Thursday, May 23, 2013
Hey family!!
I made it here! I love you so much!! What the mission president here does is he posts a picture on the mission blog for the families to see. I guess he is not very good at letting families know about it though. I made it here just fine. After I finished talking to you on the phone I had an awesome missionary experience with a lady at the airport. I was able to give her a Book of Mormon. She is from Argentina. I hope she reads it.
I am in Perez Zeleledón right now. It is a canton (or county) in Costa Rica. San Isidro is the city. It is about 3 hours south of San José. So I am at the bottom of the country. My companion is Hermana Remero from Guatemala. She speaks only a little bit of English so we have been teaching each other our native language. She is super sweet and she has only been in Costa Rica for 12 weeks!! She just finished her training! We definitely have a lot of work to do here, and I don’t know where to start, but it is good.
I have been home sick at times... mostly in the mornings. Despite it, I am learning to Love this place more and more. The food has been really good here. I think I have had only had one thing I didn’t like. There is a set of elders in the city as well, so we work with them on occasion. There are only the four of us in our district. The other two elders are from Mexico and Honduras. So I am the lone gringa here. The elders have been very kind. The one from Mexico studied English before his mission so he has been helping me too. At times I can understand everything everyone is saying and other times I have no clue. A lot of the natives are surprised by how much I know. Many times when we first meet someone they assume I don´t know any Spanish so they turn to my companion and will ask a question about me and she will say, ‘ask her yourself’, and then I will answer their question.
Ok, a little about the country, the first thing I noticed (and it surprised me), was how much this country is like the U.S. For example, you see teenagers walking around everywhere with their face stuck in their cell phone. Also, the clothing they wear is similar. Every house has a TV, some things that are different too. Most of the milk you buy doesn´t have to be refrigerated, (they do have cows here). Eggs aren’t refrigerated here either. They have gates in front of every house and every door and window. I will send a picture sometime soon to show you. Homes generally have doors and windows open to let the wind come in. the people are all very nice here. I have gotten a bunch of frescos here (drinks generally consisting of one or more fruit. super yummy.) Oh, and the water is clean here so the mission president told us not to worry about it. I get warm showers if I turn the shower on correctly. It is interesting because there are wires in the showers to a heater to warm the water; you can see the wires as your shower. All the cars here have the exact same car alarm so everyone pretty much ignores them because they go off so frequently.
Next week I will tell you more about it here. Today we went to an investigators house and she did acrylic nails for us. She is learning how to do it and needed the practice. I will have to show you a picture of that as well. She did a good job... it just took forever!!
Yesterday we went to Tierra Prometa to contact a previous investigator and ended up having amazing experiences. We met two beautiful families willing to listen; we will see what will happen. The branch here struggles a lot with retention so we have a lot of work to do with the less actives; the members who do attend are awesome. I am excited to be able to work here. I have definitely had my ups and downs, but I think I am starting to feel more comfortable. I love you all so much. Don´t forget all the blessings God has given you and don´t forget to thank him often. I love you!!!
Hermana Jenkinson
Oh and I only get an hour and a half to write you and the mission president. I will be emailing you earlier in the day next week. The nails took a lot longer than expected.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Hola Familia,
Sorry I know this email is during a different time during the week then you are used to. On Sunday they announced to us that every 6 months they change the schedules and we happened to be here after one of those 6 month blocks. What this means is that our whole schedule is different, and most of our teachers got put in different zones and so basically we have all new teachers. The only ones who are the same is Hermano Pitcher and Hermana Pinto. Every one else has either been assigned to a new zone or they went home! :( We are super sad about that.
Oh I looked back on one of my old letters and saw that you asked when my estimated end date was. I will be here in the MTC till May 14th and I will be in the mission until September 30th 2014 approximately. I got the package you sent me. I love the skirt, it fits me perfectly.
Yes I have seen Sister Orsmby's aunt at the MTC. I see her 2 to 3 times a week. She is one of the branch presidency wives in my branch. So I have both Sister Jones and Sister Ormsby's aunt in my branch. Every time she sees me she talks about Wilson and about getting me his address so I can email him. She is supper Funny and we all love her a ton. I couldn't have asked for a better branch presidency with their wives.
