Hello everyone! 

     This past Sunday was the craziest day EVER!!!!!  We had the funniest lesson I've ever had! Okay, so first we meet this guy in the street and contacted him and asked if we could visit him one day. He´s got one sunken eye and he told us that we should know who he is because we always say hi to him (but we always say hi to everyone, so we didn't have a clue. He was a little upset so we pretended that we totally knew who he was). 

     So we get to his house and it's one of those super sketchy houses from a horror movie that you´d get murdered in.....so we taught him outside. Okay, so we get there and it smells like beer and cigarettes. He's got two friends over - and one of them only has one arm.   We start a lesson type thing and they kind of just start asking us questions and then he says, "so what about this Smith fellow?"  And Hna Snow says, "oh you mean Joseph smith?" Well, he was a prophet. "Do you remember the prophets in the Bible?"  And they're like "oh yeah, I've read the Bible tons of times, but I don't really remember any of it." So she says okay.  Then she asks them.   "Do you remember Adam and Eve?" Well, Adam was a prophet. And he goes "oh yeah! Adam and Eve! Who won Eve? quien gano a Eva?" That's what he said in Spanish. That's the translation and in both languages it doesn't make any sense. At this point we´ve figured out that they are all crazy, so I try to wrap it up really quick and I tell them all  I've got some presents for them and I start to get out a pamphlet. 

     While I'm explaining, el folleto, this other guy is talking to Hna Snow about how he really loves beer a lot and also the women in the streets. You know how they are just so great!!!! I didn't even notice this part, so I ask if we can say a prayer.   At this point they all jump up and Hna Snow is explaining that we cross our arms and close our eyes but they had different ideas. They all surround us and start waving their hands in the air and start saying the weirdest prayer I've ever heard. The sunken eye guy before the prayer finishes,  goes "okay, yep! I feel it.   The Spirit is coming, the spirit is coming!" The one armed guy has his one arm in the air and doesn't know whats going on and says amen twice in the middle of the prayer. And I officially couldn't handle it any more and busted out laughing in the middle of the prayer as (quietly) as possible. Then they all said amen and then began closing in on us even more and we left as fast as possible.  And yep....... that was the highlight of my week! love you all!

Hna. Carey

Hello everyone!

     WELL GUESS WHAT!!!!!!! I HIT 9 MONTHS TODAY! YEP THAT´S RIGHT! 9 MONTHS!!!!!!!! Yay me! I'm so psyched about that! I never thought I´d get there! But half way done! Wow, so fast! 

     So, I had a cool experience on the bus today with my district. We are only a district of 4, ha ha=). So we met these people that are from the DR, but lived in the US for about 9 years and they speak really good English.  My district leader is training someone, so he's still super new and doesn't understand a lot of Spanish.   It was so cool to see him get to explain so much about the Gospel in English and stretch his missionary muscles! Also we were sitting in front of them and Hna Snow and I were talking about how weird it is to hear someone talk about the Gospel in English because .....it's just weird. We talk all day long in Spanish and then we had to stop and explain it all in English.  It was SUPER hard! Our brains are now hardwired to connect the Gospel and Spanish together. So we were talking and it's like when we talk in Spanish it means more if that makes sense. It's more significant and somehow we can feel the spirit stronger in Spanish. Super weird!  I was thinking about that and I think that maybe because that is the language we are called to serve in and preach in.  So yeah, it does sound weird and feel weird, but it feels peaceful and calming when we talk about our Heavenly Father in Spanish.   It was just a cool thought. 

      Anyway we have a great potential baptism! I sure hope it works out! Love you guys!

Hna. Carey

Hello everyone! 

     Haha, so pictures are not going to happen, sorry I  didn't bring my camera. Yesterday it rained like CRAZY! Flooding in the streets and everything! whoo hoo! What an area!

      I love my companion. We are always laughing! Yesterday the power went out when she was trying different face cleansing things.  I mentioned that I had once seen on Pinterist, that if you boil water and stick your face in the steam that it opens up you pores.....and she tried it.=) Super funny, especially because we only had a flash light.... we almost peed ourselves laughing.=) We died laughing in the dark in our kitchen!  We have fun!    

     We have a really great new investigator! We had an amazing lesson with her and we all felt the spirit really strong and could testify that it was the spirit that we all felt. It was such a special experience. I´m so so grateful to have this Gospel and have this opportunity to share it with everyone I meet!

 I love you all!

Hna. Carey 

p.s. Hey, I got your card Mom.! Ollie's picture is on my wall! Thanks for the note. I got that on a pretty rough day. It's funny how it always seems to work that way.=) 

Leah emailed a day late.

Hello everyone! 

