Baylee - Week 2 in Peru!

July 7 2015

Hola Mi familia y mi amigas!!

I am now in the middle of my second week at the CCM (MTC in Spanish) and it has been one crazy ride!

I flew out Tuesday last week and it was a long, long day. I met up with quite a few missionaries at the SLC airport and we actually left about 30 min. later than we were supposed to. We got to the airport in Atlanta and had only a few min to hurry to our gate where they were already boarding, but we made it in time. I sat one seat away from Hna. Sandison (who ended up being my companion) and she spent about 3 hours talking to a baptist preacher about our church! it was an awesome thing to listen to. we got to Lima around 12:30 at night and the airport was bright and still full of people. it took a while to get all our stuff and get everything onto the three buses that were to take us to the CCM. we finally left the airport around 1:30 and arrived at the CCM around 2:30. we got a cute little notes on our doors from the sister leaders and they had made little nametag things for our doors too! there}s a picture below! my roommates and i go to bed around 3:45 in the morning and wakeup time was 7:30. our first day was all orientation and luckily they spoje to us in English. we got all our study materials and were able to get to know each other a little bit better. my companion, Hna. Sandison and i have been getting to know each other pretty well. it has been great! the second day here was an earlier morning with some more real classes. we got placed in our districts! my district leader is Elder Huskinson from Oklamhoma, his companion Elder Smartt, Elder Cloninger and Elder Sheanshang, Elder Prestwich and Elder Squire, Hrn.s Glunt and McRae and Thomas, and Hna.s Bryce and Richen are all a part of our district!

The third day, Friday, we got thrown into Spanish. our teachers spoke to us a lot in Spanish and would only speak to us in English if something was super important and we didnt understand. we also had to go to Interpol where we got the process started for our visas. we left early in the morning and were gone the entire monrning waiting in line to sign some papers and give our finger prints!

Saturday was the American Independence Day as you all know, and the Hna.s here at the CCM all wore red, white and blue! also the workers in the comedor (cafeteria) decorated with flags and streamers and they made us American food (hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, chicken wings, watermelon triangles, and apple pie with vanilla ice cream!) it was a really good day. However, that also ended up being the day that my entire district hit a wall. we were all struggling and we were so so tired! that night the CCM started our 24 fast that would continue into Sunday, and honestly i think the fast helped a whole ton!

Sunday was a wonderful, relaxing, spirit filled day! we got up a little earlier then usual and did personal study before church. Sacrament meeting was inspired. only 20 missionaries got to bear their testimonies, but those who did all had something wonderful to say. one of our zone leaders said "this work is straight happiness" and i couldnt have said it better. even with the bad days, i feel so happy! the spirit is so strong and i learn more and more everyday. not to mention we are so sheltered and protected!! it is an amazing feeling!

later in the day on Sunday, we had some little classes. during relief society, we talked about families and teaching specific people., not just lessons! we also had what we called Dress and Grooming class. we got informed about some specific difficulties and went over other rules to keep us safe and focused on the work. we also got to watch the Joseph Smith restoration video. us Hna.s decided that Emma and Joseph = best chick flick ever! I mean that is the closest we are going to get to one for the next 18 months! the message of that video hit me really hard this time around! if you get a chance, please watch that video. the restoration is real and this gospel is true! I know it! oh and seeing the SLC valley at the end of the video kind of made me a little homesick :) i really do miss you guys even if it doesnt seem like it!

monday was a good day also. we had class in the morning and lots of learning. Oh, Saturday my companion and i taught our first lesson in Spanish. it was really hard but we made it through. Hna. Sandison live din Ecuador when she was little for a year so shes is really good at picking up the lanugage again, so that helped a lot. But i really do think i am getting better. by the end of these 6 weeks, i think i might be prepared to gtet out and be forced to learn even more! its so exciting! on monday we taught our second lesson on dispensations and prophets. it was good. we got our fake investigator who is really our teacher Maestro Janampa to accept a book a mormon and agree to baptized if he prays and receives an answer that it is true! thats exciting, but i still felt like i could have done better. yesterday, tuesday was more Interpol. my district and i left the CCM at 7 yesterday morning, went and got our pictures taken, then went to the visa place. Interpol is terrible! so unorganized and long!! but the travel missionary there to help us was the SWEETEST GIRL EVER!!! she is 23 and she was lots of fun and so much help. they checked our teeth and took more finger prints and lots of other things.

