Jan 5, 2015

Buenas!

It´s been quite the week here in the Jarabacoa. My dear companion, Hermana Clove, got a call from Hermana Douglas last week asking her to be her assistant in the mission home. We figured that we´d finish the transfer together and then she would go live with them in the mission home, but we got a call two days later from the assistants saying "We found you a mini. We´ll be here at 4 to pick up your companion and to drop off your mini." She was gone so fast! But my new companion is Hermana Jimenez, from San Fransisco (Dominican Republic, not California). She´s 17, and she loves preaching the gospel. She´s been such an example to me, and I think I´ve learned more from her this past week than I have my entire mission. She´s pretty amazing. She´s only here one more week until the end of transfers. I only have a short time with her, but it´s been so fun. And I´ve really had to use my Spanish. It´s been great practice. Every morning when we wake up, I always say something to her in English. haha



The week of Christmas, President Douglas asked us to pray and fast in order to find a family to teach. We´d been teaching Filomiz, a friend of Deli´s, and that week we started teaching her whole family. We realized that they were our golden family. They´re been coming to church, and Deli brings them to all of the activities, and they love it. I think it´s so amazing because Filomiz doesn´t even speak Spanish, but she loves going to church. It´s because she feels the Spirit while she´s there. And I love teaching them. Whenever we teach, we squeeze their family of five, Deli´s family of 3, and us into their tiny little one-room house. But the Spirit is always so strong. This Monday, we invited them to baptism. Filomiz told us that a few nights ago, she had a dream that she was bathing in a river and felt so happy and clean, and then she saw a path in the forest, so she followed it. She said it was straight and narrow. She told us that she had received her answer, and that she was ready to be baptized. Her husband said that he wants to, but he´s still waiting to receive his answer. Then came the daunting question. Here in the Dominican Republic, few people are married. In fact, other than the members of the church, I think I may have met 5 couples the whole time I´ve been here. I was so nervous to ask them, because I was sure there weren´t, and I knew it was going to be really difficult for them to go back to Haiti and get their papers and get married. So, I took a deep breath and said "So.....are you guys married?" AND THEY SAID YES! I couldn´t believe it. I almost cried. They are such an amazing family, and they´re getting baptized! We set the date for January 31st!



A Day in the DR:

Here, the people love to decorate for Christmas, but they don´t celebrate with presents. They just put up lights and get together with their families and eat. But on the 6th of January (the date changes all the time), they have the Night of the Kings, where they celebrate the arrival of the wise men. The kings bring the kids gifts, and they celebrate their arrival. I really like it because it´s easier for them to focus on the true meaning of Christmas on the 25th, and then they celebrate the arrival of the wise men with gifts. I thought it was a cool tradition. My companion made us Dominican food to celebrate.



I hope you all have a wonderful week. I am so grateful for every single one of you in my life, and your support here on the mission. God be with you til we meet again.

Love, Hermana Jorden