It was seriously the coolest thing ever. We sang Called
to Serve in español of course and then I am a Child of God later. LOVED IT.
FUNNY: So of course the Hermana B2 moment of the week
was when we hadn't been outside for like 30 seconds when a bug tried to fly down her throat, so all the sudden she is just like spitting
frantically onto the ground. Good times. We do weekly service on Fridays and
cada semana it's turned into service in the kitchen....with wait for it...HAIR
NETS. Yeahhhh we all looks like bosses. So one of the times we had to mop so
Hermana B asked the guy in charge if we needed to put
"sopa" into the bucket instead of saying "jabón". Sopa is
of course "soup" in Spanish, so we had a good laugh. Something else
I've loved is that we sometimes get called the "triplets" by our
branch president or the "tria" instead of a "trio" since
we're girls :) I really love that one....everyone thinks we're sisters or like
twins since we all apparently have the same hair color ;)
Oh I also sanitized a couple pens this
week. We sent around a card for Elder M's gma that lives here cuz she
literally sent us food three times this week. She is a miracle worker and
totally saved us all. I sent a pen around with the thank you card from home :)
And after the pen went around I drowned it in hand sanitizer. People
made fun but I was like "hey, about half of you are sick, and I'm not so
laugh all you want!" And of course I still got sick. I did the same thing
after Hermana B2 borrowed my pen the other day cuz she was like sticking
the end of it in her mouth a bit :) We also play hangman sometimes
during language study but to keep it missionary appropes, instead of hanging
someone, the investigator starts heading out the door #missionaryprobs
#youknowit It's pretty clever honestly.
Something funny that has been happening
is after we're done with meals we'll just be like "you gonna eat
that?" but we'll do it in like a creepy voice and it's just hilarious. So
usually I'm the fat friend of the tria and I'll like eat someone's flan they
don't want cuz I'm convinced I wont get sugar in Honduras. #whatevs!! I swear I
laugh SO MUCH here. Especially with Hermana B2. I am going to miss her SO
much. I love that.
#shouldveguessedthatwasgonnahappeneventually
HAPPY: So I don't know if I said this last week but I got
called spunky by Elder M. That gave me a boost. Loved it. Oh! I made a
peanut butter and nutella and banana sandwich this week! Don't worry, it was a
half of a piece :) You all can judge for yourselves if you think I'm getting
fat but we weigh ourselves every week and I run and cycle it off. Mostly. Hah.
The coca krispies are still a fav but I've moved onto the frosted flakes. Tried
the fruit loops the other day, not worth it. We got nerd ropes last week! I
can't remember if I said that already but it was a highlight! We started
running around the parking lot so we don't have to deal with the crummy gravel
track or the sod field that's in the middle of it. It's hotter on the parking
lot but I love it cuz it reminds me that I actually do have the ability to run!
They do keep the trash behind a building near the lot though so that's always a
nice whiff but it just makes me run faster.
SAD: My feet are permanently calloused and red and
purple on my heel. I'm just going to have to accept it! But it will be good for
Honduras. Hah.
SPIRITUAL:Our investigators are doing SO WELL! They both
want to get baptized and have such a desire! But of course they both have
addictions. Called it. I actually did call it, right when we found out about
them I said to myself "I bet Fernando has an addiction" and my
companions were all "What?? Hermana Despain where did that come from"
One answer HEAVEN. BAM. Yep, it was revelation ;) So I loveeee talking with the
investigators trying to encourage them and give them advice! It's neat.
Fernando smokes and drinks coffee and Raquel drinks. But they're just little
desafios! And they both seem to be really progressing. Teaching in a trio is
HARD. I don't know if I've said that before, but its a challenge cuz you always
have to have one that takes over, one that checks out and one that just tries
to keep everyone together. It's
good practice though and it makes the times we get to practice with only two,
that much better. Trios are seriously SO MUCH FUN THOUGH. I never
expected to be in one but it seriously is so much fun. We worked on
companionship study this week and it is so neat to get three heads together to
plan. Sometimes it's really good, other times it's a pain but mostly it works out
great! We are implementing companionship inventories during our companionship
study.
