Hermana Jorden's first letter from the MTC- June 26, 2014

I made it! I'm here, at the CCM (MTC). The flights all went well (sorry I didn't call, I didn't get the chance to find a telephone before I had to board my last flight). As we were flying over the DR, it felt so unreal. I had to keep telling myself, "I'm a missionary. This is my new home. These are my people." I couldn't believe it. I was so excited. When we landed, everyone cheered. I almost cried. I'm so ready for this. After I got off the plane, went through customs and got my bags, I went out into the lobby to find my ride. I couldn't find him anywhere. I waited for a while, and these two security guards were trying to help me, but we couldn't really understand each other. After half an hour, he came, and took my stuff. We got into his van, and I was thinking "Here I am, in another country, in some random man's van, all by myself, and we don't even speak the same language." haha I wasn't worried though. We arrived to the CCM and he took my luggage to my room and introduced me to the CCM 'president's wife, Hermana Freestone. She took me to the cafeteria for some dinner, and told me that I was the only missionary at the CCM. At first I was a little worried, but it turns out that there aren't any missionaries here from the previous transfer, and all of the missionaries that were supposed to come today had missed their flights! They all arrived after I went to bed, so I met them in the morning. There are thirteen of us. In the whole CCM! It's pretty different than Provo. But I'm really enjoying it. :)

 

I have two companions. Hermanas Oborn and Halling. They're both really nice. Hermana Halling got here two days late before he flights kept getting canceled. She said goodbye to her family three times before she actually left! haha Hermana Oborn doesn't know any Spanish. She took three years of French in high school. I think it's hard for her because everyone else has some Spanish, so she feels like she's behind, but she's a trooper. She's learning a lot and working hard.

 

Learning Spanish is so much fun. In my district, there are two pairs of elders and the three of us. The elders are a lot of fun. Two of them just graduated high school three weeks ago, and the other two both went to a year of BYU. We spend most of the day learning the language, and I love it. I knew quite a bit before I went, and I know the most out of our district, but I'm still learning a lot. I ask a lot of questions, but I'm starting to understand the things I didn't quite get in high school. At this point, I can understand almost everything someone says in Spanish (when they're not speaking in their crazy fast accents), and I can say most of the things I want to, but I still have a lot to learn. It's been a lot of fun.

 

The teachers here are so great. They are all Dominican, and some of them speak English really well, but a lot of them know just about as much English as we do Spanish. And their love of the gospel is so inspiring to me. I just want to study the scriptures all day. That's why I love Sunday's, because we have a lot of time to study the scriptures and to learn.

 

A Day in the DR:

Tyler told me that he would always tell a funny or a cool story about Mexico, so I thought I would share somethings.

Sometimes they serve us brownies for breakfast. We never get them for dinner, just breakfast. It's pretty strange. :) But we get a lot of rice and beans. The rice is really good, but I usually pass on the beans. haha

Everyone here says "Oh mi madre." in place of "Oh my goodness." I love it. It cracks me up. :)

The people here are so friendly and happy and outgoing. I'm starting to wonder why I haven't lived here my whole life.

The weather here is HOT. We only go outside for an hour each day to exercise, but no matter what we do, I come back inside drenched in sweat. I've never been blinded by the sweat dripping into my eyes. Pretty soon it's going to be like that all day. Oh mi madre.

 

I can't really think of anything else to report. I'm doing well, and life is great! I love learning Spanish, and learning more about the gospel. Sometimes I miss having friends and family to talk be with, but the people here are really great, and the missionaries are a lot of fun. If there's anything else I forgot to talk about, let me know, and I'll add it in next week. (P-days are on Thursdays). I love you all!

Kelsea made it to the Dominican Republic on June 18, 2014!   Here she is at the MTC.