Saturday, April 22, 2017

#4 - CCM Madrid

Hola hola hola bienvenidos a mi carta!
I am in my 5th week and I only have one more week here?! Say what? I don't know to feel scared or ecstatic. I love this CCM and it's like I can't believe that's is more to my mission than this. But I am so excited to get to where I finally belong.

 I'll just start from day one this week I guess, so Thursday for p day we went to the temple as per usual. It was the first session we have ever done in Spanish, because the Russians are gone so we can finally do that. It was awesome. One of the new Español Elders was endowed that Thursday because he didn't have the opportunity to before. Poor guy was/is on crutches because he got hurt playing fútbol his first day here. His name is Elder Perez and he doesn't speak a lick of English. I know he's having a really hard time here so I've tried to make an effort to talk to him and be his friend because I know he could use it, and it helps my Español! He is a really quiet guy so our convos can be a bit awkward because my Spanish is not stellar but you know me, I just thrive in awkward so I push through. But thru those awkward convos we have become great friends! He even made up a handshake for us 🙌🙌 if I could ask you to keep my good friend Elder Perez in your prayers, I would feel so much better. Muchísimas gracias mi querida madre y familia.
And for p day we went to this Naval Museum which was cool I guess hahaha. It was about boats. We are only allowed to take pictures on P day so I can some pictures from last pday.

SATURDAY AT RETIRO PARK!! I was companions with the lovely Hermana Hargis and it was her first time at the Park and she was awesome!!! Wow I was so proud of her. She just got out there and got it done. Cool story. So President Packer was really stressing to us before we set park goals that when we set these goals prayerfully we are making a commitment to God. He says "I know we say that numbers don't matter but when you are making a commitment to God, they do".  If  we are intending and trying to hand out as many Libros de Mormon that we had set goals for, God would bless us to be able to hand out those LDM/ referrals or whatever it may be. President Packer just wanted us to take our goal setting seriously because we were committing numbers to God. So my comp and I decided we would set our goal for 2 LDM. Our zone goal for LDM was 44. That's a good goal. So as my Hermana Hargis and I were gathering our supplies we needed for the park, we brought way more than 2 LDM. I felt really strongly to bring a French book of Mormon, and we also brought some English ones. We were able to give out our Spanish LDM to these two really nice young men from Africa. They sell t shirts at the park and good grief they were the nicest guys. I always feel a bit intimidated to talk to people who are around my age but they were awesome. Ones name was Musta, he told me he would go home and start reading the book that night! When we left, we realized that Musta's first language was French, not Spanish. And I totally had a French Book of Mormon that I could've given him, I had just forgotten. I was so bummed because I know he would've preferred that. Also it was time for us to sing at the park and we didn't have time to go back and give him the French Book of Mormon so I was really feeling bummed about that. I felt like I had missed my prompting from the spirit to bring a French BOM. BUT Hermana Hargis and I had the privilege of contacting while the choir sang. We were able to give out another English book of Mormon. And then the very last person we talked to was from Morocco. He spoke French. He wanted a Book of Mormon. I had a Book of Mormon. And it was in French. I seriously was so ecstatic. GOD WAS DEFINITELY LOOKING OUT FOR HIS SERVANTS. I'm so grateful the spirit led us to the people that we were able to talk to. We were also able to give another English BOM to a gal from California. We exceeded our goal! It was an AWESOME day at the park. Seriously  it was a blast. And then on Thursday nights we have park devotionals, and those are the best part of the week by far. Everybody just bears their testimonies about experiences they had at the park that week. So after everybody was through, President Packer gets up and says "I don't know why, but I feel like I need to do this. Everybody close your eyes and one person from your companionship hold up on your fingers how many BOM you gave out." So we did that. And then he says " okay open your eyes." (President is a really emotional guy, kind of like President Eyring, but when he said this his voice was all choked up). "What was the Zone Goal for BOM handed out?" We all say 44. and then he says (still choked up) "Well today as a zone, you all handed out exactly 44 Books of Mormon".  It was mad!  He was right! He told us if we honestly made a promise with God, He would provide. God provides for us. Some companionships weren't able to meet their personal goal, but throughtout the whole Zone, God provided a way for us. It was incredible. SO that was a good time.


Monday, President Packer´s son and wife and kids came to the Madrid MTC! so we got to meet his adorable grand kids. One of them, Lucy, was actually baptized on Monday in the Madrid Stake Center right next to our CCM and she invited us all to be there. so that was really sweet. We got to go to her baptism instead of going to a grammar lesson. #win.

This week we've learned a lot of new grammar concepts and its been exciting! We have two investigators now, the lessons are going pretty well I think. There is still a bit of an issue with the language barrier, but I'm getting by I think. I've learned so so so much about teaching and loving people, not lessons. Its been an awesome experience. I still have some studying to do but I cant wait to get out there and do it for real. JUST !12 MORE DAYS good grief.

Love you lots, Hermana Rust the 3rd

The sun in Spain is like blazing bright and hot. It's the weirdest sensation. So that's why we are so red and our eyes are closed. I adore this Hermana. Gonna miss her lots and lots and lots because she's going to Madrid. 

Hermana Sinclair and I doing a typical sister missionary pose in front of the Catholic cathedral. We were supposed to go inside of but it was closed.

 A really bad pic of my family here in Spain matching with our floral every pday 

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