Dad, I am still getting along with my district great. I feel like I have known them for years and it is weird to think that I have only known them for a couple of weeks. I honestly will miss them all once I am out in the field. Fortunately i get to keep two of them with me. We have been a little family here in the MTC and I can't imagine going through the MTC with out them. They each bring their unique personalities and we wouldn't have been complete with out that mixture. The Elders in our district attempted to play a prank on us and they failed miserably. They put an alarm clock set for 3 in the morning in one of the sisters purses. Yeah we found it that night before we went back to the room. They attempted to slip in her camera case but we found it again just before we went to bed. The next day before they saw us they were all scared and had been regretting it all night. I am pretty sure they thought we were going to kill them. If it had gone off I know of a couple of the sisters who would have killed them.
My cold is better now. It lasted for a week and i was very glad when it was gone.
Funny story now. So one night, I am not sure what started this but we learned to jump into our pants. I am proud to say that I was able to do it :) HAHA it was really funny.
On a more spiritual note this week has been amazing. I started the book of Mormon again on Monday and I am already to Mossiah. I am going to try and read the whole thing before I leave the MTC. As I have been going through and reading the book of Mormon this time around I have really been studding it and reading it because I have a strong desire to read it. I feel almost like I have been blind my whole life and I am finally able to see the Book of Mormon for what it is. I have never felt such a strong desire to read the book of Mormon before. I have been going through it like one of my novels I used to read at home. I seriously love it. When you learn to apply the Book of Mormon to your life It becomes something so meaningful and precious. I have really learned a lot in the short time I have been here. I have really learned what the spirit feels like and learned what it is like when i always have it with me. I never what to loose the companionship of it. It is such a comfort and a source of strength. You really can feel God's love all the time when you have it with you. Do everything in your power to be able to keep the companionship of the Holy Ghost. It is worth it. There is such a peace it brings. You can be silly and laughing and not talking about spiritual things and still have it so strong in our life. I am so grateful for the peace and warmth it brings.
I love you all. The Gospel is true. Christ is our Savior and through him we can return to live with God again.
Hermana Jenkinson
Sorry I know this email is during a different time during the week then you are used to. On Sunday they announced to us that every 6 months they change the schedules and we happened to be here after one of those 6 month blocks. What this means is that our whole schedule is different, and most of our teachers got put in different zones and so basically we have all new teachers. The only ones who are the same is Hermano Pitcher and Hermana Pinto. Every one else has either been assigned to a new zone or they went home! :( We are super sad about that.
Another thing that changed was our p-day. So for this pday and the next it will be on Thursdays. When I get out to the field I have no idea when my pday will be. Our Gym time got changed as well and I am super sad about that. Because the people I used to have gym time with was a bunch of Elders who were polies from Samoa, Fiji and other such Islands. They couldn't speak English very well, but they could play volleyball. Despite the fact that we didn't speak the same language we had some fun times playing volleyball, they would set me up sometimes and I would get to kill the ball. I would set them up and then they would kill the ball. It was so much fun. I earned a lot of respect from them by knowing how to play. I think a couple where slightly intimidated by me. oops. Now no one really knows how to play, it is still fun... it just isn't the same though.
Also some bad news, so since I am in the MTC during mothers day I will not get to call you. There are too many missionaries at the MTC and not enough phones to allow us to do this. How ever I will get to call you in the Airport when I am leaving for my mission. What time, I do not know yet, we will be getting our travel plans tomorrow. As far as visas go I will not be given my visa or passport until just before I go. If my visa is not ready before I leave the MTC then I will get assigned to go somewhere state side. However I talked with the people in the travel office and they said that very few people going to Costa Rica don't get their Visas on time. So it looks like I will have a good chance of going straight to my mission.
Yes I have seen Sister Orsmby's aunt at the MTC. I see her 2 to 3 times a week. She is one of the branch presidency wives in my branch. So I have both Sister Jones and Sister Ormsby's aunt in my branch. Every time she sees me she talks about Wilson and about getting me his address so I can email him. She is supper Funny and we all love her a ton. I couldn't have asked for a better branch presidency with their wives.
