Buenas Dias!
I hope your weeks were great. We got some new Spanish missionaries two days ago, and they're wonderful! I got to translate for them in a zone meeting when there weren't any teachers, and even though it was very basic and I missed a bunch of stuff, I still enjoyed it.
The day I leave here, they're gonna get 60 new missionaries. 60! There's about 24 of us now, and I honestly don't know how they're gonna fit all those missionaries in the building. The CCM only uses 3 floors of the building, and they aren't very big floors either.
Oh, and a cool thing happened this week. My companion and I were teaching our “investigators” (who are really our teachers), and in walks one of the kitchen ladies. We all said hi and got to know her. Turns out shes not a member of the Church, so we gave her a Book of Mormon with our testimonies in it. She's going to keep coming to the lessons. Guys, we have a real investigator!!!
Well, it's been a great week. Sorry this letter isn't very long…I think it's also been a bit of a boring week haha. I hope you all are doing well. I love hearing from you!
Love,
Hermana Jones
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Week 3
Hola everybody!
Gracias for your letters! I received some of them yesterday, and it made me so happy. I love hearing about your lives.
My friend, Nash Miller, from BYU is here! He was in charge of my FHE group, and he's going to Russia for his mission.
The park this past Saturday was great. There are always great experiences there, and I love talking to the people. Even if they don't want to hear about religion, they are usually really nice. Afterwards, a sister said, "The park changes you". That is definitely true. I have learned how to talk to people without seeming weird or inconsiderate. That's a good thing haha.
Oh, and I don't know if I mentioned it last time in my letter but two Saturdays ago, my companion and I had been talking to these two nice, if a tad weird, men near the entrance of the park. We gave them pass along cards about the temple, but we were in a hurry so we couldn't talk to them too much. We said we'd be back the next week but we haven't seen them since.
Yesterday, I learned from my Spanish teachers that those men were drug dealers! They sit at the entrance to the park every day. They're always nice to the missionaries, and I didn't feel like I was in danger talking to them...but I think I'll avoid that area of the park from now on. Can you imagine? Me, Lexie Jones, trying to teach Spanish drug dealers about the gospel. So strange.
We had a devotional broadcast by Neil L. Anderson, one of the apostles of the church. My favorite quote was, "There are souls to save and miracles to find, so get to work".
Now, for some fun Spain/language facts: Sponge Bob is called Bob Espongea, marshmallows are nuves (the Spanish word for clouds), and my Swiss-German district leader explained that kindergarten means "child garden".
I hope your weeks were great! Email or write me! I love hearing from you.
Love,
Hermana Jones
Gracias for your letters! I received some of them yesterday, and it made me so happy. I love hearing about your lives.
My friend, Nash Miller, from BYU is here! He was in charge of my FHE group, and he's going to Russia for his mission.
The park this past Saturday was great. There are always great experiences there, and I love talking to the people. Even if they don't want to hear about religion, they are usually really nice. Afterwards, a sister said, "The park changes you". That is definitely true. I have learned how to talk to people without seeming weird or inconsiderate. That's a good thing haha.
Oh, and I don't know if I mentioned it last time in my letter but two Saturdays ago, my companion and I had been talking to these two nice, if a tad weird, men near the entrance of the park. We gave them pass along cards about the temple, but we were in a hurry so we couldn't talk to them too much. We said we'd be back the next week but we haven't seen them since.
Yesterday, I learned from my Spanish teachers that those men were drug dealers! They sit at the entrance to the park every day. They're always nice to the missionaries, and I didn't feel like I was in danger talking to them...but I think I'll avoid that area of the park from now on. Can you imagine? Me, Lexie Jones, trying to teach Spanish drug dealers about the gospel. So strange.
We had a devotional broadcast by Neil L. Anderson, one of the apostles of the church. My favorite quote was, "There are souls to save and miracles to find, so get to work".
Now, for some fun Spain/language facts: Sponge Bob is called Bob Espongea, marshmallows are nuves (the Spanish word for clouds), and my Swiss-German district leader explained that kindergarten means "child garden".
