With Her. B

July 31

Well I'm on here early because my companion has to go to Barcelona to pick up her residency card and she leaves at 6 so I'm going to be staying and working with the Hermanas in Ghandia tonight and tomorrow. It's gonna be fun-one of them is in her training and literally got here last week so I'm pumped. But anyways that's why I have to be on so early.

Well. Let's see. So here's the scoop. My companion has been sick with different things every day ALL WEEK so guess how much work we've done? Literally basically nothing. We've been in piso literally all week. And we have nothing. No people. Not a single one. We did weekly planning on Thursday (that's where we go through our new investigators, our other investigators, and our progressing investigators and figure out what exactly each person needs in order to progress towards baptism) and it literally took us probably 20 minutes and all she did was explain the members. Because there is not a single person that we're teaching. I have legit just walked into nothing. So obviously we've gotta find! Which is great I LOVE finding. Honestly truly contacting is one of my absolute favorite things that we do. Except we've been in piso all week not doing missionary work. I hate it. We turned in our numbers yesterday and we found 2 news (one who can't meet till Sunday and the other who will be out of town for the next 3 weeks) and that's it. 

Hermana Bateman is actually really great. We get along marvelously. I was worried, since everything I had heard about her sounded like what Hermana McConkie was like, but they aren't alike at all. They are both described as being kind of harsh and blunt, but Hermana Mcconkie's harsh and blunt is straight up mean and Hermana Bateman's harsh and blunt is just her being sarcastic and joking. Which I think is hilarious. So I'm very grateful haha. I never realized how hard it was with Hermana McConkie until now that I actually have a normal person I'm like "oh wow this is so great!" I feel the difference. I'm less stressed, I'm happier, we can have fun, it's good. 

So the thing with Hermana Bateman though is that she's basically over it. She's given up on finding. She told me it's impossible and that she's used to turning in 0's as numbers because no one's out to contact and blah blah blah. Which isn't true there's tons of people everywhere. She just doesn't like contacting or something. In the times that we have been out on the streets, I've contacted every single person except 2. We just walk and I stop literally every single person who we pass by. If they pass on her side, I'll wait to see if she'll contact them, and then when she doesn't I stop them. I don't mind, because she at least helps during the contact, but it does make it more difficult. And she's SO hard to get out of piso. She always wants to sleep and she takes forever to get out. I have to PULL her. And when we're on the streets she'll just walk into stores without saying anything and start looking around. So, again, I have to pull her out and help her refocus. It's tough. Thankfully she's not mean about it, she puts up with it, it's just hard that I have to be the only one who cares about missionary work over here. 

She has a tricky life backstory. Her mom died 2 years ago, but she (her mom) was a drug addict so really her mom was out of her life 8 years before she died. Her dad remarried a year ago and now there are 12 children in her family. She had depression sophomore and junior year of her life and tried to commit suicide. Her older sister is inactive in the church and her younger brother who is 14 years old left home because he's having a hard time as well. So she's got a tricky life. 

So there ya have it. That's basically my situation over here. And I can't tell Hermana Sperry or our district leader because when they call to do our "how are you all doing what's your goals" talk, of course I'm talking on the phone in the same apartment that she's in. So I can't just be like "we've been in piso all day and never get to do work and we have nothing." It's rough. 

Por lo menos, the members are great. We ate with members every single day this last week. I haven't spent more than 10 euros on food here just cause we never have to cook for ourselves. Except breakfast. So that's a wonderful thing I love that. 

 Our piso is SUPER nice and beautiful. I love it. So that's fun as well.

Our district is great. We have 4 elders and 4 hermanas in our district and all 4 of the elders are latinos. 3 Mexicans and 1 Guatemalan. 2 of the mexicans were raised in the states, but they still speak spanish and everything. And then us 4 hermanas are all americans. It's good. 

Oh also before I forget, where's Jakob Perez on his mission? We have TONS of people from Colombia here so it'd be fun to tell them I have a friend in their country.

So yeah that's all I got. Life is good. :))) So happy to hear from you cute people!!!!!! I love you!!!!!!