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best semana ever!!!!!

¡Hola!

 

well this week was THE BEST!!!!!! Mostly because of Noche Méxicana. Yep we got to have a fiesta because the night of the 15th to the 16th is like the 4th of July here, día de Indepencia. So on the 14th we got to watch mexican dancing, singing and watch a bunch of videos about mexico. We also got to learn a lot about the history.The dancing was the best! They wore those huge dresses and of course there was mariachi music. It was like a dream come true for me. All the latins were going CRAZY that was my favorite part! Then at the end they sang the EFY medly in spanish, and that was so cool! There were also these firework things inside the building, it was awesome. I love this country, and felt so patriotic towards it! we also learned the national anthem and sang that. Look it up, it is awesome, it has been stuck in my head ever since then and I am not even mad about it! Then on Sunday night, we got to stay up til 1130 because we got to participate in the grito! The presidente of México stands on the balcony at  the palace in the grand center in Ciudad de México and waves the flag and says ¡Viva Hidalgo! and some other names and then ¡Viva México! it was SOOOOO awesome! we just watched it on the tv in the gym, but it was cool to be a part of it! There were TONS of fireworks and gunshots that night, more than I have ever heard back home. And we got to sing the national anthem again. Man I love it here. Guatemala, México.........just this whole part of the world is incredible! It takes up a huge part of my heart, and I know I will probably come live here eventually, it is the greatest. Sorry mom!!!!

 

 

So we had an awesome lesson with our investigator L this week. We were teaching him la palabra de sabiduría and he stilll doesn{t believe jose smith is a profeta, so we prayed with him and it was so awesome because he received an answer to his prayers while we were there. Best lesson yet. It was the best because whenever I had a thought to share something, my companion would share it and vice versa. Thats when ytou know the spirit is in your leseson when you and your companion start thinking the same!

 

So this week was also really sad becasue a lot of our friends left, latin and american. But its all good. The latins are only here for 10 days, and there are more coming tomorrow. So Elder M (un poquito elder) helped me a lot with my spanish this week! He is like the most popular guy here, everyone loves him. He has my email so I hope we can write letter because he is so awesome! Also Elder R. I met him on Saturday and he is so nice! I wish I had gotten to know him sooner. He plays futbol americano, and he was just awesome. He is going to send me a picture he took of us. Then there were these hermanas, one from here and one from the domincan republic. she knew a lot of english. They are all going to be great missionaries. The best thing happened yesterday. So there are some latinos in our elders casa and they have seen the dark knight rises. anyways they asked the elders to write down some of the phrases that Bane says (like ¨the darkness is your ally¨and Ï was born in the dark, stuff like that) and so then apparently they practiced saying those phrases CONSTANTLY. The elders said that they would go to bed hearing them quote it in the other room, and wake up to it the next morning. so funny.  so the other day I saw those elders in the comedor and asked them to quote them for me. He apparently is scared of girls and it took a lot of convincing, but finally he did it. He put his hands up to his mouth to sound like bane and said ¨What will break first, your spirit? or your body?¨¨ I WAS DYING!!!!!!! picture a latin who speaks no english trying to quote bane in a british accent. It was the best, I was laughing so hard I started crying. I love the latins!!!! Thanks heavens we are getting more tomorrow!

 

For gym time here we play volleyball, it is so awesome. We just got a new district in our branch, so we play with them a lot. It has been really rainy here all day everyday, except today is really sunny.....and smoggy. Whenever it is raining my teacher Hermano O asks ¨Tiene frío?¨ and I always tell him that this weather is like heaven compared to where I am going to be serving. Its funny because they literally put jackets on even though it isnt even cold at all! Apparently there are hurricanes on both sides of mexico so that is why it has been so rainy. but I am  fine with it. I run through the fields which are more like swamps bare foot because I wont EVER be able to to that in Minnesota. I can}t believe I will be leaving in 2 weeks!!!!! I am really sad because I love the people here, and it is a great enviornment. one of the hermanas here was telling me that she went to Benemerito and she says that there was a unique spirit there when it was a school, but that  there is a different and better spirit here as an MTC. But yeah, I am really anxious to start teaching real people. I love teaching my teachers, but its getting kind of tiring.

 

I think that is everything for this week! Thanks for all the support and I love you guys!

 

Hermana Honez

 

ps only my district says Honez, all the natives say yones. I am starting to be able to tell accents apart! From argentina, mexico, and guatemala at least. there are people from all over central and south america in my casa so I hear all sorts of ways to say things haha

 

feo birds y plan de salvacion

 

un poquito

HOLA!!!!!!

 

So this week has been crazy. Like always. I met another élder going to my misión, so that makes 3 hermanas and 2 élderes so far!

 

So I have to explain the title of this letter. We got new latins this week, and there are 2 that are so outoing and funny, élder M y S. So anyways, one day we were talking to them and Elder M said "yo hablo un poquito íngles" but when he said un poquito he said it in an American accent. IT  MAKES ME LAUGH SOOOO HARD. Just picture someone talking in a mexican accent and swtiching to english in the middle of a sentence. And now everytime he sees me he says it and I die laughing everytime. I love élder M! We also got new latinas in our casa, and one of them sings in the shower and is super good (we can hear her in the other bathroom) and turns out she is a professional singer from ARgentina.....but yeah she speaks really good íngles. She sounds like a mermaid in the shower.

 

We go to the tienda and get snacks and other stuff all the time. They have pinguinos!!! Except they are almost always sold out. But they also have these things called kkwates and they are so delicious. I also bought a plan of salvación puzzle thing, its awesome. I am going to buy more treats today.

 

One elder in nuestro distrito is REALLY amazing at piano and singing, and for one of our study hours we just listened to him play and sing it was amazing. I was almost crying which is rare for me! And he even sang a song he wrote about missionary work and the lyrics were an answer to my prayers, SO AWESO]ME!!!

