I'm Off to the Real World

I only have 10 minutes today so this will be short. I leave for the Málaga mission home at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning! I might be able to email tomorrow to tell you where I'm going and who my companion is. My time here at the MTC (Missionary Training Center) has been incredible and I've learned so much. When I got here, I thought I was a real missionary, but I guess I'm not! ;) Now I'm off to do real missionary work. I'm so excited to put all my heart into this glorious work. I love you all!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Moore

Oh, one more thing! I have a picture of my mom in front of an Alicante sign and one of my teachers saw it. I explained that I wanted to go there to recreate it. And he said, "Oh, Sister! That sign isn't in Alicante. It's in Sevilla in La Plaza de España. I guess they have a bunch of big murals for a lot of cities. So that was neat. I feel Mom a lot here and love to have her always with my in my locket necklace I have. Ok, 3 minutes left! Love you!

Week 2! 5-19 to 5-26

I only have a few days left here at the MTC! Days here pass by so quickly. I'll be leaving this coming Tuesday (May 31st). The rumor is that we'll be leaving at 4.30 in the morning. I'm excited and nervous to get out into the real mission field! I'll spend Tuesday in Malaga in the mission home and then I will meet my companion for the next 6 weeks. I'm not sure when my pday will be so you might not hear for a few more days. But I might be able to email again on Monday before I leave the MTC.    

Now I get to tell you about last pday! After I wrote you all, I got to go to El Museo de Prado (I spelled it wrong last time...) I had no idea how famous this museum was! While I was at BYU, I took a humanities class where I had to memorize a lot of paintings and their artists. In the museum I got to see a lot of the real paintings I studied! I saw paintings of Goya and Valasquez in real life! It was a cool day and it was nice to take a break from studying.    

Most of this email will be about my experience with Park day! The contrast from last week's experience was incredible. We were so successful and I really saw God's hand all over that Parque del Retiro. I want to share some of the greatest experiences I was blessed to have.   

I was put into a trio once again. Seriously, trios aren't common at all, but I've always been in them! On Saturday I was paired up with Hermana Favero who is here on the 6 week Spanish track and Hermana Dishlanian who is from Ukraine and is here getting ready for her call to Ukraine. Translation: one person that speaks minimal Spanish and one who doesn't know a word of it and speaks minimal english! In contrast to last week, I was the only one capable of communicating past small talk.   

After several rejections, we found a lady sitting in the grass with her grown daughter and her son. The other two sisters spoke with the daughter while I spoke with the lady.. She knew quite a bit about religion and it turns out she was a Jehovah's witness before. She accepted a Book of mormon and said she’d read it (that's what they all say...) Even if she doesn't read it, a seed was planted by 2 americans and a Ukrainian.   The next family we spoke to was the Mendoza family. A father, mother, 2 girls and a boy. And also an aunt. We approached their picnic blanket and asked if we could share a message. The mom and aunt agreed but it was obvious they didn't want to talk to the Mormons. We began talking about families and that's when the father came and sat down. Hma. Favero did small talk and Hma. Dishlanian made paper stars for the kids and I taught the whole lesson. I talked about eternal families and I was about to leave them in peace, when something caught fire in the father's eyes. My goodness I could truly see a light in his eyes and he was truly listening to my words. He asked about why we call ourselves Latter-day saints and so I went on to teach the entire Restoration lesson. Up until this, the aunt was uninterested and kept looking away.   

Just the day before we set a goal as a district to memorize the first vision (an account by Joseph Smith), the first 3 articles of faith, and the missionary objective. It was a lot to memorize and I was overwhelmed and frustrated because I had to learn the pronunciation and grammar and then memorize it. But I studied and as I taught the Restoration, I mostly recited the first vision! The Spirit was THERE! With me. In the middle of the Parque del Retiro in Madrid, Spain. 

The Spirit was helping me, a person far from perfect, testify of Joseph Smith and the restored Gospel of Christ.Hunger was in the eyes of that family and I know they felt the Spirit. Even the aunt had tears in her eyes.   This little family, children of God, was crowded on a picnic blanket and I was blessed enough to be God's mouthpiece. As I was teaching, I just knew it was true and I couldn't stop smiling. I'm so happy to be here. That experience was one of the happiest of my life. Sitting on the grass teaching a family about the Gospel. I know this Church and its teachings are true. I gave them a Book of mormon and got a referral for them to hear more.   

We had 20 minutes left in the park and still had one Spanish and 2 english books. Hma. Favero commented that she wanted to find someone who spoke English. Not 5 steps later we stopped to talk to a woman sitting on a bench. We said hello and introduced ourselves but she had the most confused look on her face. I almost laughed because I thought she just couldn’t understand our Spanish. But then she said I'm sorry! But I speak english. We almost yelled with joy! The other 2 sisters were able to talk to her a lot. She's from the Philippines and is here as a nanny. She's working on learning Spanish. After we read a couple of scriptures I told her I wanted to give her a Book of Mormon. I told her that it was like a gift from God and that He loves her. Tears welled up in here eyes and it was such a tender moment.  

