It’s Wednesday . . . right?*

*Probably references this viral vime.

Oof. It was a long Wednesday this week. Literally every day I asked Sis. Bond if it was Wednesday. Which is odd, because nothing happened on Wednesday.

Tuesday I made breaded shrimp. It wasn't all that bad either. The only problem was that I thought the bag of shrimp contained only shrimp. Nope! It had shrimp, mussels, calamari, and octopus. And to make matters worse, the bag didn't reseal. But I continued with this plan and after one or two black shrimps, I got pretty good at it. And just for funsies, I breaded some octopus too. And it wasn't all that bad either. That is, until that night. Then it came back with a vengeance.

Also on Tuesday, we extended an invite to a (super-ready) investigator and her family. She was really open to the idea. Now, normally you set a date about a month in advance. Bishop believes she can be ready by Nov. 4. That's just under 2 weeks. This part she's not so sure about. She says she'll think about it and let us know tomorrow (or Wednesday for non time travelers). Nothing happened Wednesday. Our investigator says that's too soon, especially for her kids. The bishop tried to persuade her that she's ready and can set an example for her kids. She said she'd think about it. *For the record, Loki's got nothing on Bishop. He is the smoothest talker I've had the pleasure of hearing.*

We had interviews with the president on Thursday. We also had a campfire with the Relief Society. With S'mores. It was fantastic! No one had ever heard of a s'more before, and so they all got about 4 marshmallows on those small wooden skewers and Plunged them straight into the fire! [BWAHAHAHAHA!! Hermana Bond and I DIED!!] Talk about taking things for granted: imagine a world without s'mores. But they all really liked their burnt-to-a-crisp marshmallows.

We had Trainer Follow-up on Friday. I got to see the ol' Mexico crew again! Elders Fox, Isaacson, and Westover are doing pretty good.

Saturday was a special day. We went to help a recent convert paint his bathroom. It reminded me of working at the apartments every summer. [I also had a mini panic attack when literally everything was not done well: no taping, no tarping, no stirring, no plastic tray, AAH! Special thanks to Grandpa who taught me how to mow lawns and paint walls, both of which I've already done in my mission.]

Then Halloween party! There were some really clever costumes: a mom and a dad were Sully and Mike Wazowski and their one kid was Boo. Cute!

Also, bishop was Moroni and his wife was Esther. It was way fun! I even got a piece of candy! Woot! Sunday our investigator came back up to us and said she and her daughter have decided to be baptized on the 4th. Which is now only one week away. *Sweat sweat* No pressure! Heh heh heh... We have a week ahead of us.

Well, there you have it. My journal in a nutshell. Now you should go do something exciting, like reading the other Hermana Baer's letter! You'll like it!

Have a great week yinz!


Fogata! Lots of fire!

Sister Bond's favorite costumes (she's excited to see the new movie)

Bishop Amarydakis. The literal coolest

Hard work in the bathroom. Ok, sorry. I couldn't think of a better subtitle for this

Seafood!

Fried octopus is the long pointy one. It was kinda just really chewy. Then again, I did nuke it...

 

Hello Fatness, my old friend!

 Ugh. We had fast food every day this week. CADA DÍA! But it's ok. I'm not bitter. I may have caught Hermana Bond singing "Eating, ever eating" to Called to Serve.

A story from this week: So there we were. Doing our daily 4 hours of studying. Again. Still. Forever. ANYWAYS, we get this phone call from a cute old lady the missionaries had visited once before. At that time, she was brand new from Venezuela (Puerto Rico? Suddenly I don't remember... ) and her daughter was about to have a baby. She told the missionaries they're welcome to come another day, but they have to call first. But she didn't have a number. And it's tricky to call someone when they don't have a phone. Anyways, after 2 months, she calls us saying "Where are you? You never came to visit!" 0,o ...Que? We visited her that day and she was so sweet! And her grandchild is so cute! And she just kept 'Amen'-ing and 'Hallelujah'-ing. 😄 (We're expecting a call from the Catholic church, asking us to stop stealing their members. ]:} ) The church is true.

Speaking of which, never before has more than 3 people showed up to sacrament meeting before the scheduled hour to start. But there they were! At 8 In the AM! At least 20 people!! AND ONE OF OUR INVESTIGATORS!! The Church Is True! Especially Hispanic wards. Yup. Speaking of that investigator, she might actually be a member. Which stinks, because she is so willing to learn and is so excited to go to the temple. Which is where she was first found, wandering the grounds. Yup. ........A story by Hermana Baer

Ok, pues, I dunno what else happened this week besides another lesson in English, a baptism, a Mormon party at Cafe Rio (they bought our dinner! A blessing on their heads! (Mazletof mazletof)), and lots of food, including my old nemesis: pinto beans and hotdogs - At the same time.

