Letter from 3/26/2014

WOW! Firstly, I just love reading your letters. I feel like I am at home when I read them. Haha. Secondly, I am here with my new companion, Hermana Loarca!! She is from Guatemala and trained my friend from the MTC, Hermana Parker!! I already ADORE her. She is so awesome. We will take pictures this week so I can send them next Wednesday. What is it with people from Guatemala being the best ever? Eh, Sofi?? Haha. It sounds like you guys are just cranking it out, getting things done. Which really is no surprise, because like I tell everyone here, you are a trabajadora. Haha. I can´t wait to find out what instrument Jacob will play! I´m so proud that he is falling in my band geek footsteps!! And consequently yours as well. Haha. Price Smart was meh last week. I bought some apples pre-bagged and realized later on that they were all weirdly bruised and cut. But the good news is that we also went to La Sirena (Dominican WalMart) where I was able to buy some stuff I needed for cheap. Including Malt-o-Meal brand cereal!! Aww yeah. I´m going to send this letter in parts so that I can include... PHOTOS. Yay!!! The first two are me with a giant truckload of bananas (guineos), and one with President Douglas at a Rotary Club dinner where a man with a sax played different national anthems. GRINGOS REPRESENT. Hahaha.

This last week we had our first baptism as a companionship (and last), which was also my first baptism ever! Ashly was baptized, and her cousin Elder Jimenez came to perform the ordinance! It was SO special, and her whole family- aunts, uncles and parents- came to the baptism. Her cousin gifted her lots of church materials, and she is reading the scriptures and learning hymns. She is a super special girl. Two weeks before was the baptism of Ilrych Messidor, the Haitian that the elders were teaching! He is an amazing person. Here is a photo from his baptism as well that I loved. A member of the stake was there and gifted him the tie from his very neck.

Here is a picture in the hospital with Lizbeth, one of the smaller members in the ward with a big heart. She is super smart and very talented, but she was sitting in class the other day and suddenly one side of her face went limp and she couldn´t talk. She returned to normal that same night but is going through some studies. She has a lot of spunk and invited us to her house the next day- ¨obliga´o¨ haha.