HERMANA HULL!! and what I've learned about Ecuador.

Hello Family!!

Once again, its fantastic to read your letters and it always brings a smile to my face to hear about all the great things you’re doing! Hope you guys have a great week of school and Tanner and Dallas... I’m sending my good luck vibes to you guys as you start college!! 

Me and Hermana Hull!  Oh JOY!

Well... I’ll start with probably the highlight of my week. I GOT TO SEE HERMANA HULL!! Oh man that was one great moment in my life :) My companion and I got to the church where we had our big devotional.. We had been there about 5 minutes, and I opened the door to walk out of the bathroom and guess who was opening the door to walk in? Both of us literally froze for like 5 seconds, and then gave each other a huge hug. More like 10 huge hugs. It was so so good to see someone from home. Although I still could have talked to her for many more hours, we got to sit by each other during the meeting! And talk before and after. Ah she is doing so great and it was so good for me to hear her experiences, her advice, and her encouragement. My goal is to be like she is in 6 months :) But wow, we had our own little 10th ward reunion right here in Quito, and it was wonderful. I think that was a tender mercy for both of us.

Our baptism

We also had our first baptism this Saturday which was really really cool. It’s been so cool to see how people can change after they start learning about the gospel and living it in their lives. We have been so so blessed to be members of this church for our whole lives, but my eyes have really been opened to what it’s like to NOT have the church in your life. I think that’s something that I sometimes took for granted when I was home because I’ve always been surrounded by a great family, great ward, and great friends at school. The gospel truly can heal people. And this baptism on Saturday was such a great experience. Our church building here is actually very nice and we have a real font (unlike a lot of the sectors here). Afterward we had a ward party and it was really cool to see the unity of a ward who really is SUCH a minority where they live. But they are so strong and so united. Although its still hard to have real conversations with people, they are so so accepting and a lot of the kids like it when I teach them words in English. That’s been fun :)

Ward Party

Although this is still all so new for me, I feel like I’m STARTING to get a feel for Ecuadorian culture. Here are a few things I’ve realized about this place so far...

-People don’t use "adios", its always "chow". I’ve had to really get used to that.

-EVERYONE kisses you on the cheek when you meet them and when you say goodbye. (We just have to make sure it’s only the women and girls with us though:) ) Haha so hopefully when I come back I can get used to high fives and handshakes again.

-The milk here is... different. It comes in a bag and tastes weird. BUT it’s better than nothing. And cereal for a 9:30 snack at night has become a great tradition!

-Taxis.. are everywhere and cost a fortune! But our area is so big that we have to use them a lot. That’s not my favorite thing

-There are dogs everywhere!! I’ve gone so far without getting bitten, but that may not last long. We’ll see…

-The weather is wonderful! I even get cold sometimes at night, but during the day is perfecto.

-If I haven’t already woken up by 5:30, I won’t be sleeping for long because that’s when the chickens by our house like to make nonstop super super loud noises! 

-Lots and lots of rice

-Lunch is the big meal here (like I’ve said), so dinner is usually popcorn, cereal or a roll

-People sell food, ice cream, bracelets and lots of other random things on the bus

-And apparently there isn’t a rule about where to cross the street. Cross walks aren’t a thing here, so we have to be careful to weave our way through traffic :)

Waiting at the bus stop

It’s been a good week. Again, a hard week. Lots and lots of challenges from being a new missionary and everyday I realize more and more how important prayer is. There is no way I could do it without that strength and support.  I have been blessed with a great companion, loving people in my ward, and a growing love for the Book of Mormon. Like Nephi said, If the Lord commanded it, we could do all things. Nephi has been my hero the last few weeks and I am so so grateful for his example! Thank you thank you for your support and Love. I hope you have a great week!!!

Hermana Yorgason

Getting Used to Ecuador!

Dear My Wonderful Family!

