Hey y`all!
Alright, so first things first... I have BIG news! Chile happens to have their Independence Day next week, and the Church was not able to get any flights to ship us out of the MTC!! So... I am leaving THIS Thursday! A whole week early! Crazy, right?! I can't believe it. I am still in shock, honestly. But I am so excited, there are no words! I leave at 4 p.m. for the airport, but my actual plane does not leave until about 9:30 p.m.. The flight is going to be about 10.5 hours, which is the longest flight that I have ever had in my life! That should be interesting. But, it will give me lots of time to study up on the language! LOL!
Not a whole lot happened this week. We did have Mexican Night on Saturday evening, which was for Mexico's Independence Day. (Yes, I get to celebrate 2 countries' Independence Days in 2 weeks! haha!) Mexican Night was pretty cool. They are very proud of their country, for sure! They put on a show for us with dancers, music, etc. It was way fun!
The girls' dresses were super pretty! I love them! I am hoping that I can get one of those in Chile, so I can be a "real" latina :) The Latinos were going crazy! It was very loud, for sure. Something that was weird about it was that they shot off fireworks (just small ones) right on the stage, inside the gym where the thing was held... ummm, talk about scary! I was right there and all the sudden I was smelling smoke like crazy! I am pretty sure that those are supposed to be done outside.... Anyways, the actual Independence Day celebration lasted the whole weekend! It was really loud every night, but I still slept. Good thing, because when Hermana Avery doesn't get good sleep, she has a hard time being patient :P
What else.... ummm, we had waffle fries at dinner last night! Basically, they were amazing, yet gross, at the same time. They are a lot better than beans and rice, alright!?? But they were cold. Oh well. I was taken back to my life at Chickfila for about 5 minutes, and then was feeling gross for eating cold, soggy fries. But, it was heaven for a moment....
As far as learning the language goes, we really hit a plateau this week. They haven't taught us hardly anything new because they feel like we have the basics down and will be able to learn the rest in the field. I just want to learn more! UGH! I spent a lot of time trying to learn new words myself...mainly words relating to travel so that I don't get lost in Chile! LOL! Other than that, we just practice speaking and teaching with each other to try to get the hang of teaching lessons. I have a feeling that when I start teaching lessons for real, it will be a wake up call. I am feeling really unprepared, but I know that the Lord will help me through it and will make me His mouthpiece :)
Today, tomorrow and the morning of Thursday will be crazy! We are washing EVERYTHING before we head out! And, we are cleaning the house, etc. Lots of stuff to do. And I have to make sure that my bags are not overweight, that everything fits.... it will be crazy. And it is sad to know that in 2 days I am leaving my cute Hermana Page (companion), and that I will be leaving my amazing district! I know that I will have more companions and districts, but these guys I am especially close with since they are my first ones. And, we got through a rough part of the mission together!
Thank you for the emails! I love reading them. It makes my day to hear how you all are doing! I apologize to not have a super long detailed email for you about last week, but the MTC has officially become repetitive and boring... oops. Did I just say that?? haha.
One thing I will share with you that we talked about a lot was faith! I noticed that it has come up a lot. There was a great lesson in Relief Society that talked about the "Garden of Eden" analogy. Basically, that means that when things start to get too comfortable and easy in our "Eden", the Lord moves us on to something that will challenge us, and puts us out into the "lone and dreary world" to start over again on the next thing. It isn't to be mean, haha! It is to help us grow!
This got me thinking....that will be me for the next 18 months as a missionary for sure! We get 6 weeks in one place, then move on to the next transfer, companion, etc. Always something new, and always something to keep us growing. When life gets hard, we have to count our blessings, looks for the positive and good things in our life, and then rely on the Lord to help us through whatever is going on in our lives. If He brings you to it, He will get you through it! :) Keep strong in the faith, and always build your testimony so that you can have courage when you need to share it!
Well, I love you all so very much! I hope that you all have a great week, and I will talk to you next week.... from CHILE!!!!! :) Until then!!
xoxoxoxoxo, Hermana Avery
BIG NEWS from Hermana Avery (September 16, 2013)
Hola from Chile! (September 23, 2013)
"Called to Serve"
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| Hermana Hannah Avery Mexico MTC |
Called to serve Him, heav'nly King of glory,
Chosen e'er to witness for his name,
Far and wide we tell the Father's story,
Far and wide his love proclaim.
[Chorus]
Onward, ever onward, as we glory in his name;
Onward, ever onward, as we glory in his name;
Forward, pressing forward, as a triumph song we sing.
God our strength will be; press forward ever,
Called to serve our King.
2. Called to know the richness of his blessing—
Sons and daughters, children of a King—
Glad of heart, his holy name confessing,
Praises unto him we bring.
Text: Grace Gordon, alt.
Music: Adam Geibel, 1855-1933
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| Hermana Avery and Hermana Nelson eating dried bananas YUM!! |
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| President and Sister Pratt Mexico Missionary Training Center Celebration of Mexican Independence 2013 |
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| Hermana Page and Hermana Avery with their teacher at the Mexico MTC |
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| Fireworks on the stage! |
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| Beautiful costumes at the celebration of Mexican Independence on Saturday night |
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| The performers were Mormon kids from the area. They were all so beautiful and talented! |