So Imma go read Jesus the Christ.
Which reminds me: spiritual thought of the day. I loved the talk by Elder Boyd k. Packer called "How to Survive in Enemy Territory." I also was reading in Enos, chapter 1 when Enos' family tree sunk in. His dad is Jacob, who has heard the voice of God. His uncle is Nephi, who needs no introduction. And yet Enos hasn't taken the gospel to heart yet. Sounds like a typical teenager. It reminds me of the quote, "We're only one generation from apostasy." It was a cool thought, and kinda hard to put into words. Yup.
On that poorly-worded thought, I'm gonna duck out.

Have a great week!
Ciao!

Sync Me! You’ve been practicing!*

*loosely taken from The Scarlet Pimpernel, a recurring joke about Chauvelin's inability to tie his cravat properly
 
Don't actually remember the real quote.... also, please send Noelle's messages to me! I wanna know too!
This week was at least faster. I think... Some of the best moments of this week included:

-- When the bishop announces to a Hispanic ward that church will begin at 8 am for the rest of the year. (Bwah-ha-ha! We were laughing so loud, and we still couldn't hear ourselves over the uproar! At least next week is the primary program, so we'll see just how true the church is next week. Aka if anyone shows up.) 
-- When I went on exchanges with our English Sister training Leaders and got to teach a lesson in English. Guess what! I wouldn't be all that bad of a missionary if I could speak the language. (I'd also probably get pretty bored pretty fast. Spanish is a good challenge)
--When I got to talk to Elder Fox (from the MTC) at service on Friday. It was good to see an "old friend" again. I hope the other 2 are doing well.

Aaaaaaand, that's all I remember. Ok, I'll explain the header now.
So I've been having some problems with syncing my tablet, and until Wed didn't have access to LDS tools. I couldn't see who is in the ward. So many times I shouted "Sync me!" And I thought of Percy every time. Yep. Also, I am now a professional box popper, head-nodder, and car-backer. Sometimes I feel bad when people think I understand them because I keep nodding my head, but.... no hablo, entonces.....

Ok, well. I'm out of words. So photo time.

Exchanges! I was with sister Sorensen (who I'm not actually related to :[ ) the one in the blue.

My contacts rebelled so I taught the weekly math lesson blind.

Más servicio!! That place is HUGE!

Not actually sure what thats actually called, but it was potatoes in a spicy sauce with lettuce. Food from Peru. Simple but good.

We went fishing. You would dip the pole in and within 5 sec, you could catch a fish. It was crazy. I caught about 6 before passing the pole along. (3 were with a Spider-Man pole Elder McCourt bought for $3 at Wal-Mart. That was way fun!)

Ok, pues, I can't remember anything else from this week, (Besides the 2 days in a row we got 2 dinners. The Tongue was happy, but everything else was crying.) So I'll sign-out here. If you have any questions, please let me know and I'll forget to address them for next time. Thanks BYYEEEEE!

Is it a sin to have a Sister pluck an elder's eyebrows?

Oh those elders. We get at least 1 spam/random call a week from them. Pictures of said eyebrow plucking attached. This week was ... good. *shrug* I super love when we get to talk to people and teach them, which happens probably more than we deserve, but as a trainee, there's a lot of time just sitting around studying. For example, on Saturday, we were up and studying at 8:30, and didn't stop studying until 5. I mean, I love learning and all that, but there's only so much I can learn about serving others when I have to stay inside for 5 hours (at least) every day. But it's ok. [Partly because I can't do anything about it, so I might as well learn to love it. }:" That's my loving it face, by the way.] In the talk The Principle of Work, he says “Let us realize that the privilege to work is a gift, that power to work is a blessing, that love of work is success.” So hard work it is!

This week we had Noche de Hispanidad. That was way fun! The Spanish people in this area have roots from all over, so on Saturday everyone came to celebrate and represent their country of origin. We had Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and a lot from Venezuela. Again, it was so much fun! Pulling up to the building, Hna. Bond warned me that Hispanic Mormon-standard time is way worse than just normal Mormon-standard time. We had to be there an hour early at 6 to set up the American table, she told me to expect others to start showing up at 7:15 to prep. Her jaw dropped when we walked in the cultural hall to find all the booths set up with everyone there and in costume. Goes to show that when there's a party, the Latinos don't dilly dally. (But church did start 10 min. Late on Sunday due to no one being there. Too much partying, I guess.)

We had some good lessons this week too. On Monday we had a good lesson with a family God has prepared. The mom was so excited to watch The Restoration hour-long movie even though it was (at least) 8:30 on a school night. Also, we arrived early to help her cute kids with math. It was crazy! The math assignment was in English, so I'd figure out what it was saying then tell Hna. Bond what to say in Spanish, then the daughter would listen in Spanish and translate it into French for her younger brother. 0.o This amazing young woman was thinking French, speaking Spanish, and writing English. She's amazing.

Oh yeah. So remember last time where I told y'all (or at least Someone) that I probably wouldn't ever be a yellow-shirted angel, well that turned out to be a lie. On Friday, we went and helped Feeding Children Everywhere make care packages for Puerto Rico. We started at 10 and left at 2:30, and in that time, we made 120,000 packages. It was so fun! I'm now a professional box-popper, and I've got the paper cuts to prove it.

