FIRST Week!

Whitney's 2nd Letter

MOM! How are you? How is everything at home? I only have a short amount of time, so I hope you'll send this to everyone who desires to obtain my letters...

Here goes.

Let me start with: longest week of my life. I feel as though I've been here for four months in the short week. Overall, it's been a good week. Sorry if I mix a little spanish and typos in, I'm just trying to get everything from my head to my fingers.

I feel like I'm attending a long session of EFY, to be honest. What with the classes and the elders and sisters mixed together to bond and all that. And a lot of the elders are fresh out of high school, so their maturity levels have yet to improve.

Mi compañera is Hermana ... and we're trying our hardest to get along, but we only just met. Our personalities are very different and it's difficult sometimes. I keep praying that we'll become good friends by the end of the CCM experience. (CCM is the MTC down here, by the way).

My knowledge of Spanish has surprised me over the last week. It's a lot more expansive than I originally thought. I feel bad for those who came down here without any knowledge whatsoever because there's no mercy when we go out into the world to speak to members or the Chileans.

I don't think I've ever felt so exhausted. Physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. It's a strange feeling. My soul is filled with the Espiritu, but my cuerpo refuses to accept things sometimes. Like being up and thinking and working for 16 hours every day. There's a neverending feeling of fatigue I've come to accept and the jetlag is finally gone. So I can think a bit more clearly.

The house we're staying in (half ourZone) is staying in Alcantara about 10 minutes from the CCM, which is directly across from the temple. I'll send pictures if i have time. It's beautiful and I'm having such a good experience here. The first days were rough. I kept crying and my mind wouldn't accept that I was in another country more than half a world away from home.

I'm coming slowly to the realization that all the misionaries here at this time are all here for the same purpose and that we're all children of Dios, just with different levels of conprehension and education. We're here to serve the Lord, to learn Spanish, to teach the people and to bring my brothers and sisters into the fold of Christ. Invitar a las personas a venir a Cristo.

The atmosphere here is incredible. Both the Latinos and Gringos have all formed such a special bond with each other and especially our roommates. Although most of the time we don't understand each others' words, we can feel everyone's dedication and love for the Lord and to His Evangelio. To our faith in God. At home, I loved being around family and good friends, but we have an entire eternity to be together and two years is nothing in comparison. Let the Lord be with you and I during this brief separation.

I LOVE the people! The Latinos are amazing. The people are beautiful and willing to be patient with me even before, when it took me more than ten minutes to tell them that I know the church is true. We just laugh and try our best to understand and communicate.

It's different now. I've gotten to a stage where I understand enough of what they're staying to get the gist of the conversation instead of it being a long string of gibberish. Now all I need to do is to respond adequately and make sense in doing so. I've become the gringo interpreter in our room because I can communicate between the gringos and the Latinos.

We have 13 sisters to 2 bathrooms. The mornings are CRAZY! We have fourty'five minutes to split that between 9 and six for each one and it's a miracle we get out the door. It's amazing how much spanish I really do know, spanish and the gospel. Sorry, tangent.

My faith is progressing and I'm slowly becoming reassured in my decision to serve. It's hard, don't misunderstand, but this is the most faith promoting experience I've ever had or probably will have. The frustrations I'm dealing with now will benefit me in the future in some way or another. The teachers here are truly inspired. They know their stuff, especially the lenguaje. Their faith and knowledge in the gospel is daunting. I want to learn all I can from them because I want to teach like them, be the missionary in  my mind's eye.
There is one teacher especially. Filipe Montalban. He's an average height Chilean with a jolly smile and a special presence. He knows how to teach for us to understand and he can get so deep into a subject. It's invigorating to meet someone who shares my faith who knows as much as he does about things he knows. if that made sense, muy bien.
I love each and every one of you. I'm praying for you.

I don't know who is familiar with how the CCM works, but I didn't beforehand. How we learn to teach investigators is astounding. It's definitely inspired. The teachers help us by acting as an investigator they met on their missions. Their beliefs, their family and what, and Montalban is my companion and my investigator. His name is Fernando. He doesn't believe in God. He has a 15 year old son who recently joined the Church, which he is fine with. His wife is in the hospital and he is wondering, if there was a God, that God would let him suffer so much and for so long. He's 52 and works as a technician fixing tvs. We are supposed to prepare the lessons and decide what to teach about and we chose to teach about family. How they can be anchors when life gets difficult. During the lesson, me and Binford got an impression to teach about the Plan of Salvation, unbeknownst to one another. Monti stopped us and asked us if we were feeling the Spirit. We told him we were. He said he could tell and he wondered what we were feeling. It was cool that he was able to discern the Spirit and recognize that we were feeling it, too. He told us something about listening to promptings and I kept thinking how much I wanted to be like him someday. The spirit was so strong and we were tearing up a bit. The spirit saturated the room and I felt so good. Peaceful and just great.

Antes de that, I was impressed to share a personal experience. I told him about Scott and his family. I told him that although life gets hard, family will be his anchor to happiness and joy. My mom is my very best example of that because even when life gets hard for her at home with 6 (now 5) kids, she stays the loving person she is. She prays and knows God is listening. I hold that close to me as I serve so far from home and I hope to be such an example to my companion and the people I serve.

On Sunday, we gathered in our zones to watch a talk given to the Provo MTC in February. It was wonderful. SUnday was a good day. My favorite thus far. We fasted from Saturday afternoon for 24 hours. I felt so good and enriched with the spirit and with other people's testimonies and faith and my endless prayers. My prayers in Spanish are improving. It's actuallly difficult to say Heavenly Father. Padre Celestial seems so natural with all the praying I've done in the last week.

I'm running short on time, so I think I'll share my testimony. We need to have unfailing faith in Jesucristo, especially when the days are dragging and I wondering what's happening in Utah. He can get us through anything with faith. I know a lot about the gospel. I do. I was born into the church, went to Primary and what, I do know a lot. I've realized I can draw on that  for knowledge and strength. And then the Holy Ghost makes everything receivable. I'm learning that it's important not to be afraid. to have courage and tell people my testimony. Even in a week, it's amazing to see the changes already taking place in myself and my fe and testimony.

I've been set apart with a message that the Son of God lives. That life eternal lives on the earth again today and that prophets are alive today who speak with God. I have the responsibility to share that message that Jesus and His gospel are restored to the earth.

hte Lord has prepared us. He's trustikng us to teach and we must learn to trust Him to help us when w need it most. Our love for the Lord will increase as we learn to love and serve Him and the people in the world around us. I'm on His errand, and entitled to His blessings. the Holy Ghost is my companion when no one else will be.

Let the power of His love carry you through the tough times. Obedientlydo your very best. Obedience brings blessings. Exact obedience brings miracles. It doesn''t matter if you do anything perfectly. the Lord doesn't expect perfection. As long as  we do our part, the Lord will fill in the gaps

I miss you all so much. I think of your spirits and your smiles every day. Your faith and prayers and love have helped me through my despair and trials. <i look forward to the next time I can read and write to my beautiful family and friends. Thank you for your examples. ANd testimonies.

Hermana Castleton

P.S. thanks for your letters in the large colorful envelope. I wish I had more time to say what I want to, but I just don't. I love you!