Mi familia!!! I get more and more excited to email every week. I miss you guys so much! This past week was pretty much a blur. Wednesday I decided that the only way Spanish was going to come is if I was exactly obedient. Like, I was obedient before but I knew I just needed to be even more obedient. So I worked so hard to get all my pre-class Spanish work done and not take five minute naps during personal study. The ability the sleep anywhere at anytime is pretty much the biggest curse in the CCM. Everyone makes fun of me in class because they catch me like everyday doing the whole head nod thing (like mother, like daughter.) It's so hard to stay awake because I'm always so tired. If you're not tired you're not a missionary is basically what it comes down to. But anyway, it totally payed off because I understood everything we learned and me and hna peter's lesson went really well. God really does recognize when we are being obedient and blesses us.
At physical activity that day hna de and hna bt and I ran for a long time and actually worked out. So it was already so hot out and we were sweating to death and we all know how red my face gets after I run. Ok, so when we were done running everyone was asking if I was feeling okay because I was literally bright red. All the norte americano elders are obsessed with star trek and wars and lord of the rings and they started referring to me as some animal off of lord of the rings hahaha. I mean, whatever keeps them entertained I guess.
We have been stuck in the walls of the CCM for a month now. Thursday was hard. Spanish is so hard. All I know is that trials are specifically tailored for our needs. I was talking to this kid who is super good at Spanish who is having a really hard time with home sickness and I'm struggling with Spanish and not home sick. We were talking about it and it just seems like God blessed him with a little extra gift of tongues because he knew leaving his family would be hard where as God knew I was strong enough and stable enough in the CCM to struggle with Spanish. I don't know if that makes sense but its weird how things work. Saturday we proselyted. Last time we all got paired up with Latinos and it was awesome because they taught the lessons, we pretended like we knew what was going on and then prayed at the end. Ya, well there were only like 12 Latins here the past two weeks so the beginners were the only people that got Latinos. Me and hna fk, a really really quiet hermana in my district, got paired up. yeahhhhhh. So good thing she is secretly really good at Spanish. We got out there and we met at the bishops house (apartment) and a sister missionary from Utah came with us, a teacher, and a ward member. Talk about pressure. So we went to all these menos activos houses and none were home and finally one lady let us in. We just taught a short lesson about God's love for her and our purpose on earth and of course she decided to tell us an hour long story about how she knows God loves her and the only reason I know that's what she was talking about is because the Utah hermana told us after what she said. It is way cool that she opened up with us if only we could've understood her. Then we went to one lady's house who isn't even a member. It was cool because she saw us coming from out her window and already had chairs set up by the time we got there. Peruvians and literally the most amazing people. They are so loving and accepting. We taught her basically the same thing and she just told us how much she loves it when the missionaries stop by. So the two that we taught Saturday were awesome but I wish I could just speak Spanish. It's so frustrating!
So right before we went back to the CCM the bishop's wife gave us all jello and I was kinda skeptical of it but I was hungry so I didn't even care. Moral of the story is, when you are skeptical of something and you're starving, starve a little longer. The hour bus ride home was miserable and that whole night was miserable and Sunday was miserable. We had like three hours of personal study on Sunday and I layed on the floor of my classroom and slept and would wake up and run to the bathroom. I'll spare you the rest of the details but it wasn't a super awesome 24 hours. So many people in the CCM have been sick. Within the past week 28 of the 50 north american missionaries have had.....lets just say not been feeling well. Hna Gs is skeptical of the cooks hahaha. Pray that there's not a Peru CCM genocide. Anyway, I feel better now. yayy.
Monday was p-day eve so of course it was awesome. The advanced districts left last night and that was so sad. We were so close to them because we've been with them all 4 weeks that we've been here. We sang "God be with you til we meet again" last night and everyone was bawling. It was so sad to watch them leave but it's going to even more sad in two weeks when its me. I'm kinda freaking out and the only way I'm going to be able survive out there is with the Lord's help. Today has been awesome. Elder Fr (my district leader) his brother is in the Lima central mission so we went to the temple with his brother this morning. They haven't seen each other in 11 months. We got to the temple and his brother was hiding and then ran up from behind and surprised him. His companion video taped the whole thing. It was the cutest and happiest thing I have probably ever seen. I was so jealous because that was like my dream to happen with me and Madi. So we spent the morning with his brother. Elder Brimhall is actually his zone leader so I told him to tell him I say hello. The temple was awesome this morning. Even though it was in Spanish you can't deny the happiness the temple brings.
Well, I really have to say is that missions aren't as glamorous as they seem. I always knew it would be so hard but it's just a different kind of hard. Spanish is so hard. Companionships are hard. Watching other missionaries struggle is hard. Let's just say, if I didn't know this church was 100 percent true I would not be here. There's not a single day that my testimony doesn't get tried but it's okay because it gives me a chance every single to strengthen my testimony and to become a stronger person. I have never prayed so much in my entire life, but I've never felt God's love for me so much in my entire life. The other night I made a list of everyone and everything I'm thankful for and it was a pretty long list. Mom, even lucy made the list. But probably just because she reminds me of you. Anyway, that list made me so appreciative. I'm seriously so blessed to have so many people and things that I love and miss back home. God has blessed me with so so so much in my life and giving up 18 months is the least I could do and nothing in comparison. An hermana told me this week, "after great trials come great blessings." I love you all so much!!!!! muah!!!
xoxo,
hermana rush jr.
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