Dad, I am still getting along with my district great. I feel like I have known them for years and it is weird to think that I have only known them for a couple of weeks. I honestly will miss them all once I am out in the field. Fortunately i get to keep two of them with me. We have been a little family here in the MTC and I can't imagine going through the MTC with out them. They each bring their unique personalities and we wouldn't have been complete with out that mixture. The Elders in our district attempted to play a prank on us and they failed miserably. They put an alarm clock set for 3 in the morning in one of the sisters purses. Yeah we found it that night before we went back to the room. They attempted to slip in her camera case but we found it again just before we went to bed. The next day before they saw us they were all scared and had been regretting it all night. I am pretty sure they thought we were going to kill them. If it had gone off I know of a couple of the sisters who would have killed them.
My cold is better now. It lasted for a week and i was very glad when it was gone.
Funny story now. So one night, I am not sure what started this but we learned to jump into our pants. I am proud to say that I was able to do it :) HAHA it was really funny.
On a more spiritual note this week has been amazing. I started the book of Mormon again on Monday and I am already to Mossiah. I am going to try and read the whole thing before I leave the MTC. As I have been going through and reading the book of Mormon this time around I have really been studding it and reading it because I have a strong desire to read it. I feel almost like I have been blind my whole life and I am finally able to see the Book of Mormon for what it is. I have never felt such a strong desire to read the book of Mormon before. I have been going through it like one of my novels I used to read at home. I seriously love it. When you learn to apply the Book of Mormon to your life It becomes something so meaningful and precious. I have really learned a lot in the short time I have been here. I have really learned what the spirit feels like and learned what it is like when i always have it with me. I never what to loose the companionship of it. It is such a comfort and a source of strength. You really can feel God's love all the time when you have it with you. Do everything in your power to be able to keep the companionship of the Holy Ghost. It is worth it. There is such a peace it brings. You can be silly and laughing and not talking about spiritual things and still have it so strong in our life. I am so grateful for the peace and warmth it brings.
I love you all. The Gospel is true. Christ is our Savior and through him we can return to live with God again.
Hermana Jenkinson
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Half Way Through the MTC!!!
April 23,
2013
Hola Familia y Amigos!!!,
Half way through the MTC. Wow that is so crazy. I can't believe I have already been here for that long!! In some ways it feels like you guys just dropped me off on the curb only a few days ago. This week we are going to be getting a new district!!! I am so excited to meet them. Up until now we have been the youngest district in our zone. Today we got to go to the temple which was amazing!! After we attend the temple we always eat in the Cafeteria. The food is so good there and a nice break from MTC food.
We have this shirt button in our class that says ‘I ♥ Spanish’, and whoever has the button can only speak Spanish for the entire day! I got the button one day last week and I was able to go the whole day speaking only Spanish. Spanish has been getting easier. I am still terrible with the grammar when I talk. I have been very surprised by how much English grammar we have had to learn/know in order to understand Spanish grammar. Some days in class it has been more of learning English grammar and then applying it to Spanish grammar.
Last week on Tuesday night Elder Richard G Scott came and spoke to the MTC!! It was such an amazing talk!!! The topic was prayer and receiving answers from prayers. One thing that I thought was interesting was he told us there are three results from a prayer when asking a question:
1. If it is right you feel peace, comfort, and assurance.
2. To help you avoid an error, you will have unsettling feelings and a stupor of thought.
3. No answer yet. He gives us this result when He decides we need to grow through exercising faith and in teaching us to assume accountability. As you act in faith you will end up feeling either 1 or 2. Elder Scott then told us that we should thank god when he withholds an answer from us. It shows that God has faith in us. He ended his talk with a blessing on all the missionaries. And throughout the talk he kept saying how elated he was to see so many sister missionaries and he kept telling us all that we were doing the right thing. He closed and then we sang the closing song and then he got back up and he told us that he felt prompted to tell us this. "Remember the lord has called you to succeed, not to fail. He inspired your call. This in an opportunity to discover things about yourself you never knew you had. You have the capacity to love and serve that will bless you throughout your life. Remember, you have been called!"
It was such an amazing experience to hear that talk.
