Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Peruvian CCM Week One, and All's Well

Dear Everyone!
So hello! I am loving my time here at the CCM. My companion is so so great! It's sad I lose her in two weeks. Then I will get a new Latina for my last 3 weeks here. This place is seriously SO funny! "Seriously funny" what an odd phrase. Anyway, everything is great! The language barrier always proves to be inserting but in a comical way. The other night at dinner, one of the other sisters was trying to ask her companion if she gets hungry at night and in Spanish, you say that you have hunger not that you are hungry. Anyway, this poor sister confused the word "hambre"-hunger for "hombre"-man. She kept asking her companion if she has a lot of men at night. I was laughing so hard I couldn't sufficiently translate for either of them! Things like that happen all of the time! I love it. I am now the official translator for my district. The teachers will be talking and then they will stop, look at the puzzlement on my fellow missionary's faces, the turn to me and tell me to tell them what we are supposed to be doing. It's an adventure. I'm not 100 percent sure about some of my translations but the teachers just nod and smile in agreement to whatever I say. I could get into trouble with that if I'm not careful.
I love the Latino missionaries! They are all so sweet! I told one of them that I liked his tie and he started taking it off to give to me! They are such sweet people. My companion is SO tiny! I just want to pick her up and squeeze her all the time, but I figure that is probably some kind of social no-no so I restrain myself. I find myself patting her head a lot though. I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm bonkers. Sometimes I make up my own words in Spanish and she laughs then corrects me. We have a good time.
So, the gift of tongues is a real thing and I can testify of its reality! Communication is coming so quickly. The elders in my district are all learning very quickly as well! Oh, I love my district here! We are all lost together. Oh, Taylor Brown is in my district! It's so fun! People always ask us if we know each other when we both say we're from Eagar. Apparently none of them have ever seen the size of Eagar...
So, funny story, my compaƱera was asking me how to say different things in English the other day. She asked me "What is 'freaking'?" I told her that it's not very proper English and that only teenagers with poor vocabularies use it. Then she asked if it was bad or when to use it. I told to just not say it at all because it's not a very good word. Then she said " Oh, like -insert s word here-?" I was so taken aback by this! I said no, don't EVER use that word! Then later, when she couldn't see me, I was laughing about it. It's kind of funny what English words and phrases some of them know.
Mom, thanks for the pictures! They got to me just in time! I'm glad to see you got my package! Well, I love you all!!!!!
Love you eternally!
Hermana Anna Elmer
Oh, PS, today I have been a missionary for 1 month! My companion sang me a happy birthday song about it :D
PPS, Mom, are you checking my spelling and punctuation on these things before you post them to the blog? I have to type really quickly due to time constraints.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Last Week of Provo

Hello!
So time continues to soar by here! What everyone says is so true. The days take forever, but the weeks are so short. It's like I'm in the twilight zone or something! I leave here on Wednesday mornig at 6 am! Our flight actually leaves SLC at 9:45? 9:30? Aw heck, I just don't remember. I'm crazy excited to go though! It is going to be a 13 hour flight straight through. And I can't listen to the music or watch the movies. Long, long flight.
I will miss the amazing devotionals and firesides here. They always have awesome speakers. This week it was Elder Hafen of the 70. His talk was just for me I swear it's true...except that's what every single missionary has said about it...haha. Oh, I have been singing in the MTC choir and the choir director sounds just like the Professor Harold Hill from The Music Man! It's hilarious. I love it when he uses phrases like "I should say." It's the best.
So while being here I have known 2 missionaries who have lost a loved one since they've been in the MTC. I have reached the conclusion that if you have to recieve news like that, this is the very place to get it. It's amazing what the Spirit can do for us when we just try to live our very best so He can be a constant influence in our lives.
My conpaionships are going well. Hermana Barlow and I have so much fun all the time! Hermana Schnebly is just so very quiet. She is an individual that has to be addressed before she will speak. I should probably be more like that. I love my companions. They keep my on track and on schedule. I think there might be something about this place that brings out the ADD in me. I have never had such a hard time trying to focus in my life! It's crazy!
Speaking of crazy and being off topic, I got my hair cut yesterday. It's pretty great! ...I guess that's all I have to say about that...
I don't kow when my P-Day will be in Peru but I'm sure you'll figure it out when you get an email from me. Oh yeah, Mom I got the package you sent! Yippee hoorah!!! Thank you so very much! I wioll be sending one right back atcha before I leave.
So how was Stockton's b-day? I can't believe he's so old! Geez, i think that him being 6 make me amost 100. My math might be a little off on that one.
I want to tell you very briefly about my district. I have the very funniest group of Elders known to man! They are all so hilarious but in completely different ways. One of them, Elder Price, reminds me a lot of Tanner. He may or may not be my favorite...ok ok, he is. Speaking of Tanner, now also of Bryan, I haven't recieved their weekly e-mail forwards. Mom, if you could arrange that somehow, that would be marvelous! What was I talking about...oh yeah, my district! Elder Price's comp is Elder Tew. He is kind of a can do funny voices and make crazy facial expressions funny. Elder Paustenbaugh can do impressions really well and they are so great! His Companion is Elder Pinther, our district leader. Elder Pinther doesn't make to many jokes but his reactions to joke are what crack me up. He just really enjoys a good long laugh. Finally it's Elder Jackson and Elder Jarmen. Elder Jackson makes jokes but you have to really be listening or you miss them. It's a pretty dry sense of humor and he was really quiet that first week so I thought he was very serious. Turn's out he's one of my favorites too. His companion Elder Jarmen is still very quiet but he is kind of sneaky funny. He left us Hermanas a message on the white board from Pres Smith (MTC president) telling us that because Peru had been selected as the new location for a school of whichcraft and wizardry, we were being reassigned. Hermana Schnebly, From Mesa, was going to the Mesa, Arizona mission, Click speaking. Hermana Barlow, from Sandy was going to the SLC south mission "Canadian" speaking and I was reassigned to mars, Mongolian speaking. That will be fun.
I love you all immensly!
Hermana Elmer

