Familia!!
Oh my goodness, you
have no idea how nice it is to finally hear from you after 2 weeks! To be
honest, I`ve been really homesick this past week but I won`t go into too much
detail or I`ll start bawling in the middle of this crowded internet cafe, haha.
Once again, literally
no time, but I just copied and pasted all your emails onto a document to print
so that I can read them all this week and then reply next week! I might have
time to reply to a few after I write this email. Ps we get one hour in the
field for writing, but we also have to write our weekly letter to the President
during that time.
So when I got set
apart as a missionary, I thought that I was totally official. Then we arrived
at the CCM and got nametags, and THAT was the real deal. Then we got to the
actual field where actual missionary work happens and let me tell ya: THIS IS
THE REAL DEAL.
I`m exhausted and
there is literally so much to say so I`ll try to fit everything in:
AREA: I`m in the
Algarrobos zone, Ignacio Merino area. I don`t really know where it is in
relation to the rest of Piura, haha, but they say we`re about 45 minutes from
the coast. Honestly I`ve been so busy I haven`t even looked at a map. Yàll can
google map it, haha.
MY COMP: Hermana
O from
Cochabamba Bolivia, 22 years old, been in the mission for 6 months. She`s super
sweet and super obedient and we work really well together. But, initially, I
was a little hard on her and frustrated because she is kind of timid. I don`t
know how to best describe it but it`s kind of a mixture of quiet, slow, shy. I
was slightly frustrated because I wanted/needed her to be a leader since I`m a
rookie! But I`ve since gotten over myself and I am SO grateful for her. She`s
very different than me, but it works out for the best.
So after our
orientation on the first day, we headed straight to our apartment at like 4 or 5pm,
dropped my stuff off, and left to go teach 3 lessons, ha! I literally haven`t
even unpacked yet and it`s been a week. The following morning, on the second
day, I don`t know what was up but I was extremely emotionally fragile. I cried
in the shower, I cried getting ready, and I held it together during personal
study until it was comp study and we talked about what we studied in personal
and I just broke down. I cried that whole morning until we left the house. My
comp probably thought I was super unstable, haha. I don`t know how best to
explain it, but I think mostly it was loneliness. In the CCM you`re surrounded
by friends and your district 24/7. Getting to the field I realized that I`m
going to be living with ONE person for the next THREE months, at least until I
move areas or change companions. It took me almost the whole week to feel like
Hna O and I can be friends. It was just very hard to relate to her in the
beginning and I felt completely alone. I missed Hna S and my comp from
the CCM SO much. I couldn`t think about or talk about family without choking
up. In my mind I couldn`t see how I`d be able to find happiness here. Once we
left the house that day, things improved A LOT. When I`m busy, I`m fine. Truly.
I have surprised myself with being able to teach and contact people in the
street without any fear thus far. It`s the still moments when I get emotional
and focus on the hard aspects of this work. I don`t know why, but mornings are
hard. I have prayed more fervently than I ever have in my life here. Mornings
have been the brink of tears every time, but then at night when we return to
the room, I`m so happy. So dirty and sandy, so sweaty, so tired, but so happy.
As I`ve gotten to know our investigators and the members, I`ve started to love
these people. It`s turned from survival mode into seeing myself doing this for
the next 18 months with happiness and fulfillment.
D&C 78:17-18
helped me SO much on day 2 and I`ve found so many others that have carried me
along this week. The Lord is looking out for me for sure. Also Hermana
Stringham was my angel this week. (I emailed her before the mission, she`s a
sister leader in Tumbes and goes home next month, from Utah) We had a zone
meeting/conf whatever you call iton Saturday and for the first time I got
to meet other missionaries in our area. Hna Mitchell, who`s in my district said
she had a note for me from Hermana Stringham! I don`t even know how Hna
Stringham knew what day I was getting there or where I`d be!! She basically
asked me how I was surviving and told me that her first month was really hard
so don`t give up and Heavenly Father is so proud of me. I started crying right
there. I needed that so much. For some reason so far it`s more difficult
talking about my feelings with my companion or the sisters that live below us
(they aren`t in our area) because they don`t speak english and they`ve all been
in the mission a while. So anyways, it`s been the small things that have
carried me through this week.
So our daily routine: 6:30 running
in the parque de avion near our apartment, showering in our freezing shower
that`s actually really nice when it`s hot!, getting ready, then 8-11 is
personal study, comp study, and additional study (additional is for the first
12 weeks using a training booklet we got -- it has helped me a lot with the
emotional side of this transition), 11-1 we´re out working, WALKING and
walking, teaching, contacting, then at 1 we have lunch with our pensionista
(Food is so good here but rice for DAYS. I haven`t seen any beans here and they
don`t even know what tortillas area, haha. It`s different than I expected. Soup
every day. Then the dish with rice and usually chicken. Really delicious
flavors. We always have some kind of fruit in dessert form. They also have this
weird fruit called a granadia that looks like fish eggs inside and I can`t
decide if I like it , haha, look it up. We aren`t allowed to eat strawberries
at all, so that`s depressing, haha. For breakfast I just have cereal and then
we don`t actually eat dinner usually because we`re out working. But our
pensionista feeds us a huge meal and we just have a snack at like 9pm.)
Anyways, 2pm is language study where I help Hna O learn English and
then I usually do some Spanish grammar things. Then 3-9 is out working! 9pm is
comp planning. Then an hour of free time before bed. Busy, busy, busy. I look
forward to teaching lessons during the day SO MUCH because that means we can
sit down for a while, haha.
We have/had one
investigator with a baptismal date but he DIDN`T COME TO CHURCH. This is so far
the story of our lives.
Weather: actually not
that bad. I mean, we sweat all the time but there have also been a decent
amount of cloud cover lately and a light breeze. I still wear sunscreen every
day. The nights are actually really nice. We just sleep with sheets and it``s
perfect. But it`s winter and Hna O said that this is nothing as far as heat
goes, ha!
Everyone, seriously
everyone compliments me on my Spanish. Mom and Dad, I am SO grateful for you
guys, especially Mom for persevering to teach us!! It has been the biggest
blessing. I understand 100% of everything people say and it`s just a matter of
some grammar errors when I speak. Improving every day.
BUSINESS ITEMS:
From the President:
When you guys send me packages it has to be through SERPOST. It`s the same
address that`s on my blog but you HAVE to put the President`s full name and
then my name. It won`t get here if you don`t use serpost. Also no mail in the
CCM so sorry to Bro Minor because I know he sent me a letter!
Camera charger update:
I`m gonna buy one
LOVE YOU ALL! SO
much.
Hna Parks
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