And that's a Wrap!- Week 3

Home MTC is officially over! I don't know how to describe how time works in the MTC. The days often seem so long, but these last three weeks have gone by in the blink of an eye. 

Large Plates

This week was pretty great! As usual, I love our Ayudar A Otros activities, where we get to know some members and share a message with them. I also had a bit of a crazy day this week, because our internet was out one morning, and the neighbors' too. I got to spend half a day at Grandma and Grandpa's house doing my MTC haha. Also the other day one of the Mexico MTC leaders called on me to give the closing prayer in front of several districts and the MTC presidency... It went well of course. It's just so crazy to think that I didn't even know how to pray in Spanish 3 weeks ago and now I can pray for just about anything I can think of. Progress! I don't have much else to add for this week. It's been fantastic and bittersweet, and I don't have a lot of time to write today because I have to pack haha. (and I get to go do a session in the temple!!!)

 

Small Plates

The story of Isabel, and the companionship of the Spirit. Isabel's dream, and the blessings of being a Utahn. My future friends from Orlando.

This week I met the sweetest little grandma named Isabel. She was one of the volunteers for our Ayudar A Otros activity. We got to know her for a few minutes at the beginning of our meeting, and she was so open and willing to share what she was feeling. We were able to share a message with her that directly addressed her concerns and touched her heart deeply, bringing her to tears. The message came from 2 Nephi 4, which has become one of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon during my time in the MTC. It was so cool to see our companionship work with the spirit to share with her the message she needed to hear. We had prepared an entirely different message, but clearly, that was not the message meant for her. One of the things they teach the most is that your best companion will always be the Spirit. I couldn't agree more. 

She also loved talking to me because her biggest dream right now is to come to Utah. She's been here before, for General Conference, and she has some acquaintances in Bountiful and Manti. She said she's actively doing everything she can to get here. She has her visa and passport, and she's so close to fulfilling her dream. She wants to be able to see all of our temples, and live close to them. Sometimes I forget just how blessed I am to live where I do. I can see the Logan temple from my front yard. The Brigham City temple is just on the other side of the mountains by my house, less than an hour away, and Ogden isn't too far away either. And by the time I get back from my mission, the Smithfield temple might already be finished, just 20 minutes north of my house. What a time to be alive, and what a place to live.

Not only does she have a dream of coming to Utah, but she also has a dream that her nieces and nephews will be converted. Her brother fell away from the church, so the kids weren't raised with the gospel. And where do they live? Orlando. I wasn't able to get much information before our zoom call was over. But I have their names. I'll let you guys know if I find them, and I sure hope I do :)

Pictures: 

Our last classes with Hermana Jimenez, Hermana Rodriguez, Hermano Alcala and our Ayudar A Otros activity

Let God Prevail- Week 2

Hola!! :)

The Large Plates

Helping others, and being helped by others, via Zoom. An account of her sleeping and eating abilities that no one asked for. More internet problems, but this time there's a solution. 

Wow you guys, this was SUCH a good week! On Monday, we had our first Ayudar A Otros activity, where we meet on zoom with members and get to know them and share a short message with them. Our first friend was this cute little old lady and she told us all she wanted was for us to pray for her health because the Lord listens to the prayers of His missionaries first haha. We thought we were done after we finished sharing our message with her when out of the blue another member popped up in our breakout room! We improvised another lesson, and after that, we had yet another lesson (also improvised). All 3 went super well, and it turns out, we were supposed to anticipate giving 3 lessons back to back, and we just missed out on those instructions somehow haha. We had another activity like this later in the week, and it went even better than the first time! I surprisingly like them even though I have to speak Spanish with people who I don't know haha.

I don't sleep super well, and I think that's probably because I don't move much throughout the day. I do my daily exercise but then I sit in an office chair from  7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. haha. 

I may have lost my ability to sleep like a rock whenever and wherever I want (a talent I've demonstrated to numerous friends throughout the years), but I haven't lost my ability to eat! I actually lost a bit of weight last week because I was sick, but I anticipate I will have no problem gaining it back haha. Every time we have a break, even if it's just for 2 minutes, I run to the kitchen and grab whatever food I see, and eat it as fast as I can. It's a habit I've developed because sometimes when we have breaks planned, class goes overtime or we have a workshop they didn't tell us about, so we don't get to eat when we were planning to. 

I had some frustrations toward the beginning of the week because my internet connection (and everyone else's) was bad, so it kept cutting out or kicking people out of the zoom call entirely. It's a bit difficult to understand what someone's saying, in your second language, when they cut out 50% of the time. I moved into my dad's office and it seems to be working better! (Thanks dad)

I only have 1 more week left in CCM and that's kind of blowing my mind! How have I already been a missionary for 2 weeks? The days go slow, but the weeks go fast. 