District Activity

Thank you again, so so much for your letters and pictures.  Mom, the longer the better.  I love hearing every detail about your lives!  I don’t have as much time to write today because we had a District Activity far away, but I’m going to type as fast as I can so I can reply to a few people as well. Wow, school has started for all you guys! Aww, that’s such exciting news :) I know you probably aren’t totally thrilled, but good luck to you all! It’s crazy how fast summers seem to fly by! It also sound like you guys are so so busy! Good luck Tanner with school this week and good luck to Dallas and KC with the wedding coming up! 

Home Sweet Home

Another week down here in Ecuador! I feel like I got a little more used to things these last 7 days. The schedule, the town, the people. Just like you guys, we are so so busy and we’re working nonstop. Something I’ve had to get used to is the schedule here. We wake up at 6:30, start studying at 8 and it goes until 12, leave the house soon after that.  Somedays we have a lunch appointment at 12 or one, and then we work, talk to people and have lessons after that until 9 o’clock until we have to be back in our apartment. Since lunch is the big meal here, we eat at lunch, but we don’t get time for dinner. So we can either stop at a shop quickly or eat a snack when we get home. Ha ha it’s quite the opposite than it was in the CCM. But people are so nice here are many times they offer us bread or crackers or a drink during their lesson. When we get home at night, we plan (which has been taking us quite awhile), get done around 10, get ready for bed, and start our companion prayer at 10:20 so we can be in bed at 10:30.  Woosh!  It’s a whirlwind. Something I’ve really come to learn though, is the WORK is the cure to homesickness and discouragement. Work. And even though I am absolutely exhausted at the end of each day, I know that WORK is what I was called to do. When I have time to think and rest (or get ready for the day), like the mornings, that’s when homesickness really has time to creep in. My companion and I are really trying hard to be working constantly and I’ve seen that that helps so much. There were a few days this week where we had 6 lessons, and wow, am I learning a lot from her.

This is Ecuador!

The language… is coming along. I really felt your prayers this week and am so grateful for the diligence that this is forcing out of me. This week I was able to help teach with parts of the lessons instead of just bear my testimony at the end. During lessons I really feel the Spirit helping me know what I should say, and as my companion says, it’s a process, but it’s coming. During one of our lessons this week the girl we were teaching asked me to say the prayer and since she’s trying to learn English, she wanted me to say it in English. Have not done that in a long time!! And it was hard. I’m forgetting how to pray in English!!!  Haha I had to think hard when I was starting a new sentence because I’m in such a habit of saying everything in Spanish. It was pretty funny, but I guess that’s good news? :)

This week we are going to have our first baptism on Saturday and I am so excited for that.  It’s a girl we’ve been teaching who is 13 years old and is so happy and excited. It’s amazing to see the peace that comes into people’s lives when they learn about this gospel, and I am so excited for her. After the baptism we are having a party at the church for the 50th anniversary of the church here in Ecuador. Food, talking, games, and hopefully it will be a great way to get to know new people and find investigators.

This week on Thursday we also get to go to Quito to hear a general authority speak to our whole mission, and guess what that means??? I THINK I’ll get to see Jenika, and oh is that SUCH a tender mercy for me. I am so so looking forward to seeing her. Seeing a piece of home. And I’m also so excited to hear the words from a general authority. Meetings like this always are such an encouragement to keep working hard.

The ward that we’re in had the opportunity to do a temple trip this week (Sadly we didn’t get to go with them:( ) They do this every few months and its an 8 hour bus ride each way. It amazes me every time I realize how lucky we are in Logan Utah to have a temple 10 minutes away from our house. Some of our recent converts went and came back with a literal glow around them. It made me realize once again how lucky we are to have the power of the temple in our lives. Every time I think of it, I realize that that is just one more way that Heavenly Father shows his love for us. We have a place of absolute peace in this crazy world, and wow, is that SUCH a blessing. 

Sister Training Leaders

Thank you thank you for your prayers. They are going both ways. I love you guys. Its so so hard to be away. So hard, but I know that this is exactly where I need to be to grow, and help other people have a happy family like we have been blessed with.

Have a great week!!

Hermana Yorgason

My First Week in Ecuador!

Hello Hello!!