So, some sad news, our teacher Hermana Young will no longer be our teacher after this week!! I am super sad. She has been with us since the first day. With the semester ending most of the teacher's schedules have been changing and so we no longer have her. L So that also means that we will no longer have our ‘investigator’, Cora either. This is sad because she was progressing so well! Our other ‘investigator’ has been a struggle. I was actually surprised when he invited us to come back after the first contact. So the first time we knocked on his door, he answered, and he said he no interest in hearing our message, we ended up talking to him outside his door telling him about the first vision and then gave him a book of Mormon, he then invited us to come back. He says he doesn't really believe in God and doesn't want to pray because it is uncomfortable. I have now discovered how hard it is to teach someone the gospel who doesn’t believe in God. We are going to meet up with him again, so we will see what will happen now. I know that God knows the way, I just hope that I am in tune enough to say the right things.
This weekend hasn't been the best for me. I have been afflicted with a cold since Friday or Thursday. I have no voice right now due to the cold. Hopefully I will get well soon! It is really hard to be a missionary when you can't talk. :)
Vaya Con Dios!
Hermana Jenkinson
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Second letter from MTC--Sister Training Leaders
16 April 2013
Hola Famila,
Things this week have gone a lot better. I am finally into the groove of things. Mom, you wanted to know what a typical day is, so here it is:
So, generally I wake up at around 6. We are required to wake up no later than 6:30 and be in class by 7:00. That 30 minute window is not enough time, also, with only a couple of showers, and a bunch of girls it is necessary to shower at odd times or wake up early. At 7 we are in class and we plan for, like, 30 minutes. Then time for breakfast, and then we are back in class again. This was the time we spent teaching Patricio, who ended up being our teacher Hermano Pitcher. Last week was the last time we taught ‘Patricio’. We did not do a very good job. We never told him our purpose of why we were teaching him, oops! Now we know now and can do better for next time. This week we have two new investigators ‘Kevin’ and ‘Cora’. The couple of lessons that Hermano Pitcher has taught us has been amazing. The spirit was so strong and it was totally a call to action for us. One of the things he said that I really liked was, "Elders and Sisters, you are the super heroes of this church. Little kids sing about you. Everyone sees you, for some people you are all they know about this church- they see a white shirt, tie, and a black plaque," I have come to realize just how important it is that I have characteristics of Christ. I am out here representing him! I still have a long way to go, but I am working on trying to be better every day.
After Hermano Pitcher leaves we then have personal study for an hour and then we go off to lunch. After lunch is Gym, YAY! Our one block of time we are not eating or sitting down. After lunch it is back to the classroom again. We then study language and do companionship study. Then it is off to dinner. When we come back we are with Hermana Young. She is so super sweet and patient with us. We have had her since day one and she always helps us make commitments to follow. These end up strengthening our district. She is with us till 9:30 at night. We then go to our rooms and get ready for bed and are in bed with lights out at 10:30. We have several other teachers that come and help out throughout the day they are: Hermano Pilcher (different from Hermano Pitcher), Hermano Croft, Hermano Menis, and Hermana Pinto. I love them all and they are all way helpful. I will send you a letter about my district because I don’t have enough time to write about them here.
Oh, and some news this week. So Hermana Roundy and I were called to be Sister Training Leaders (What used to be the Coordinating Sisters). That means that basically we are over the sisters in our zone, we make sure that they are doing ok, and that their needs are met. I am excited to be able to serve the sisters in my zone. Well that is all I have time for this week. I only have 30 min to write and to read all my emails. It really isn't enough time. I love you guys so much.
Love,
Hermana Jenkinson.
Hola Famila,
Things this week have gone a lot better. I am finally into the groove of things. Mom, you wanted to know what a typical day is, so here it is:
So, generally I wake up at around 6. We are required to wake up no later than 6:30 and be in class by 7:00. That 30 minute window is not enough time, also, with only a couple of showers, and a bunch of girls it is necessary to shower at odd times or wake up early. At 7 we are in class and we plan for, like, 30 minutes. Then time for breakfast, and then we are back in class again. This was the time we spent teaching Patricio, who ended up being our teacher Hermano Pitcher. Last week was the last time we taught ‘Patricio’. We did not do a very good job. We never told him our purpose of why we were teaching him, oops! Now we know now and can do better for next time. This week we have two new investigators ‘Kevin’ and ‘Cora’. The couple of lessons that Hermano Pitcher has taught us has been amazing. The spirit was so strong and it was totally a call to action for us. One of the things he said that I really liked was, "Elders and Sisters, you are the super heroes of this church. Little kids sing about you. Everyone sees you, for some people you are all they know about this church- they see a white shirt, tie, and a black plaque," I have come to realize just how important it is that I have characteristics of Christ. I am out here representing him! I still have a long way to go, but I am working on trying to be better every day.
