The first 6 months of my mission have been hard, but through prayer, faith in the Lord, and A LOT of complaining in my head, I managed to drag myself through.
But seriously, day one was rough. I cried on day 2, but luckily our teacher would randomly have us pray and I could get out all of my tears while everyone else was praying. What a blessing!! When we first arrived, none of us spoke Spanish and none of the workers who help those coming in and out of the CCM Mexico compound spoke English. So, we basically didn't get dinner, got shoved around a lot, stood in the sun for a long time, and I have yet to receive a working key and an English Preach My Gospel. Personally, I would've rather been hit over the head with a board if it meant having a friend to see me through. But at least here I've learned why serving a mission is so cool. It's because the mission president broadcast a message about how much they love us, then give us A MILLION PAPERS with A BFSHASL;FHASL-ION WORDS ON THEM and then smile. It's impossible. The very first thing they give you is how to greet people, then how to pray and testify. You are praying in Spanish on Day 1. Again, it's impossible. The next day, you go and they talk a lot at you in a wierd (and inferior) language and your companion turns to you and says you'll be teaching an investigator before dinner. IMPOSSIBLE. After a few tears, you take the yoke and shove as hard as you can (Which would be easier than learning a new language, might I add). You say the prayer with the investigator and somehow you understand what she's saying and the lesson goes shockingly well. I've learned that the MTC is impossible, but because you've been called of God to represent Him, you can do the impossible. Day 3 was good. Day 4 was fun, and yesterday, I spoke 100% Spanish from Breakfast to an hour past lunch. (At least, I think it was Spanish. I'm still not sure.) Being able to do the impossible is a little odd, but really cool at the same time.
But apparently, we had a super big group- 150ish, I think- and they couldn't handle us. Most other missionaries got the help they needed. (It's ok, I'm not bitter...)I'm super glad Noelle is here to help me; right when I don't think I can be patient any more, Noelle walks into the room and collapses on my bed, asking for my charger and a waterbottle and Tums and a retainer and all my candy and a foot massage. (PS Sister Bennet, the President's wife, came up to me and said 'Hola Hermana Baer. You have a sister here. Are you the one that forgot your retainer? Your mom's sending it in a package soon!" Aren't sisters great? (And that is a legitimate question.))
My companion is Hermana Robbins. She's super cool and a lot like me, really, she's great. The hardest part so far (besides the Spanish and the food and sharing 1 bathroom with 4 girls) is not being allowed to listen to any music besides MoTab. Good thing Dad made sure I took a[n awful lot] of Bach. /:" But, the moment I decided I'd actually follow that rule, the Lord blessed me with a really cool song ("When David heard that Absolom was dead" or something like that)
Ok, 15 seconds left. Gotta run! Maybe I'll have more stories next time!!
Hermana Oso
Mexico City Temple
Hermana Robbins and Hermana Baer
Mexico City -- colorful houses
MTC room
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