Wow, I sure feel like I haven’t written you guys in so long! I am officially here in Ecuador, and wow is it such a change! This week has definitely had the highest highs and lowest lows of my mission, but I am learning so much from every experience. It’s been a whirlwind, but I’m really loving being a real missionary :) It was so good to read your letters as always. I came about an hour ago and printed them off so I didn’t have to use up time to read them. It was my companion’s brilliant idea :) You guys start school this week!!! Wow that came so fast! Luke and Chad, I hope you have SUCH a great time being in the same school. I remember when Luke and I were at Sky View together and that was one of my favorite years ever. I want to hear how it is for all of you guys!

At the airport.

Well, from the beginning.  About 40 of us left the Columbia CCM early Tuesday morning at 3 and then waited in the airport for a very long time while they tried to figure out our flights. We were quite a funny/cool looking sight :) When we got to Ecuador, President and Sister Richardson and the APs were waiting for us at the airport. That night and the next day we were in church buildings in Columbia getting to know the president, learning about the mission and figuring out Visa stuff. On Wednesday, all of us Americans had to walk down to a government building to get our visas activated and it was such a funny experience. One of the Senior Elders led us down there (about a mile and a half) and to say the least, he was not afraid of anything.. people, cars, dogs. I felt like I was in the Movie Mulan when the grandma is crossing the street with her eyes closed. We didn’t know where we were going, so we didn’t really have a choice, but there were a few close calls as we were walking at a very fast pace through the streets of Ecuador. Ha ha, oh we were laughing at ourselves. That night we had an opening dinner with Pres. and Sis. Richardson and it was so great to be in a nice home, with people I knew, getting excited for our mission. I absolutely LOVE my president, and his wife... Wow, she already feels like my mom away from home. She told all of us sisters to call her if we ever need ANYTHING and just from talking to her, you can tell she is so in tune with the Spirit.

Pres. and Sis. Richardson

Opening dinner at the Mission President's home.

My companion, Sis. Mortera

The next morning we went back to the church for some more training and received our companions. My trainer is named Hermana Mortera from Mexico. AND I absolutely love her! She is so patient. So Christlike and has such a strong testimony. She’s 27 years old, has been a member for 2 years, and has only been on the mission for 12 weeks! Ya, she JUST got done with her twelve week training! We’re in her old sector and also opening up a new one (so that is very interesting with directions and such).  Just she and I live in an apartment which is very nice compared to a lot of the houses here, and she doesn’t speak any English. I know it’s a blessing in disguise. Right now it’s a little rough because if I ever want to talk to someone, the only option I have is to speak Spanish. Some nights I feel like my journal is my best friend, but my faith is really, really being tested and strengthened and I know our companionships are so inspired. I have learned so so much from Hermana Mortera! We’re in an area called Tumbaco and it’s about 1 hour away from Quito. It reminds me a lot of Mexico and there’s a pretty wide range of houses, but this week we taught a few lessons in tiny a house, with dirt floors, two beds, a sink with 8 people living there. So so humbling.

To get around the city, we either walk, ride a bus or take a taxi. The buses here are crazy and I’ve almost been left a few times because they barely wait for everyone to get on. The day that we traveled to our sector was quite interesting because we had lots of bags and two VERY heavy suitcases. We walked about 1 mile and a half through dirt roads and lots of rocks. One of my suitcases is pretty shot, but hopefully tape and lots of love will do the trick. There are people everywhere and people are trying to sell things everywhere. It’s also so humbling to see 7 year old children try and sell pieces of candy so they can take that money home to their families. But if you need fruit here, it’s no problem because there are fruit stands everywhere!

Hello Ecuador!

As soon as we got to our apartment, I unloaded a few things, and then we headed out right away. AHh. A little scary! But I got my first contact on the first bus we rode. It was a super sweet mom who was very interested in religion, and that night we actually went over and taught them the first lesson. Although there is A LOT I can’t understand, I was able to bear my testimony at the end about families and really felt the Spirit there as we were teaching.

Teaching at an orphanage.