After Hermano Pitcher leaves we then have personal study for an hour and then we go off to lunch. After lunch is Gym, YAY! Our one block of time we are not eating or sitting down. After lunch it is back to the classroom again. We then study language and do companionship study. Then it is off to dinner. When we come back we are with Hermana Young. She is so super sweet and patient with us. We have had her since day one and she always helps us make commitments to follow. These end up strengthening our district. She is with us till 9:30 at night. We then go to our rooms and get ready for bed and are in bed with lights out at 10:30. We have several other teachers that come and help out throughout the day they are: Hermano Pilcher (different from Hermano Pitcher), Hermano Croft, Hermano Menis, and Hermana Pinto. I love them all and they are all way helpful. I will send you a letter about my district because I don’t have enough time to write about them here.
Oh, and some news this week. So Hermana Roundy and I were called to be Sister Training Leaders (What used to be the Coordinating Sisters). That means that basically we are over the sisters in our zone, we make sure that they are doing ok, and that their needs are met. I am excited to be able to serve the sisters in my zone. Well that is all I have time for this week. I only have 30 min to write and to read all my emails. It really isn't enough time. I love you guys so much.
Love,
Hermana Jenkinson.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
First letter from the MTC 09 April 2013
Hola mi familia,
Well, I only get 30 min. to write emails, so using dearelder.com works great. I didn't get your Dearelder till yesterday. I think that is because of general conference weekend. Wow! General Conference was so good. Everyone here at the MTC gave a little cheer whenever they would mention missionaries, or the MTC. So anyway, I have been learning so much Spanish. I have learned to pray in Spanish. Wow I don't even know where to begin. I guess I will start at the beginning. After you dropped me off I went and got all my stuff and a sister showed me to my room. After that I went and got to see my class. I am in that classroom seriously all day. All I do all day is sit in the classroom and eat. We do get 30 min to exercise 5 days a week so that is nice. :) Anyway, back to the first day. I went to my class, did a little tutorial in a computer lab, and then I met my companion and district.
My companion is Hermana Roundy, she is from Bountiful, Utah. I absolutely love her. There are 10 of us total in the district. We have all learned, at least, a little bit of Spanish. There are 6 hermanas and 4 elders. Three of the hermanas, including me, are going to Costa Rica; the other 3 hermanas are going to Chicago. 3 of the elders are going to different missions in Mexico, and one elder is going to Honduras. I Love my district. We seriously clicked right away. That is sometimes a bad thing though as we get distracted easily. I feel like they are my family away from home. It is crazy that I have only known them for a week. I can't believe how much Spanish I have learned over the last little bit. There is still so much that I have to learn though and that is really frustrating. We have an investigator already! His name is Patricio. He is from Peru. He is studying here at the Y but his family is still in Peru. We have had 2 lessons with him so far. They have been ok. Not knowing the language is a huge hindrance. I want to, so much, share with him what I know to be true, but I struggle trying to find the words.
Conference this weekend was amazing it was also nice to make it to the weekend in the MTC. The first couple of days here were hard, especially Thursday I believe it was, but Thursday night was a lot better. That was when we met our branch president and I found out that my branch president’s wife is Sister Jones!! We had an amazing meeting where we found out why everyone decided to come on a mission. Everyone has different reasons.
I have run into so many people I know, let me see if I can remember them all, I have run into Elder Alex Jenkinson (cousin from Georgia) twice, Addie (from nursing class), Elder Sam Cassani, I see Sister Jenna Smoot (neighbor) almost every day in random spots. I ran in to Sister Rylie Sprauge (my old roommate), I have run into people from junior high, and oh I ran into Elder Spinder (neighbor). I have run into other people as well, but I don't remember all of them.
