Hi Mom!!!!!!!

     Guess what I learned this week! I'm not nearly as patient and loving as I thought....I'm working on that. My companion is a little four foot three inch Mexicana. She's sweet..... we just are not on the same page....like ever. She only has four months in the mission and besides the 15 day companionship she had, I'm her first companion after her trainer.  She's just interesting...... but I know that I'm here to help her, but it's really hard to help someone who throws you under the bus.....but it's okay. I had a good crying session this week. I know I will be held accountable for my behavior and not hers, so I have to do my part and be kind and loving and patient. That's hard.....but I feel terrible that I am not being that patient, loving person ALL OF THE TIME.  I definitely feel inadequate in the whole understanding and love department. I know who Heavenly Father wants me to be and yet....how the heck am I supposed to become that person? Well... The Book of Mormon has become my best friend and I'm just reading and reading and reading=)

      You know when you think of missionaries or at least when I did... you always think of happy go lucky spiritual giants that preach happily every single day and love everyone. And when I read the emails of other missionaries it still seems that way.....and then theres me..... okay... not just me.  I was talking to Hna Bowen and Richardson from the ccm and they agree. Maybe it's just the difference in a US mission and foreign? Probably not.....

     

     It's actually kind of funny.  Normal occurrences in my life are finding spiders in my bed (not even a big deal now,) hauling 5 gallon buckets from the bathroom to the kitchen to fill the laundry thing, walking for hours on end in the Caribbean sun while men yell at me "AMERICANA!"  Having the lights go off almost every day, being eaten by mosquito's and finding centipedes on our patio. They can get BIG!!!!!!

      US missionaries are so spoiled. I don't even know what they complain about. But I know all missions are hard but wow....they have couches in their houses! I have a tile floor and a metal chair.... it really just makes me laugh.  I read Axl's email about how healthy he eats and laughed.....well when we are out we have access to unlimited amounts of cake and soda and no one ever feeds us dinner..... almost never.....=)    And yes.........I have officially walked to the end of the world and back in this area. It is so big!!!!!! 

Love,

Leah

    

Hello,

     Well.....this was different.....let me just set up this scene for you, here we go.

Hna Blanch and I had a normal morning.  We studied and prepared our talks for our district meeting and whatnot. We left early though because we had to find the house of an investigator. We left the  house at about nine twenty and were looking for the house when at about nine forty-five I get a call from the assistants....."Hi Hna Carey how are you?    Oh I'm good Elder how about you?   I'm good... well... we are having special transfers and you are going to Moca. So say goodbye if you can, pack your bags and we will be there in two hours to pick you up......     ARE YOU KIDDING ME? ARE YOU JOKING?  WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M GOING TO MOCA?"   Yep.... THAT WAS OUR CONVERSATION. The SISTERS IN MOCA COULDN'T GET ALONG SO WE GOT TO SWITCH COMPANIONS.  So now I'm lost in the middle of a new area in the middle of the transfer without having said goodbye to one single person from my favorite area....I'm learning a lot about moving forward in faith without knowing beforehand what I am supposed to do. I was reading in the Liahona about Nephi and how he didn't know how Laban would be delivered into his hands but he moved forward in faith. It's like the taking one step into the dark in faith and trusting that the light will come. Yep.... I'm currently having a growing experience here. But I know I'm here for a purpose. Not sure what it is but I'm going to trust that Heavenly Father knows what's up......

     Hna Blanch and I were both told that that our new companions need lots of hugs, love and patience....so that's cool. She seems really sweet, but I feel bad for Hna Blanch because this is her first Spanish companion and she called me crying this morning because she can't communicate. Sometimes I wish that whole tower of Babel thing hadn't have happened, because wow...... we suffer.  Man I didn't say goodbye to anyone! I'm pretty heartbroken by that actually.  But my new companion is sweet.  Just insecure, new and demanding ...but I'm a lot more mellow now so I think we should be fine.   I just feel like I'm babysitting here....

     Also I'm in the most Catholic town EVER! There's even a giant cathedral thing in the middle of the town. Yep.... they think it's really funny to ring bells at six AM. Yep the freaking Catholics are waking me up! But it's cool and I'll adjust. It was just a huge shock. This only happened on Monday. But yep that's the news for the week. 

Love you!

Hna Carey 

 Hello,

    Well, news from last week, we found a farm! And a less active member who lives on the farm! He was looking for a cow to butcher. Yep, so he lassoed it (sorry i don't know how to spell that) and just chased it to the butchers with a rope around its neck. But.... that made the cow very upset so he tried to run away in the rice field. Rice fields are pretty though! Also, that cow died and I got to see  right after and...... cows sure do have a lot of blood....that was a first. 

      We have a new district leader who used to be the assistant. Its pretty cool and fun =) We got to help build a house this week too! That was such a fun service project! It's good when the people can see us out and helping and working together with others. They can see that we are willing and then they get to know the church better too, so that is always a plus! 

     I had to cross a bridge with holes this week and the wooden planks would bend whenever someone stepped on them...also the whole bridge was slanted. I got stuck in the planks on the bridge and my companion and a member had to get on the bridge to help me get off the bridge.....gravity challenges me a lot  But those are the highlights!

Hna Carey

Dad,

     We set a baptismal date this week with our golden investigator! Whoo Hoo!!! So psyched! Also these past two weeks we´ve seen a huge change in one of our less actives! She is starting to get her life back on track and even started wearing her garments again and has goals to go to the temple! We can see a light and happiness in her countenance!

       Also, our fridge broke last week and we haven't found anyone to fix it.... so we have learned to live without a fridge....But we forgot to buy food for Sunday.... so in the night time we were about starving and officially begged for food.....It was kind of funny. Oh yeah so that same Sunday we were hungry and proselyting and saw a cherry tree (and we can pick fruit off of any tree and it's totally cool here) so I was in the process of climbing on top of my companion to pick some cherries (she was trying to boost me up) when a member walks by....haha....try explaining that one!....yeah... so we´re hungry and just really wanted some cherries=) He gladly helped us=) Well that's about it!

Love you!