We’re also teaching a group of boys at an orphanage. (Mom I’m so glad you got the picture!!) Again, I couldn’t say much, but it is so cool to see how the gospel can change lives. The owner only speaks English so it was SUCH a breath of fresh air to be able to talk to him after a full day of Spanish church. He also made us American tacos so that was a plus for sure!!

The language is hard, getting up at 6:30 is hard, but I am really loving this new adventure. I have so much to learn, but I have a great companion, and I really feel the Lord helping me everyday. And I do feel your prayers. I am so so grateful for that because I need the gift of tongues more than ever right now and I know the Lord will provide. Although there is ALOT I don’t understand, there is something I DO understand, and that is that the Spirit speaks in all languages. I have felt it so many times here and am so grateful for the knowledge that the Lord really does know everything we’re going through. 

Thank you so much for your love. I miss you guys sooo much! I’m trying hard to not let it distract me, but know that I literally pray for you every night.

Have a great week!!

Hermana Yorgason

I LOVE Sis. Mortera!

Last Week of MTC Coming Up!

Dearest Familia!!

I love you guys so much. And I absolutely LOVED getting the update on these past few weeks. Wow, you guys know how to have fun. I was extremely happy when I read that you decided to go to Lagoon on the day that it was the worst weather. Haha, that sooo sounds like all of you you guys :) Second, Dallas and KC, CONGRATULATIONS!! Those pictures are beautiful! (KC you are gorgeous) and Dallas, you pulled of the engagement, which include chasing down the ring. Hahaha. I am so excited for you guys!

Saying goodbye to the CCM

Well, this is my last week here at the MTC. I am halfway super nervous about being away from comfort, SOME English speakers and this fenced in area, but the other half of me couldn’t be more excited! Since I’ve been in the CCM the whole time, THIS is what feels like my mission, but I can’t wait to actually truly be out in the field. Teaching lessons to your teacher everyday is great, but there’s something about talking to a REAL investigator that I love. Wow, I can’t believe it’s so soon! We leave early early Tuesday morning (I think 3 or 4), drive to the airport, our flight is at 8 and when we get to Ecuador our Mission President will pick us up at the airport and I’m assuming take us to the Mission Home. I think we get to write when we get there so I’ll let you know I made it safe. ALSO, I heard that maybe we could have the opportunity to call home. I think the problem is that we would have to find a pay phone and I feel like there aren’t many of those around these days. So.. I don’t know how likely it is, but if you get a call from a number you don’t know, it might be a good idea to answer it :) I have no idea what time it would be but I’m so very sorry if I wake you up. 

Me and Hermana Roderiguez

So yes, like I told you last email, this week everything changed. Another group of Latinos came in, we got new companions, new districts and new teachers. We went from American companions and teachers who could speak english to all Spanish, all the time. Wow, there’s quite a lot in this brain of mine. My companion is named Hermana Roderiguez and she is from Venezuela. And.. she doesn’t speak any English. She also is one of the fastest Spanish speakers I have talked to so that makes for an interesting time. I would say at least half of the time I don’t understand her because I think talking slowing isn’t something she knows how to do :) Yes, I figured that would be the case, but I have been amazed at how much I have learned in this week from being forced to speak in Spanish whether its about how we want to teach our lesson or what time we want to get up and shower. The Latinas here are very sweet and it’s been cool to figure out how we can work together. Hermana Roderiguez has a great testimony, but we also have VERY different personalities, but I have really grown to love her and recognize her acts of service throughout the day. It’s been good for me this week to learn how to work with all different types of people, and I realize, here we go, because I will have many different types of companions.

This week has been full of being completely lost and confused, and then time when I think to myself, wow, I’m actually starting to get this. It’s hard for me to understand my companion, but I usually can get what the teachers are saying most of the time. We practice Spanish in the Lunch line, bathroom, go over conjugations while we’re running, I usually bring my English-Spanish dictionary with me wherever I go so I can look up words, and our companions are really good at helping us practice grammar and different tenses. 

An example of a major part of the week.. one night Hermana Roderiguez and I knelt down to pray before our companion study. It was her turn to pray so she started saying the prayer, and I could understand a few words, but between her speed and having her head down, words here and there was about it. Awhile into the prayer I thought she had just paused in the middle to think.. after about 10 seconds I opened one eye, and apparently she had already said Amen, because she was just sitting there looking at me with a very confused look on her face. Haha we had a pretty good laugh about that and then continued with our planning.