     Ha ha.... no new P Day. It´s a funny story....So I couldn't write yesterday because everything in the city was shut down! Why you may ask? WELGAS! Now what is a welga? Yep that's a fun thing where people start shooting in the air and throwing burning tires in the streets because they´re upset with political decisions! Whoo Hoo! =) Yep, so yesterday at 6:50 in the morning our DL calls us to ask if there is a riot where we are too, because they started shooting at 5 AM in front of his house! Lucky for us it was only on the other side of town where the elders live! It was over after a couple of hours, but after Welgas EVERYTHING  shuts down. SO that means no Internet centers. We weren´t allowed to leave the house to go proselyting, so we spent the majority of our day in the house! Whoo Hoo! That was an interesting experience! Yep, so that's cool....welcome to the campo! 

     My area is super different...small, but nice! I love my new companion though! She's super low key and we get along really well! YAY! So that was the highlight of my week...=)  I guess i´ll never forget that! Anyways I love you all! 

Hna. Carey

     Hi Mom! I love you! Guess what?  I'm in the country!!!!! Like THE COUNTRY!!!!!! In Esperanza! I was in Santiago in Los Reyes, but now I'm in my second area! It a campo!  Hey, my new companion is super cool!!!!!!! I'm so happy transfers came!!!!!!!!!!

     My new house is GORGEOUS!!!!! Not like America pretty, but like a huge step up for a missionary pretty! IT HAS MIRRORS!!!!!!!! I HAVEN'T SEEN WHAT I LOOK LIKE IN 8 MONTHS PRACTICALLY! I've had Dominicans tell me that my calves are fat but now that I can actually see them in the full length mirror they are sooooo not that fat!!!!!

Hey bye, I love you!

Hello Everyone!!!!

     So I had a completely ridiculous experience this week! We were in a ruta on our way to a devotional.  And is was a sketchy ruta from the beginning...... It was like just thin metal sheets that were holding us in that car. Well, it started going really slow and we didn't know why. We were on a road where he should have been booking it. (because they usually do) We finally asked the driver what was wrong and he kindly informs us that WE HAVE RUN OUT OF GAS! So the motor is now off and we are just rolling down the road! ROLLING! So he goes as far as he can until we stop. Now it is officially dark and starting to rain. And he lets us out and gives us our money back. Now it is a Dominican rule that if we don't get to our destination, or if the ruta breaks, they return the money. So we find another ruta and get in and this ruta driver is a real nice guy and wants to help out the first ruta driver.  And so he gets behind the first broken ruta and hits it (actually car hitting car) and pushes this car to the gas station. We all just looked at each other like are you kidding me? Then getting home from the devotional we got a ride with a member in the back of his pick up truck. You know like on real roads we were driving and we're in the back..... but wait it gets better.  I'M HOLDING A FOUR YEAR OLD ON MY FREAKING LAP!!!!!!! Yep this is the country I live in. I've never held a kid so tight in my entire life:) 

     I got Aunt Diahan's package!!  Yay food!  The perfume she sent me smells really good too.   It's called Scarlet Kiss by Bodycoligy.  I like it a lot!  She also sent me orange nail polish.   So I've been rocking that!   It is the month of Halloween:) 

     Those are the highlights of my week.  I'm pretty sure I'm getting transferred next week, so i'll officially be leaving my first area. I'm sad about that, but its good to get to know more of the country.:)

Love,

Hermana Carey

Hello everyone! 

     So I ran into soooo many things this week! 1. A sack of bananas from a banana tree with my face 2.  A fire extinguisher that was attached to the wall....also with my face 3. A bright orange giant gate that was super obvious.....with my hip. Yep apparently I'm just a bulldozer and can't watch where I'm going!

      My cooking experiences were great this week! I followed with our tradition and made french toast for conference! Mom it's better with milk and evaporated milk too!!! I made it for the sisters and Elders! I only made it for the Elders so they would give me their syrup which I kept and now I have it for more french toast! I also made pasta salad! That was good! Then yesterday I made homemade garlic mashed potatoes! So... mashed potatoes with a fried egg, avocado and hot sauce.......SUPER GOOD! I'm going to learn to make rice this week.... we'll see how that goes!

      Today was fun! Well, hard but fun! We climbed to the top of a peak which sucked, but was super pretty, so it was worth it! We payed a guy to take us up in his truck to where the trail leads off and that was funny! He got a flat tire and I have never seen a tire shredded in my entire life until today! Well it was fun! We fit 14 people into the back of that little truck and climbed the mountain! Yay! 

But yup.... those are the highlight of the week! 

     Oh and conference!  LOVED THAT! It was like vacation!:) Man, the general authorities are just so great aren't they? Anyways love you!

Hna Carey

 Dad,

     Conference was so great!!!!!!!  I learned a lot! Conference is different to watch on the mission! It's just nice to be on the receiving end of the advice and counsel! I never thought in my entire life I would have to console and help people with problems like the ones I have encountered.......half the time  inside I feel like "are you kidding me Heavenly Father?"  I'm only 19, how am I supposed to help them? Then a scripture will come to my mind and and I just start talking and let the spirit guide what I say until they feel the love that Heavenly Father has for them. It is an amazing feeling! Being a missionary is so hard, but I love it so much! I love teaching people and helping them to realize who they really are and how special that is!  I love You!

Leah