I hope your weeks were great! Email or write me! I love hearing from you.
Love,
Hermana Jones
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Greetings from Spain!
Things are still going great here. The Russian Missionaries left, and we now have some missionaries from Ukraine. Another batch of missionaries from Provo will be here learning Russian on Friday.
Well, last Thursday was great. After I sent out my emails, we went on a tour of Madrid. We saw the neighborhood of Sol, the Royal Palace, an Egyptian temple, and a large statue of Don Quioxte (sp?). I just kept thinking how cool it was that I was walking around Spain. I don't think I'll ever get over it! (Pictures will come later, I don´t have time to upload them today)
Then, on Saturday, we had a fantastic day at the park. Everyone we talked to was kind, and many wanted to hear more. It was just so great, because I felt like I was really helping people. The gospel changes lives for the better, and I hope that I can help people find the joy that I feel because of it.
Oh, also, I found out that I can receive letters! The address is
Sister Alexandra Jones
Spain Malaga Mission
Centro de Capacitacion Misional
Calle de Templo, 2-4ª planta
28030 Madrid
Espana
Letters take up to 1.5 weeks to get here, so if you send it too late, I might not get it. But I'd love to hear from you!
Yesterday I was released from my calling as Ward Chorister and given a new one: Sister Training Leader. I make sure all the sisters have what they need and counsel with them if they need it. I'm super excited! It's an honor to be called, and I´m excited to serve them.
A sister in my district made a list of the most entertaining things here at the CCm, and I´m going to share them with you. 1: the Map. There´s a big map hanging in the classroom hallway, and during breaks all 25 of us missionaries gather around it, pointing out our homes and quizzing each other on the African countries. 2: Looking out the Window. This one is for missionaries and teachers alike. During study time, for a short break, we get up and stand in front of the window. I don´t know why its so fascinating, but I think it just reminds us where we are and that there is an outside world out there. 3: The chairs. The church invested a lot of money in these chairs, which is good because we sit in them for 6 or more hours a day. Each week we find new features.
Fun Spain fact: they have Dora the Explorer here! But instead of teaching kids Spanish, she teaches English.
I love you all! I hope you have a great week.
Love, Hermana Jones
Well, last Thursday was great. After I sent out my emails, we went on a tour of Madrid. We saw the neighborhood of Sol, the Royal Palace, an Egyptian temple, and a large statue of Don Quioxte (sp?). I just kept thinking how cool it was that I was walking around Spain. I don't think I'll ever get over it! (Pictures will come later, I don´t have time to upload them today)
Then, on Saturday, we had a fantastic day at the park. Everyone we talked to was kind, and many wanted to hear more. It was just so great, because I felt like I was really helping people. The gospel changes lives for the better, and I hope that I can help people find the joy that I feel because of it.
Oh, also, I found out that I can receive letters! The address is
Sister Alexandra Jones
Spain Malaga Mission
Centro de Capacitacion Misional
Calle de Templo, 2-4ª planta
28030 Madrid
Espana
Letters take up to 1.5 weeks to get here, so if you send it too late, I might not get it. But I'd love to hear from you!
Yesterday I was released from my calling as Ward Chorister and given a new one: Sister Training Leader. I make sure all the sisters have what they need and counsel with them if they need it. I'm super excited! It's an honor to be called, and I´m excited to serve them.
A sister in my district made a list of the most entertaining things here at the CCm, and I´m going to share them with you. 1: the Map. There´s a big map hanging in the classroom hallway, and during breaks all 25 of us missionaries gather around it, pointing out our homes and quizzing each other on the African countries. 2: Looking out the Window. This one is for missionaries and teachers alike. During study time, for a short break, we get up and stand in front of the window. I don´t know why its so fascinating, but I think it just reminds us where we are and that there is an outside world out there. 3: The chairs. The church invested a lot of money in these chairs, which is good because we sit in them for 6 or more hours a day. Each week we find new features.
Fun Spain fact: they have Dora the Explorer here! But instead of teaching kids Spanish, she teaches English.
I love you all! I hope you have a great week.