In this moment I thought of when I said goodbye to Sophie and she cried and cried. I told her that so many people didn't know that they were children of God. I told her I needed to tell people in Spain that God loves them. With Sara, the Philippino woman, I was able to convey that love. I also gave here a Spanish and english BoM to help her learn Spanish. We gave away 5 BoM's in an hour and a half.  We sang 5 songs with all 50 missionaries and I was so filled with gratitude for my Savior and God and the tender mercies they give me.   

On Sundays here, everyone prepares a 5 minute talk in their mission language and Presidente Packer randomly picks 6 to 8 of us to give them. This time he called me up and I spoke about God strengthening our weaknesses. I didn't even read what I had written. :)    One of the teachers works with me on grammar for 30 minutes everyday and I'm proud of the progress I'm making. I don't think I've worked so hard to develop anything in my entire life. I'm so determined to dominate this language!   I'm going to be a scripture master by the end of my mission. 

A few days ago we did this activity where they passed out slips of paper and we had a certain amount of time to find scriptures that answered that question. Like: does God know me? and What can I do to unite my family? And we had to find answers for them in the Book of Mormon. It is really such a powerful book and sometimes I feel like I've never read it before. hahaha.  My testimony of everything Gospel is being strengthened here. I love you all! This is hard work but it’s the Lord's work!

Con mucho amor, Hermana Moore

  

My sweet companions: Hermana Quispe from Peru and Hermana Boateng from Ghana.

5-11 to 5-19 It´s P-dayyyyyy!

Wow! This place is incredible! The MTC is a place of preparation and holy cow do we prepare! My schedule is so full and we are in class form 8 am to 9:30 pm with breaks for lunch, an hour for sports, and a few 5 minutes breaks. I speak straight Spanish every minute expect for sometimes at lunch. I am in class with my 2 companions, 2 other sisters, and 2 elders. My comps. and the elders are native Spanish speakers and the 2 hermanas grew up speaking it at home.

I have the most incredible comps. Hermana Boateng (Bow-a-tang) is from Ghana but has lived in Spain for the last ten years. I learn a lot of Spain Spanish from her and she is kind, funny, and loving. 

Hermana Quispe (Key-spay) is from Peru and is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. She and Hma. Boateng are really great blessings for me. They are both patient with my Spanish and we carry a great spirit with us. 

On Wednesday last week I got my name tag! I got one with a magnet and one with a clip. I am really a representative of Christ because His name is right below Hermana Moore.  I live in a dorm with 4 other sisters and there are bathrooms down the hall. Every night all the sisters (about 20 of us) sing a hymn and pray together. We get up at 6:30 am and have breakfast at 7. I shower quick (I'm talking 4-5 minutes showers here. I KNOW.) get ready and spend the rest of the day and then spend the rest of the day focused on preparing to do the Lord's work! After class all day we have from 9:30 to 10:15 to get to bed. And 10:30 is lights out.  During that time I rush to get everything from the day in my journal and then squeeze in 10 minutes of grammar study. In all humility (because I'm being humbled a LOT here!) I am proud of how quickly my Spanish is improving! I’ve gotten to the point where I don't need to translate from Spanish to English in my head, I just know what they're saying. 

My speaking is still a huge work in progress, but it's coming. I had a sweet experience with Hma. Quispe last week. We were in a small group discussion about the plan of salvation and when they ask questions I formulate an answer in my head just in case they call on me. Hma. Quispe took one look at me and said for me to say it without having me tell her I even had something to say. So I testified how each person on earth is a child of God and that a lot of times our job will be to simply convey God's love for them. I spoke confidently and fluidly. Then Hma. Quispe leaned over and said, ¨See, I knew you had something special to say!¨ 

I'm only a couple weeks in, but I'm so excited for what's coming in my mission. I already can tell that I'm becoming more outgoing and confident in everything. I know this confidence comes from the truthfulness of the work that I'm doing. 

Thursday (today) is my p-day and today we're going to the Museo de Plado in central Madrid. Thursday is also temple day! Look up the Madrid temple because it is GORGEOUS. I am blessed to live 40 steps away from it. Last Thursday we did a session and I didn't use the English headset they gave me!  

The food here is great! There are about 45 or 50 missionaries here right now and so we have 3 ladies who do all the cooking for us. It's always homemade food and the other day I had paella de marisco (seafood). I ate octopus! 

ALSO. For those of you who know about my time in Chile, I'm happy to say that they have GOOD HOMEMADE BREAD HERE. And I bet that I've already gained 5 pounds worth of bread. No regrets.  

The Presidente of the MTC is Presidente Packer and he is just wonderful. I had an interview with him and I could see the love and concern he has for me individually. I told him I was worried about my Spanish and right away he talked to some teachers and set up times for me to work with them privately. 

