Email #1:
(Rebekah): ¡Hola de México!
(Mom's reply): I hope you are still typing! I need more than an hola!!!!
Email #2....45 min later! (Mom was freaking out this whole time thinking she wasn't gonna get an email this week)
(Rebekah): Oops... sorry. Didnt mean to send that yet.
Sorry your week has been kinda boring not really a whole lot has happened here either except for Sunday (I´ll get to that later). As to your questions; I was feeling a little inadequate and like everyone else is improving more than me. I felt like everyone else is here - and I was here_ both spiritually and in the language. I was questioning if I was ready to be there. At the moment, I didn´t know it was a panic attack, but looking back I know it was. The only thing I remember was trying to recite James 1:5 and not being able to do it then it just got all down hill from there. Everything before that was a blur. In the blessing last Monday, the main thing I remember was he kept saying "Heavenly Father is grateful for you at this time" that phrase was repeated like 5 times and that "the people of Washington are being prepared for you and they need you" the Hermanas took notes about what was being said but I left it in the casa. Those were just the main things that stood out because they were repeated like 5 times.
Tell the Grandparents I said thank you!
And thanks for the doughnuts!! They were by far the highlight of the week and probably the best thing I have ate in a month! (has it really been a month?)
Not really a whole lot has happened this week. On Wednesday I started being the senior companion. The first half was the companion with the last name closest the A then the second half it switched. On Thursday we started TRC. Not exactly sure what it stands for but its when we teach actual people. Up until this point, it has only been teachers (so my baptism commitment is fake :( that or Im just such an awesome missionary that he already got baptized, went on a mission, and got married in the temple). They are all volunteers. They could be members, less active, or actual investigators off the street. Pretty sure ours was a member. The people before us went way over so we only had 10 minutes with her. We didn´t really have enough time to do a lesson so we just decided to introduce ourselves, get to know her, establish expectations, then answer any questions she had. Her first question was "What happens after we die?" like we can answer that in 5 minutes! I tried to as best as I could. Then I asked her if she was understanding... she said "un poco" so in other words... no. She was like the nicest lady ever though. She was super smiley and giggley the entire time. We didn´t go over how to pray but we asked her to pray anyways. She gave a super long, in-depth, and elaborate prayer so ya... pretty sure she´s a member. Good thing too cause apparently, we weren´t making sense. Afterwards, she was filling out our "review card" and needed to borrow Hma. Bittle´s pen so we had to wait. Apparently, I was messing with my fingers because out of nowhere Hma. Bittle and I heard a *crack* and I look down at my fingers... no bueno (no, I did not break them. Just cracked them). Afterwards, we were talking to Hmo. Tapía (the teacher I was with when I had my little episode last week) and ya... he was making fun of me because of messing with my fingers.
On Friday, we got the review card back... but it was all in Spanish... I understood most of it but not enough to make out her words exactly. So I asked Hmo. Soto (my morning teacher) to translate. It said " I could feel the love they have and I would be willing to listen to more. I can feel the love they have for me and the Gospel. They make me want to be more loving towards other people." So I´m like "...so in other words... we sucked and they were just being nice?" then he said no. Hmo. Soto is one of our "investigators" and he said he can feel the love we have. He said a pair of elders asked him to be baptized and he said no because he doesn´t feel like they loved him or the Gospel like we do but he said yes to us because he can feel the love we have. He said he can feel the Spirit when we teach him and he looks forward to every time we teach him and that we are on the right path. So thats good! Later that day, it somehow came up that I dont sleep with a pillow. So Hmo. Soto called me weird... but then later he said I have swag? Thats the first time that I have been ever told I have swag but what ever! He got married a couple weeks ago and he was telling us that it is part of their culture to dance for the wife at the wedding. We asked him if he danced for her and he said "yes. I danced like a stripper for my wife at our wedding" not sure if he actually knew what he just said but it was the funniest thing ever!
Later that night, we had an interview with the trainer sisters and the one I was with somehow convinced us to do a "solo español day" which is when you only speak spanish... all day long... without any english. They convinced the other Hmas to do the same so on Saturday, I only spoke Spanish... it was really hard. Hma. Bittle pretty much just gave up after lunch. She didn´t care if she spoke English. I was getting frusterated. We had a sticker on our name tags that said "solo español" and she was speaking english. I tried to remind her to speak spanish or I would try to help her by telling her how to say it, but she just didn´t care. I´m trying to brush it off. If she doesn´t want to take my advice or help, thats her fault.
Sunday... no bueno... muy malo. Hma. Bittle woke up at mid night with major chills, couldn´t get warm, teeth chattering, and couldnt go back to sleep. At 2 in the morning, we all woke up to her violent hurling. She puked 2 other times during that night. The first things that come out of her mouth were (How am I suppose to take the sacrament? I need a blessing!" we told her she had to wait till the Elders were up. So at 6:40, Hmas Allison and Moody went to the Elders´ casa to ask them to give her a blessing. But they arent allowed in our casa so we did it on the patio. After that, we took her to the enfermaria to be told that she couldnt leave. So I have been stuck in the casa for the past couple of days. My branch president and district leaders came over to give us the sacrament though so thats good! She hasnt barffed since Sunday but she is still super weak. Whenever she eats something, her stomach feels weird. She has been sleeping pretty much since Sunday with an occasional awakening to have diaherria. So I have been stuck in the casa. I have been doing a lot of studying, sleeping, and writing random letters. She was able to get out today though, which is good.
So ya, sorry for the boring email. Not a whole lot has happened! Love you tons!
-Hermana Rebekah Williams
Email #3:
It was an accident haha sorry. Apparently, I am a really weird sleeper. According to Hma. Bittle, on Sunday night while she couldn´t sleep, I was singing "Nearer my God to Thee" in my sleep... and you know the weird noises I make at home? According to the other Hmas, I make those noises too in my sleep. And I wake up a lot in the morning with my pillow on the ground a couple feet away from my bed. Oops..
The other day, we were talking about what we would be doing if we were still at home. They were mostly saying work or school or something like that then they said "and Hma. Williams would be cuddling with her mommy on the couch watching a Disney movie!!" sad... but true. I have been having like Disney withdrawls this week! You should put some songs on my iPod :).
Living with girls is getting better... but still hard. they talk about their boyfriends a lot. Oh well... better get used to it. Love and miss you tons!!
-Hma. Rebekah Williams
Thumbs up!
(notes: I updated the last couple weeks with emails to daddy. More insight into this girl's adventure!)
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