Sunday, October 13, 2013

September 12, 2013 -- The CCM is a time for growth


Hola Familia!!  Thank you for all the letters, I LOVE them!  Dad, I loved the Dear Elder and all the awesome updates so thanks! Mom I miss you!  And Abe & Jon thanks for writing, I have the best big bros! And Happy almost Birthday ABE! Hope the Gala is going well for you Caleb! (Tell him to write me, ok? haha)    Oh and send doggy breezy my love by the way!  Miss you all a lot!  By the way my Pday is always on Thursday just so you know!
    Well week 2 here at the CCM has been great!!  Again, I really love it.  We have all begun to get into the swing of things now.  So this week is Mexican Independence Week so we see Mexican flags everywhere and the comedor is decked out in Mexican food/decorations.  But because of all this fun, we were feeling a little sentimental to our good ol US of A, so as a district we wore red, white, and blue for 9/11!  Which of course for the elders only meant their ties, but it was still awesome.  GUESS WHAT??  After four whole days of non-stop rain, we've had 4 almost completely sunny days!!  Its been so great!  So we played volleyball against another district in the sand court, which was the BEST!  Playing sports here is something I look forward to every day!  I love our district, there is a huge range of personalities and for that reason its SO fun!  In other news, theres like 10 or 12 Olympus kids here!  There popping up all over the place! Muy bien. 
  So this week has had its rough times and good times. Friday mi companera Hna Lindhardt started to get a cold, and Hna Henderson (one of our roomates) got pretty sick as well.  On Sunday Hna Lindhardt and I felt like we needed to fast for Hna Henderson, which ended up being an awesome thing.  It was a very spiritual day because our Sacrament Meeting was very emotional as the district that welcomed us in was leaving the next day, (which included our Zone leader, Elder mangum whos QB for the Cougs when he returns--super nice guy). Then we were able to watch an MTC devotional by Elder Holland from back in January. He gave us the tools for being "Un Misionera Exito" (Successful missionary), 1. Convert yourself 2. Obey 3. Strive to have the Lord in your life 4. Teach with the Spirit 5. Work as hard as you can.  He also mentioned that if we are converted in our hearts, others will feel the "thunder" of your testimony.  I loved it, and I made a commitment to make it a week of hard work!
       So Monday for some reason was a tough day.  That afternoon was our first lesson with one of our "new" investigators and she was REALLY difficult, and so it was just one of those situations where we felt helpless afterward.  Then our teacher gave us a great lesson but for some reason I just felt even more overwhelmed.  That night for study time, our four hermanas went into a room and studied together.  We were able to just kind of pour out our hearts to each other, talk about what we'd been struggling with, and comfort each other through scriptures and stories of the Savior in our lives.  It was such a neat experience and I felt closer to the Savior than I have in a long time!  The next day was complete opposite.  First off, it was this day that both Hna Lindhardt and Henderson started to feel much better, and I know that the fasting helped with that!  So Tuesday we had another "new" investigator, and our goal was to look at him as if he were a REAL investigator. With the Lord's help, we were able to do this, I have never felt the Spirit so strong in a room between three people.  We asked him to say the prayer at the end, and it was SUCH a beautiful thing, It felt like he was a brand new investigator and this was really the first time he personally spoke with his Father in Heaven.  That was a powerful experience.
Then later that afternoon, we had TRC, our members name was named Maria.  We told her that we werent always perfect at reading the scriptures and praying, but that when we did them, they were little things that helped.  Hna Lindhardt said it first, calling them the "Pocita Cosas".  I didnt even know if that was making sense in spanish, but I just went along with it and we kept telling her about how doing the "pocita cosas" in life will help! When Maria said the closing prayer for us, she prayed for that wed all do the "pocita cosas"!  I almost started laughing cause I was so happy that our message made any sense to her!!  It was a breakthrough day in our teaching as a companionship.
The main thing Im learning is that the CCM is not a place for me to be the most perfect missionary ever --its a place I can LEARN how to be the best missionary I can be.  So if I make a mistake, its ok, if I am learning!  It is so reassuring to know that, and that the Saviors there for me!  After a day here, I feel so worked--physically, mentally, spiritually exhausted.  It is painful yet good because you know youre growing.  So here´s to learning and growing, and learning from mistakes!  I love you all and know God is watching over each of you!! 

MUCHO AMOR!
Hermana Collier

 We were so happy we got to wear JEANS for service last week, 
we just had to take a pic!!

At the tienda, they sell these cookies called Chokis.  
They are our favorite.

Our district being funny


Our district wearing red-white-blue for 9/11

Love these hermanas!


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