Saturday was such an incredible day! It was park day! Each Saturday they take all 50 missionaries and pair them up randomly. Then they tell us to go to El Parque del Retiro which is basically the equivalent of Central Park and go contacting (basically just going up to strangers and talking about the Gospel). There are several Americans here learning Russians who don't speak any Spanish, and Americans learning Spanish who don't know Spanish. So an American elder learning Spanish was paired up with a Russian speaker and they taught the gospel to a French woman in the park. God is incredible. :)  

I was paired up with an American learning Spanish and an American who grew up speaking it, and I was somewhere in the middle. We loaded our bags with Books of Mormon and pamphlets and headed out. The first man we talked to on the metro was an an old man who told us that Joseph Smith was a fake and that everything we believed was wrong and that we were not going to be saved. YAY MISSIONARY WORK! For the next 2 hours we wandered around el parque and tried to find people who would listen to us. We got a lot of glares, stares and not a lot of kindness. We shared with a few people who were willing to listen and gave out 3 Books of Mormon. It was a rough time... but I learned a lot. I definitely enjoy teaching lessons in homes rather than contacting.  

On Saturday night, all was made up for. The Madrid missionaries and the MTC missionaries were blessed to hear from sweet Elder Bednar, our latter day apostle. We did a Q and A session and his answers were so inspiring. The 2 hour meeting turned into 3 and it was incredible to be taught by a disciple of God.  The past few days have been full of classes and studying. I really love it so much. We practice teaching lessons by having our teachers be fake investigators act as people with backstories. They are such good actors! My trio has been teaching a lady named Rosa and yesterday I (me! in SPANISH!) extended a baptismal invitation and she accepted!! Even though she's not real, the Spirit we feel as we're teaching is real. Our testimonies we share are real. :) 

I'm sorry I don't have time to respond to all of your emails. I almost cried when I saw that I had 18 emails to read from the people I love! I have half an hour left and I'm going to go read them and try to respond to as many as I can. I just have so much I want to say! Also, sorry for the lack of pictures. We're only allowed to take pictures on p-days (so we don't waste time and so I only have a few from  the plane ride over. And I would rather read emails and respond to more people than figure out how to upload pictures right now.  I love you all so much, thanks for your support! I testify that this is hard work but it is the Lord's good work! 

Love, Hermana Moore

Oh! I forgot. I'll be leaving the MTC on Tuesday May 31st! I don't know if we're taking a bus or train or what yet though. Then I'll be put in my first area with my first companion in the field! I'm terrified but excited!

Arrived at the MTC

My pday (Preparation Day) here at the MTC will be on Thursday but I will not have one this week. So I will not be able to email again until the 19th of May.The flight was long but everything went well and I met up with some missionaries in Frankfurt who were going to the Spain Missionary Training Center (MTC) to finish their training for learning Russian. I could not have been happier to see elders with name tags! There were 5 elders and one sister all going to Moscow and St. Petersburg. 

I´m at the MTC in Madrid now and today I have the whole day to just relax and catch up from the flight. This email is pretty frazzled because I´m so excited to be here! I am so HAPPY here! 

We just had a meeting with the MTC president (Presidente Packer) and his wife. I played the piano and we sang Nearer My God to Thee in Spanish and the Russian speakers sang in Russian. I can feel the president´s love already and am so excited to learn from him. I am with two other sisters who grew up speaking Spanish with their parents and a bunch of elders from Peru, Uruguay, etc. I think they will be my district. Tonight we will have interviews with the president to be assigned a companion. We will eat dinner and get to bed early. Tomorrow we will have an introductory meeting to teach us about the MTC and all the rules. 

A neat thing about the Spain MTC is that it is super small compared to the Provo one. There are only about 80 beds and they aren´t all filled so I´ll get to know a lot of people outside my district. I am so at peace being here and I´m not nervous at all because I know this is where I need to be! I am excited to practice my Spanish and get better at it. The Madrid temple is literally right out my window and it is gorgeous! Thursday is also temple day and and I am so excited. I have to go to my interview now but I will email next Thursday! 

I love you all! I am happy and am where I need to be! This is going to be the best and hardest things that has ever happened to me but I can´t wait! Lots of love! -Hermana Moore

And this ...

There is good bread here! It makes me so happy! All the food is Spanish. :) I´ve eaten paella, churros con chocolate and a lot of other things I don´t know the name of. And yes, they do have a big jar of nutella too.

Here I Go!

Hello Folks!

This is the last post uploaded by me, Christy! The next entry will be my weekly emails which will be posted here by my lovely sister, AnnaMarie.

The time is almost here! It's nearly midnight on Saturday night and I'm in my room in Michigan too anxious to sleep! I'm pretty scatter-brained, so forgive my jumbled thoughts!

I'm giving my farewell talk in church tomorrow, which I'm very excited about! It will also be Mother's Day. :) I'm going to speak about the influence of my own parents on my growth and learning, especially in the Gospel. After church, we'll drive to Minneapolis to have Sunday dinner with AnnaMarie and Michael and their families.

I fly out on Monday afternoon at around 2. I'll arrive in Madrid at 4pm on Tuesday!

I cannot wait for the adventure that lies in front of me! I know this is where the Lord needs me and where I need to be at this point in my life. I am ready to dedicate myself to this church I love so much for the next 18 months. A small sacrifice for all my Heavenly Father does for me. If all I can do is touch one person's life and help them understand that God knows and cares about them, then it will all be worth it.

Lots of love to you all!
See you in 18!
-Hermana Moore