The first couple of days at the MTC have been hard, I have learned that I am fairly patient with other people, but I am not very patient with myself. I want to just know everything, but I know that isn't possible. I think the hardest times I have had while being here have just been when I have been frustrated with myself and trying to learn the language. Fortunately, everyone in my district does their best to lift everyone else up. Oh and guess what... All 6 of us hermanas share the same room, it is cozy. But we all fit in here, oh, and you should be proud of me, I have managed not to be a slob, the room is very clean and my desk in my room is clean. I am busy all day long and go to bed exhausted. The food here isn't that great, sometimes the food will be fairly good. 4 people in my district have gotten sick in the course of this last week; fortunately most of them have only been for like a day. I know now and understand what people mean by days seem like weeks and weeks seem like days. Well, I will try and get some photos to you, but it will be hard because most of the computers don't have the capacity and we only have 30 min. I love you all! Well I am out of time. Sorry I wasn't able to type very much and being a slow typer isn't good when you only have so much time to write. Letters and dearelder.com are definitely the best way to go. Love you.
Hermana Jenkinson
Well, I only get 30 min. to write emails, so using dearelder.com works great. I didn't get your Dearelder till yesterday. I think that is because of general conference weekend. Wow! General Conference was so good. Everyone here at the MTC gave a little cheer whenever they would mention missionaries, or the MTC. So anyway, I have been learning so much Spanish. I have learned to pray in Spanish. Wow I don't even know where to begin. I guess I will start at the beginning. After you dropped me off I went and got all my stuff and a sister showed me to my room. After that I went and got to see my class. I am in that classroom seriously all day. All I do all day is sit in the classroom and eat. We do get 30 min to exercise 5 days a week so that is nice. :) Anyway, back to the first day. I went to my class, did a little tutorial in a computer lab, and then I met my companion and district.
My companion is Hermana Roundy, she is from Bountiful, Utah. I absolutely love her. There are 10 of us total in the district. We have all learned, at least, a little bit of Spanish. There are 6 hermanas and 4 elders. Three of the hermanas, including me, are going to Costa Rica; the other 3 hermanas are going to Chicago. 3 of the elders are going to different missions in Mexico, and one elder is going to Honduras. I Love my district. We seriously clicked right away. That is sometimes a bad thing though as we get distracted easily. I feel like they are my family away from home. It is crazy that I have only known them for a week. I can't believe how much Spanish I have learned over the last little bit. There is still so much that I have to learn though and that is really frustrating. We have an investigator already! His name is Patricio. He is from Peru. He is studying here at the Y but his family is still in Peru. We have had 2 lessons with him so far. They have been ok. Not knowing the language is a huge hindrance. I want to, so much, share with him what I know to be true, but I struggle trying to find the words.
Conference this weekend was amazing it was also nice to make it to the weekend in the MTC. The first couple of days here were hard, especially Thursday I believe it was, but Thursday night was a lot better. That was when we met our branch president and I found out that my branch president’s wife is Sister Jones!! We had an amazing meeting where we found out why everyone decided to come on a mission. Everyone has different reasons.
I have run into so many people I know, let me see if I can remember them all, I have run into Elder Alex Jenkinson (cousin from Georgia) twice, Addie (from nursing class), Elder Sam Cassani, I see Sister Jenna Smoot (neighbor) almost every day in random spots. I ran in to Sister Rylie Sprauge (my old roommate), I have run into people from junior high, and oh I ran into Elder Spinder (neighbor). I have run into other people as well, but I don't remember all of them.
The first couple of days at the MTC have been hard, I have learned that I am fairly patient with other people, but I am not very patient with myself. I want to just know everything, but I know that isn't possible. I think the hardest times I have had while being here have just been when I have been frustrated with myself and trying to learn the language. Fortunately, everyone in my district does their best to lift everyone else up. Oh and guess what... All 6 of us hermanas share the same room, it is cozy. But we all fit in here, oh, and you should be proud of me, I have managed not to be a slob, the room is very clean and my desk in my room is clean. I am busy all day long and go to bed exhausted. The food here isn't that great, sometimes the food will be fairly good. 4 people in my district have gotten sick in the course of this last week; fortunately most of them have only been for like a day. I know now and understand what people mean by days seem like weeks and weeks seem like days. Well, I will try and get some photos to you, but it will be hard because most of the computers don't have the capacity and we only have 30 min. I love you all! Well I am out of time. Sorry I wasn't able to type very much and being a slow typer isn't good when you only have so much time to write. Letters and dearelder.com are definitely the best way to go. Love you.
Hermana Jenkinson
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