While that describes a lot of my week, there were also moments where I was amazed what the Spirit can do and how it can help me understand Spanish. Last night we were talking about prayer in one of our classes and how we can teach it to our investigators. Our teacher had us pair up with our companion for a role play and instead of us being one of the investigators like usual, we were both ourselves. My companion was supposed to ask me questions, find a need, and then teach me how prayer can help me in that situation. As we talked about our experience at the CCM and she shared how prayer is such an important part of my life, I could completely understand her. She told me how impressed she is with our (North Americans’) Spanish and promised me that the Lord called me to this exact mission because he knows I can do it. She pulled out a scripture that said angels will surround you, and it reminded me of the closing prayer Brother Bezzant gave at church the last week. I was so amazed at how clear her words were and how much I could feel the Spirit in that moment. Also, one of our favorite things to do is teach each other our language. Many times after a meal we come back to our classroom and teach each other scriptures in the opposite language. She’s hoping to learn English and I am happy to teach her and speak it for a few minutes each day :)

I again have a great district. I was talking to an elder from my district and when he found out that I am from Utah, he said... "Most of the people I know have to travel at least 12 hours to get to a temple and I know you have many in Utah. The Lord loves you and you are very blessed." Another time I was talking to the people in my district and they were all telling me about times when they’ve been robbed at gunpoint around their town. It had happened at least more than once to everyone. They told me that I live in the Celestial kingdom and they all want to visit there one day. I’ve been so humbled this week to see how blessed I am and how happy these other missionaries are that have almost nothing. I have really loved getting to know them and hear about their lives. (But also mom, don’t worry, they told me I’ll be completely safe as a missionary:) )

I don’t know exactly when I will get to talk to you next, but I love you, love you, love you. I’m so grateful for what I’m learning about the gospel, the hard experiences, and the spiritual experiences I have here that are preparing me to share this with others. Have a fantastic week!!

Hermana Yorgason

Touring Colombia!

Hi Friends and Family!! 

I can’t believe I’ve been here at the CCM for 1 month! Wow. People ask me if it’s gone fast or slow. I feel like I haven’t been here for very long, but when I think about the last time I saw my family, that feels like FOREVER ago! Only two more weeks here though. That’s quite a scary but exciting thought!

I feel like this has been my favorite week yet. I’ve definitely been blessed with great people around me, the language is starting to pick up, I’m really getting to know the president and his wife, and living at the CCM is becoming more normal. And more great.

This week we got to go proselyting in the city of Bogota again. This time though, we took a bus a little further away and we went for three hours instead of one. We got there and since the whole companionship mix up, they paired me up to go contacting with one of the CCM teachers.. Who, I didn’t know at the time, didn’t speak any English. It was quite the adventure. They handed us two Book of Mormons, pass along cards and told us to come back after three hours. One thing I realized is people outside of the CCM talk really fast! It’s a very true thing when people say they think they kind of know Spanish until they get out in the country and talk to people who don’t speak extremely slow and use hand motions for anything they say. Haha. About an hour in, it started to rain hard (which is very unusual for Columbia) so obviously we weren’t prepared and didn’t have coats to protect us. It was cool to be able to observe how a contacting conversation would go. Even though I was lost about 90% of the time, and could barely communicate with the "companion" that was with me, I was able to bear my testimony and gave a Book of Mormon to two different people. And right now, that is enough and that is what I need. Definitely a cool experience, but it made me realize how important a testimony is, especially when the language isn’t there.