Thursday, March 4, 2010

MTC!!!!! I'm Actually Here!

Hello All!
So getting the e-mail to work for me was a bit tricky but I finally got it! Yippee Hoorah! This first week was a real doosie! Man alive it was just crazy busy and full of ups and downs. Some ups? Well I have been assigned to the greatest compaion in all the land! Her name is Hermana Morgan Borlow and she's from Sandy Ut. She's a real sweetheart. Some times when she say really Utah-like things she remindes me of Amber Burnham...Hunt. Anyway, she is magnificent and I love her. Spanish is going very very well. On one of the first days, Hermana Barlow and I were having language practice. Two of the elders from our district wandered over and started practicing with us. One of these elders, Elder Price from Pocatello, said, "Hermana, I know why you're here. You're here to help me." I laughed about that for a while. I have two teachers here at the MTC. One is brother Chandler (who served in the same mission as Kyle Cluff, he told me when he heard "Eagar, Az") and the other is Hermano Jimenez. He's from Mexico. He is super great! Anyway, as I was tlaking with President Dickerson on Sunday, he told me, "After talking with your teachers they told me if you were here for more than just the three weeks they would have moved you up to an intermediate class. Heck, maybe you'll get to Peru and they'll just send you right out!" That terrified me! My Spanish is barely kind of alright, not ready to be sent right out! Oh, also, President Dickerson is quite possibly one of the most amazing individuals I have ever come to know. So, interesting story...maybe not actually a story, but kind of. The saying around here is, "if you make it through Sunday night, you'll make it the 2 years (or 18 months)." Well, I have discovered that is true. Origionally in our district there were 4 sisters. Hermana Barlow, Hermana Schnebly (nobody seems to be able to say her name right), Hermana Andrews and myself. The Hermanas Schnebly and Andrews were companions. Hermana Andrews, unfortunately, left us at 9 o'clock Sunday night. Geez, that makes it sound like she died. She didn't die, she went home. It was a pretty big blow to our little district. Even only having been together 4 days at that point, we had gone through what seemed like an aweful lot together. It was really sad and kind of scary to see her leave. It made me feel really afraid that the same thing might happen to me or my companion. However, we are both just holding strong and loving it all! Now Hermana Schnebly (who is from Mesa, Az by the way!) are a three some. The MTC continues to be a source of wonderment to me. The elders in our district are all great fellows. Sometimes they might forget that the are representatives of the Lord and act like, well, 19 year old boys. However, for the most part they are very wonderful, obedient elders and I am greatful for the comedic relief that they bring into my life. I never go through a class or a meal without laughing a whole lot. Oh yeah, mom, a few things, thank you SO so so much for the Dearelders! I love getting anything in the mail! Also, the elders are having a competition in which they get points for various forms of mail. I think it's 2 points for an actual letter not from family, one point if it's from family or if it's a dear elder not from family and a half point if it's a dearelder from family. I thank you for boosting my score! PS, packages are worth a whole lot! (hint hint) Speaking of, could you please send me pictures!!!!!! I would absolutely love that! Also, mom if you could get into my gmail with the information I sent home with dad and foreward Tanner and Bryan's e-mails on to me that would be super! So Bryan was the first one to write me a letter and he was the only person on my People I'm Super Happy with list. But now the list is a little longer. Well, the time is a tickin down so I must be off! This thing actually kicks you off! Anyway, I need to go do laundry. Oh yeah, I saw all of the Round Valley people here as well as an EFY boy and Robin!
I sure love you all lots!
Hermana Elmer