Caminando en Chiapas: MTC, Spanglish, New Comp, P-Day..Good times!!

HOLA MI FAMILIA!

Hermana Hansen's new companion, Hermana Baker from Orem

Como estas?

HOLA.

I'm going to apologize now for the Spanglish that will be happening in this email.... my mind thinks half in Español now. Which is good...? Except now I don't have a language.

So Saturday is my P-Day!! I am on the West CCM (MTC) Campus and it is FABULOUS. It's all in Wyview and Raintree. So our classroom is in this little apartment in Raintree! Its hilarious. The best thing about the West CCM is EVERYONE speaks Spanish... so every time you pass someone they greet you. Usually with, "Hola Hermanas!"

Studying in our classroom in a little apartment in Raintree.

I'm telling you, being called Hermana is the best thing ever. I was so excited when I got my name tag! It's like the most personal name I've ever been called... but also the most general name...I know. It doesn't make sense. But whatevs. Guess you have to be a Hermana to understand! Surprisingly... there are not a lot of Hermanas here. I guess they are all on main campus...?

(so um..... STEP IT UP SISTERS!)

Man, here at the MTC we just GO GO GO.

It never stops! Yesterday we taught our first lesson to our "investigator" ....(Bro. Ashby our teacher tried to convince us she was a real investigator... but shes definitely LDS. Guess its OK for MTC teachers to lie here ;) )...

EN ESPAÑOL. WAT. Like..we just got here on Wednesday! But it went really well... surprisingly.

Hermana Baker is VERY good at español... she has taken 4 years of it in her pre-mission life. So that's helpful when I can only understand about 65% of what the investigator is saying.

But, let me tell you something.... THE GIFT OF TONGUES IS REAL. During the lesson, there were a couple instances where I had to bear my testimony, or say the prayer, and I just started randomly putting words together to make phrases and sentences that I have never once said before.

We got out of the lesson and Hma Baker grabbed me and said, "HERMANA. Where did you learn all of those words? I heard you say at least 5 words you've NEVER said before in your life!"

I guess I just heard Hma Baker say them and they came to me in my moment of need! The fact that I got through that lesson is just another proof that GOD IS REAL and THIS GOSPEL IS TRUE. I'm not gonna lie. Spanish is hard. I'm really, really, not very good. Especially not good enough to carry a conversation with mi campanera y mi investigator.,,,For thirty. Freaking. Minutes. But.... somehow I did.

Church is true, guys! Church is true!

So a couple funny highlights of my last few days:

Hma Baker and I struggle sleeping. Like it takes an hour or more of us laying in bed for us to finally get to sleep. (This is weird for me... because if any of you were at BYU with me you know I can fall asleep ANY time, ANY place.) I guess it's the bazillion Spanglish thoughts zooming around in my head.

So, last night I hear a clicking noise in the dark. I say, "Hma Baker... do you hear that?" She said kind of awkwardly, "Uh... yeah. I'm just.... knitting." Then we both burst out laughing. She was laying there. KNITTING. In the ABSOLUTE DARKNESS. Apparently that helps her fall asleep....

Elder Cox and Elder Shepherd went in to teach their 30 minute lesson... and they came out after 6 minutes. We were like, "Elders, what went wrong??" And they started laughing and said, "Uh.... Elder Shepherd forgot his scriptures. And we don't know any Spanish. So we just kinda asked if we could leave her with a prayer and left."
Ha ha, they are KNUCKLEHEADS.