I can´t believe tomorrow I will have already been in the CCM for 3 full weeks. Time has flown, but I also feel like this is the only life I know. It´s a really strange sensation.
I don´t know what to say about the CCM that I haven´t already. I love it. It´s gorgeous. This campus is amazing. I forget that I am in Mexico City sometimes because it is such a safe haven. With the hustle and bustle of the world all around us it is truly a reminder that we are to be in the world but not of the world. Miracles happen inside the gates of the CCM. I feel so blessed to be here in Mexico. I´m sure Provo is great, but it could never be as great as this campus is.
I don´t know what to say about the CCM that I haven´t already. I love it. It´s gorgeous. This campus is amazing. I forget that I am in Mexico City sometimes because it is such a safe haven. With the hustle and bustle of the world all around us it is truly a reminder that we are to be in the world but not of the world. Miracles happen inside the gates of the CCM. I feel so blessed to be here in Mexico. I´m sure Provo is great, but it could never be as great as this campus is.
BIG NEWS: I am starting to like the food here. I get so excited when they have enchiladas verde. That´s my favorite! And I no longer feel sick for hours after every meal. Plus my Spanish is coming along quite nicely. I was asked to do a special demonstration with one of my teachers because I understand about 90% of everything now. I definitely can´t speak that well, but my comprehension is really astonishing to me. It´s like I know I´m hearing a different language, but it doesn´t matter at all. I can pray and testify and read all in Spanish too. I can hold conversations with the natives (even if they are brief conversations) and I can talk about most gospel topics. Conjugating to past and future tenses, especially with irregular verbs takes me a minute though. I´m getting better. That´s all I can ask for. Maybe I was made to be a Mexican.
On Sunday we always have a devotional, sometimes it´s live and sometimes it´s watching a past MTC or general conference address. This week we watched a past MTC address from Elder Holland. He actually based a general conference talk off of this MTC address, I believe the general conference talk is titled "When Thou Art Converted, Strengthen Thy Brethren" from 2012 (anyone who went to my farewell knows I based a lot of my talk off of his remarks). Anyway, we got to listen to the MTC address which was a lot longer and more aimed toward missionaries. It was amazing. One of the things I love most about it is the passion that you can tell Elder Holland has for the subject he´s speaking on. I have that same passion in my life. My love for missionary work (which was already vast) has grown exponentially since I have been in the CCM. Elder Holland teaches that "the first principle of everything is obedience" I love that. He also remarked that "We are the hope of Israel". Us missionaries. We are. As 18-25 year olds who have been set apart as full-time and full-service missionaries. The Lord has trusted us to go out and save the world. I could not help but cry. What an amazing and eternally important calling I have.
I have felt the power of missionaries and missionary work especially this week. Here in the CCM we are always teaching investigators. Sometimes they are volunteers, sometimes they are other missionaries, but most of the time they are our teachers. Right now, my companion and I have two investigators regularly. Daniel and Martín. Daniel is our teacher Hermano Silva, and Martín is our teacher Hermano Beltrán. They use real people that they know as the profile for their investigator. So these people we teach have real problems and trials and struggles and questions and they are just played by our teachers.
My compañera and I taught a lesson to Daniel (Silva) on Saturday and it was literally amazing. Daniel is a 16 year old boy that´s really nice but doesn´t open up a lot so it was hard to connect with him and really figure out what we needed to help him with. But on Saturday we got through. It was such a powerful lesson. We taught just briefly about the Atonement and most of it was us testifying of it in our lives and how we all need the Atonement, not only for our sins, but for all our infirmities and sorrows and such. I started crying and so did Daniel (Silva) and then I asked him the most inspired question. I said "Since we are called to represent Jesus Christ, we are here to help you feel His love and understand His will for you. He can help you through anything and will bring your life joy if you follow him. So Daniel, if the Savior were here sitting with us right now, what would you ask him for help with?" and Daniel just started crying. I never would have thought he would cry and let us in as he did, but he did and it was amazing and I could feel the Spirit so strongly and really am so grateful to have Daniel open up to us and let us in and trust us as the Lord´s servants to help him through whatever was needed in his life. I loved that experience. I can´t wait to go out and teach other investigators like Daniel and help them to feel the Spirit and know of my love and especially the Savior´s love for them. After our lesson our teacher Hermano Silva (who was playing Daniel, I know it´s confusing haha sorry) came up and thanked us and told us we were really inspired and that we were doing well. We got through. It felt so good! Plus, everything is in Spanish and so it´s broken but the Spirit fills in the cracks.
Okay, I don´t have much time but I also wanted to let you know that ELDER NEIL L. ANDERSON IS COMING ON SATURDAY!!! And he wants to meet and shake hands with each of us individually. I cannot wait. I am so excited! I will be preparing all week to hear from one of the 12 apostles!! I will let you know all about it in my next email.
I love you all, thank you for your support! Continue to send it, please!
Okay, I don´t have much time but I also wanted to let you know that ELDER NEIL L. ANDERSON IS COMING ON SATURDAY!!! And he wants to meet and shake hands with each of us individually. I cannot wait. I am so excited! I will be preparing all week to hear from one of the 12 apostles!! I will let you know all about it in my next email.
I love you all, thank you for your support! Continue to send it, please!
Con Amor,
Hermana Rutherford
Hermana Rutherford