Hermana Baer: Florida Orlando Mission: 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