I Eat Pupusas

Hola hola! Les quiero mucho! 

This week went by so fast, it's crazy. I can't believe it's Monday again! I am grateful for this little "break" that I get.

I have been on my mission for a full month (in two days)!!! Isn't that crazy? 

I have been sick in some way or another all this week, which has been a little rough. Hermana Martinez always makes me laugh though, so it definitely makes me better. 

This week I realized that I'm not really in the south, it's more like a Hispanic melting pot. I meet people from all over Latin America and I love it! The different dialects and accents are a little hard to understand, and I've found that I understand Mexicans the most. Although I've spent a lot of time with Colombians, so I'm starting to pick up on that now :) 

Hermana Martinez says that I'm officially a Latina for a few reasons: 

1. I know Bachata (and other music, thanks to Profe Jauregui)

2. I speak Spanish

3. I eat pupusas

It's pretty funny. She always encourages me and helps me feel better about the language. 

There is one sister in our branch named Hermana Lopez and I love her so much. She always called me "hija" which means daughter. I feel like so many people adopt me into their families here.

The biggest thing Sister Martinez and I learned this week was obedience. We were so eager to find new people to teach, that we cut into some studying time. New missionaries who are speaking a new language have a huge amount of studying time. I'm talking 4 hours. Then we eat lunch. So that's 5 hours in the house. It's rough. So it seemed logical that we would cut down on studying time to go find people. We struggled to find last week, so after some chastising at a zone meeting, we decided it would be better to be to totally obedient with out studies, even if it meant not finding anyone to teach. Each day, we promised the Lord that we would give our all and that we would work our hardest that day. We promised we would consecrate the day to him. Right away, we started receiving TONS of referrals. We got seven referrals in one day which was totally cool. Needless to say, I gained a big testimony of putting the Lord first, and watching everything else fall into place. 

I'm finding that the worst part about the mission is not ever being able to put into words the daily miracles I see. Not even in my journal can I express the wonderful things I see and feel each day. I am beginning to understand why people love their missions so much. 

So we have been teaching the Urueta family. I love them so much. There are two girls and one mom. They are a great family. The oldest daughter and the mom have said that they would like to be baptized, but they want to wait because they would like to know more, which definitely makes sense. We have talked with them a lot about faith and about their doubts. But finally, Clarissa, the 11-year old sister, firmly said that she would like to baptized. She has explained that she feels that it is the right thing to do. We asked her when she would like to be baptized, and she said "Like... ASAP." It was great. Needless to say, we have a baptism on March 22nd! My first baptism! I am so stoked and I can't wait to see how this family grows. 

I love this experience so much. It is really hard, I can't deny that. But there is nothing else I would rather be doing right now. I love seeming the name of my Savior above my heart every day. 

I love you all! Please write letters and keep us in your prayers! 

Con mucho amor, 

Hermana Abram