The Small Plates

A lesson about covenants, and the power of letting God prevail when learning a new language. Compare Genesis 9.

Lesson 1: The Rainbow After the Flood.

This lesson comes from companionship study. We were reading in the Bible, Genesis 9:12-16

And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

 

We loved these verses because they reminded us of the Primary song When I Am Baptized. After we are baptized, we can feel clean like the Earth right after rain, or in this case, after the flood. Rainbows are a sign of the Earth being washed and restored and are a symbol of our cleansing and restoration. 

Lesson 2: The Gift of Tongues, and Crying in Front of My Whole District

Those of you who know me well know I'm nearly incapable of sharing a heartfelt testimony without crying. Let's just say my district can now also say they know me well. Also, I saw what it looks like when I cry, because I did it on a video call, and I would just like to apologize to anyone who has ever had to witness that haha. But the tears aren't the important part of this story. The testimony is. 

The gift of tongues is real. I'm sure God gives it to different people in different degrees, but the point is: if He wants His children to do something, He provides a way. 

My ability to understand the language has increased substantially. This is in part due to my efforts, and due to the patience and love of the missionaries in my district. But more than anything, it is due to the overwhelming goodness of God. I can't translate every word that has been said these past 2 weeks. Not even close. But I can translate the love and the spirit that has been here. That has no language barrier.

And I've learned that if I have the faith that God will put the thought in my head and the words in my mouth that I need to share, I am able to share a better and more understandable message. When I do this, I make very few, or sometimes even zero, grammar mistakes. When I'm worried about my abilities (or the lack thereof), My conjugations, and grammar, and pronunciation are all over the place. 

So the trick is, as it is with literally everything: LET GOD PREVAIL.

Pictures:

Ayudar a otros activity (not featuring that sweet little old lady, cause this was from the second time we did it this week)

The one time this week everyone had good enough internet to be in class and have their cameras on!

The sunrises this week have been incredible from my bedroom window :')

and the sunsets too. God is an artist.

Y asi empieza- Week 1

 ¡Hola a todos!

Wow, this week has been a wild ride haha. I can already tell this email is going to be a long one, so I'll separate it into two sections: the large plates, and the small plates. :)

The large plates contain a more secular record of my experiences, including details about my district, my schedule, my classes, and how much back pain I have from sitting in a chair all day.

The small plates will contain a more spiritual history of my experiences, ''For I desire the room that I may write the things of God. For the fullness of my intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved. Wherefore, the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto those who are not of the world.''

The Large Plates

An account of Hermana Daugs' sufferings on the first day. Her change in attitude. An introduction to Distrito 3D and the trío poderoso. Her technical difficulties in the CCM. Classes, workshops, and busy days.

Day 1. What a rollercoaster. We started off the day with some technical difficulties, meaning class started 45 minutes late. And THEN, the only other American hermana in my district got moved to another district. She reached out to me and told me that she got moved because our district was going to do 3 weeks online, but she had flight plans from the church to go to the Mexico City CCM. Here's the catch... so did I. I tried reaching out to literally anyone who could help me know if I was in the right place or if I needed to move to another district too. Long story short: it was an emotional rollercoaster, and very stressful because I don't speak enough Spanish to figure out something so specific and so crucial. After many tears, much stress, and a missed CCM class, we came to the conclusion that the church travel department had a miscommunication and they bought me tickets to Mexico City by accident. And then told me that's where I was headed by accident. And confirmed when we called the CCM to check... oh well haha.

Have no fear! Every day after day 1 was MUCH BETTER. Was it all smooth sailing? Absolutely not. But it was still good :) My district is so SO fun, and they're very patient with my Spanish haha. They're all native Spanish speakers, from Mexico, Honduras, or Guatemala. Their accents can be difficult to understand, depending on the missionary, but I'm getting used to them. For the record: The way Hondurans speak is muy bonita. I stinkin love the Honduran's accent. Also, my district says I speak very very good spanish! I don't know how much I believe them but it certainly makes me feel better. There's 3 companionships of elders and a trio of us sisters. 

