Bear My Simple Testimony

Hermana Perez and four adorable perritos

Jenna's Glam Room

FAMILYYY!

Happy Birthday to Luchi, mi amor!💗 I hope you have a fantastic time skating. My present to you is that you're going to wash your sweatshirt.

Last week was crazy so I didn't get to write everything. It has been an adventure here every second. But one thing I learned from being a Dirt Diva is how to roll with the punches, because there is always something going on in Diva-ville. I miss those guys! Lesley would laugh at the sight of me and my hobo mop. I'll send a pic next week.

I got to go to the capital on Saturday because Elder Soares came! I rode in a nice gua gua (there are some meth lab gua guas that go commute to shorter distances) with air conditioning and pretty curtains for two hours. The Conference with the Apostle (2 missions combined) was in Spanish, so they gave the English speakers a headset to wear so they could have it translated, but I didn't wear mine and I understood so much! Elder Soares shared some really beautiful truths to comfort everyone regarding the missionary's death last week. This elder was able to call home the week before the accident-- such a tender mercy for his family.   So... it's not that I don't understand Spanish, I just don't understand Dominicans:)

BUT... yesterday we were talking with a sister named Ana and I said a prayer in my head to please let me understand what she was saying, and then I listened really hard (I was probably staring at her) and magically, I started recognizing words! Apparently, she was telling me about how she had cancer. I shared a scripture with her in Ether 12:27 and I started bearing my testimony, but I had to pause and think of the words-- but she got excited because she knew I was trying to speak her language, and so she just finished my testimony for me :))) and told me all about how she knows God can help us with our trials or something like that. It's my favorite thing to bear my simple testimony because the message rings true to them and then they want to talk more about what they believe.

Please notice the curtains in my room. I named the two on the left Kyra and Raquelle respectively!

My heart goes out to Agee!!!! She and her family are in my prayers.

Also I heard Daisy got into BYU and it totally made my day!! I'm so happy for her! All those hours and last-minute changes to the essays paid off!!

I tried goat yesterday.🐐 And I'm not doing that again. It did not end well. It tasted good, but it's probably all the fatty juices she cooked it in.

So my baptism that was supposed to be last week is actually being moved to this week, but he passed his baptismal interview questions and he says he feels ready. Yay! We have lots more baptisms lined up for the next weeks.

I love you all!

-Hermana Ludlam

Elder Mun's selfie

Our plant baby some Elder hid in a closet

I am in the DR!

Jenna's Mexico MTC District (12B) with her teacher, Hermano Mun

 Holaaaaa!

I am in the DR.

And I don´t understand anyone! And I mean it literally!

Entonces, it’s been a long week.

But I have a great trainer! Hermana Perez is the sweetest. Her parents raised her bilingual, so she speaks perfect Spanish and English. She’s from California. I had to say goodbye to my old comps Hermana Day and Geddes, but Day is livin' life lush in the city and Geddes and I are both in a town called Azua. It´s a little poorer and a lot hotter over here. 

The priesthood cat

I barely caught the priesthood cat! He was a tender mercy because I had to leave the MTC at the crack of dawn and I thought I would never get my chance to catch a picture, and just as we're loading the bus to go to the airport, I see the cat! I ran down the block and snap him just minutes before I had to leave the CCM forever.  He even stopped running and posed really special so I could take his picture (right).

Azua, Jenna's first area

The canal I walk through every day in my dress

Wow. The DR is a good time. Everyone lives very humbly in cement huts but they all have smartphones and gigantic speakers so they can blast songs in the street all day and all night.

It´s pretty hot here.

Mish work is easy here. The first person I contacted said, “There’s so many churches, but I just want to find the right one.” President Nelson said this is sacred land because there are so many prepared people. Also, everyone is super chill and friendly. All our lessons are on people’s front porches, and so their husbands or friends or whatever just walk past and we invite them to join us and then they want to be taught more lessons.

So everyone cat calls here and it’s kind of a good time. I’ll just be going along, feeling down because this language is quite impossible and then some guy walks past and calls me “preciosa.” But sometimes it’s creepy because they’ll drive straight at me on their motorcycle and say “me lleva la rubia,” (I’ll take the blonde) and I have to jump out of the way-- but it’s always a good time. Also, everyone rides motorcycles and mopeds and I want one.

Elder Soares

Luci's bookmark is currently marking one of my favorite scriptures in Doctrine and Covenants 6:37

It is very, very hot here.

Elder Ulisses Soares is coming this Saturday! So I get to take the gua gua (bus) for two hours and go into the city!  It’s fun. Also, my first baptism was supposed to be this week, but it will now be this Saturday in the morning.



 I miss you all! Love you lots!

Love,
Hermana Ludlam

Jenna's location on the map

Trail Blazers -- Mexico to the DR

Hi Family!

I got my travel plans! I leave for the airport at 1:00 AM on February 11, and go to Panama, and then I go to the DR! So, if you write to me through the care package, make sure to do it before Saturday afternoon or else I won't get it. Much gras. Also, me and my companions and two elders (Kunzler and Chappel) are the first Americans to fly to the DR from this MTC! We're trail blazing.

I started Week Six! The sun is shining. 😎

Hermanas Geddes, Day and Granados

Hermanas Beetlesque

I met my six new girls in 12D. This is the most girls the CCM has ever had. These girls are all pretty easy going and not super talkative. Quite the contrast to the district with 8 girls.

I can continue my story from last week about needing to "walk around the ship and gather more information" about one particular sister. I did more interviews with girls in her district and I learned so stinkin' much. Everything I thought I had wanted to say wasn't super applicable after all. And now she's moving to a 3-week Latino program, and into a new district. So, problem solved itself. Those are my favorite solutions.

I fasted this week. I'm grateful for that. I'm also grateful for the sacrament. The hymn we sang for the sacrament was #102, "Hoy con humildad te Pido" and I don't know what that is in English. (In Humilty, Our Savior) It's lovely, and the first line of the second verse is "llena nuestro corazon de tolerencia y amor" (fill our heart with tolerance and love) and that happened to be one of the things I fasted for. I need charity. The Atonement of Christ can help us develop those attributes. Also, the that hymn is based off 2 Nephi 2:7, so if you don't know what else to study today, do that chapter. Or at least verses 7 and 8. It's Lehi talking to Jacob. The other thing I fasted for is endurance and motivation to stay diligent in studying.

We had to weigh our bags today! I don't know how, but I'm within the weight limits and I have one suitcase to carry everything-- and Hma Geddes gave me a jar of Nutella!!! She doesn't have room for it :) Also advice for anyone coming to the CCM: they give you several pounds worth of scriptures and textbooks once you get here, so make sure you have enough space for that.

💓 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AVAAAAAAAAAAAA! I love youuuu!

Zone 12 has a 4-year tradition (est 2015) of passing a special, old addition of the BoM through every district, and everyone has to mark their favorite scripture. It's really cool, and us hermanas get to be "keepers" of it until we leave. We have to pass it on to elders in the district that arrived after us (12C).

I hope everyone at home is able to survive with no heat! I'm so sorry everyone is so sick. I pray for you guys in the arctic freeze!

Lots of love,

Hma Ludlammm