Hola familia!
I´ll be honest. It is super stressful emailing you all today. There is so much that has happened! Each day seriously feels like a week, and the weeks go by like days. Sounds crazy? That´s exactly what it feels like.
Well, to start, the concept of driving in Peru is totally different from what we´re so used to in the US. I thought Ken was an aggressive driver! The road laws here are almost nonexistent. I couldn´t help but think of my mom through it all. She would have been hysterical! I just thought of the ride to the CCM (Missionary Training Center) as a free rollercoaster ride.
The first four days in the CCM challenged me emotionally and mentally, but for some reasons that you wouldn´t expect. Surprisingly I haven´t experienced any homesickness! (I am so grateful for priesthood blessings. They are inspired.) Spanish is also coming really well! But there already have been days where tears seemed inevitable. Thankfully, I have some great Hermanas in my district that offer a great support system. We feel the same growing pains, so we have become so close by overcoming them together. Some days we just laugh and laugh to forget about the exhaustion and sometimes stress that we feel. The way that we lift each other up reminds me a lot of XC and Track. I have taken away so many valuable life lessons about having fortitude in the face of challenges and reaching out to help others...I have relied so much on what I have learned from past experiences.
My companion is also pretty much amazing! She is from California - the same city that Uncle Nick lives in, actually! It´s amazing how similar we are to one another: we´re not sure who loves the temple more either! Something really cool about her is that she was a temple worker for five weeks before coming out to the field! It´s refreshing to hear her perspective on family and life...and we help one another when we miss special people from home. I wish you all could meet her!
A little bit about the missionary training center here in Peru is that the teachers know little to know English. (Can you imagine how that can get frustrating when there is a huge barrier in communication?) It is so cool, though! It can be tough when you don´t get the jist of things, but it´s amazing how much Spanish that I can understand now. I am so grateful that I studied as hard as I did before coming here! But I know that this blessing of learning Spanish so rapidly is because of God. Being close to the Spirit accelerates learning so crazy fast! Mealtimes with the latinos has become so much fun because of this. It used to be embarrassing and awkward to use our gringo Spanish in talking with them, but now we can communicate pretty solidly! For the most part, I mean...as far as an elementary kid can! Haha. But we have so much fun. It´s sort of a tease to become besties with the latina hermanas when they have been assigned to different missions in Peru and South America. Good thing latinas assigned to my mission will be coming in the week after next! I am beyond excited to meet them.
A cool missionary experience happened yesterday. My district drove to Imigracions in order to start our paperwork for resident visas. While we were there, a security guard came up to us and asked for some pamplets. He had visited with a different group of missionaries before and got one from them, so he came to us wanting to know more.You could imagine our disappointment when no one brought any in Spanish! But thankfully I had five tucked away in my bag for study. He took them all eagerly and talked with us about his testimony of prayer and his desire to change. Such a tender and pure look eminated from his eyes...it reminded me of Alex. :) We were there at Imigracions for several hours, so we were able to share a message. Hermana Hunter, my compañera, later discovered that she brought her Spanish scriptures, so we turned to 3 Nephi 11:10,12-14, which is where Christ visits the Americas after his crucifixion and allows the people to feel the print of the nails in his hands...That sweet old man´s eyes softened, and simply said: That makes so much sense. It just makes sense that Christ would visit and love his other children who are in different lands, not just in Jerusalem. That, family, is just the tip of the ice burg of the Restored Gospel. Go and read it for yourself! I have a testimony of the work I am doing, and it just grows more and more each day.
This morning we got up super early in order to go to the temple. The Lima Peru temple is small, but so beautiful. We all needed to go there and be rejuvenated after a big week. Afterward, we went shopping! The bus ride there and back was super fun. Just imagine fifty people crammed on a thirty passenger bus. You really get close to people when your face in in their armpit. I enjoyed every minute of it!
Included are some pictures from the week. I´m sad that my time writing is up, but know that I love you guys! Thank you for all of your support. It means a lot even if you do not choose to know what I believe in. I am grateful to have people to love, and those who love me back unconditionally. Thank you for your prayers! They have been felt so strongly...I´m still praying for you.
Hermana Arroyo
PS April fools about Russia!
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