Ok, pues, I gotta go, but have a great week, those of you who've made it this far, and while you're at it, have some more, commas, because, of course, commas are the best, and this sentence got way, way, Way off topic.

Gracias!
Hermana Baer

Helping Hands come in bulk. (Everyone got excited when the main group walked in.)

A "panorama" of Noche de Hispanidad

The American booth, which was already set up when we arrived.

The food offered at the US table was rolls, bought in bulk. Yeah. Murica.

This isn't the language they taught me in the CCM

Mostly because it's English. And, yes, I did steal that directly from Noelle's letter. Creativity has been lost. Anyways, Elder Isaacson led us to the promised land! We didn't even get delayed or die or anything! We had dinner with the Clarks, and met all of the elders and sisters who also arrived in Orlando that day from Provo. (Is it a sin to say I'm grateful I got to go to Mexico rather than Provo? Because.........we 5 from District 7b of Mexico were super close and had somehow managed to maintain our sense of humor. Or maybe we just went to the MTC 2x as long as everyone else there and so are no longer quite as shiny... yo no sé.)

Anyways, Orlando is good. I think I've just experienced exactly what Noelle will experience when she comes back to the states: everything in Orlando is HUGE. To make the jump from the slums of Mexico to 10 min. (thanks to traffic) away from to Sea World was a little boggling. The houses are huge, and our car (2016 Corolla) is currently the worst one on the block. Mi compañera and I sleep in the same room, but she has her own closet and her own bathroom. The closet is the same size as a bathroom and the bathroom is closer to the size of my room back home! What do they think I'm doing in there, practicing the shot-put?!?

Not only are the houses, intersections, and cars big, but so is our area. Because we're the Spanish sisters, we cover an area about the size of 2.5 of the English missionaries. That means, we have a car. ALL the time. Which means no biking. 😕

Hermana Bond and I are companions; she's 2nd of 7 kids and from Eagle Mountain, Utah. She reminds me a lot of Brielle Nichols or Emme Swink. She's got 2 transfers left before she goes home, so, to throw in some mission lingo, I'm going to kill my trunky mother just in time for Christmas. O.o Missionaries are weird... Fun story! Day 1: I haven't even made my bed yet. We go out to a member's for dinner. She's super sweet and strong in the Gospel, but her husband refuses to listen to the missionaries. Anyway, due to bad traffic, she made it to her home about 10 min. Before we did. She kept apologizing for how bad the food was, and Hermana Bond kept telling her it was delicious. After about the 3rd or 4th time of this, our cute sister turns to Hermana Bond and says "God is watching you. He knows you're lying!" Bwah-ha-ha-ha!! Straight up got told off! That was a really good first day. Anyways, there's a lot of English everywhere, so it's making it hard to learn Spanish. But I was also expecting more of a Spanish plunge like Noelle got, so... apparently Orlando doesn't believe in grindstones or getting your nose anywhere close to such a filthy mess. I just want to tell you everything that happened, like when we taught the first lesson on the restoration on my first day to the most perfect family, or when we had dinner with a sister who had just had a divorce and her ex-husband (who is still in her ward) already has a new girlfriend, or when we drove an hour on Saturday to go to the baptism of a family Hermana Bond taught her first week, or just exactly what happens when all the missionaries have spent over 10 hours at a church in 2 days for General Conference. (Things get a little trippy.) But I'm not going to. So you'll have to wonder if I did actually see conference (yes) and if it was in Spanish (no) or if I have any idea what's going on (jury's still out on that one).

My spiritual insight of the week(s) all started in 2 Nephi 13:10. At judgment day, we'll all be eating the fruits of our labors, which is why it's so important to plant raspberries and raise your children well. Then suddenly I realized that all through-out the Book of Mormon, plants and seeds are used to symbolize the children of God: vineyards, seeds of man, branches of Israel; Todo! In the scriptures, how often are we likened unto anything that's not a plant? Only when souls get damned and thus can't progress any more are they likened unto animals or rocks or something that wouldn't just continue to grow. We, on the other hand, are always given the potential for more, even in parables. Woah. Mand bl-oan! (Mah taul blew away)

Then, in Jacob 6:3, it says "And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard; and how cursed are they who shall be cast out into their own place! And the world shall be burned with fire." So if we are trees laboring in His vineyard, does that make us Ents? And if we're Ents, who're the ent-wives??? I'm going to have to keep pondering this...

Ok, sorry for the epic that's not all that epic. Be sure to break that all up with some snacks, if you've got any left over from Conference. (Missed the crepes this year! Maybe next time I'll figure that all out)

Ok, thanks for all the pictures! Have fun sifting through mine!

Hermana Baer

 Orlando temple way in the distance

 

Orlando Temple at night

Lawn ornaments. No, wait! They're real flamingos!

Sunday dinner: Hermanas Bond and Baer  [Thanks to a very kind member for sending these photos!]

First P-day in Orlando