Hellooooo from Texas!!!!
By way of clarification, T1 W1 means Transfer 1, Week 1.
So much has happened this week! First of all, my new companion's name is Hermana Martin. She is the sweetest companion! She's 5'9'', with straight blonde hair. She leads mostly by example, so I've learned to pay attention when she does anything, and learn by doing.
My very first day, I arose at the fresh hour of 1:30 AM to go to the airport. We arrived in the Dallas airport, where I was given the opportunity to call my parents, which was a huge blessing.
We arrived in Albuquerque at 10:45 AM. We went to see the temple, and to take a picture. President Guffey and his wife were very nice. Sister Guffey told us she has a Facebook Page for the New Mexico Albuquerque mission. We lunched at the mission home, and were oriented into the mission. I learned a lot about New Mexico, including the significance of the symbol "Zia." I had an interview with President Guffey.
We spent the night at the apartment of the Sister Training Leaders. The next morning, we had a Transfer Meeting at 9 AM in a parking lot near the mission home. There were so many missionaries there!
I was assigned to labor in the El Paso Chamizal Area. We drove for four hours and finally made it to El Paso. We can see the border of Mexico from our apartment complex! There's a huge red X that lights up at night.
Here's a day for you:
Every morning, we've been arising at 6:30 for 30 minutes of exercise - just like real missionaries! :) Hna Martin is ripped, and she and I do crunches every morning as part of the routine. We also do jumping jacks, to get the heart rate up. At 7 AM we have an hour to shower, dress, and eat breakfast. Breakfast has varied greatly this week, but Hna Martin's favorite breakfast is parfaits, so I've been making hers while she showers.
Then, every morning at 8, we have an hour for personal study. As we study, we think about our investigators, their needs, chapters we've assigned them, and chapters that would be good to leave with them next time we visit. Then, at 9 AM, we have companion study. We read out of Predicad Mi Evangelio, and out of the white missionary handbook, and we read out of several other church-provided materials as well. We then share what we learned slash read in personal study, then we talk about our investigators that we're going to visit that day. We often role-play lessons to practice asking and answering inspired questions. This transitions nicely into language study, because we practice in Spanish. Then, at Noon after lunch, we go out to teach, to contact, to find, and to talk to people.
I have met so many people since I've been here, it would take forever to tell you about them all.
One super cool experience I would like to share is this: Our 4 o'clock, Jahayra, cancelled on us. Following a backup plan, we went to contact some former investigators, the Familia Piedras. We knocked, and the door opened right up (this is not common). Hno Piedra smiled and asked us to come in. We came right in to the back of the house, where his wife was. We got to know them a little, and asked what they remembered about our church. Hno Piedras left the room and returned with two copies of El Libro de Mormon, which looked well-worn and read. We began to share Lesson three, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, (see 4th article of Faith). We challenged them to be baptized, and they accepted! They haven't agreed to a date, but we have another appointment with them next week!!
The gospel truly is restored on earth once again. Jesus Christ is our Savior, our Redeemer, and our Older Brother. Through Him we truly can live with our Heavenly Father again. Of these things I testify.
How could anyone ever get bored of this? How can anyone forget how amazing this is? How could we possibly take it for granted?
Love, Love, Love,
Hermana Smurthwaite
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