Apparently I like have issues listening or something? Who knew! ;) Jk I knew it
was a weakness of mine so we talked about that and
resolved it.
GOOD: I've noticed that I've stopped using pronouns, like I'll just be like "feel like going to the
bathroom". It's pretty fun. I like it. Makes me feel like something is
actually happening with my English and Spanish transition.
SAD: Elder T. and Elder S. left this past Sunday for Idaho and Cali! It was SO sad to see them go,
they were in our zone and they were seriously such great Elders and just great
guys in general! They were always so nice and sweet to us and
supportive, I still remember the first time we started talking to them and met
them! Elder S. and me would always chuck up some deuces to each other or
the hang loose sign haha. I totally accidentally winked at him one time!!! I
swear it was an accident! It was just sort of a "oh! i see you!" sort
of a wink but then I apologized later after I realized what I'd done and he
just laughed. So even the sad things are happy! They will seriously be such
great missionaries, they already are! One time after Hermana B was having a hard time we were walking back to the casa early from class that night and they
saw us and Elder S. was like "man I'll cry with you guys, anytime you
want, we'll just cry it out" and both of them talked about how they were
such mamas boys and how they used to never cry but of course since getting here
they cry a lot. But everyone does. Except for me. Cuz I'm heartless
#heartlessprobs
STRUGGLES (Aka, dumbest things): Passive voice, I don't get
it. I don't know what it is that I don't get, but it's dumb haha. We tried to
do that and subjunctive all in one night, that was a mistake. I tried to explain subjunctive to Hermana B2 and
it was really good practice! Hermana P, who teaches us at night told us
how subjunctive is not like the golden egg of Spanish but I tried to explain to
Hermana B2 how for me, subjunctive is like the flecks of gold that you can
sprinkle throughout your use of the language and it just spices things up and
makes it all a little more interesting :) Another dumb thing I'm working on as
a missionary is not saying things like "you guys, dang, what the
heck". It's sort of a personal struggle :)
GOOD: So the service we do every week is really good cuz it
shakes things up. We typically sort the silverware in the back of the kitchen
and sometimes they've had some random music playing and one time Hermana
B said it reminded her of her Dad and I'm thinking "we would need
some Abba or Enchanted soundtrack or Michael Bublé if it was going to remind me
of my dad". Its the funniest thing to see the transition us missionaries
go through The music thing is funny cuz we'll hear the most
random, most outdated music in the city or somewhere and suddenly its like its
a top ten hit. #missionaryprobs
A lot of the missionaries in my district can't
roll their r's so that's been really fun to listen to. The teachers gave them some toungue twisters that get so
annoying but its all good. Hermana B claims to be
tongue tied and Elder V must be driven crazy by his inability cuz he's
used to being able to do everything perfectly. So idk if it's a genetic thing
cuz they listen to me and they're like "have you always been able to do
that?!?!" And I'm just like "yeah?" So any tips on rolling r's
would be great! You can only try and explain it so much....TALL has been so
amazing for me this week! I focused on the grammar section and just pick and
choose and it is seriously the best thing! I worked on the "personal
a" and "subject pronouns". I guess I just never really learned
them! It is such a blessing because we get to have time to learn stuff we just
didn't get in the past on our own, and at your own speed and you don't feel
embarrassed cuz no one else has to know! Okay who knew that typically, nouns in Spanish that end in any of the letters that are in the word "LONERS"
are going to be masculine?! Who knew?! Coolest thing. Something else that's
neat that I noticed this week is the natural, motherly instincts that have
kicked in with my companions, anytime one of us like
gasps or anything I like snap into that weird mommy mode and instantly think
I'm going to have to like lift a car off of someone to save them. It's the
coolest thing :) Oh and there are these adorable poofy birds here, they are SO
CUTE. Those bright green birds that look like they belong in a zoo all go crazy
in this one palm tree here and we don't really know what goes on up there, but
they are so loud sometimes, it's a little reminder that we're still in Mexico!