Love, Hermana Jones
Thursday, July 3, 2014
First Week
Hola everyone!!! I miss you all so much.
The CCM (Centro de Capitacion Misional; the Mission Training Center) is great! Everyone is so kind and wonderful here, and I feel very comfortable. It was a struggle to sleep at the beginning, cuz of the time difference, but I´m good. Also, the food here is weird…the nice lunch people try to make American food for us, but it doesn´t work out very well haha.
My companion is Hermana Finch. She´s great! Always so happy and cheerful. She´s an awesome companion.
Remember how I was really worried about being able to learn the language? Well, I had nothing to worry about. It´s coming so easily! I was shocked, but I´m not complaining. I know that God is helping me, because I could never learn Spanish this easily on my own.
I´m also learning a bit of Portuguese. They have many languages here at the CCM, like Spanish, Italian, Russian…there are some Sisters going to Portugal. I´ve been learning some simple words because, in my mission, there is a city where the missionaries can go into Portugal to preach. (How cool is that???) The pronunciation is a bit different, because they say “s” like “sh”, but it´s very similar. The Russian is not coming easily at all though, I think I´m gonna give up on that one.
All this language learning has led to some interesting stories. For example, the words for fish (pescado) and sins (pecado) sound very similar. When one of the Sisters was trying to say “Christ paid for our sins,” she said, “Christ paid for our fish.” I couldn´t stop laughing. I think things like that are funnier in the CCM than they would be outside…
We have a pretty cool schedule here. Every day, we get an hour of physical activity. Usually we go out and play futbol in the park, and some local kids join us.
Let me just say that again: I¨VE BEEN PLAYING SOCCER IN SPAIN. WITH SPAINARDS. Sooooooo cool. Every day I wake up and think how wonderful it is here, and how blessed I am (I also made a really awesome goal the other day by accident, so everyone thinks that I´m actually good at soccer haha).
On Saturdays, we get to go to a park and talk to people. It´s such a great opportunity to learn how to teach real people. I mean, we practice teaching investigators who we teach every day, but it is very cool to talk to real people.
I have a calling (or responsibility) at church here! I´m the ward chorister. It´s fun haha.
Well, I miss you all! Thanks for all your emails
Love,
Hermana Jones
My companion is Hermana Finch. She´s great! Always so happy and cheerful. She´s an awesome companion.
Remember how I was really worried about being able to learn the language? Well, I had nothing to worry about. It´s coming so easily! I was shocked, but I´m not complaining. I know that God is helping me, because I could never learn Spanish this easily on my own.
I´m also learning a bit of Portuguese. They have many languages here at the CCM, like Spanish, Italian, Russian…there are some Sisters going to Portugal. I´ve been learning some simple words because, in my mission, there is a city where the missionaries can go into Portugal to preach. (How cool is that???) The pronunciation is a bit different, because they say “s” like “sh”, but it´s very similar. The Russian is not coming easily at all though, I think I´m gonna give up on that one.
All this language learning has led to some interesting stories. For example, the words for fish (pescado) and sins (pecado) sound very similar. When one of the Sisters was trying to say “Christ paid for our sins,” she said, “Christ paid for our fish.” I couldn´t stop laughing. I think things like that are funnier in the CCM than they would be outside…
We have a pretty cool schedule here. Every day, we get an hour of physical activity. Usually we go out and play futbol in the park, and some local kids join us.
Let me just say that again: I¨VE BEEN PLAYING SOCCER IN SPAIN. WITH SPAINARDS. Sooooooo cool. Every day I wake up and think how wonderful it is here, and how blessed I am (I also made a really awesome goal the other day by accident, so everyone thinks that I´m actually good at soccer haha).
On Saturdays, we get to go to a park and talk to people. It´s such a great opportunity to learn how to teach real people. I mean, we practice teaching investigators who we teach every day, but it is very cool to talk to real people.
I have a calling (or responsibility) at church here! I´m the ward chorister. It´s fun haha.
Well, I miss you all! Thanks for all your emails
Love,
Hermana Jones
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)