July 17, 2014 Letter

Hola friends!

It's been a great week here at the CCM! The past couple of days, our teacher has challenged us to speak on Spanish until the end of the CCM. I can't say that I've been doing it 100%, but it's been really great. It really challenges me to think, and I've learned a lot. I'm so excited for the day that I finally understand everything. :) I love learning Spanish. I finally understand all of the grammar, now it's a matter of knowing the vocabulary, and then is the daunting task of understanding the people. On Tuesday, the Haitian sisters left, and yesterday, all of the Latinos came. There are some from places like El Salvador or Mexico, and they are pretty easy to understand. And then the Dominicans started speaking and all I was thinking is "This isn't the language they're teaching me in the MTC." haha

 

So last Friday, we went to the Univeristy to teach again, and we had an interesting experience. I was talking to a man about the Restoration of the Gospel, but he wasn't listening to a word I was saying. He was staring at Hermana Oborn! haha He cut me off and was asking how long she'll be here, if she has a boyfriend, and how well she speaks Spanish. He told her that she was beautiful, and reached out for her hand. Hermana Oborn can't understand a word of what these people say, so she just gave him her hand. He wasn't letting go, so I pushed her hand away, and told him that we weren't staying long and that we had to go. After we walked away, we told her, and she was so embarassed. She had no idea! haha

 

Our district loves to sing, and we sing all the time. We have someone covering each part, and we sound pretty good. I love singing with them, and I know that I need to cherish it, because I hear that most of the natives can't sing. haha But I've really started to appreciate how incredibly blessed I was to be a part of Concert Choir at BYU, and I can't wait to get back and sing with them again. I have a new appreciation for the power of music.

 

Because the temple is closed for the next few weeks, we didn't go this morning. Instead, we watched an MTC Devotional given by Jeffrey R. Holland. It was so powerful. Here are some things that he said:

"Missionary work isn't easy because it was never easy for the Son of the Living God. You are going to have to prepare to feel thos esame emotions.

The road to salvation always goes through the Garden of Gethsemane.

I don't know a disciple that didn't do what the Savior did, or didn't follow where the Savior went.

Salvation is not a cheap experience. It's going to take everything, and it's going to give you everything, and it's going to make you everything that you can possibly be."

I obviously can't relay how powerful his words were through and e-mail, but for those of you who know just how powerful his words can be, you can imagine how he made me feel.

 

Something I love about watching devotionals, is afterwards, we get together as a district to discuss what we learned. I love it because that's when I learn. I get to talk about what touched me, and I get to listen to things that I hadn't picked up on my own. I know General Conference is a ways away, but I challenge you to discuss with others the things that you learn at church, during personal scripture study, or anything. When you share and discuss what you've learn, it's when the Spirit can speak to you and that's when you can receive revelation.

 

A Day in the DR:

There's a virus going around called Chikungunya. It's passed through mosquitos, which are everywhere, and it causes joint pain. None of the missionaries have gotten it yet, but a lot of the teachers have. I really hope that my stylish mosquito net will protect me from it, because it sounds painful!

 

Well, I love and miss you all so much! I love hearing about your lifes, and I can't wait until I see you all! God be with you until we meet again!

Kelsea said- The two districts I've been with the whole time. I love them. They're so great. :)

Kelsea and her companions with one of their teachers, Hermano Rubio

Week 3- July 10, 2014

Hello everyone!

Thanks for all your letters! I love hearing from you! Sorry I'm not a very interesting story teller, I hope I'm not too boring. ;)

Anyways, it's been a great week here! On Friday, we went to the University (it's the first university in North and South America! It's really cool!) and tracted! I was SO nervous before. I thought that I was going to screw up so badly and ruin someone from ever listening to the missionaries. haha But as soon as we started talking to them, it became really fun! The people here talk so fast, so we had to ask them to speak really slow so we could understand. haha But we gave out 9 pamphlets and 2copies of the Book of Mormon. The ladies we gave them to were so nice and sincere. I was on Cloud 9 the rest of the day! Talking to the people and sharing with them the most important thing in my life was such a wonderful experience. It makes all of the rough days at the CCM worth it! I just can't wait until I go out into the field and do that all day!

After we got back from the University, we had a big Fourth of July feast laid out for us for dinner. It was so sweet and so delicious. Dominicans do American food better than we do! haha :) It was so fun.

 

This last Sunday was our first Fast Sunday. We started our fast on Saturday after lunch, and Hermana Halling and I were dumb enough to play Ultimate Frisbee after lunch. We learned out lesson. haha But it was a cool experience.

We play ultimate frisbee every day. I love it.  The teachers always play with us, and it's so much fun. 

 

We are so lucky to have the temple right across the street from us. We've been able to go three times. Unfortunately, they're closing it for maintenance until we leave the CCM, so today may have been my last time for the next year and a half. Unless I have an investigator who is going through for the first time when I'm in the field. :)

 

In my district, I know the most Spanish, and it's been a real blessing. I spend a lot of time working with the Elders or with Sister Oborn (who knows no Spanish, just French) and teaching them about different verb tenses or about pronouns, and it's really helped my Spanish. Even though I can't speak it perfectly by any means, I feel like I understand everything. Now I just need to learn how to speak it and how to understand those crazy fast Dominicans. :)

 

A Day in the DR:

Well, I haven't had a lot of time outside of the CCM, but whenever I get the chance to talk to the people, I fall instantly in love with them. They are the kindest, friendliest, more compassionate people I've ever met. They all treat me like their best friend, and they are so patience with my Spanish. haha I can't wait until I understand them and can teach them. I'm so grateful to be here.

