I CAN DO THIS!!!

Hola everyone!

       First off I want to start with some highlights of my week. I was able to teach an ENTIRE lesson without a dictionary or any books other then my Spanish Bible and Book of Mormon. How cool is that ?!? Sure it was very broken Spanish, and I spoke very slow, but I did it. It was very exciting for me. My volleyball skills are slowly improving. This may seem unimportant but this has to be the first sport I've actually started to get and like, so it is very cool to me. And on Sunday I had the opportunity to give a talk on prayer. I wasn’t able to do it without notes but it was definitely good practice to write it out and read it out loud.

       Some other cool news, I have two friends here at the CCM (Mexico Missionary Training Center) that I know from back home. The first to come was Hermana Tonga.

She was one of my best friends when I attended SVU and we still have a ton of fun together here. The other is Hermana Hemingway. 

She and I have grown to be best friends over the years and it is so cool to have her here. It´s nice seeing people you know from back home. 

       To sum it all up, this week has been amazing. In all honesty when I first got here it was the hardest thing I had ever done. I didn't feel like I was getting the language and I was most definitely homesick. I wondered "Why am I here?" and "What did I get myself into?" I was completely freaked out.

       It took me three weeks to get to where I am now, but I am finally doing it. No…I´m not a pro at the language, but I´m finally feeling comfortable here. I can definitely tell you that I CAN DO THIS!!!! 

       This week has just been so amazing. On Saturday, Elder Neil L. Anderson came to talk with the CCM. It was so cool to shake his hand and to hear him speak directly to us. 

He talked to us, a lot, about missionary work and what we need to do in order to truly submit ourselves to the work. One thing he said really stood out to me. It was something along the lines of:

´For every person who has ever lived, nothing is more important then the Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore it is so critical that everyone knows him.´

That really got to me. I knew why I had come out here, but I had somehow lost the reason along the way. It just reminded me of the love Heavenly Father and Christ have for each and everyone one of us. They love us, each individually so much it is miraculous. I want others to feel that love as well. To feel that sense of comfort and love, and how great it is that I can help them return to our Father in Heaven. 

       I can honestly tell you that I know this is where I need to be. God loves each and every one of us completely. I know that although I am not the best at the language or the scripture references, with the help of the lord, I will be able to serve a full time mission. Because through him I can do all things

I love and miss you all so much! I’ll see you in 17 months!

Love,

Hermana Gilchrist