We also call the night before P day "p day eve" cuz it's pretty much
like Christmas. But P day is seriously the best and the worst day here, its so
amazing to write family and friends and get updates but then you think about
them all day and wish you could be home and realize all that you're missing.
You don't feel very productive either but it all works itself out in the
end :)
SPIRITUAL: So once again I forgot my binder. So smart. With
all my notes in it! But Elder Christofferson gave the devotional on Sunday this
week and he thanked us for being missionaries. He talked about the things he
would've done differently as a missionary. The brother
that spoke at the devo on Tuesday talked about the importance of missionary
work with the members and involving the members in missionary work. It is so
critical! He talked about how M&M's stand for Member Missionary and we
were all just like "uh ok??" It was cute cuz when he
introduced this idea he was like "the M&M's, the chocolate, you know
these little candies?" And we all just sort of giggled. It's so neat to
hear Hispanics speak in English cuz your heart totally goes out to them and
you're just like "I feel your pain! Languages are tough!" I gave
the closing prayer in Relief Society! It was cool, I felt totally comfortable
and it was a great experience! We helped teach Tasks 1 and 2 to a class of beginners
that literally got here two days ago. Poor guys! They all looked so scared but
I got to work with an Elder one on one and it was the neatest experience! I was
like "what the heck I'm teaching someone Spanish!" It was cool, I
felt like I got a little taste of what my mom and dad do for a living! :) It's
definitely like the coolest thing :)
This week in my personal study I learned
about how "God's hand is stretched out still". It all starts in 2
Nephi 19 and sort of continues for a few chapters. It was the neatest thing to
realize! It's just sprinkled throughout the chapters following 19 and it just
keeps saying that God's hand is stretched out still! So cool huh?! We wanted to
connect it to our investigators since they had the possibility of relapsing with
their addictions, but the lessons never really took that route and we're
learning to really just go by the Spirit and trusting it. I just loved finding
that in the scriptures! I also finished 1 and 2 Nephi since being here! Cool
huh? ;) I love any chance we get to just sit down and read the scriptures!
It is such a blessing! Just last night we helped some of the beginners during
TRC since there weren't any volunteers. They taught us and it was the most
intense session of Spanish I've ever heard, literally they would say a word in
English, then say it in Spanish and your brain would just get so messed up and
confused and I came away feeling SO BLESSED to be in the intermediate class. It
has it's challenges but those girls leave for Panama the same time we leave and
in my true Southern mind I'm just thinking "bless their
hearts"". But we felt the Spirit and that is the most important thing
:) Also, the gift of tongues is real! I'll be in a lesson and blank out and
then remember the word that I would have never remembered in the first place, I
love it.
I love this amazing opportunity I have to be a missionary! I
see so many of the blessings that the gospel brings for my life all the time
and I love it! I love sharing it and teaching it and really relearning
everything all over again. It really is a miracle. Un milagro!!! Heavenly
Father loves all His children and He wants us to be happy and He's given us the
tools to be happy, we just have to choose to use them! My testimony has really
been strengthened and each day gets better and better. I can't believe I
leave in less than two weeks! I already miss the CCM. My companions are ready
to leave but I could honestly stay for another 4 weeks. Something that I told
Hermana B this week during our little deep discussions, was that you have
to "enjoy your time, look for the positive and focus on the work" and
to "look for the good and the world starts to look a little brighter and a
little more beautiful". So look for the good in everything, cuz there is
always good because everything we have is from Heavenly Father and we all
really are so blessed, it's just our job to notice it :)
Love,
Hermana Despain
3 Nephi 13:33, 34
We've learned as a companionship to love
this and live it :)
But aseek ye first the bkingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
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