Museums and a Mercado

August 8, 2011

Family and friends!

 

I hope everyone is doing great! School is starting soon for most of y'all! I can't believe that! I just feel like I'm starting one giant, 16-month long summer, so that's crazy to me that y'all are about to start school. Today we got to spend the day in Guatemala City going to a few museums, a Mercado, and a really nice mall. It was really fun to get out and be in the real world for a bit.  The museums were really interesting, and the leader that was with us was telling us all about how the things we were seeing all point to Guatemala being the place where the events in the Book of Mormon took place. No one knows any of that for sure, but it is really neat to learn different theories and where in the country different things might have happened. The Mercado was cool. Everything here is so colorful and beautiful. I didn't get anything because I don't want to have to haul anything else around this place for 16 months, but I definitely will be loading my suitcases full of neat authentic stuff. We also went to a normal mall, it was really nice. We got to eat American fast food! Ha-ha I never thought I'd be excited about that. Today was really fun and made me excited to get out in the real world in 3 weeks.

 

Nothing else really happened this week...we pretty much just study our brains out, its fun though. And here's some exciting/scary news: my spanishhas improved enough that they are putting me in an all-Latino district for the last 3 weeks. At the CCM every 3 weeks a new batch of Latinomissionaries come in and stay for only 3 weeks because they aren't learning a language, and every 3 weeks new nortes come (like me) and stay for 6 weeks. So starting tomorrow when the new Latinos come I'll be learning as if I just arrived at the CCM and will only be here for 3 weeks, except everything will be in Spanish. I'm really nervous, but I think it will be really good for me, not necessarily to make my Spanish a whole lot better (I think that will just take time) but it will help me feel more comfortable with the culture, because I still feel pretty shy talking to Latinos! I had better get over that quick! I'm most likely going to be in a trio with 2 Latinas. I'm really excited for the challenge...hopefully I'll have good things to say about it all next week!

 

That's pretty much all for now! I hope everyone is doing well. I really appreciate all the prayers on my behalf. I love being a missionary! It is the BEST for so many reasons! I am learning so many amazing things that I can't wait to apply to my mission and to my whole life. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is on the Earth! It gives us all a plan and a purpose here! It is wonderful! I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ can heal us all if we apply it in out lives. Have a great week!

 

Hermana Gilland