March 15, 2010

no e-mail or letters this week?? did you all die or somethin?? (don't worry- we sent them, just to the wrong e-mail address) just kidding. Well i'm here in Florida and its crazy. My trainer is from Las Vegas and i actually had class with her before the mish up in idaho. Her name is Hermana F. We are white washing an area which means we are both new to the area. they haven't had sisters here for over 6 years. We're on Miami Beach so yes south beach and the spring breakers are all in my area. We are on an island! i knew i was supposed to serve on one i just didn't know how. Our area covers like 4 little islands and we just walk everywhere. We've been super busy just trying to meet everyone. We serve in a spanish branch and an English YSA ward. Its been really fun. I have met someone from like 15 countries already. They are so diverse here. We even met a lady from Holland. She asked me if i was irish or greek. i said i didn't think either and she told me that i was wrong and she was sure i was one of those two and just didn't know it haha. later that same night we met a cubano lady who has an inactive son. it was really funny because we had randomly met her on the street the day before and she totally blew us off. She asked me if i was cubano. i told her no haha It is so humid here because we are right on the ocean. the bay is out one of our windows and the ocean is 2 blocks the other way. we can walk the whole island in like an hour or something. My feet are covered in blisters thats been fun. on the end of every toe and underneath every toe is huge blisters. when i take my shoes off i can't even walk. i ended up having to buy a new pair of shoes today. I've also been sick the whole time i've been here. i was sick in the mtc too so i'm not really suprised. This place is nothing like i ever imagined. but i love it. we have to be a little cautious walking around in the dark but we just stay on lit streets and the lord watches over us. mom don't be scared by that comment. umm because its my first week and i don't have any mail for proof of address i can't get a library card so they only gave me 40 minutes instead of an hour. Life is crazy and amazing. i love the people. they are crazy. gotta go! love you! BYE!!!
Hermana

I have 10 more minutes now that i'm done writing my letter to pres. I already spoke in both wards. In the spanish branch i had to introduce myself and then in the english ward i had to give a 10 minute talk. We didn't even know about it but their speakers didn't show up. my comp only took like 2 minutes and she said the bishopric was mad at her. I was second so ended up having to take like 10 to 15 minutes. I still can't speak spanish so its rough. Especially since we are both new to the area and we actually replaced 4 elders. Our apartment was so gross when we got there. We cleaned for like 6 hours. Food, mold, dirt, bugs... you name it and it was there. Anyway the Lord has blessed me so much. I can pretty much understand what everyone says which is amazing since they talk so fast but i just can't talk back. I can't understand the old cubanos though. Their accent is crazy. Its going to be hard to adjust to all the different dialects. Pres said once we get the spanish down he usually puts us in an english area so that we have to work at it and then we go back to spanish. He mixes up companionships with language sometimes too. They have like every language in this area. Also i rode my bike the other day. Its way nice but its a pain to take around because when you lock it up you have to take off the front tire and lock it and then put it back on. Plus the traffic and drivers are out of control. They are worse than europe drivers which i didn't think was possible. We live directly across the street too and we have the most beautiful chapel in the whole mission. one of the prettiest in the world. look it up- miami lakes chapel. Well gotta go again. LOVE YOU!