¡Hola de la CCM!
So, I thought I'd give you a rundown of a typical day for me here. Here is my schedule for tomorrow:
6:00- wake up, pray, clean my area (all except for one of the girls in my room sleep on top of their covers with only a blanket so it is easier to make your bed in the morning. Also, it gets hot. I have only slept under my covers once since getting here and it was because I was sick), read el Libro de Mormón, and get ready for the day
7:15- personal study time in the classroom (I will probably study for the talk I have to give on Sunday... in Spanish. Pray for me)
7:45- ¡Desayuno!
8:15- district gospel study with the teacher
8:45- practice teaching the entirety of lección 3 in Spanish in 3 minutes
10:00- teach our 1st progressing investigator
11:00- language study with our morning teacher, usually grammar
12:15- daily planning
12:45- ¡almuerza!
1:30- personal study time
2:00- companionship study time
2:40- gym time (on Mondays we do service during this time. So far we have only worked doing laundry)
3:30- prep time after gym
4:00- TALL (online language study, usually grammar listening and writing exercises)
5:00- more language study with our night teacher
6:00- el Libro de Mormón study (we take turns leading the discussion)
6:30- ¡cena!
7:15- teach our 2nd progressing investigator (on Tuesdays everything is slightly shortened so we can go to a devotional during this time. They do it on Tuesdays because that is when all the new missionaries arrive)
8:15- coaching with our teacher on how to be better missionaries
9:00- run
9:30- get ready for bed, shower, write in journal, get an ab workout laughing, review grammar or words, personal and companionship prayer
10:30- bedtime
Also, our district has made a goal to speak only Spanish for the last two weeks so everything is done completely in Spanish. This week we are allowing English after 9:00 and Spanglish on Pday, but next week no English will be uttered. It can get a little tricky at times, but we can usually communicate fairly effectively, at least with each other. Talking to a native is a whole different experience!
This week was really great, especially Sunday! I live for Sunday's here! I always get the spiritual recharge I need for the next week. The whole day is meetings. Along with the regular three hour block, we have three devotionals (1 1/2 hours each). The whole day was centered around different parts of the Atonement. Hermana Price and I taught the lección en Sociedad de Socurro about repentance. It was already a little bit stressful to be teaching, but then President Bennett (the President of the CCM) walked in! I am awed by that man (seriously, he knows every missionary here by name. We have 600 missionaries!!!!) He is absolutely inspired, but because of this he is also a little intimidating to try and teach the gospel to. Near the end of the lesson he asked if he could comment and ending up taking the next 15 minutes enlightening us about repentance. He asked if Hermana Price and I were going to the same mission, when we responded no he said "Oh, the devil doesn't know how lucky he is. In a boxing match with the devil, Hermana Price would get in all the head shots and Hermana Croft would take all the body hits. You make a good team." I love that man.
Coming off that full day of the Atonement, my head was spinning. I have come to the realization that the more I learn about Christ's sacrifice for us the more unfathomable it becomes. The song "Only Hope" (by Mandy Moore from A Walk to Remember) has been running through my head all week porque Jesucristo es mi sólo esperanza en esta vida. Él es mi Salvador y I can't wait for the day I can see His face and give Him a big hug. Psalms 51:10 describes my prayer as a missionary: Create in me a clean heart, O God; renew a right spirit within me. (Also, if you can, go watch the Character of Christ devotional by Elder Bednar.)
Fresh off this spiritual high, Hermana Price and I went to the cafeteria and participated in la última cena. Our very favorite latino elders left this last week. So Sunday night we had one final dinner together. The cafeteria was packed, so we ended up squished together in the back corner, but it was still a nice way to send them off. President Bennett found us back there laughing together long after most of the cafeteria had emptied. One of the elders bore his testimony to us at the end and told us we were angels, it was so sweet! Since he is serving in Mexico City, he also said he would send us real Mexican tacos. Hermana Price and I are already planning our return to Mexico after our missions so we can visit them.
At the devotional this Tuesday we learned that out of the 600 missionaries here, 160 are sisters and 97 are latinos. So how did I end up in a district of 6 Sisters and only 2 Elders? We are literally the only district here with more hermanas than elders. Also, with four times more Americans, how have Hermana Price and I been able to make friends with and sit by latinos for nearly every meal? We are encouraged to practice our Spanish with the Latinos during mealtimes but everyone always jokes about how it is a fight to get to them first. They come to us! We have consistently had big groups of latinos call us over during meal times to sit with them. Yo no sé comó es posible, pero me gusta.
Odds and ends:
* Tuesday was a rough day. We visited the enfermería multiple times throughout the day because Hermana Price was sick. I was feeling really discouraged, and my Spanish was just not coming. By the end of the day, we were pretty much done. But then miracle of miracles, they served chicken bake for dinner. That is our all time favorite meal here. Hermana Kim and I were literally so excited we did a little happy dance in the middle of the cafeteria.
* Our Elders gave Hermana Price a blessing yesterday. It was really cool to watch them exercise the Priesthood. I really love the elders in my district, they are like my cousins. I can't say brothers, because I only have one brother, and he is my favorite.
* Stomach issues have decreased mightily, I am feeling great!
* Muchas gracias por the broadway songs throughout your email! I love it! Also, your email just kept getting better and better! Lin-manual Miranda! ¡Mi corazón! And he signed his name in Spanish! I didn't realize it at first because I am used to seeing "siempre" now.
* Lilian is amazing!!! I am so glad everything is working out for her in soccer so well! The latinos here love football. But I am not allowed to play with them because I am not very good...
Well, es tiempo. ¡Te amo! Send my love to the whole family!
XOXOXO
Hermana Croft
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