Today for P-day, my district got to go on a tour around Columbia. I really like this city! The mountains remind me of the Guatemala jungles and the city kind of reminds me of places in Europe. The driving.. is insane!! After awhile of watching, I decided to save myself and not pay attention, because there were MANY close calls. We got to ride a tram up the mountain and overlook all of Bogota. Beautiful beautiful! The city is also very busy. People everywhere. Crossing streets, selling random things on the side of the road, sleeping. It made me realize how many people there are out there who have never even heard of the gospel. We sure are blessed to live where we do! We also got to look around and shop at little gift shops, a lot like the ones in Mexico or Hawaii. There was lots of cool stuff, but because I’m the way I am and don’t like deciding or spending money, I just bought a cookies n cream Hershey’s bar and that was more than enough for me! :) Haha, I’m going to eat it sparingly because those things are very precious around here.

One of my favorite things about the CCM here is the teachers. They are so cool, so patient, and so good at what they do! We’ve gotten to the point where they only allow us to speak in Spanish and every time they hear an English word, they make us do five pushups. So... either we’ll get strong or good at Spanish. I guess it’s our choice. They always say random and funny things, like when we correctly conjugate a sentence or understand the grammar, they’ll say "Muy latina!!" or yesterday we heard a new one, "Latination" Haha they sure make the day fun!

They do something cool here at this CCM where the last two weeks, all the Americans get Latin companions. So since I’ve been here four, tomorrow morning we get new companions, new teachers and new districts. And what that means... It’s Spanish from here on out. Wow, this is going to be good for me, but I’m crossing my fingers for a patient district :) I’ve been so blessed with the most amazing district for these first 4 weeks. I was talking to the president’s wife today and she said it’s interesting that each group has their different personality. Some work hard, some just want to goof off, some ignore the Latins and just speak Spanish the whole time. Our district has been amazing and we all share the same desire to work hard and be obedient. We’re already planning reunions in 18 months and most of us are going to be in Utah, so we’ll make it happen. These girls have definitely encouraged me to be better and I feel like I’ve known them way longer than 4 weeks!

A cool moment was during sacrament meeting. It’s something small, but we sang How Firm a Foundation for our closing song. That’s the song we sang at my farewell and although I didn’t know the exact words I was singing, I felt the same Spirit so strong. Whether it was Hyde Park, Utah or Bogota Columbia, I was overcome by the feeling that this gospel IS the foundation that is firm and it is all over the world. 

We also had the opportunity to watch a short video clip called "The Atonement and Missionary Work”. It was one of those powerful videos paired with two conference talks, and by the end, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room. A line that stood out to me said, “When you are discouraged and rejected, you are standing shoulder to shoulder with Christ, the greatest missionary of all.” I know that he knows exactly how discouragement feels and how success feels. When we cry, he cries with us. When we struggle, he has struggled that same struggle plus so much more. But I realized that if we want to BE like him, we have to DO as he did, and that is not always easy. But oh so worth it.

Thank you for your support and love. This gospel truly is happiness and I’m so grateful for that. Have a great last week of July!! Talk to you soon!

Hermana Yorgason

From 3 to 2....

My wonderful family!!

Oh how I just love you guys and miss you soo so much! Sounds like its been another great week! I feel like so much more has been going on since I left! Haha - thanks mom for the letter and pictures. A wedding?? Wow, I definitely didn’t expect that this fast! I am so excited for you guys, and make sure you send tons of pictures! Also, so so cool that the boys are still washing windows and making so much money! Did you mean $500 in a week or in a day? Ill have to catch up with you guys when I get back cuz it sounds like you’re gonna be getting some pretty good skill :)

Another week down at the CCM. Its been good, but full of change! On Tuesday (the last time I emailed you guys) the new district came in and the old district left. The incoming district had 7 boys and 1 girl. Haha - I have never heard of that before!! We were all surprised that only one girl was coming in.. kind of wondering how that was all gonna work out, but obviously she needed a companion. President Duvall (our CCM president) was the one who had to figure out how to make that work, but since I’m in a three some, it makes sense that one of us would go with her and Pres. Duvall assigned me to be her new companion. It was honestly pretty hard at first because our companionship had been going so well and we had become so close. My new companion’s name is Hermana Nielson and she is very sweet as well. She grew up in Utah and also went to BYU, so more connections! I figured that this is good practice for me when I have to change companions in the field and luckily I still see Hermana Wise and Weaver quite often. How it works... since the new Hermana is in a different district, different classes and level of Spanish, I still am in class with my old district and old companions. Then, for everything else, I’m with Hermana Nielson and sometimes both, so I’m with 1, 2, and 3 companions at different times. Haha we sure get creative when planning. I also teach our investigators (our teachers who act like investigators) with both companionships so I get double the lessons. Ha, I guess I needed extra practice with teaching and Spanish because that’s sure what I’m getting. Because of that, I don’t have much down time to study and go over what we’ve learned, but I sure am busy! (Did I mention that I love being forced to go to bed at 10:30? I sleep so well!!)

