Wait a second...I´m living in a different country

Hello everyone! 

I´m finally out in the field and it is great! We traveled to Santiago yesterday morning on a bus. It was about a 2.5 hour ride but the country is absolutely beautiful and I love Santiago city. But there will be more details on that to come.

 

Last Thursday was my last P day at the MTC and it was absolutely fantastic. I love being at a small location because you have so many fun and different opportunities. We had been wanting cookies forever and Hermana Freestone has one of the best recipes I´ve ever tasted. So we asked her if she would be willing to share her recipe and let us make cookies. She invited us over to her apartment and cooked with us and told us stories. It was so fun and we had a great time. 

 

I went on splits again on Friday to an area in the Santo Domingo East mission. It was really good and I was able to teach two less active members with my companion. One of them said he had only been baptized because he knew it was important but didn´t see the point in going to church afterward. After listening to my companion try and talk to him and seeing that she was getting very frustrated I jumped in and told him I had a question. I said, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" He said yes. "Do you want to follow His example?" Yes again. "What did He do after His baptism?" He explained there wasn´t church back then. "But He still partook of the Santa Cena and helped teach others. He didn´t just stop working and progressing after He was baptized and if you wnat to follow His example then you need to do the same. You need to keep working on yourself and being the best you can be." Then I testified of the purpose and importance of going to church and remaining faithful to our covenants. At the end of the lesson he agreed to go to church that week.

 

The rest of our stay at the CCM was great. We were able to have a couple testimony meetings and say goodbye to everyone. I really grew to love my district and it was definitely a bittersweet moment saying goodbye. My companion and two other sisters traveled with me to Santiago and it was nice to have other English speakers for the trip. 

 

After arriving at the mission home yesterday we had a short orientation and interviews with the President. President Douglas and his wife are amazing! They were both so welcoming and have such strong impressive spirits.

In the afternoon we were able to go out in the field for a few hours with some sisters. Santiago is very green and a little bit cooler than Santo Domingo was but still not chilly by any means. One of the funniest parts about this place is what they call "rutas." They are like Taxis that you can hire for really cheap. But here´s the catch...the majority of them are basically like my old car (early 90´s Toyota Corollas) ...and a ruta is not full until it has 7 people in it. So you manage to cram 4 people in the back seat and 3 up front and then sit there sweating on each other until you arrive at your destination (because none of these have AC either). But they are really cheap and an effective way to travel when necessary. I was laughing the whole time...Dominicans are so crazy!

During intercambios yesterday my companion and I did not have any appointments so we went contacting. The people here are so nice! In just two hours of contacting we were able to teach 5 lessons to people we had just barely contacted. They are so open and receptive and even the people that turned us away did it so nicely and it was usually because they were on their way out. Every single one of them told us to have God bless us. I know that I am definitely in the right place.

I met my companion today. Her name is Hermana Ozuna and is from Santo Domingo. She does not speak any English so today has been quite interesting as we´ve pantomimed and tried to understand what the other is saying. I´m realizing now just how minimal my Spanish is. But she is an absolute sweetheart just like all the other Dominicans. They are such a loving people and so hospitable. 

Today was a little bit crazy because I think the reality of what I´m doing finally hit me. We went grocery shopping and I realized that I am in a different country and don´t speak the language and am going to be talking to strangers for the next 16.5 months. But I feel so blessed and know that the Lord will take care of me because He already has. I became very close with one sister in the CCM, Hermana Thorpe. She is one of the people that I feel I would actually be friends with if we met outside of the mission. We have very similar personalities and desires for our missions. Yesterday when President asked us if we would be comfortable with native companions we both said yes. When we received our assignments we were excited and very nervous. I knew it would be good for me to learn the language but also hard to not be able to communicate how I wanted to. When our houses were announced we found out that we are the only 2 companionships to share a house. The Lord knew that we would both have a hard time only speaking Spanish and so He blessed us with a roommate who not only speaks English but it also our best friend in the Dominican Republic right now. Today has been much easier with her support and knowing that she is going through the same charade act. The second blessing is that not only do we share a house but we also have the nicest house in the mission. We have running water, power, beds, and lots of space. I could not be more grateful for the circumstances that I have been given here. 

I am so excited to be here still and so ready to finally do what I came here to do. I know that the Lord loves us so much. I know that this isn´t going to be easy. Things that are worthwhile rarely are. But I know that with a good attitude that everything will be great and I know that the Lord is looking out for me and protecting me. I know that it we ever need anything all we need to do is pray and we will gain the comfort and strength that we need. 

Hermana Ewell