Week #3

I am marking the weeks since we have landed here on our mission in DC.  We graduated from the training that the Archives gave us on Tuesday.  Hooray!  We can not handle the documents. Then on Wednesday morning we woke up to a snow storm.  They shut down Washington.  We had to get on this website and  it tells us whether Washington is open or closed.  The snow amounted to about an inch, actually less than that here.  But it was cold, and we stayed in our apartment all day.  The next day the radio was calling it "Snowmagadon"  making light that they closed everything down for that small amount of snow!

So on Thursday we were able to get our hands on training.  The supervisor, Jackie, will look at  our images a couple of times a week for a few weeks.  It was just so fun to get started with what we are going to be doing.    The Dickey's, who were on that video, are so kind and gentle in teaching us.  The time just flies by when we are working.  We look up and it is time for lunch, and then the next time we look up, it is time to go home.  I like unfolding the documents the best.  Capturing the images is a bit harder to get used to because there are pedels on the floor that you have to work with both feet to have the table go up and down to the glass.  I got my hand caught a couple of times.  Also, Elder Nelson and I keep wanting to turn the documents face down-like to photocopy it.  But it has to go up for the camera to take the picture.  We got in some good practice.  We were tired after 2 full days of our real work.

Some of the missionaries take the stairs..I am working on getting up to the 18th floor, but I can only go as far as the 12th.  Elder Nelson is working at it also.  We get more exercise here than we ever did at home and we can feel the energy it is giving us.

On Saturday we went to our Spanish lessons with the Elders at the Church.  It was really, really good this week.  I am starting to put some of the pieces together to learn this language.  On last Monday, and every Monday for the next 6 months, I have a lesson over Skype on learning how I learn so I can learn this Spanish in the quickest time possible.  It is an hour lesson.  Then on Wednesdays I have my Spanish tutor, also on Skype.  He is really nice.  Both these teachers work at the Senior MTC in teaching languages to the Senior missionaries.  I didn't really understand what I was suppose to learn on Wednesday until my lesson with the Elders on Saturday.  The Elders are helping me so much.  A light went on and now I can work on my lesson for Wednesday's lesson on the bus the next 3 days.

Elder Nelson and I are also trying to learn how to use our time the best.  We want to get our Saturdays as free as possible to be able to go and see things.  But then again, we didn't come here to site see...We are also working on how best to fix dinners and lunches that are quick.. When we get home at 5:30 after a day at work, neither of us wants to cook a meal.  So we are trying to work things out that way, and also when to do our laundry, and our grocery shopping.  Because I have language training on Mondays and Wednesdays.  This week we did laundry on Thursday this past week.

Today in an early morning meeting with the Ward Mission leaders and the Elders, Elder Nelson and I were given 4 families to help with.  Some are new converts and some are investigators.  We will go with the Elders for awhile until we can get better at the language.  They really have a strong mission effort in this little Branch.  The new Mission Leader, Hermano (Brother) Cortez, is a new convert himself and you can tell that he has a very strong testimony of the Gospel.  So that will use some of our evenings also.  But it just feels so wonderful to be here and to be needed.

The members I am growing to love.  For the celebration of the Relief Society's birthday this month, the sisters are going out to a restaurant to eat together.  I am excited about this. This will be on the 23rd of March and then the next day we are to wear blue and gold to Church because it will be a Sacrament Meeting about the Relief Society. And blue and gold are the Relief Society's colors.....I did not know that.  Did you?

We had such a good lesson in Relief Society on Lorenzo Snow's lesson #5.  There was a sister sitting next to me helping me to know what was going on in the lesson.  The Spirit was so strong in that lesson.  There in that small Branch of the Church sat a few sisters learning on what they can become someday.  It was so touching.  And even though they have a different language from me...their faces show the same feelings as I have.  I love being here.  I am so very thankful that we are on this mission.  We feel happy and so very, very blessed.

 There is Elder Branning (from Houston, Texas, second generation member)...he is the tallest one.  Elder Anderson (from Utah) is on his right.  He got here the same time we did, so he is new.  Elder Gleed (he was born in the same town in Texas I was!) on the left of Elder Branning, and Elder Guerro (can't remember where he is from :(  ) on the end.  He is just brand new like Elder Anderson.  His birthday is tomorrow and he will be 25.  No 18 year olds in this group.  Both Elder Anderson and Elder Guerro are also struggling with learning the language also.

Well, this catches ya'll up on this Grand Adventure we are on.....adios!