Commencing week five... Wait. Five? Week FIVE?

Hola familia y amigos,
Hna. Broadhead´s and my roommates left this week for Honduras and El Salvador. We can hardly believe they´re gone. It feels like yesterday that we arrived at the CCM and asked which week they were in. They responded, "Week three," and we thought that was so "old." Now we´re the ones who will be (probably) getting new roommates, tonight, and we´re on week five! So weird.

Jessica and Hermana Broadhead with their roommates, Hermana Elms and Hermana Curtis.

 Jessica and Hermana B with Hermana Israelsen, who is now on her way to Chicago.

This week hasn´t been as eventful as some past ones, but I´m drudging up some stories from my journal. Let´s see... oh, yes... President Pratt is the president of the CCM, and when I first met him during the CCM orientation meetings, I was super intimidated by him. Actually, whenever he´s standing at a pulpit, he´s kind of intimidating, but this week I met him face-to-face, and I know there could be no better man for the job of whipping a bunch of gringo missionaries into shape than him. He´s super strong in the faith and only comes across as intimidating because he wants us misioneros to listen when he tries to teach us how to be good missionaries. He and his wife are amazing. He came into our aula (classroom) one night as we were singing our closing hymn, "Be Thou Humble" en español. He entered silently, opened his hymnbook to the appropriate page and sang the last verse of the song with us. The Spirit in the room really got a boost when he walked into the room, and I felt love and appreciation for him in his calling for perhaps the first time. (He really can be intimidating.) After the hymn, he knelt and prayed with us, and then shook our hands and bade us each a good night. The CCM is in good hands.

On Sunday "movie night," one of the videos we watched was "Finding Faith in Christ." We used to watch that movie all the time on Sundays as a family, so it was nice to see it again here in the CCM. It was like a little piece of home. I wonder if we´ll watch "Testaments" sometime. That one is a Sunday family favorite too. I love Sunday "movie night." It, along with the devotionals we watch on Sundays and Tuesdays, are a good way to get spiritually renewed and remind ourselves why we´re out here, why we decided to volunteer to leave home for 18-24 months and be missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Which reason is because we love God, we believe this is His work, and we want to share what we know about the purpose of life and how we can live with God and our families again after we die, forever. When we remember our purpose, two years doesn´t seem like a long time. If anything, it doesn´t feel long enough. I will already be forever changed because of my experiences here, and I know I have barely tasted what is to come. I´m so excited for these next two weeks in the CCM, and beyond.

 District Volleyball Game:

 How I wash my clothes:

Just Kidding! There's a lavadora.

Something that brings me joy: Hna. Watkins and I found a piano. Here we are playing "Poor Wayfaring Man", her right hand, me left hand. Like Bethany and I did.

 Waiting to get haircuts in the peluquería. I didn´t understand the lady as well as I would have liked, but part of that may have been my typical ignorance of hair-related vocabulary, even in English.  (This picture was taken before the haircuts)

We had two élderes latinos hang out with our district (District 5C) yesterday. Everyone in their district had already left for the mission field, and they needed a class to attend on their last day in the CCM. I didn´t think much of it when Elders Evans and Lopez first entered our aula yesterday morning and explained they were going to hang out with us, but they turned out to have quite an influence on us norteamericanos. Their attitude of service impressed me first, when during companionship study they offered to pretend to be investigators so some of the companionships could roleplay and practice teaching. Then Hermana Arbon asked them to give us a kind of workshop on asking inspired questions during lessons. I already had learned how valuable questions can be during a lesson, to get people really thinking about what you´re saying, and to help you form the lesson around their needs and interests. But it´s not so easy to put into practice. You want to ask deep questions, but not any that are too personal, and sometimes it´s hard to think of a good question in the moment. Elder Evans and Elder Lopez reiterated a little about how useful questions are in lessons and then proceeded to work with us one-on-one.

Elder Evans worked with Hna. B and I. We shared a scripture about Christ´s Atonement from the book of Third Nephi with him and then just asked question after question. We asked maybe four questions before we ran out of ideas. Elder Evans smiled at us and asked in Spanish, "Why don´t you share your testimonies about Jesus Christ and give me a commitment?" We seized the lifeline and shared our feelings about Christ and His Atonement (Expiación) but couldn´t think of anything to commit him to do. Elder Evans just smiled at us again and told us good job (we were out of time). He and Elder Lopez really seemed comfortable teaching and asking questions. I told Hna. B I want to go to THEIR classes. I was only half-joking. This morning we walked into the aula to find Elder Evans and Elder Lopez left us a thank-you note on the whiteboard. I know they´ll be great missionaries; their hearts are definitely in the right place.

The next three pictures were taken by Hermana Taufoou, a sister in Jessica's district.

 The Latin Elders pictured here are Elder Evans (the taller one) and Elder Lopez (the shorter one).

Scripture of the week is my mission scripture, D&C 6:36, where the Lord is talking to Joseph Smith: "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." When I think of it, I think to myself, I´m trying! I invite you all to do the same. Be grateful for your blessings and trust that the Lord has a plan for your life. Trials and challenges, as well as happy times, are part of it. They´re experiences that will help us grow. Until next week!

Hermana Henrie