In the mission field!

Good bye to the Mission Training Center!

Hola! I AM IN MY FIRST AREA, EVERYONE!

Last monday night we packed our bags until 1:30 in the morning and then woke up at 5:30 to head off to our missions! It was bittersweet saying goodbye to everyone in the CCM because we all got so close to each other (spending 16 hours a day, every single day for 6 weeks with people will make you pretty tight...). Presidente Corbitt picked us up and we took a short drive to the mission office where we had interviews. I expressed my concern with not knowing very much spanish. He told me my spanish was good (If he can lie, I think he was...) and that I will have it down by Christmas. hahahahaha i sure hope so! This week has been CRAZY with spanish. Dominicans don't speak spanish. They speak Dominican. SUPER fast and they shorten everything (just like I was afraid of). 

Hermanas Corbitt,  Lawrence,  Stewart, and President Corbitt

I got my new companion! Her name is Hermana Stewart. She lives california but her mom is from Honduras, so she speaks spanish perfectly. She has been out for 5 months. The area we live in is called Mendosa. It is in the city. (i am in the same zone as Hna. Jones! So i get to see her every thursday!) Hna Stewart and I are white-washing it! We feel a little overwhelmed because of that fact, but we have been doing well and have quite a few people who have accepted the Baptismal invitation! I am praying that they follow through with it. We live on the fourth floor of an apartment building (the stairs are killer, especially with a couple trips with groceries) I guess that it is a nice

apartment! We live with two other hermanas. (i put a picture attatched of our view from our balcony) We have warm water, but we don't really have a shower! We have a bathtub and then we fill up a bucket with water and pour it over ourselves to shower! It's not really as bad as you might think. There is no AC (nowhere has AC really...) so we always have fans going because it is a bajillion degrees. I think that it is worse because we're on the fourth floor! 

Church was interesting. I didn't understand like....anything. haha I love this ward, though! We went to a relief society party with an investigator and THEY ARE CRAZY! I love these people's enthusiasm! We have already eaten with members twice (such good cooks!). The food is a lot of rice and beans! A couple things I ate this week:

1. Tostada: meat (i don't know what kind. I have learned not to ask), cheese, mayo, ketchup in bread and then toasted.

2.Yaroa: Chicken, nacho cheese, ketchup and mayo and another kind of cheese melted on top of french fries (Pictured)

3. Chinola Juice: It is super good. I don't even know how to describe it (also pictured with the yaroa)

4. Orange peels: that are kind of like they're pickled but with sugar. Its weird. Like i was eating an orange peel. weird.

I eat fruit every day! There's always people pushing fruit carts around the streets for super cheap. It's awesome! I'm devistated, though because I guess mango season just ended so no one is selling mangos!! AHHH! 

Aye mi madre! (an expresson used A TON) If I had a dollar for every time we got cat-called in the streets while walking around..I would have to open my own bank to hold all the money. I''ve already had 3 marriage proposals. The men stare at us and yell at us. It's kind of funny, but by the end of the day it's kind of like...really? When they yell at us we just invite them to church, though.

I started the Book of Mormon over this week, so i was reading in 1 Nephi. Laman and Lemuel needed a lot of humbling. But so do we all. It was an eye opener to me!

Ah, It's awesome. I love you all! 

Love, Hermana Lawrence