Family and Friends,

     Leah had a rough entry into mission life in Santiago.  She was physically sick as well as dealing with the stress and anxiety of a new culture and language.  She seems to be doing better and I am cutting and pasting some excerpts from her emails home.

Andrea

Hey mom!

     Yeah I'm fine! This week was good! I had my major melt down, but now I'm pretty okay, I think. Every day is hard, don't get me wrong, but it is now just normal missionary frustrations...language and teaching and constanltly being exhausted.  As far as the anxiety goes I'm dealing with it and learning to replace my fear of change with faith. Dad's email to me last week was incredible and he gave me some amazing advice! He hit every single thing I was worried about and helped to calm my worries. I read it every morning! 

     I got the first package!!!  Thank you!  Mom I've lost a lot of weight….I'm learning how to learn to eat, rather than live to eat. Then again we are just running on coke and whatever we buy at the colmado as meals currently….I've never been too tired to eat but I am when I get home! We work right through dinner and then I just go to bed! On the bright side my yoga pants are super cute on me! And I wore my hair down today because we aren't proselyting until 6 and went out with people in our district.  I got hissed at a lot.... totally awkward when you´re walking next to your district leader and people start yelling rubio Linda and hissing... He told me men who do that are called snakes.  I didn't wear make up for the first week and a half because I was a basket case and I pretty much shocked the elders in my district when I actually wore make up and did my hair. One of them said you are not the person we played bball with this morning.....that was funny.... Dominicans are very blunt.....So now whenever we all go out the elders hiss and yell rubio to make fun of me....haha it's funny. They made me practice looking the other way when people hiss because you are not supposed to acknowledge it. You're supposed to just keep walking, which is what I already do, but they made me practice...=) It's funny you'd think the people here have never seen a white person...... actually I had kids point at me in the streets with wide eyes. So... yeah there´s that. But you know me its not like I mind attention.=) The reactions are mainly just funny.   Oh do you want to send me some fun stickers? That would be nice! Thanks mom I love you!

Leah

Hey Dad!

     Way better this week! Went way faster and now that I'm not sick every morning it is a lot easier to start the day and get through the mornings. I had a cool experience.  We visited this lady who is less active and she was telling us how she is sick and doesn't understand why and how she tried to commit suicide, but knew it was wrong. But she still wanted too and thought about it.  And it was super tender because I just sat there only half knowing what was going on and just feeling so strongly that I needed to tell this lady that I knew God loved her and that he would give her strength. And I just bore my testimony of that and it was really sweet because even though I can't completely speak I still have that simple knowledge and that can make a world of difference. Also General conference was amazing! That talk by elder Uchtdorf was an answer to my prayers! I saw it in english too! Also at the stake center half of it is kind of outside. Like you go outside from the chapel and walk to the classrooms.  Anyways a man rode his motercycle right on in! it wasn't technically in the chapel,  but it kind of was...it was funny! I love you!

Leah