we got back in the afternoon and had to go to ñlungh late. after lunch, we had Tall which is a language study thing online through BYU. its actually really helpful. i feel like i learn a lot and retain a lot from Tall. Last night we got to watch a devotional that Elder Russell M. Nelson gave inJanuary. my favorite part of the devotional was actually during his wifes talk which she gave about desperation. desperation draws us to Christ and helps us decide what is most important. it is one of our greatest ketys to success on our mission. i had never thought of it like that before and it was an awesome talk, very inspiring

after the devotional, my district decided to have our littel testimony meeting. it was an amazing meeting. i felt the spirit so strong! there were lots of tears, and it definitely brought our district closer together. oh, and during the devotional we sang More Holiness Give Me which is a great song but it has never been one of my favorites. it now is. i got teary eyed and the words really spoke to me. look up that song and you will understand. i felt the truth and desperate pleaads in that song hit me so close to home, it was crazy!

today, we got to go to the temple. the trip there was a little hectic because the drivers here are insane! in roundabouts no one cares about lines or anything, and cares get literally centimeters away from each other. its a sacry experience for sure! we got to the temple and it was a wonderful sight! the companion and i are there together in the other picture! (oh, i cant take pictures any day other that Pday so there arent v¿too many and i can only send on e per emai) we got tho go to the distribution center first, and it was nice. the best part, of course, was the temple. i felt the spirit there stronger than i have at any other temple. i am so grateful for temples and the blessings they bring. dont take temples for granted! and if you dont know a lot about LDS tempoles, looks it up!!

after the temple, we went to a little LDS stroe where we able to buy personalized Spanish scripture covers. i wanted some colol purpole ones were flower texture, but they wouldnt let me add personalized writing onto it because apparently it was too hard, so i picked some other ones, but they are still cool. once i get them back, i will take a pic and send it to you all!! we then went ot Totoos, which is like a Target here in Peru. I got some snack food i probably dont need since we get fed so well here at the CCM. I mean, the food is really good. especially the bread and the desserts, which is really unhealthy and super bad for me! Im trying to be good and healthy but...its hard!

anyway, the ride back to the CCM was even more crazy because we had to sueez all 18 of us onto and already almost full bus. when we are outside the CCM the Hna.s have to stay inbetween the elders, and we only had the zone leaders with us, so we had to stay together! it was crazy but fun!

Well, my roommates are so fun! Hna.s Glunt, McRae, and Thomas are a triop and they are silly laddies with wkionderful stories that i dont have enough time to tell you! and my companion Hna. Sansdison is so sweet. shes a convert of only one year, one month, and about 8 days. shes so spiritual!!

I really loved a few more quotes that i heard this week and i will share them now!

"run until you can ojnly walk, walk until you canonly crawl, crawl until you fall to your knees in prayer, then get up and run again"

"we are the greatest team playing for the lord"

"that lst push is where the m iracles happen"

"salvation is not a cheap experiance"

"sometimes you dont have the spirit; its ok, it just means it is a day of wrok"

"rice has been like the Hoover Dam!" fomr District LEader Huskinson!!

Well, that is all i have for today, i need to write more personal letters and send pics to my mom, so i love you all!! if i gave you a Book of Mormon, are you reading it!? please tell me you are be cause i know it is the true word of God. please write me! even if i dont get to you right away, i will get to you! Thank you all for being such great influences!! :)

oh, my testimony in Spanis...Yo sé que Jesucristo es el Salvador y so sé que la Iglesia de Jesucristodelos Santos de los últimas Dias es verdadero. En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen!! :)

ADIOS!!

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