Hola! How are you? It has been quite a week for me! I
went on splits again on Friday in Santo Domingo which was good. There was one
person we contacted though that was not the nicest. He spent the whole time
yelling at us and saying God does not exist and stuff. It was not very fun. But
the second person we talked to was an inactive who said she wanted to go to the
temple for the first time and said she would set up an appointment with her
bishop! It was so cool. And then of course we got to watch conference Saturday
and Sunday which was so amazing! It was a different experience watching as a
missionary. The talks on missionary work were actually directed toward me.
There were so many that I loved, but a few were President Uchtdorf, Elder Oaks,
and Elder Ballard. Being the last week of the CCM, we were all pretty
emotional. We had a testimony meeting our last day on Monday with everyone we
came in with. It was great, but one of the Elders in my District, Elder Hamilton,
told us then that he had to go home because he got a really bad root canal.
Everyone started bawling. I wish you knew this Elder. He is one of the most
amazing people I have ever met. He is so dedicated to the work. He studies his
scriptures in every free moment he has, even during meals. And he is so kind.
He would be the best missionary ever. We are hopeful that it is a minor problem
and that he can return in a few weeks to start his mission, but there is a
possibility that it will take longer and he will have to be reassigned to a new
place. It is so sad. But things will all work out for the best. So Tuesday was
a long day. The sisters who live next to us in the CCM had to leave at 3:30 in
the morning for Jamaica and they came and woke us up to say goodbye. Then we
had to get up at 5:30 to leave and we took a 2 hour bus ride to Santiago. We
came to the mission home where the President and his wife live and had
orientation for a while and then they sent us right into the field. We were
told that we needed to give away a Book of Mormon before we could come back for
dinner. Haha. It was no problem at all. I gave away both of the books we had.
The people here are just so humble. It isn’t like the United States where it’s
hard to give away a Book of Mormon. We
get into so many houses a day. I think we taught like 6 unplanned lessons in
that 3 hours. Then we came back and had more orientation, had interviews with
the mission president, and found out our companions and areas. I am in an area
called Tamboril. It is in Santiago Este so pretty close to the capital. My new
companion and trainer is Hermana Monegro. She is from the Dominican Republic.
She is super nice and very patient which I am so grateful for, but I can tell
it is going to be a long 12 weeks or longer. The language barrier will
definitely be a challenge. It is very hard to communicate. But I see this as a
blessing because I am going to know Spanish so fast! I am already learning so
much just from being with her for one day. As I am sure you have guessed, Wednesday
is our P-day. Oh and when I got to Santiago I got your package and 3 letters! 2
of the letters were from you Mom. One was a handwritten letter and one was a
dearelder. I guess they were from the first week but were just sent to Santiago
instead of the CCM. The third was one from Christina from the first week too.
Thank you SOOOO much for all the mail and especially the package!! You were so
sweet to send me all of my favorite things! I loved it! My apartment is way
nicer than I thought it would be. We don’t have any light, but who needs it
during the day anyways. We have plumbing and a shower and our own washing
machine so I am super happy about that! So the food here is not quite what I
expected. We nearest grocery store only has a very, very limited selection of
food. We went today to buy food and this is what I left with: rice, beans,
tortillas, bread, peanut butter, cereal, and milk. Not very healthy right? Well
that is the best I could do. They have nothing there! We actually had to go to this
other store for the bread because they didn’t even have it there. So I’m not
sure I can even use the recipes you sent me. It’s going to be an interesting
next few months... I’m pretty sure you just send any mail to the mission home
address through the Miami address. Then they get it to us. I forgot that
Halloween was coming up! They don’t celebrate that here. But you know what’s
crazy? They celebrate Christmas during October and December! Haha. I’ve gone
into so many houses that had Christmas trees up and decorations. It’s so funny.
They just like to celebrate more. Anyways, let me know how you all are doing! I
love you all so much! Until next week.
Hermana Woolf
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