Also. My compañeras? They're pretty much the best. Our trio is a HOOT. They're both super happy people and we all get along great. They're super good at helping me work on my Spanish every day, although they don't know how to teach me to roll my r's. I've been trying for 5 years and still can't get it haha. I'm honestly just praying that I have it figured out by the end of my mission. They're also supposed to learn a bit of English, so I taught them the alphabet and how to pray. They already knew a little bit from school, but it's just things like "hello" and "how are you" and "I don't understand" haha. Yesterday we were getting to know each other a little better and Hermana Barrios asked how tall each of us are. It turns out I'm the tallest. Yes, you read that right. Perks of having Hispanic companions I guess haha. Hermana Villegas cracked a joke about how we're like Thing 1 and Thing 2 (and Thing 3) from The Cat in The Hat, so now we call ourselves cosas uno, dos, y tres. It's a chaotic trio for sure, but a powerful one too (and a bilingual one (; ). 

Classes have been good, although there have certainly been some technical difficulties. The connection during my afternoon class is pretty bad, which is especially unfortunate for me because I already have a hard time understanding what my teacher is saying even when the connection is good. When I can only hear every other word she's saying? oof. That's tricky stuff right there. 

Most days we have Workshops with the whole CCM and those are one of my favorite parts of my day. There are Spanish, English, and Creole speaking missionaries (all learning Spanish) in the CCM, and for the workshops, we're all together. (we don't hear from the creole missionaries much) There's an option on Zoom to listen to an interpreter, who just puts everything that's not in your language, in your language. I honestly prefer to listen without interpretations because sometimes they're choppy or delayed. Plus, my little bilingual brain THRIVES when the workshops are in English one moment, and Spanish the next. Spanglish is the language my brain thinks in haha. 

Some of my Spanish progress: 

• day 1: I chimed in in the district group chat to see if they had any ideas about my flight fiasco
• day 2: listened to my 1st workshop entirely in spanish, and language study with my companions!
• day 3: hermana barrios' accent is getting easier to understand. Elder Martínez has the BEST accent. prayed in Spanish in front of my compañeras!
• day 4: 1st spiritual thought in front of my class! they said my spanish was good and they all applauded (virtually) after I was done. If they really did understand, I give full credit to the gift of tongues haha. It's way easier to speak spanish when I'm bearing my testimony or talking about Christ. WE memorized a bunch of required material in Spanish. We had our first role-play appointment and it didn't go according to our plan (because appointments rarely will) but it went well.
• day 5: I answered the question ''why was the restoration in the United States'' for my class, and they all loved what I had to say about my country . I was in charge of the spiritual thought for our devotional again and it went well. Hna. Rodriguez said my spanish was perfect. I also prayed in front of our whole class! 

I could go on and on about what I do every day in the CCM, but it sufficeth me to say: WOW. I sure am busy. 

The Small Plates

Her growth and perspective. A lesson in self-compassion and an application of the words of Ammon in the Book of Mormon.

Lesson 1: Self Compassion.

For those of you who know me well, you know I am a perfectionist. I don't like to do or try something unless I know I can do it well. And if I'm trying something new, I'm going to put my whole heart and soul into it so I can do the very best I can. Is this a good thing? Well, it depends. At times it's nice because I do a good job at a lot of things, and because of that, I get good grades, I have strengthened many of my talents, and I rarely embarrass myself. But, at other times, it's bad. I don't like to be vulnerable in my imperfections. I don't like when other people see my weaknesses or failures. I don't like to let people down by doing a sub-par job. And if I mess up, sometimes I really beat myself up. 

The best way to exercise self compassion is to treat yourself how you would treat a struggling companion. Be patient. Encourage them. Help them understand that progress takes time. Helping others is something I can definitely do. If I see someone struggling, I can reach out my hand. Be there to listen. Give them the best advice I have given the things I have experienced and learned. So, surely I can do the same for myself, right? 

I've really really been trying to put this concept into practice this week, especially in terms of my Spanish progress. Before my mission, my perspective was ''If I just study enough now, I'll be super awesome at Spanish by the time I start my mission, and no one will have to see me fail.'' In having this mindset, I was setting myself up for disappointment and had I chosen to stay in that mindset, it's likely I would have never spoken up in class, told them I won't pray, and honestly maybe I would have quit. I have a long long way to go in my Spanish journey, and if I thought I had to tackle it all in the first week, or even in my entire time at the CCM, I would have been overwhelmed and felt utterly incapable. 

When we introduced ourselves on the first day, I included a little bit about why I know Spanish, and that I'm definitely still learning it. They were all so compassionate and encouraging and that is exactly what I needed, and they've continued to be sincerely patient all week. Later on in the week we were talking about a talk from this last conference: Becoming More in Christ: The Parable of the Slope. In this talk, Elder Gilbert shares that what's important isn't where we are, but the direction we are headed. This life isn't about BEING. It's about BECOMING. And becoming is a lifetime pursuit. 

