Firsts... Day, Companion, Area

So after we left the CCM we went to the mission offices to get a little more training about the mission and what would be happening later that day. We met the mission president and his wife and took pictures with them. Then they gave us all sorts of instructions and books and advice. It was cool. We then got on a bus and headed to a chapel where transfers would be held. They kept us in a big room in the back for a little while... and then they said everything was ready. I didn't know what to expect.. but as we walked into the chapel and the entire mission was waiting for us! They were all standing up and singing 'Called to Serve' in the spanish and walked through and sat up on the stand. It was an amazing feeling! Wow.. I had never seen so many missionaries at once! They finished singing and everyone sat down. We had a prayer, a spiritual thought, announcements, a small lesson from President and Sister Tyler and then President Tyler did the transfers. This is the moment that we would receive our trainers! I was so nervous! So he called us up one by one and introduced us to the mission. He said it all in spanish so I don't know what he was even saying about me! Haha.. but it was still cool. After he introduced us, he started announcing the transfers around the mission. I was almost one of the last ones to receive a companion and I was still so nervous!! Then he finally called out my name and said that Hermana Camacho would be my trainer AND we would be opening a new area in Miraflores! What?! I was told that we were moving the lines of the mission because they added a new mission in Lima and Cuzco which meant that my new area would be in a zone that would be added to my mission from the Lima South mission.

Hermana Camacho and I

After transfers, we said goodbye to all of our friends and got ready to leave to go to our apartments. I really didn't know what was going on so I just kinda stood back while my companion talked to people to figure things out. Well, we were waiting for about 20 minutes and were almost the last missionaries to leave. I was a little confused by this. Then someone tells me that we didn't have an apartment! Whaaaaaaaat! Evidently our new zone leaders (perviously part of the Lima South mission) forgot to get us an apartment in our area. So we were told to go to another area and stay the night with some other sisters from the mission. So the assistents took us to the temporary area and told us it would just be for a couple of days.

Hermana Gardener and I

Well, a couple of days turned into a week because they were having a hard time finding an apartment for us. So we just stayed and taught lessons and did splits with the sisters we were staying with, Hermana Gardener and Hermana Bonilla. it was a fun and unique first week for sure. I saw so many things that I didn't inderstand and I had so many questions and I knew such little spanish! It was so difficult but I was loving every minute of it.

 

A tiny banana!

This week we had away from our area was actually really cool because I was able to practice a lot of the lessons. I remember one time we were going to teach a little boy about the church. He was about 12 years old. When we got to his house my companion told me that we were going to teach him about prophets and the Restoration and the story of Joseph Smith. She then told me that I would be teaching about Joseph Smith. I looked at her like she was crazy! Surely she couldn't be serious... I didn't know any spanish! But she told me to do the best I could. So I did. I started telling about Joseph Smith and his life.. but I was really struggling... I didn't know the words! I finally said all that I knew and decided to just bear my testimony or talk about the things I knew were true. I finished and looked at my companion and she gave me a nod of approval. Later, after we left, my companion was staring at me weird and I didn't know why. The other American sister, Hermana Gardener, told me that it was because of my spanish. I was confused and wondered if I had said something wrong. She said that I didn't way anything wrong. She said that as I was explaining the story of Joseph Smith I was struggling to get the words out but the moment I began to bear my testimony I started speaking perfect spanish. Wow.. I knew that I would not have been able to do that alone and knew that God had helped me in that moment. So cool! A couple of days after that we were finally able to move into our new apartment and area and I was so excited!!