Week One en el Bolso

Hermana Ludlam's District in the CCM
Elder Hucks, Elder Musick, Elder Scourse, Elder Delgado, ME and the hermanas, Elder Kunzler, Elder Chappell,
Elder Durrant and Elder Grow

Hi familia!!!

Wow! Week one en CCM (Mexico MTC) is done! And it feels like I've been here for two months. So much has happened! One minute I am super motivated and super hungry to learn all I can and the next, I feel super blah and I just want to go home. But I have been learning so much!! Like "que pasa calabaza? Nada nada limonada!" (the janitor taught me that one). The elders in my district wanted to know how to say "full send" en español. Our teacher taught us "fondo!" I also learned lots of important stuff, like memorizing scriptures, and how to plan lessons, etc.

My companions! Hermana Geddes (like lettuce with a "geh") and Hermana Day (on right) at our study table in our lovely dorm (my bed is the top bunk on the right). They are both fantastico and we laugh lots! I get to spend every minute of my day with them. We're all going to the same mission!

My district is lots of fun too. There are 4 Elder companionships (8 guys). My companions and I are the only hermanas. (Two elders are going with us to the DR.) We're the first Americans at the Mexico MTC to go to the DR!

I have two teachers here at the CCM. The morning teacher is Hermano Mun, and he's very laid back. He's from Oaxaca and he has a very thick Mexican accent. He takes us to the computer labs to learn Spanish a couple times a week and he gets bored, so he quietly sings primary songs to himself ("whenever I hear the song of a bird, or look at the blue, blue sky...") but then he forgets the words and switches into Spanish. He's pretty entertaining. My evening teacher is Hermano Flandes, and he is much more structured. He's a native to Mexico but his Spanish is very clear! He's great at explaining things. My companions and I think he wears a hair spray that attracts bugs because whenever he walks around outside, he has a ton of gnats flying over him. I laugh whenever I think of it. I wish I had a picture, but I can only take pictures on P-day (I didn't get one last week). I'll have more for next week.

Can you see the red bumps on my feet? I have bandaids on both heels. They're bleeding a lot.

The Mexico MTC is soo beautiful. Lots of palm trees and boulevards. I live in one of the casas. We spend most of our time in the classroom but sometimes we get to enjoy the sun in la Zona de Estudia (Study Zone). It's actually super chilly and dry here! I'm getting strange rashes on my shins and feet from the lack of moisture. Pictured is the Zona de Estudia. My classroom building is the Heber J Grant on the left, and if you look closely you can see an elder who saw me taking a picture and stood to give me a thumbs up.

Here at the CCM, they offer colorful jello at every meal. Most people eat it all the time, but if a seasoned Elder notices you never put jello on your tray, you're told to "get back on the jello." Also, some of the more daring elders choose to participate in events such as the "horchata challenge" or fitting an entire Costco cookie in your mouth. Of course, you have to cheer the participants on by pounding the table and chanting "fondo! fondo!" Isn't it such a lovely environment? Also when our teacher tries to organize us to play a game by saying "get in a circle," the elders then tell each other "square up. Make my day." And whenever someone does anything nice for you, sarcastic elders respond with "gracias por Su amor" which is one of the easier phrases you can memorize when learning to say a prayer in Spanish. As you can see, everyone has bonded quite nicely.

But for real! My district is really cool. I thought I knew which elders were just here because they had an obligation to serve. I thought I knew which ones were show offs and which ones just plain had a bad attitude. Over these past couple (long) days, I've really gained a respect for all of them. Everyone is really cool.

The Glorious Gate to the Outside World

I feel like a totally different person than I was before I was set apart. Like Ava says, God takes good care of his missionaries. I've noticed so many blessings! I can focus in class way better than I ever could in college. I take so many notes and I study a lot. Even at 8:00 pm, I'm still excited to study the scriptures! I also have been able to recall so much Spanish vocab. This week, I've been studying Moroni 10:3-5 because we have to memorize it. I haven't been able to more than the first two words to stick until one night when our district got together and we all shared our testimonies and scriptures in the BoM. After that, I prayed and said "I can't do this on my own. I know I can do it with Thy help. Please help me to memorize this scripture!" And boom, I almost instantly had the whole thing memorized. Just in case anyone is curious, I've memorized the most scriptures/ phrases out of my district. It's not a competition.

Jumping in on the "What is this?" joke

Also, if anyone has any good scriptures they read this week, or anything else they want to share, you should write to mtcmexicocarepackage.com (my district is 12B) because then the MTC will print out the letters for me and I don't have to read them during my very short time on the computer! It works very well. Thanks to everyone who sent my letters!! It made my heart feel so full. I love you all so much! I'll have better stories and more pictures for you next week.

Some missionaries trying to see over our wall (we have some jokes about the wall with being in Mexico and all-- and it's crazy outside the CCM! Cannons and gunshots and sirens all day long out there.)

Love,

Hermana Ludlam