If we can become just 1% better each day, the results at the end of a week will be encouraging. The results at the end of a year will be astounding. The results at the end of a lifetime will be a witness of our diligent and successful efforts to become more like Christ.

This discussion with my district was empowering. It's led to a bit of a motto for my personal CCM experience. Poco a poco, or little by little. I'm growing. Steadily and surely. Every ounce of growth needs to be celebrated and that joy can then be used to strengthen us for the next 1% of our growth. 

Lesson 2: A Personal Application of Alma 26:16

Alma 26:16: 

''Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.''

 

When Ammon wants to share how he feels about the Lord, he's so full of joy and overcome with emotion, and he doesn't know how to properly express the feelings of his soul. I can relate. I sometimes feel that there aren't words in English that could possibly describe the love I feel for my Savior, and the love I know He has for me. And this sentiment has become increasingly more pertinent as I try to express my testimony in Spanish. I cannot say the smallest part which I feel. 

But, like Ammon, I will share what I can and leave the rest up to the Spirit. My joy is FULL. I will praise my God FOREVER. I am eternally grateful for our merciful Savior and his infinite Atonement. 

This church is true. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love each of us individually and infinitely. I share these things with you in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, amen. 

Changes again....

 More Changes?....Mission update: it's a bit of a mess.

After the first half of MTC today, one sister from Arizona was pulled from Ada's district because she had also received flight plans on Saturday and was changed to a one week at home, 2 weeks in Mexico scenario (like Ada). They put her in a different district along with many others in the same scenario. But, they didn't pull Ada. Her current district all said that they were 3 weeks remotely, so Ada really felt like she was in the wrong place since the other sister was pulled out. All while trying to stay focused, she then had a trio for companionship.

Long story short, a-lot of confusion and shifting and Ada didn't know how to fully communicate, but was told she was suppose to be in her current district for 3 weeks online ( even though she has flights). ??? Confusing.

After expressing her confusion and wanting clarification, she received an email that was sent to the travel office in SLC with Ada attached asking them to cancel her flight itinerary; that she wasn't suppose to go to Mexico now. 

But, 2 days ago, she was!

Then a confirmation email came that her flights are cancelled.

Phone calls to the MTC aren't being answered. They are too busy.

So, it has been a roller coaster to say the least and sweet Ada has had a rough start, it has made her physically sick.

No more going to Mexico? Maybe?

Please pray for us that we don't have any more changes. She wants to know that she is where she is suppose to be and for how long..... and learn.

What is it that we are to learn from this, besides patience? There must be something that we need to understand and learn from this. We will seek answers and maybe we won't know, there is always a why.

Internet Hiccup

After a slight panicked- no internet morning, she is all set and starting her week of Home MTC with the Mexico CCM (one hour earlier). She is jumping in full Spanish training and learning. Typically, when assigned to speak a different language, the missionary has 3 weeks of mostly language learning and then another 3 weeks of teaching the gospel in that language learning.

She was evaluated to be fluent enough in Spanish that her first 3 weeks, she didn't have to do, but now she is ready to meet her district and study and learn together. They are all from Mexico, Honduras or Guatemala, with the exception of one sister from Arizona that is a fluent Spanish speaker. She is excited for this next step, but also a little overwhelmed that she may not keep up in conversations being a non native speaker. I know the Lord knows her and is aware of her and will be there trough it all. This is such a wonderful opportunity and Hermana Daugs is going to be so amazing!

Her plans have changed so many times that they keep issuing her tags. She has 10 right now and they may give her more?....

Flight to Mexico?

Mom post-

My heart is overflowing with joy and love for all that this picture represents. On Sunday, October 24th, Hermana Daugs will start her official missionary service as she is set apart as Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by our dear friend and also 2nd counselor in the Stake Presidency; President James Godfrey.

As of Friday, October 22nd, she was set and ready to start 3 weeks on HMTC with all native speakers. It seemed a little overwhelming, but she is a doer and capable of hard things! She had a 3 week schedule and had her district assigned, she was ready to begin.

Ada's First Companion is

Hermana Limhi Villegas from Mexico City

- Later she was placed in a trio with Hermana Limhi Villegas and Hermana Cinthia Barrios from Guatemala City

However, Saturday morning, October 23rd, she received flight plans to Mexico City for November 2nd. So, change of plans 2 days before she begins. Emotions have been a thing through this whole process, but we know He is in every detail and she is now excited to have one week at home and finish the other 2 weeks in Mexico. She is ready! Oh, but I will miss her so. I love my sweet baby girl and feel so honored to have her as my daughter. You got this Hermana Daugs!