It’s a hot, hot, hot world- April 26, 2010

Holy cow, it is so hot down here in Espiga (yeah, its spelled with an e...I found that out this week)! I never know the temperature but I know that it’s really hot! So, for the past month or so I’ve been having some trouble with my ankle hurting, so I talked to the mission nurse and we tried a few things like icing it and ibuprofen, and then we checked to see if I had gout..I didn´t. Now I’m on some antibiotics that seem to be helping out, so it seems to have been some weird kind of infection. But, as I said, it’s been feeling better the past few days. On Wednesday the mission nurse told me to take a day of rest for my ankle, so that was boring. We did some service by cleaning our chapel. It’s huge, or at least the normal size of an American chapel, which, down here, is huge. Oh, our Saturday was fantastic. We had a wedding and after the wedding the bride was baptized. Next week the groom is getting baptized too, as well as another investigator we´ve been teaching, so the people here in Espiga are really prepared for the gospel!

Yesterday I went on divisions/splits with some of the members in the Ward. One is preparing for her mission and she´s going to be a wonderful missionary. We visited some of the inactive members down here, which are a lot. Hna. Arroyo went with one of the other Hnas. in our ward who´s also preparing for a mission to another part of our area and found some more of the inactive members. So, as you can see, the work down here is really moving and keeping us busy with appointments, which makes it really hard to find time to contact people and knock doors, but we´ve got investigators, which is good. I love you all so much. How’s life in the United States?
Love,
Brea

Aspiga…Dos April 19, 2010

Hermana Breanna's new haircut

Apparently I can never spell the name of my area right on the first try, but I’m in Aspiga II (hey I was only one letter off this time). Oh padres, thanks for the Appreciation day wishes. (We celebrate half-birthdays and call them Appreciation Days.- Padre) When I read them at first, I had to stop and figure out what month it is and realize that today is my appreciation day.

This week has been really good. We’ve had to get to know the area....again. It seems like when I’m feeling like I’m getting familiar with an area, I get moved to a new one, crazy sauce. The people here are so nice and so humble. We’ve had a jam- packed schedule and we just got here. Also, one of the investigators we inherited is ready for baptism this next Saturday! After her wedding of course. And one of the people we found this week has a date for baptism for the first of May! God has for sure prepared the people of San Vicente for the gospel. In reality all we’ve been doing this week is finding inactive members, finding out where our boundaries are and knocking doors. The first night here there was a scorpion in our bathroom and Hna Arroyo smashed it with her shoe, and then at a member’s house there was a bat that flew in. The mom was all cool about it but the daughter was freaking out, like me. Oh, yesterday Hna. Arroyo y yo completed 5 months in the mission! Hurray! haha, Hna Arroyo entered the MTC the same day that I did, and came to El Sal one change before me. She’s from Guatemala, is 25, and is super nice!

You remember the area in El Salvador where there was the flood/mudslide thing last October/November, well that is in my area. The people are living in tents in this one part of our area.

Oh my goodness Andra, you have a Facebook. Crazy sauce! If Mel wants to she can hack my Facebook and add her (if she remembers the password), or she can wait until I get home, like everyone else. Oh poor Rhonda the Honda (Melanie's car). She was a good car, but part of the plan of happiness is that we must all die. It’s a fact of life.

Thank you for all of your love and prayers. I pray for you all every day and miss you lots and lots. Have fun and remember that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true!

Love,
Brea

Three for Three- April 12, 2010

Hermanas Torres and Wells in a Mexican Resturant

Oh my goodness, this day has been on crack! But not really.

Let's start with earlier this week, though. After writing to you all we spent some time with one of the members from Ayutuxt because she´d been missing us really bad and President said it was alright.

Then, on Tuesday, we went to an inactive member's house and she was getting ready to cook some crab, which meant making sure they were dead and cleaning them.  So we helped her out with that and then she let us eat some and they´re sooo good.

Wednesday we hung out with our district leaders, had a run-in with the police, ate some Mexican food. HAHA. One of the police officers here is our district leader´s brother and so they saw each other and then gave Hna. Torres y yo a ride to go eat. We most definitely got some pictures with the El Salvadorian police.

