I Am a Child of My Heavenly Father and Apparently My Companion Too (04/11/2022)

Well, my whole email just deleted itself. 

Short and sweet, I guess.

We went and got food on Tuesday, and a dude tried getting Hermana Hampton's number. She told him she doesn't have one. He then asked about her hija. That hija is me. I guess I am her child now! 

We shared a scripture about prayer to this lady, and I said something along the lines of prayer being super important and a blessing. She then looked at my comp and said I have awful Spanish and asked if I was learning. Nice.

Then the house elders came over the day after, and they said I had good Spanish. One of them is lying, and I don't want to think about who is correct lol.

We asked a guy to be baptized, and he said yes. He doesn't have a lot of commitment in him lol. But he said he would pray about it. I don't think he did, but he asked for our contact info for after the mission. yay

We also have had member meals. And non member meals. Every time we go to a lady's house, I fear. I do not wish to be fed. Juice is okay most of the time haha, but I am scared of the food hahah.

Solos and Roof Dogs (04/04/2022)

This week started with rain. Last week we had no rain for DAYS. Then Monday rolled around, and during our ride home the streets were flooded. It was crazy. Then it rained even more on Tuesday, and some in the morning on Wednesday. 

We also got to do service this week! I can't remember what day, but I know that it was this week haha. We went to a school and helped correct English pronunciation in songs. We thought that it was going to be a class of some elementary schoolers. It was not. They were all solo songs for a festival coming up. It felt like we were judges on The Voice. 

Hermana Hampton got another marriage proposal this week. I am proud to say I don't have one yet. 

General Conference was also super good! For the first two parts on Saturday we were able to watch it at a member's house! She is actually starting CCM today! She is great and comes with us somedays. Bummer part though was that it was all in Spanish. One day I will understand what people are saying. This was not the time haha. 

Also odd but common-ish: you will see dogs on rooftops here. They tend to bark a lot at you, but they are fun to see. I do worry one day they will hop off the roof to us.

I hope all is well for all of you! I love you all!

Hermana Locey

Leaving the Mission Boundaries. Twice. (03/28/2022)

This week has been crazy because we went to the capital on Tuesday for my residency. It was a three-hour car ride. We then went back home only to go back to the capital for the temple on Wednesday! So I went to Santo Domingo twice this week. They were only bus rides! BUT some of the hermanas here made us a piña colada, and it was sooooo good. If you want to know, blend up ice, creme of coconut, a pineapple, and a banana. It's so good hahah.

We are kinda very short on time because we went to another elders' church for a zone meeting. Not a meeting but a meet up. But they have one computer, and it doesn't really work. BUT all is fine. We have used two different elders' phones today. I love our elders haha. 

Our power also went out, so I showered with a green lantern for light haha. We felt like we were in The Great Gatsby. All has been pretty good though!

All is well! My Spanish is also like maybe improving!!! I have been able to understand more after we went to Santo Domingo because I was around so many Dominicans haha.

Apparently they've taken to finding "treasures" in the streets. This is one of the treasures they found. She did mention before that their standard of entertainment is set very low. :)

Drunk Proposal (03/21/2022)

Highlight from Saturday: A dude drunk out of his mind decided that he wanted to marry Hermana Hampton. It was four in the afternoon. He tried giving us wine, and I told him that it was bad for us lol. I then told him we had boyfriends, and I was planning on saying Jesus Christ. Great idea from me. 

We also got cake! The cake here is lowkey garbage, but we love it because it's sweet! Sugar! Love! All of it is great. 

Tuesday we had Zone Conference, and we got to play Tic Tac Toe with copies of El Libro de Mormon and Himnos. We all thought it was the most amazing thing. We have no standard of fun on the mission haha. We think everything is fun!

We also bought a cake from the store! It was nasty. But I would buy it again haha. We scraped off the frosting and put cocoa in it and mixed it together and put it back on the cake. It then tasted so much better haha. 

