Livin Dominican: Alma 27:17

What a week! The time is literally escaping from me. Everyone told me that the first half of the mission goes fast and then the second half feels like double time. They were completely right! I feel like I turn around and another month has passed. I can´t believe that we are heading into the last couple weeks of the transfer. I feel like October will be here before I know it and I´m not sure I want it to come haha.

Anyway, this week has been wonderful with a lot of great, funny, and embarrassing experiences. I´ll start with the embarrassing. I learned this week that there are certain words that people use in the city that mean different things here on the coast. We are only about an hour away from Santiago but it is very different here. There is a word in Santiago that people use to describe any thing that they don´t know what it is. Last week in ward council I gave a training about how to give references and in one of the examples I used that word. I said, "sometimes you´ll talk to people about the church and they´ll say ´what is that? you mean the mormons?´" A few days later a member came up to me and kind of reproved me for what I had said. I innocently asked what in the world was wrong. She then proceeded to explain that here in Puerto Plata that word is really vulgar and that people cringe when they hear it on the street, let alone in church. I just laughed it off and explained that I had no idea because it means something completely innocent in Santiago. That´s just what you do when you live in a different country. You learn to laugh at the hilarious things that happen when you don´t know that language inside and out.

We contacted the girl that works at the internet center we use every week and had our first lesson with her this week. She is semi-atheist wherein she believes there is something like a God but not exactly in God. She is super prepared and knows her stuff and had some wonderful questions. She pointed out that some scriptures in the bible contradict each other and we agreed. She was super surprised and said that all the other churches have told her that´s impossible and that she is going to be condemned for trying to go against the word of God. We explained why the bible has those errors and why the Book of Mormon is necessary. She also asked why people say God is a spirit if we are created in His image. We gladly explained that He has a body just like us! She had many inspired questions and said that it was refreshing for someone to actually have answers. I am excited to teach her and see how she progresses.

There is a scripture in Alma that talks about the joy of Ammon being so great that his strength was exhausted. I have had a few experiences this week that made me feel this kind of joy. First of all, I have told you all about Albert who has a baptismal date on the 22nd. The elders had tried teaching him and he just never seemed very interested so they dropped him. That´s when we passed by and he asked why they had stopped coming by so we started teaching him. Albert comes from a family of drug dealers. He lives with his step mom now who is an active member and that´s why he started coming to church. He doesn´t really look like he would be very interested in the church. When we started teaching him he wore earrings and was always with an interesting group of friends and just looked a little ghetto fabulous. Last week we invited him to start going to seminary to be able to learn a little more. He told us that 6 am is super early but then the next day the seminary teacher called us to say that he had come. Last night we found out he still hasn´t missed a day since the initial invitation.

The young men and women had an activity Friday night and all of them invited a few friends...including Albert. The change in this 17 year old kid has been absolutely amazing and we can´t take any credit. When someone really feels the spirit and has a desire to come to Christ, they do it on their own. Last night after a family home evening with some members one of Albert´s friends pulled us aside and told us that Albert talked to him about serving a mission. This friend is preparing his papers and Albert said that he´s going to try and do the same in a year. I didn´t have words and the joy I felt was so great that I felt that there wasn´t room in me to contain it all.

Carla is also progressing a ton! We only get to teach her on the weekend because she studies and lives in Santiago during the week. This week as we reviewed the Plan of Salvation with her she asked if she could record the lesson because she has been talking about it with a friend in Santiago and it would be easier to just share the lesson when we explain it. I love seeing how much excitement her and her mom have about the church that they want to share it with everyone and they haven´t even been baptized yet! She also told us that she has kept the word of wisdom since the day that we set the baptismal date. She says she still has some temptations but just says no and thinks of why she has chosen to give up drinking with her friends. She is such a cute girl with such a determination to do and be good. At the end of one lesson this week she told us that she is focusing on more than just baptism and can´t wait for the day when she can get sealed in the temple and have an eternal family. My joy was full in that moment as well.

Then of course there is Ysmenia. She is a math teacher at one of the schools here where a lot of the members go. One of them told us this week that a few people were attacking her at school about the church and Ysmenia defended it perfectly. She later told us everything that happened. They said something about polygamy and she responded, "Do you know what the Law of Chastity is? It´s in the bible that if you even look at another person you´ve committed adultery. Of course you can´t have more than one spouse." They said prophets don´t talk in our day and she shared Amos 3:7 and testified that God loves everyone and not just the people in ancient times. They said that Book of Mormon was false. She said the bible says there are many writings and if everything were to be written the world could not contain it. So why shouldn´t we have more revelation? Another member told us that Ysmenia was reading her Book of Mormon in the salon while she was getting her hair done and talking with the other people there about what she was reading. She is so excited about everything we tell her and just eats it all up. After the lesson on family history in church on Sunday she asked us to help create an account online so that she can start and have everything ready to go once she´s baptized. She fills my heart with so much joy that sometimes I feel like Ammon and wonder if it will overcome me as well.

Everything is going so wonderfully here! I love my mission and I know that I am really seeing some miracles here. I am so grateful to be able to live in such a beautiful place. Today we were able to go up to the top of a mountain in a cable car and see the entire city and the ocean. It was absolutely breathtaking. I feel so blessed and I know it is because that is what happens when the Lord is number one in you life. I invite you all to do the same. Make Him the number one priority! Share the gospel with others! Do the things you need to to be able to feel this all-encompassing joy.

Love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Ewell