#1 MTC- Lima, Peru

Week one is over and done. Lol. That rhymed.

My oh my there is so much to tell! And I only have an hour and these keyboards are weird and this whole emailing thing is just stressing me out because I don't know what to say but I have so much to say. So we'll just start at the very beginning.

The plane. I was so excited to see all the Elderes y Hermanas at the Atlanta airport because I had been alone in Las Vegas so that was just really exciting.There were about 10 elderes y hermanas there and they were all happy and talking and yeah it was great. They would end up being my district. Well most of them. 

But anyways at there airport their was this big group of people in orange t shirts and they were also going to Peru to do a "mission". And I sat by one of them on the plane. His name was Mide (Meeday) and he was from Nigera doing a mission of humanitarian aide and all this cool stuff. I told him why I was going to Peru and then that was it for a while and he fell asleep. Then it was dinner time and he woke up and just randomly said "So tell me about your church." and that threw me for the biggest of loops because.. Well yeah. So I just started in with the basic articles of faith and how our church was different from others and how it was organized and just everything that came to my mind. And he would nod and ask questions and it was just really cool despite the fact that my insides were jello and my mind was working at 100 MPH. And then I told him about prophets and General Conference and and he said that us getting together as a church all throughout the world was really cool and he really liked it. All this didn't happen at one time, it was spaced out throughout the plane trip, but it was all just really good. And he had told me that he was pretty secure in his religion (he told me what it was called like 6 times but I could never understand him...) but he was still really open to learning about ours. And during one of the parts of dead space in our trip, he turned to me and said "This is going to sound really weird to you, but I just feel like I need to do this." and then he just handed me $70! I was like "oh no it's ok!" But he insisted so I took it and then he said "I just think what you're doing is great and I really want to help you." Crazy right! This Nigerian like 25 year old gave me money to help me out on my mission! I was so touched! AND THEN he pulled out his ipad and on there he had a list of things to do and he turned to me and asked me to put my name on that list so I typed it in for him and he said "I just want to be able to remember your name so I can pray for you. And I will pray for you." 70$ and his prayers!?!?!? Like in my mind I was thinking "please be interested in the gospel because you would make the best Mormon ever!"  and I wanted so badly to give him a Book Of Mormon or something but I didn't have one in English, so instead I said that I would pray for his too (And I have) and I wrote down on a piece of paper "for more answers about the LDS church, visit Mormon.org" So I dearly hope he does because he seemed to really like the things I said and seemed interested. But it was just really cool! I loved it. And it made me excited to do more. So yeah that's my story about the plane. Super cool. Moving on!

I didn't get into the CCM until 3:00 Wednesday morning. So that was rough. And I got the top bunk. its.... great. The first Hermana I met and became pretty good friends with was Hermana Tanuvasah. Shes a hoot and I love her to pieces. I'll put a picture of her below. My Companera es Hermana Baker. She's a "get out there and do it" person, which I really need, and she's constantly trying to do... well everything. She bounces off the walls. I can hardly keep up. She doesn't know a word of Spanish, but in the past 6 days has really improved a lot. I'm really proud of her and we get along well. She pushes me to do my best and I can already tell that it's helped me a lot. The other missionaros in my districto are the the trio of Hermanas; Tanuvasah, Batty, and Howelle, and the trio of Elderes; Vance, Craig, and Wilde. I have a great district. They're all so much fun and we all get along great! Our Maestras are literally the best people ever. In the morning we have Hermana Loyeza (She told me to tell you Hi!) and Hermana Chacón. They are so patient with us but also let us have some fun. They are the best. I wish I had pictures of them, but the only day we're allowed to take pictures is on PDay and they aren't here on pday. So that's a bummer. Ok lets see. I honestly can't remember much about this week and I didn't bring my journal in the cpu lab conmigo. I've been learning a lot of Spanish and  I can really feel the spirit helping me understand. I can understand most of the time, but speaking is still kind of hard. There are Latinas here and they are honestly the sweetest things ever. Hermana Baker y yo have befriend 3 of them and we talk (or try at least) with them all the time. Hermana Ramirez, Ochoa, y Gonzales. Hermana Gonzales speaks English so she helps them out a lot. Natalie, Hermama Ochoa es de Guayaquil, pero ella no conoce uds. But yeah they are the sweetest things. The first day I talked with them, Hermana Ochoa pulled me aside and told me that she could tell that Espanol came easy for me. It totally made my day because she thought I was doing well! I was real proud of myself. 

Lets see what else. I don't have a lot of time left so I will just tell you some of the highlights. We went to interpol to get residency her in Peru for our visas and there were cats everywhere. EVERYWHERE. In Interpol. The whole operation was outside so that was kind of weird. But Anyways cats everywhere. And we were just waiting in line to get our fingerprints done and then all the sudden this cat lays down and start giving birth! GIVING BIRTH! A CAT! AT INTERPOL! It was disgusting because the kitten was like only halfway out and then the cat stood up and this kitten was just like dangling. It was disgusting. and then She left all her "Birthing Juices" (as Elder Vance called it) on the side walk. It smelled so bad.  So that was a knew experience for me. 

Ok another cool story, me, my companion, and the trio of hermanas were in a car driving back from immigracion and our driver wasn't a member, so Hermana Tanuvasah started talking to him and it was only our 2nd day here and she hardly knew Spanish but she had this legit conversation with him and could understand him and I just sat in the back in awe because I could not understand a single word he or she said,but I was just praying for her that she would be able to understand and be able to respond. And we could totally feel the spirit in that car. It was incredible. And she gave him a pass along card and told him to look more into it. 

Which leads me to driving in Lima. SCARIEST THING EVER!!! There are no traffic laws here!! Everything is "yes there are lines here and yes there are stop lights here, but hey don't even worry about those just do what you want and then lay on your horn if someone does something that isn't in your personal rule book!" I am terrified every time I get into a car. Or bus. Those are worse.  It's terrifying. Uhm mom the food here is good. Mainly Rice and Chicken. But it tastes good. The prepared desserts are a hit or miss, but the ice cream is delicious!! And everyone is sooo nice! Everyone. I already love the Latino people and I can't wait to meet more of them.

So yeah its been a good week. A long week. Longest week of my life. And I hardly sleep because I think I have bed bugs. But its whatever. My stomach is on a roller coaster ride, but I will spare you the details. I didn't realize before I left how hard this was going to be. Because it is hard.Probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. But its also the best thing 'ever done. Whenever I want to break down because I miss Hallie so much (FIRST STEPS?!?!?! Insert crying emoji!!) I just remember that I'm here for a reason and that I can do anything with the Lords help. Its kinda been my motto this week. And sometimes its been easier than others, but ultimately I'm glad I'm here! Gosh I need to learn how to type faster because I only have 12 minutes! And I need to upload pictures! But I love you all and miss Hallie ( I mean you all) like crazy! I hope all is well and please write and send pictures and everything! My pday is Wednesday and I email around 12:00 ish (10 your time.) So yeah please and thank you! oh and before you put this on my blog please fix spelling and typing errors. My English is slowly getting worse while my Spanish.... also gets worse. Like really I feel like I've gotten worse. But I guess the Lord has to bring us down so he can lift us higher ( I just watched the restoration on Sunday. Love that quote. Also a motto.) Well I need to go now And I know I didn't answer many questions but it was a busy week and this is mas importante! Adios!

Hermana Rust! 

P.S. Please really do fix this before you distribute it! Gracias!