HOLY NUGGETS I AM A REAL MISSIONARY NOW. This week has been crazy and different and hard and wonderful. I don't have much time so I'll just give you some basics:
Food: We don't have a pensionista so we just eat with members every day for lunch! There are little stores on every corner that sells cookies and chips (nothing here is refrigerated I swear) so that's where we buy stuff for breakfast. Every morning I eat a bowl of cereal (FRUTT is the name) with a strawberry yogurt stuff in place of milk. yum, I know. We don't really eat dinner but we always buy an orange or crackers/cookies or something to eat at night. But the lunches are amazing! They weren't lying when they said rice and potatoes with everything. I can't remember the names of things but I've been writing them down so you guys can look it up. ONe of my favorites was puré. It's like mashed potatoes kind of. I've also learned to just eat everything they give you because it may be the last real thing you eat all day. This means I've been eating cucumber tomatoe salads and beets and all kinds of things I wouldn't have touched before. Miracle of the mission? Some might say, yes. Also WE ARE GOING TO CHILIS FOR LUNCH TODAY. The other americans say it's not the same but I am still so pumped.
Companion: My companions name is Hermana Valbuena and she has been out for 14 months! She is from Colombia and is so sweet and has the prettiest hair. We always laugh that I am like Anna and she is the Latina Elsa. She is mas o menos tone deaf but she still loves to sing and is a great missionary. She is apparently also pretty funny because she always has the members and investigators and other missionaries laughing.
House: Wow. At first it seemed rough but we have it so good compared to what others are living in. We don't have any hot water but I guess it's a blessing because I really need the jolt to wake up in the mornings. It can get pretty chilly though. Winter here is cold!
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| Our Kitchen |
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| Just plunging our shower haha This is where we wash our socks, our dishes, take "showers" (I put that in quotes because we don't have any hot water and it is barely tolerable! I wet my hair, turn off the shower and apply shampoo, turn water on to rinse really quick and then finish asap. Now at least I have an excuse to not shave my legs!) |
Language: So I don't really understand anything but I've figured out mas o menos when to laugh and smile even when I have no idea what's going on. I've also realized that i can just say "si" to just about anything and be pretty safe. It's crazy that I'm here.
The scary thing: a lot of borrachos whistle at me because I'm a gringa. They always say princesa hermosa and a bunch of other crude things I don't understand because I don't speak Spanish- blessing in disguise? But I know that I'm safe and there are certain areas we avoid at night.
Other: My area is Los Angeles (look it up!) We are in the cerros which are big hills. It's fun because it's just like hiking every day- but in bad shoes and dresses. haha We found an awesome family this week. They came with us to church yesterday and even invited their aunt to come too! I'll keep you updated on them. After the first 2 days we got to meet up again with the new missionaries in Lima north which means I got to see Hermana Kingston, Hna Eliason, Elder Sanchez and elder Gerken again! Wow it was so so good to see them and talk to them and know that we're all going through the exact same thing. (also to answer your question Elder Williams is in Chiclayo and Hna Ekins is in Lima East. They're my two best friends from the CCM but we will be friends in 23 months again!)
I love you guys so much and I carry around our family picture in my scriptures so I have it with me always. Thanks for the prayers and thanks for raising me the way you did. If I've learned (or taught) anything this week it's that families are ordained of God. Families are so important in God's plan for our happiness. And I've been given a pretty good one. Love you!
Hermana Savannah Stone
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| Saying goodbye to my BFFs |
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| View from my window |
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