September 24th.

Hey! 

To answer your question, my schedule is pretty much class, breakfast, class, lunch, gym, class, dinner, class, sleep. Or some variation thereof. Sundays we go on Temple walks around 3:30, so that's fun, and we get to go to the Temple every Friday (we just got back). The food is starting to get a little old, but I'll survive. How is everyone? Tell them I say hello. The oldest district was supposed to leave for Mexico at the beginning of the week, but their visas haven't come through so they're stuck here. I know it's selfish, but I'm glad because a lot of our good friends are in that district and I don't want them to leave. A new district came in with 3 new hermanas, that makes 9 in our zone. Ergo, our zone is the best. Also, Hermana Moss had to go get X-Rays on her ankle yesterday at the BYU heath clinic because they think she might have a stress fracture, as sad as we are that she's in pain, it was nice to see a small glimpse of the real world. Also, we got to go during our TRC time so we didn't have to do that. (The TRC is my least favorite of everything- I dread Thursdays.)  There's not much else to write, one of the Elders in our district went home this week, so that was a little rough for everyone, especially because companionships shifted and the Elders are having to get used to new people. Our district is like a family, we had our honeymoon period where we were so excited to be around each other all the time, then we went through a phase where we were super annoyed of each other all the time, and now we're in the "I love and accept you for who you are, but sometimes you really get on my nerves" phase. Es interesante. My Spanish is coming along, if I can read something I can pretty much understand it, but listening to natives is still a little tough because they talk so fast. I love speaking Spanish so much though. I love being an Hermana! All in all, things are great. I love my zone so much. I'm still waiting on those addresses so that I can send some letters out, (Adam Calderon, Vince) tell Scott to dearelder me or something. I miss you and I hope you are doing well! Keep me updated!

Love,

Jamie

September 17th.

Things are going really well here, my companions are great and we're becoming good friends with all of our roomates. There's not much to say because we pretty much do the same thing everyday, so there's not much new to tell. The TRC was much MUCH better this week. I think we're getting better at this whole teaching thing. Our teacher says that on a scale of 1 to 10, we teach at a 4, but that most new missionaries in the field teach at a 2 or 3, so I'm slightly discouraged, but not too upset about it. I don't know what else to say other than please let me know about those skirts. 

Also, seriously people, WRITE ME! I've seriously resorted to writing one of the Elder's girlfriend because she is such an attentive writer and I was bummed I wasn't getting mail. Mom and Bekah, you are already doing a great job at this, but the rest of you (Ahem: Jeremy, Scott, Vince...)dearelder.com is super easy! You can do it! There's an Elder on our floor who looks exactly like Jeremy and everytime I see him I just miss the family. How is everyone? I'm going to check the rest of my e-mails but if I have the time I'll send a quick description of all of my friends in our zone so you can get a glimpse of how awesome every day is here.

Love you,

Hermana Gebara

September 10th.

Things are great overall. Some days are hard, but it's wonderful overall.  Things in the MTC are AWESOME! I feel like I'm understanding so much Spanish. I'd write in Spanish, but I don't know how to make the keyboard to all the right accents, and I'm not going to risk saying something embarrassing because it's misspelled. Hermana Griffith left for Guatemala, so now I'm in a trio with Hermana Moss and Hermana Nakayama. I love them and they are constantly making me laugh. The transition was a little rough, we're still working on balancing our teaching. We taught in the TRC yesterday and I kinda dominated the conversation- not good. We'll get used to it though. We moved rooms and are now rooming with the other three Hermanas in our zone. Six girls in one room is really crowded, but super fun. The only downside is that I was moved to a top bunk and it's colder up there. SEND BLANKETS! Haha. I'm learning a ton and can't say enough about how much I'm loving my time here.

Love,

Hermana Gebara

September 3rd.

There were way too many awesome things to write about this week, I only have 18 minutes left, but more info will come soon. This week was so amazing! Honestly probably the best so far.  I haven't had to give my talk yet, luckily (I bet I just jinxed myself).

Ok, I have 14 minutes left so I'm going to try to explain the major highlights of this week, but I bet I won't do it justice.

Wednesday was AMAZING. We took turns teaching with the oldest district in our zone, and it was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. We watched a clip of a 14 year old kid and had to teach each other as if we were teaching him. I was taught first and I can honestly say it was the BEST lesson I've ever seen, let alone been a part of. Honestly, they did the whole thing in Spanish, but half way through the lesson I realized that it didn't occur to me that they were speaking a different language, it didn't even occur to me that they were using words at all, I just was somehow understanding everything they were trying to convey, and it felt like they were teaching ME at 14 and not some hypothetical kid. It was amazing to experience what it is to feel that love and that Spirit of being taught. They "committed" me to baptism and I was like "YES ABSOLUTELY!" not because I was trying to be supportive, but because they honestly had me convinced. It was a great reminder of that miracle that is this work. Also, we got ice cream that night (BYU creamery coconut dream = the best.) The next day we taught in the TRC and had another amazing experience. Our teacher, who is famous for never giving compliments, told us that we (as a district) taught those lessons better than any district he had ever had, and that when he walked up to our rooms to listen, it felt like he just hit a wall of the Spirit, it felt amazing and I really think we did a great job. It made me so excited to teach people and see their lives change! I'm really understanding Spanish better than I thought I would. I can understand it almost fluently, but I can't always think of the words I want to use when I'm speaking. I love it. Alright, I only have 5 minutes left and more e-mails to check. BYE!

Love,

Jamie