This week I was also asked to teach Relief Society on Sunday to all the North American sisters here. Ah it was so nice to teach in English again! I based it on the talk by Pres. Uchtdorf, "Forget Me Not" which was so good for me to read and get to study in depth. Teaching to a bunch of missionary girls is so great because there were so many great thoughts and comments. We actually only got through 2 1/2 out the 5 points because so many people had things to say. It really helped uplift my spirits to talk with girls who were all going through the same thing and all have so much faith about what we are called to do.

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week we had a different general authority come and speak. Apparently that’s really rare, but I loved listening to their testimony about missionary work and what we can do to make the most out of this year and a half. One of them talked a lot about our call and how even though it says the exact same thing in all of the letters, those blessings are personal and specifically for us. 

More rice this week, LOTS of food! PERFECT temperature. And when it rains, it feels like you’re walking into a mist machine. We teach our "investigators" everyday (or more than once a day). The language is still hard, its still harder than I thought it would be, (probably because I didn’t think about that aspect too much), but I hear time and time again that the Lord will help those who work hard. We watched a devotional from Elder Bednar and he said that many people don’t understand the lessons anyway, so the Spirit is what you need :) More classes, more running, did I mention more rice?! There were also a few times this week when I got homesick. I think that’s something that I’ll always have to go through because I just love my family so much, but there were also many times where I realized that this is exactly where I need and want to be.

Thank you so much for your letters and Love. I’m going to try and send a few pictures and exciting news... I get to write again on Tuesday!!

Love,  Hermana Yorgason

Second Week in CCM!

Dear my wonderful friends and family!!

Wow, I love having five days in between p-days!! I feel like I just wrote and here I am again. I think I was just as excited to come down to the computers though! I LOVE email time!! Last week I barely got two letters out and didn’t have time to send any pictures, so I’m sending more this week and hopefully I'll have a little more time to write a few more people. We’ll see. I loovvedd seeing pictures of you guys and it's so fun to hear how life is going. I LOVE that picture of all of us at the airport! Mom, if you’re ever going to send a picture to me in a package, that's the one I want!

I feel like time at the CCM is going to start going by faster, and its crazy that I've already been here a third of the time. Exactly two weeks ago I was on a plane flying over to Columbia and oh how so much has changed for me! It's weird to think that life is actually going on like normal every where else in the world! But I’m actually really enjoying this little bubble I’m in. Food getting cooked for you, laundry done by a maid, no grocery shopping, and only having to worry about one specific thing all day everyday. My companion put it well... if you’re wondering what were doing here, we eat rice, feel the Spirit, and speak Spanish. So there you go. If you’re running out of time, no need to read my letter because there's my week in a preview. Haha. 

Well, the week started out well with getting locked out of our room, not waking up to the alarm in the morning (and having about ten minutes to get ready for the day) I’m getting good at that :) And then, I knocked off my bottle of leave in conditioner and shattered I think over the whole entire floor of our room. (Yes, right when we had to get down to a devotional. Those things always happen at convenient times.) My companions were so sweet and helped me clean the whole thing up. They even got their own wash clothes and I’m pretty sure they will never be white anymore! But it was a good adventure and I think we finally aren’t stepping on glass pieces anymore. 

We moved rooms today. I think I should get used to this 
whole packing thing!

