I Felt the Earth Move Under my Feet!

No longer just the lyrics to a catchy Carol King song. That´s right, I have experience my first earthquake! Cool huh? It was the middle of the night and I thought one of the hermanas was shaking me to wake me up. I rolled over to see who it was, turns out it was our planet! Neato. Then, I learned that we are just at the beginning of "earthquake season" like they have for hurricanes, only less predictable. Oh my goodness, my life is so cool!

So last Saturday ´s proseletismo was so great! At first it was a little bleh because nobody on our list was home or their address didn´t actually exist, little things like that. However, by the end of our few hours, we had managed to talk to a grand total of...3 people. On our way back my companion wanted to stop at this little tienda to get something for her gnarly blisters. The woman inside finished helping us and my companion turned to me and mouthed "contacto?" I smiled and said "si, contacto." We began to talk to this woman about her life and everything. She said that she reads the bible everyday and she just loves the word of god. Perfect. We told her about the Book of Mormon and Christs visit to the Americas. She was so interested and SO ready! Her and her father both said that they would read. They were just so excited to get started. Truly, the field is white! It was such an amazing experience and such a miracle to me. I was able to talk to her and not have to think about verb conjugations or grammar syntax, I just spoke. I think for just a moment the Lord blessed me with the gift of tongues. Actually, he probably blessed the woman we were talking to as well with the interpretation of tongues :)

So I have been translating meetings a lot lately. I like it! I can understand a lot more than I can say, that´s for sure.

So this time next week I will be in Arequipa! Yippee hoorah! Man, the time is flying! I think it might be a bit bizarre to not see Hermana Barlow everyday, she´s been with me since Provo. I will for sure miss her, we have a lot of fun together. Speaking of Arequipa, I met my mission president today at lunch. Cool huh? He´s such a happy guy. I think we will get along just fine.

Oh, have I ever told you all of the weird foods I´ve had here in the CCM? We´ve had some doosies! Por ejemplo, "pancita" aka cow stomach. Also, I ate octopus the other day. One of the main dishes here is seviche that´s spanish for "whatever crawls out of the ocean", and the list could go on but I´ll stop.

Well, I just don´t know what else to write ya´ll about. Keep the faith. I sure love you all lots and lots!

Feel free to send pictures just any old time! (hint hint)

Con mi amor

Hermana Anna Elmer

Oh yeah, pictures!

Some are from Provo time but I have to catch up now that I know how to send them! The first me is being cool like Samuel Smith, the next is me in the token mission map picture, gorgeous flower, this weird poofy plant thing that looks like the one from Horton Hears a Who, and finally, me and my tiny compañera Hermana Benites

Peru CCM and Temple Pictures

CCM Time, Ticking Away

Ok, let's try this again.

Well, hello! So this week has been interesting. The coordinating sister business is fun. It's like being an EFY counselor for big kids! I love it. My new compañera is so great! She is just this quiet little thing but she has opened up more and more each day. I just love her. She is quite possibly even smaller than Hna Reyes, I wouldn't think that that would be possible. Yesterday we had an "enseñanza"-teaching- with Elder Loli. He's a 70. As if that isn't rough enough, 3 districts were observing. Yikes. It went well though. It made me realize how much I just don't know. Teaching in general and teaching in Spanish especially. I have only 2 more short weeks here then I'm out to el campo! Whoop!

Our zone had an "English fast" yesterday. That was an adventure. No English, puro español. We figured that when it tells us to fast and pray often in the scripture, it doesn't say what kind of fast. It helped me learn a lot of new words for sure! I think that I'm doing ´pretty ok with the Spanish. They have me translate the meetings sometimes. I sit at the back of the chapel and translate for the new North Americans into a microphone and they have headsets. It's really fun I like it. Sometimes I get a little lost so I just have to give my best guess...Don't tell my faithful listeners though...

So today is the no more mail sent to the CCM day. From now on letters should be sent to my mission home address. I gave that to you a few emails past.

Here's a random story, yesterday one of the latina sisters was trying to ask her companion the sound that Americans think a chicken makes. Apparently south american chickens sound different or something. I told her companion what she wanted and she said was so confused so I just made the chicken sound. The latina sister thought that that was just about the greatest thing she'd ever heard and had me do it over and over again. Now sometimes missionaries will just come up and ask me for farm animal noises. I don't get it.

Well I love the work and I am so excited for another proseletismo this Saturday! We've only gone that one time. I will be sure to tell you how it goes! Hopefully something like D&C 112:19 :)

I sure love ya'll!

Hermana Anna Elmer

Oh PS, if any of you have sent me Dearelders, I will not get them until I got out to my mission home, I promise I'm not ignoring you!

Picture are working! Yippee Hoorah! There´s one of a groups of us sisters at the temple, one of my district, one of me in my official P-day shirt, the nutcracker one, and my new comp. (Thank you Wendy, Megan and Karen)