MAMA, MAMA, MAMA,
Can you believe I am
in Ecuador right now? I can’t, I really cant. They tell me the first months are
the hardest. So with that in mind I’ve been freaking out of course. I was scared
that I wasn't going to like this. I was
scared for how hard this was going to be. I am 5 days in. I don't know if I
even have the rights to say this but I am doing good. The good in the days
always, always outweighs the bad. In my five days I have had one bad day and
the rest were pretty good. But let me start from the beginning.
I made it 5.5 weeks
in the MTC without getting sick. And then 3 days before we were supposed to
leave I got sick. I got a lovely head cold. Our favorite mom. I sounded like a
man, I was super sniffly, I was coughing, I had headaches it was just lame. And
then the night before we were leaving I start feeling better. What a blessing
that was. On sunday night an elder in my district gave me a comfort blessing,
Elder Smith. It was an awesome blessing and I felt so much better after. It wasn't
as good as dad’s blessings of course. But it was sufficient hahaha. The
goodbyes in the MTC were rough for sure. It hit us that we weren't going to see
the people in our district that we had all gotten super close with for the rest
of our missions and that was hard. We became a cute family.
We woke up at 3 in
the morning the morning of our flights. You can imagine how I was doing that
morning. So then we flew here and were greeted by President and Hermana Dennis.
Both amazing people. Hermana Dennis is so mom-like and so sweet and it was very
comforting to get to talk to her for a bit. And then President Dennis is also a
great human. I like him a lot. They are both great mission presidents and I am
grateful to have them. I get to see them again in two weeks because they are
coming to my area for a conference. So that will be cool.
Speaking of my area... I am in this awesome city called JIPIJAPA, pronounced hippie happa. It is a cool place. Its pretty small but we walk miles and miles and MILES every day. We are in the city with two other sisters. They have the bottom half and we have the top half. My companion is Hermana Pugh from Logan Utah. She has been in the mission for 4 months. Crazy enough she had just finished her training before she became my trainer. She has incredible Spanish for just coming out of training. So I have hope that my Spanish will be that good. My main problem is that I have trouble understanding people. So hopefully by next week I will be better at that.
We live in the center
of town with the two other sisters and it is a party. We all have a lot of fun.
And there is a hammock in my apartment that I am super stoked about. Jipijapa
is one of the coolest parts of Ecuador believe it or not. But it is still
freaking hot in parts of the day. I can't even imagine what the rest of my
mission is like but I am not excited to find out hahaha. My hair is curlier
than ever folks. Curlier than ever! Its ridiculous.
Yesterday was a
little rough in the first part of the day during church. I was sitting in
relief society thinking about how my family is sitting in church right now too
and I’m not with them. It was sad. But it’s okay. Those little periods of
sadness only last for so long. I can’t decide if time is going fast yet or not.
Is it fast or slow for you guys??
I LOVE THE MOTTO. WOW
THAT IS SO AWESOME. That is literally such a good idea. Thank you guys. I am so
glad we have a motto now!! I’m gonna write that on a paper and hang it in my
room. Now that I am thinking of it, I need you to send me a few things if you
can. Will you print out pictures of our family and send them to me? I want to
be able to carry one with me all the time and keep one in my scriptures and do
cute things with them. Thank you that would be awesome. So with the mail don't
send it through the pouch. Just send it normally through USPS. Send me lots of
letters and packages. Send everything to the mission home and they will send it
to wherever I am.
Okay so mom we need
to talk shoes. The shoes I have are great. But I don't think they are going to
last as long as we want them too. So with that being said I need you to send me
a pair of shoes every couple months probably if you can. Super light so they
are under 4 pounds. Doesn't matter what color or how ugly they are. They just
need a good sole, cover my toes and heels. Preferable with a strap of some
kind. Google sister missionary shoes and see what you find. I’m not in a rush
but I just want to start talking about this now.
Mother I have a
letter coming in the mail for you. It is being sent on Tuesday. Pray that it
gets to you.
I still can’t believe
I am here. It’s so weird. Know that I am okay and I am safe. I learn so much
every day. The good always outweighs the bad. Thank you for the prayers. I feel
them every minute of every day. I hope you are doing okay. I hope you are SO
excited for Halloween and I can't wait to see all the pictures next week. Hug
everyone for me.
And I will talk to
you next Monday!!
XOXOX
Hermana parker