Speaking of my companions, I told you who they were, but mom asked a little bit more about them, and sorry I forgot that in my last email! Hermana Weaver is from Cedar City and went to SUU this year. She is so sweet has such a great way of bringing the Spirit into lessons. We actually met each other at the airport in Atlanta and have been friends ever since. Hermana Kendra Wise is from Gilbert, Arizona and went to BYU this last year. She lived in Heleman so we didn’t know each other, but we found out we have some of the same friends in common. Imagine that!! She reminds me a lot of (aunt) Amber and Elissa Clark (one of my college roommates). She has such a joy for life and always helps us laugh about all the things that are hard or go wrong. They are both runners, so they push me everyday at workout hour which is probably good for me :) Hermana Wise has Fit Bit (which counts steps, tracks miles) so were trying to get 10,000 in everyday, which is very hard at an MTC where you’re sitting all day. Like I said last week, our companionship is just going so well! I could see how threesomes could be hard, but luckily it's not a problem because we get along so well!

A little more about the CCM here... its an old church that is on maybe 3 or 4 acres. Not very big. Its fenced in, so we’re mostly in this same area all the time. I feel like I live in a house/church/cafeteria/college dorm room/stake presidents office. I LOVE this CCM though! There are about 70 missionaries (which is sooo small compared to the Provo) but because of that, we get to know everyone. Our districts are really tight, and the President knows everyone's name and things about us. It has been perfect for me!

Like I said, we’re pretty much stuck inside the gates, but last Friday we finally got to go out into the real world of Bogota, Columbia and go proselyting! Ya, you’re probably thinking the same thing that I am. We had barely been here for a week and they were sending us to the streets! With our companions and a Book of Mormon. Its weird, but I honestly wasn’t that nervous. I've had Latins laughing at me all week for my Spanish so it couldn’t be much worse than that :) The first girl we talked to was sitting by a tree I think doing some homework. She was in college and soo forgiving of the little Spanish we knew. As we talked to her, I could tell she was lonely and she told us her family wasn’t very close. As we gave her a Book of Mormon towards the end of our conversation, she told us that she really needed that and when she looked up at us, she had tears in her eyes. Wow. I was really touched, and I realized how many people there are in the world that don’t have the truth, and don’t even know that it exists. The last lady we talked to was such a sweet little grandma. She was Catholic and as we talked to her, I don’t know if she'll be interested, but she said that she felt good when she talked to us. She said we looked like barbies from the US. Hahaha. But it really made me realize what Christlike love is like. We were three girls who weren't very good at what we were trying to do, but this lady turned around from where she was headed and showed us so much love. We were out for about an hour and it was probably the highlight of my week. It made me realize how much I don’t know, but it also made me realize how much I DO know. We got four peoples' contact information to give to the missionaries here. Who knows what will come out of it, but SUPER cool experience!

A few "you know you’re in Colombia when"s....

-You know you’re in Columbia when you get sunburned from being outside for one hour

-You know you’re in Columbia when you’re riding on a bus and there is a motorcycle literally less than a foot away from you

-You know you’re in Columbia when they try and hide rice in the ice cream

-You know you’re in Columbia when there are sirens going off every night and you hear it all because the windows don’t close. But... you know you’ve been here long enough when you sleep right through that because its just like second nature now.

Yes, I’m loving this country! And I know there may have been some dangerous things going on, but we are totally safe right here in our gated little CCM community. 

I had a cool experience in class this week. We were reading the first few verses of first Nephi in the Book of Mormon... Trying to translate from Spanish to English. It talks about Nephi writing in the language of his fathers, and our teacher pointed out that learning a language is probably something we can add to the list of hard things that Nephi was asked to do. Missions.. can be hard. The mission schedule.. ya, that can get tiring, and learning a language has not been the easiest thing, but I know how Nephi responded to his problems. I think if it weren’t for the challenging things Nephi had to go through, he wouldn’t be as valiant, his faith wouldn’t have been as strong, and his stories definitely wouldn’t be there to help 19 year olds (or 30 or 50 year olds) many years later. Reading that really made me appreciate my experiences so far and the challenging as well as the great parts. 

Thank you all for your love, letters and thoughts. Have a fantastic week and I’ll talk to you next Thursday!

Hermana Yorgason