Thursday was our last district meeting together, so it was kind of crazy and fun. The Elders started dancing and it was funny as all get out.

Friday we were supposed to go to the distribution center with our recent convert but he couldn´t show up, so we bought his Bible for him.

Saturday was completely nerve wrecking because at 10 p.m. we were told if we had changes (transfers) or not, and I did! But they wouldn´t tell me where.

Sunday was crazy, filled with packing, eating at people's houses, and church, where we had a bunch of investigators.

TODAY! We had to be at the church at 6 a.m., so we had to wake up at 4:30, but the coaster (the bus) didn´t get there until 7. a.m.  I´m now in my third area in three months, and yes, we were blinded again. I´m here in Aspiya II, San Vicente with Hna. Arroyo, and she was in Cuscatalan at the same time that I was, so I kind of know her. Oh, also I got a package from Dad today, as well as a manila envelope.  I´ve still yet to open them. Hmm, I´m not sure what else to say.

I love you all sooooooooooo much!
love, brea

Easter and General Confererence- April 5, 2010

Oh my goodness, this week has been completely crazy!

So, on Tuesday we moved apartments because our landlady thought that it was alright for her to enter the apartment whenever she wanted to and that's not alright, so we moved. We are now one building over and only on the 3rd floor now. Apparently here, the individual apartments are owned by different people.

This week was really hard for missionary work because every one is on holiday this week.  That means most people are on vacation and there's, like, no one in the streets. On Thursday and Friday there were processions, or Catholic parades for Easter. They had this glass casket kinda thing with a Jesus figure inside. Hna. Torres seemed kinda offended by the whole thing, but I kind of thought it was beautiful how they actually worshiped Christ at this time of the year instead of a rabbit.

Street painting for the Easter Procession (picture from Brea)

As most of you know this weekend was GENERAL CONFERENCE and it was awesome. Yes I did get to listen to it in English, in a side room with four other American missionaries. It was fantastic, but we always were like, "what's going on?" when we left the room and there was Spanish again. The Elders were totally funny to sit with for 8 hours--they´re totally crazy! We got little desks to use to write on and we felt all school-like and just had to take some pictures. Anyway, I absolutely love, love, loved Elder Holland´s talk. He´s so good at giving machete talks. When I heard Elder Anderson (of the Seventy) talk about the saints leaving Navuoo it reminded me about when we visited and walked down the Trail of Tears and how I cried the whole way...but that was because I had just gotten my fingers smashed in a car door.

Missionaries listening attentively to General Conference

When we got home from the Sunday sessions there was an awesome thunder storm. I absolutely love thunder storms. They always remind me of the time we all sat by the sliding glass door with the lights off and watched the storm and then we laid in the living room and listened to Bill´s thunderstorms CD. Oh gosh good time.

Anyway, that's pretty much how my week was. Today we had a pinata shaped like Barney that we smashed to pieces. Any who.
I love you all lots!
LOVE, Brea

Missing the modern conveniences- March 29, 2010

Women in El Salvador washing clothes in the river.

Oh my amazing family! You all really are the best family that I´ve ever had.

As the subject would imply, I miss washers and dryers like no other. We have to wash our own garments and that is in a stone sink and it takes for ever, but at least it makes it so my forearms are getting strong.

This week has been really chill, with not very much going on. We´ve gone with our DL´s a few times to help them with one of their investigators who doesn´t want to talk with them so much, but is alright with talking to the sister missionaries. We visited them twice and are going to stop by again this week and make some cookies with them. On Saturday we helped out with a YM/YW´s activity and that was a lot of fun. Other than that, we talk to people in the street, make appointments and then find out that they are phony addresses and such. Oh well, all in a week´s work.

Oh, just so you know, Mom, I always get your emails, the week that you thought I didn´t get your email I did. Sorry that my letter sounded like I didn´t.

This week is a week of vacation for pretty much everyone in El Sal because of Easter...I didn´t know that that was this week. Haha. Anyway, I´ll write you all again next week. I love you all so very much.

Love, Brea