We still have so many cockroaches if you wanted to know. They are in our oven... we are not happy... tears... But! Odd habit I am now in is to steal plastic spoons from places! Not really steal, but I don't throw them away. I took one from the Relief Society activity we had. I took it in my purse lol.

We also asked a guy to be baptized, and he said yes! I hope all goes well! We are so excited for him! 

Mucho Amor!!

Hermana Locey

They made cookies. They had to flip them over like pancakes halfway through the baking time because their oven is propane and heats only the bottom.

They don't have hot water in their apartment. As a special treat, they heated water on the stove (which they are asked not to do because propane is expensive and their propane tank has a leak so they need their tank filled frequently), and washed their hair over the washing machine. She was SO happy!

Park Buddies (03/14/2022)

This week has been a bit crazy! We had our hermana leader come and help us out, and now we are doing so many things differently! Very nice, but nuts! We have been teaching some people in English still because that's all they know, but it's a vibe. We taught one of our boys at a park and we had a plan, but then we didn't do any of it haha.

But when we were at the park, there was a guy sitting down and my comp went and talked with him. It was odd because we had someone else with us, but it worked out fine. After we sat down, the guy came up to us and said that he had prayed to God to give him confidence to go to his little training camp and we talked to him! And then he said that because of us he had the confidence to go! MY HEART! It was so crazy. Listen to that little voice when it whispers to you, friends! 

We also got cake for my two months as a missionary, and I was so happy. All I want to eat is cake and cream haha. We have no cream here. It's sad. 

Love you all! 

Hermana Bicho

I Got About 2/4 of These (03/07/2022)

Our lessons this week have been a bit nuts. One of our lessons was in English, Spanish, French, and Haitian Creole. I have English down, some Spanish, some French, and one word in Creole, so like added together 2? Or not enough haha. 

I forgot I didn't say anything about my new companion last week! Oops. She is also an American, and she's from Washington state. It's nice that we both aren't from Utah.

I literally can't remember what we did this week lol. It has rained a ton these past two days. I have been informed that this is the dry season, and it will only get hotter and more humid and rainy. Esta bien!

I had a lady come up to us this week and tell me that you can tell I'm beautiful because of my bug bites. My bites have been the size of quarters and fiery red, and then they turn a purple/black. Not pretty. She told me that you could tell though. Then she asked why I didn't put on bug spray haha. I do. Oh well.

Here are some fun pictures too!

They needed "house" shoes.

Remember When... (02/28/2022)

...I said that I wouldn't worry about the housing because they give the sisters the nicer houses? Well, here they don't do that lol. Our shower has lots of options! Cold, still cold, left cold, right cold, and more pressure cold! We are in the process of looking for a new house haha. 

We have taught a lot this week. I've jumped in head first, and I have no idea what's happening! On my first day of the MTC, people told me I'm not learning Spanish but Dominican. I thought it was a joke. It is not a joke. 

Because I am new, I have no idea what the rules are like here, but my first night here we were in an area and my comp said that we weren't supposed to be in this area at night. This has happened at least three more times. We also go places to talk with people, and in these areas she says that we aren't supposed to be here either because it's dangerous. So all is good. Nothing has happened yet! God looks out for us lol!!

Also, at the rate kids are telling me I look Japanese, I'm probably just going to be known as the Japanese sister. Why do they think I am Japanese? I have no idea. But it does keep happening. 

Remember that God loves you and to pray to him! And whenever you take a hot shower, remember that's a bendición!

Lots of love,

Hermana Locey

On Sunday, February 20, Bug, her companion, and a lone elder left the CCM around 7:30 pm to go to the airport for their 1 AM flight from Mexico City to Miami. They had a 7-hour layover in Miami before flying to Santiago, arriving late afternooon on the 21st. She said it's green and pretty there. She's serving in the Arroyo Hondo area of Santiago, and she says she's grateful it doesn't stink like big cities often do.