 

Here's a little inspiration from me to you. Hopefully it's right, I'm doing it from memory. haha

Y si los hombres vienen a mi, les mostrare su debilidad. Doy a los hombres debilidad para que sean humilde; y basta mi gracias a todos los hombres que se humilde ante me, porque si se humilde ante me, and tienen fe en mi, entonces hare las cosas debiles sean fuertes para ellos. Eter 12:17

That's my favorite scripture, and I've really been trying to apply it to my life. Being in a companionship of three can be hard, because we all have different ideas and opinions, but it has been a great opportunity for me to focus on my weaknesses and to become a better person. I know that with Heavenly Father's help, we can accomplish anything. We should always be looking for things to improve or change about ourselves, especially me. haha I hope you all have a great week and I love you to the moon and back!

Week 2 Letter

Kelsea’s friend/family letter -July 3, 2014

Hello everyone!

It's been another week here at the CCM! I'm really happy here, and I'm starting to feel settled. My companions are really nice, and I'm starting to feel like better friends with them. The elders in our district are a lot of fun, but sometimes we spend more time laughing than learning. We're trying to help them focus a little more. haha But they're great. They all like to sing, so we spend a lot of our time singing hymns together, and we sound pretty good! Tonight, Hermana Halling, Elder Bracken, Elder Stewart, and I are singing Abide with Me; Tis Eventide for Family Prayer. :)

On Thursdays we get to go to the temple. It's in the same parking lot as the CCM. It's so beautiful inside and we're so blessed and lucky to go. It's been really neat.

This week we got to go to the store. It was the first time we were allowed to leave the temple grounds, and it was so much fun. And so hot. We were dripping sweat by the time we got back. But it was so fun to see what the mission's actually going to be like.

So I can't remember what I told you last week, so hopefully I'm not repeating myself. There are 13 of us, and 10 are going to Puerto Rico. Two elders and I are going to Santiago. And last night, we got 25 new missionaries. 3 are Haitian sisters and they are serving in Haiti, and the rest are from the US serving in either Santo Domingo east or west. We just met them this morning so we haven't really had a chance to talk with them, but they all seem really nice.

Mom, I forgot to tell you that Sister Carroll stopped by last week and gave me the bag. It's a fanny pack. haha I died. Then I opened the bag and found a strap. Phew! She's really nice. :)

How's Grandpa Jorden doing? I didn't really hear a whole lot about what happened. Did he have to go to the hospital or anything? Does he have scars?

A few days ago, two sisters serving in the Santo Domingo East mission asked us to help them with their lesson. They were teaching a less active family, and they wanted to teach them about Lehi's Vision, so they had us blindfold the family and lead them around with a rope, we led them to the entrance to the temple, and had them hold to the railing and walk up to the temple ("iron rod"). Then they took off their blindfolds and had them look at the temple. It was a lot of fun to help the sisters, and it was a taste of what being a missionary is really going to be like. I can't wait!

A Day in the DR:

The culture here is a lot different than most Hispanic countries. The Dominican people still speak Spanish, but they are black (which in my opinion, is the best combination haha). The sport that everyone loves here is baseball, not soccer. It's been really fun to see what everything is like here. Last night, Hermano Rubio was telling us about his favorite foods, including cow tongue, pig ears, and pig lips. Bleh! I really hope I don't have to try any of that! haha :)

Well, hopefully I covered everything! Let me know if there's anything else I missed!

I love you all and I miss you lots, but I'm really happy to be here! I'm loving the language and all of the people, and I'm so glad I have the blessing of being a missionary.

Oh, a few more things I forgot!

We just got called to be the Sister Trainer Leaders. Basically it's just our job to make the new sisters feel loved and welcome. It's hard to communicate with the Haitian sisters, but we love smiling at them! haha

If I already mentioned this last week, don't put it on the blog, but I just love the teachers here. They are so inspirational. They all have such a strong desire to learn, all the time. They all speak quite a bit of Spanish, some are working on learning French, some are learning new instruments, and they are all always looking for new things to learn. It really makes me want to learn everything I can. Especially in Spanish. I really enjoy learning the language, and I feel like I learn a lot each day. A few days ago, we taught two lessons, and both time the people we taught told me that my Spanish was ready for the field! I don't quite agree, but it's really comforting to know that I'm doing well, and not falling behind. The picture I sent is of Hermano Nunez. He's not actually our teacher, but he hangs out with us a lot when we take turns teaching the investigator, and he has taught us so much about the gospel. He's also hilarious. He's actually from India, but he grew up here. We couldn't find our real teachers, but they are Hermanos Ramirez, Rodriguez, and Rubio, and their first names are all Jose. haha They're really awesome. :)

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.