I gotta say that this has been one of the fastest weeks ever. And it's also been one of the most emotionally trying haha. But don't get me wrong, I've loved being out here. This week started out pretty dang bad. We weren't having a whole lot of success and everything with contacts, and it was really frustrating. We also had a ton of citas (appointments) fall through. So we had to just pass by other people that we had as references or people to contact. But then there were just some days that were awesome. We had some citas that were amazing and you could feel that Hand of the Lord working on the people. When we had some of our lowest points, that's when we'd have one or two great experiences. The Lord blesses us with just enough to keep us going. And it's working haha. |
Living in NY I thought that I had experienced some crazy weather, but I guess not. I swear that the weather here is bipolar. On Wednesday it was 23ºC which is around 70ºF! It was soooo warm and I was loving the weather...but then we woke up the next morning to -3ºC. Talk about quite the change. But even though it's been around -2ºC every morning, it usually gets up to 11º. So it's actually not too bad. And I still have yet to experience the realllll cold stuff haha. But I don't think I'll be experiencing that here. It rarely gets below freezing and rarely snows. But still, add the wind and its pretty cold in church clothes haha.
For those that don't know exactly what missionaries can or can't do, we sacrifice two years of our lives and go and serve the Lord wherever we are sent. I was sent to serve in Spain and I love it. One of the sacrifices we make is devoting our time and energy to the work and to the Lord, which means that we don't have distractions from girls here and cell phones, facebook, etc. So we can't hug girls or anything. It may sound kinda strange but I don't mind it. It's just something you get used to haha. But we went to one of our investigator's piso (apartment) and her friend, Adriana, was there too. And the typical greeting between two women or a man and women is a kiss on each cheek. But as a missionary, we don't do that. But...she didn't know that and she proceeded to greet us like normal haha. It was a little awkward because I wasn't able to react fast enough to say anything. But we explained afterward and she apologized a lot and everything. It was pretty funny. We just laughed afterwards.
This past week, along with the emotional rollercoaster, was our English Fast. And for those that know what fasting is, this is the same thing. Instead of abstaining from food, we didn't speak English for the entire week. It was kinda hard at first because I wasn't used to speaking only Spanish for the entire week. I'd done it for a day at a time but never for this long. But, surprisingly, it became a lot easier. By the end of the week I was thinking in Spanish and speaking fairly easily. Obviously there are still a lot of words and phrases I don't know but I'm amazed at how quickly I learned.
This morning was the first time we could speak English and I kinda forgot so I was still speaking in Spanish to my companion haha. And then we realized that we could switch. But today I've still been going back and forth just because it's a habit now. And now I even form sentences in English based on the Spanish grammar haha. This morning I said something like, "The food's hot, no?" instead of saying, "The food's hot right?" haha. I guess it's a good thing though because it means that the language is becoming part of my daily thinking.
With Christmas just about two weeks away we've been listening to lots of Christmas music haha. I'm lucky that I actually have a companion who enjoys listening to it like me. And we get along well so I can't complain. But it's weird because here in Spain, Christmas isn't that huge. Yes, people still give presents and acknowledge the birth of Christ. But the lights, and the trees, and the Christmas spirit in general is kinda lacking. It's kinda sad to be honest. So we make up for it in our piso. Tomorrow we have a Christmas Conference with our entire Zone and that should be pretty awesome.
There's a quote that Elder Gerber, my companion, said that I want to share. He said, "The time on a mission is kinda weird. A year seems like a month, a month seems like a week, a week seems like a day, and a day seems like a year." And it is so true. I haven't been out in the field for a month yet so I can't quite say that yet haha. But the weeks just go by so fast. I can't believe that another one has already come and gone. But there are definitely some days that just seem like they don't want to end. That's why he said they feel like a year sometimes. But it's all in the attitude.
I guess I'll finish with a scripture I found studying this week. It's Luke 12:34. For some reason it just popped out to me. So there's your spiritual enlightenment for the week haha.
Love and miss you all!
