First Week - La Romana

The first week in the field went pretty well overall. I have a wonderful trainer and I am among some of the most kind and humble people in the world. Of course, as everything in life, the beginning can be challenging. There were a couple of moments when I felt like walking home - but luckily God put me on an island. J It's a bit overwhelming to see so many people who live very different lives than the life I have known.

My companion is the lovely Hermana Arce. She is from Spanish Fork. Her parents are Mexican so she was raised speaking Spanish. Our area is La Romana. Sister missionaries haven't been in this area for over fifteen years and now there are four of us (my companion and I and another companionship all live in the same apartment). The ward here is wonderful. They welcomed us so warmly and are so willing to help us and befriend us.

The bishop picked us up from the store and we piled into the back seat of his little car while his wife held all of their small children in the front seat. There wasn’t room for our groceries with the luggage he had in the trunk so he tied his luggage to the back of his trunk. Other ward members have been wonderful - going to lessons with us and helping us find our way around. A perk to being a Latter-day Saint is that you have someone looking out for you no matter where you are in the world.

My companion and I were asked to sing an Easter song for the musical number yesterday - just minutes before sacrament meeting started. Neither of us has any musical talent and I am convinced the song we ended up singing is the highest Soprano song in the hymnbook. We sounded really good – not.

Something interesting I learned this week is that other religions often pray out loud at the same time together. This caught me off guard when I was starting a lesson with a prayer and the whole family all started praying.

The people are wonderful and I am growing lots. I love you so, so much but I am happy to be here and want to work hard.

Con Amor,

Hermana Meg
 

Presidente Heriberto Hernandez