Settling In at the CCM

In this letter:

1. Jessica and her companion are getting along well, working hard, and having fun too (read about their daily "hysteria hour")
2. Getting used to being called "Hermana Henrie"
3. Advice on what to watch out for when doing laundry at the CCM
4. How Jessica and her companion spend their daily gym time

I feel so much more settled in at the Centro de Capacitaciòn Misional (CCM) now. The schedule is still tight, and mi compañera y yo are always in a hurry, but I`m not nearly as stressed out about it.

I love my district, District 5C. There is another companionship of hermanas, who are super great, and all the èlderes are pretty nice too. They`re hard workers and good Spanish speakers, but also a lot of fun. We actually just finished playing volleyball and basketball as a district.

Hna. Broadhead and I get along well. She was really quiet when we first became companions, but we`ve opened up to each other more since and I think we`re really learning how to teach together too. We`re praying a lot, and working hard, but we always have at least one moment every day where we get the giggles over the littlest things and can`t stop laughing for an hour. I call it our "hysteria hour," and it usually comes on about 9:30 as we walk home to Casa 41 after a long day. She`s going to be a very good missionary because she`s so motivated and full of a desire to be obedient to all the rules. Just as a good stripling (that means "young") warrior should be, she strives to obey all the rules in the missionary handbook with exactness. In the Book of Mormon, see the book of Alma, chapter 57 verse 21.

 Home Sweet Home

 I came upon a scripture in my personal study early last week that really made a difference in my attitude overall at the CCM. This one is on one of the first few pages of the Book of Mormon, book of first Nephi, chapter 1 verse 20: "But behold, I Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

It was a hard adjustment to go from working on "my" time to working on the Lord`s time (there`s really no time to waste when you know you`ll be accountable to Him for how you spend it!), and I know there will be a lot more challenges up ahead, but just as Nephi says, I know the tender mercies of the Lord will be with me and my companion. I`m only just beginning to recognize them.

When I first got here, it was so weird never to be called by my first name, just my last, but in the days since, this little black nametag that says "Hermana Henrie" has come to mean everything to me.

Unfortunately, I haven`t so much as touched a piano since I entered here. I think I`m going to look around today for one I can play when it`s P-day. I`m not sure what the rules are on that, so. I may not even get to do that. But it`s okay.

Usually at daily gym time, Hna. Broadhead and I play a game with our district. We`ve played "Ping Pong Around the World," which is a lot like Jujumelikisheniquah except more orderly, volleyball, basketball, soccer and Frisbee. Sometimes Hna. B and I also go to the track. She likes to run, so she runs while I walk and sing whatever is in my head. It`s almost as good an outlet as playing the piano... almost.

Hna. B is from Safford, a little town in the Gila Valley. She`s the oldest kid, like me. Her next oldest sibling, a sister, is preparing to go on a mission and hopefully we`ll hear about her mission call while we`re still here at the CCM. She`s 20. We get along really well. She loves Snickers candy bars, so sometimes if we have a bad class or a bad lesson I give her a Snickers and take a Milky Way for myself. Works great! :)

One of the best things about having P-day on Tuesday is we get to finish off the day with a devotional! Sometimes it`s a devotional recording from Provo, but I learned last week we also sometimes get our own speakers. Last week, Elder Valencia (Elder Venezuela?) and his wife spoke. He`s newly called to the Quorum of the Seventy- I`m not sure which quorum. But Hna. Broadhead and I totally sat by them at dinner without knowing who they were. It was pretty cool to hear them give the devotional an hour later.

Love you! More stories to come next week! I`ll keep a list... that helped me out a lot last week.

Please pray for Hna. B and I to learn to be better teachers this week. We teach Lucas tomorrow and Holly on Thursday. I`ll have to let you know how it goes next week!

Les amo,

Hermana Henrie

And because I asked for more pictures:

 Classroom Building

 Inside her classroom

Mexico City