Letter #4

Dear Mom,

I can´t wait until I can write to you completely in Spanish! I´m really close, lately things have just been clicking for our district, but I still only have 30 minutes to write to you and it takes too long to translate. I´ll work on a letter this week all in Spanish. Our writing time got moved to today because we were at the temple yesterday. I was really grateful to be able to do it in english-- last time it was in Spanish and I had a hard time. Like my district leader says, "I go to the temple to receive personal revelation, not practice Spanish." I look forward to being able to do it all in Spanish, no problem, though. 

I love it here, except for the fact that I´ve already been sick twice. I hope this whole getting sick every two weeks isn´t becoming a trend for my whole mission. Yes Mom, I´ve been eating well and drinking lot´s of water, and going to bed on time and taking my vitamins every day, but this morning I woke up with another horrible cough. It´s probably the fact that there are about 150 people living in the same 3 floors, sharing bathrooms and eating areas.

I love hearing about home. I pray for you a lot and I´m glad to hear you´re doing well. How are Desiree and Christopher? Lisa? Grandma and Grandpa? I´d email, but I don´t have any addresses.

I am memorizing the 1st Vision now, as well as the missionary purpose. What else?

I'll tell you about Presidente Openshaw. I have never met anyone more knowledgeable about the scriptures than the CCM presidente. We have a devotional with him about every three days (at least) and he always starts it with, "Does anybody have any questions?" When we ask, the next step is always, "That´s an excellent question. Let's turn to (scripture reference) to find out." He seems to have mastered the skill of knowing and applying any and all scriptures. I want to be like that. In my patriarchal blessing, I am counseled to be knowledgeable about the Savior and the scriptures, for in them holds the key on a daily basis of how I can obtain the gifts of the spirit-- and I will tell you that learning a language is definitely going to be a gift of the spirit for me. I prayed about this in the temple yesterday, asking what I needed to do to obtain this gift. The Lord said that the only available offering I have is my heart on the altar. I then prayed to know what this meant, and the Spirit taught me that I need to open up "that [my] heart may be like unto the house of Emma-- a refuge for those who have nowhere else to go." Temples are awesome.

I´m sending pictures. Soon.

I love you. I´m sorry my emails are always so scattered and random. But I love you.

Always,

Hermana Phillips