 

Oh so guess what? This sunday I spoke in church AGAIN!!! out of the last 4 weeks I have spoken 3 times. Oy yoy yoy. So there were like 5 people before me and a musical number. And then Presidente T get up and says "we have time for one more talk......Hermana JONES" and he said it loud and clear. So, I gave my talk. Man I really hope that was the last time because some people who have been here for 6 weeks havent even talked yet!

 

There is a dead baby bird in front of our house, so sad. If it was one of the cute birds I would be even more sad. The birds are still as ugly as ever. Today I saw one like do some mating call or something, I was disturbed to say the least. I am seriously terrified of them and me and my companion run away from them haha.

 

I had a cool experience in the temple today! So I was just sitting in the celestial room after the session and I saw this cute little abuelita and suddenly got this feeling that I needed to hug her. But I tried denying it because I dont even know her and that would be weird. But then my heart started pounding, like POUNDING in my chest, so I figured that was a sign and went over and told her that I felt like I needed to give her a hug, so we hugged, and then I left. So I dont know why I needed to, but it was awesome! I saw my teacher in the dressing room after and she said I was glowing and then everyone who saw me give her a hug told me they felt the Espíritu so está bien.

 

 

Well that is pretty much all for this week. I can{t believe that I am halfway done!!! It has gone by so slow and so fast all at onece. The days are long, but the weeks are so short. I cant wait to get out in the field but I will really miss this place. Maybe when I get back from my mission I can come work here at the CCM, we will see. Hasta luego!

 

Hermana Jones

Buenos Dias!

Buenos Dias!

 

Well things here are just rolling right along, I can{t believe its been two whole weeks! Only 4 more to go.....it seems like a lot but it will go so fast. THis week was equally as terrible as it was wonderful, which is how things always work out in the mission field. Spanish is hard, and there are some days I dont understand a WORD my teachers say and I just feel like giving up, but then there are times when I can feel el don de lenguas and I can understand and say everything I am thinking......the Lord works in mysterious ways.

 

Our investigator Mary is now our afternoon maestra and she is AWESOME!!!!!!! She served her mission in Chile and goes to BYU, she is so awesome. I know she really loves us and is there to help us and she helps me feel so much better about my spanish. Sometimes I keep thinking that I am learning so slowly but then I have to remember I have only been here for 2 weeks, and Ive already learned so much. If you look at your progress week by week its much better than day by day. My mexicanos maestros talk faster everyday so its hard but está bien.

 

So I have a story. I love the mexicanos, they are great, but their culture is so different. Once they get to know you the get SO close to your face whe you are talking, its weird. But anyways I got used to it. Then one day we were sitting by our latinas in the comedor and I had used a spoon but was done, so I set it down and Hermana Flores asked me if she could use my spoon......so I kinda got confused and just said yeah.....then she proceeds to wipe off the nutella and peaunt butter off my spoon and just dips it right in her soup and starts eating off of it.......guess she not a germaphob. plus there are so many spoons.....whatever haha. Our latinas left yesterday....so sad. But we get more on wednesday.

 

The birds here are hideous. Everytime me and my compañera see one we just say pájaros feos which means ugly birds because they seriously have issues.......they all look demented I dont know how to describe it. I will try to get a pic this week. or even a video so you can see how ugly they walk.

 

So this élder in my district is from ogden and went to Bonneville and so I asked him if he knew brogan marchant.......and he was like best friends with him! Awesome huh? and then he told me that right before he left Jeff told him to look for a Sarah Jones....crazy that we are in the same district! Oh and I found Hermano Monroe, that teacher that Tonya Snow wanted me to find. He took a picture with me and I think he said he was going to send it to ehre, but tell her I saw him! He isn{t my teacher though. And I met someone whose dad works with dad. His name was Elder Adams.

 

This last saturday was hard because we found out last minute that we had to write a talk for fast and testimony  meetin (which I still dont understand because its TESTIMONY meeting, ugh) and then prepare for 2 new investigators.....AND me and my compañera had to teach sunday school.........AND that was the bad spanish day......so that was stupid but it all worked out. I have been so chill this whole time but that was my first breakdown I guess you could call it. It wasnt bad or anything, I was just so stressed. My compañera is great, but sometimes I just want to scream CHILL OUT because she gets worked up over the stupidest things. Oh well. Teaching is sometimes difficutl also because she takes forever to say what she wants to say, not in spanish but sits there in deep thought and I dont know why it bugs me so bad. But yeah she is awesome, just sometimes high strung. She cries a lot so I have to console her....and its hard for me because I dont really understand what she is going through. pero está bien.

 

The weather here is seriously perfection. It rains every night around dinnertime, is sunny in the afternoon, and cloudy and cool in the morning. I am never cold or hot. I LOVE IT!!!!! Its so much nicer than Minnesota weather will be. WE got to go to the temple last pday and that was awesome. It was so exhilarating to leave the ccm haha. The street of Mexico city are so chaotic. I love latin america, I am so going to live here when I grow up. The temple was all in spanish, and in the temple I saw the shortest lady I have ever seen in my life. an Hermana in my district at first thought she was a niña and turned to me and said kids arent allowed here! but I told her it was a lady haha she really was that short, but so cute. We could all see each other in the lockers because they are so short. The celestial room was so pretty, the chandalier was the prettiest one I have seen yet!

 

My district is awesome, we have the funniest people. one is going to my mission. I laugh so hard everyday, and sometimes its hard to focus because I just want to talk, so I{m working on trying to study more.

 

Well I am almost out of time but I love you all! Hasta luego!

 

Hermana Jones

 

Ps everyone pronounces my  name hermana HONEZ haha I love it