Semana 3

Hola everyone! This week went by crazy fast. I don´t have a lot of time, so I´ll try and squeeze everything in ;)

I realize I haven´t really talked a lot about the missionary work itself. The reason for that is I´m not entirely sure what´s happening half the time x3 I´m still trying to get used to everything. But I don't understand most of it ;)

We have about 25 investigators right now. I don´t even know half of them xD I feel like we have more Investigators, RCs, (recent converts) MA, (less active) and IA (inactive) then we can keep track of. Is that just me, is something wrong, or is that perfectly normal? There just aren´t enough hours in the day.

Most of the time we just walk past RC and MA and sing a hymn, read a scripture, and say a prayer. You know, to keep them going to church :) We also have lessons with our investigators, and we have lots with fechas (challenges to be baptized). It just seems that a lot of them are falling through, and that´s a little frustrating. But they have their agency, and they can choose for themselves. But man, they´re missing out :) 

We get a lot of references, so that´s how we find our new investigators mostly, but we also contact. We don´t really go door knocking (You don´t really knock on doors anyways...you stand at their gate and shout "Buenas!"), we just contact people in the street. We ask their name, if they have any family, and where they live, and tell them that we´re missionaries for the church, and invite them to attend church. Occassionally, we ask them if there´s a good time for us to come and teach them. But only if they seem interested. Most people aren´t, but some people definitely are.

 

We have a companionship goal of 12 baptisms a month, I think. Normally that´s the case, but we´ve been having a hard time lately. We have this couple, who were supposed to get baptized this past saturday, but we found out less than a week ago that they´re not married...so that didn´t happen. They´re still planning on getting baptized. But they just need to get married and go to church! Ay. We didn´t realize they weren´t married because they have a teenage son and she´s currently 7 months pregnant with twins. So that´s also causing problems, because she´s having a hard time getting to church and doing anything because of her health. But they´re tuanis! We´re going to baptize them for sure. 

I also got to teach English to a couple people this week. It´s harder than you think x3 English is loco.

Well that´s all I have time for. I´ll get pictures next week. I promise! I´m sorry I´ve been slacking. I love you all!

-- Hna Oliphant

Semana 2

This week wasn´t terribly exciting, unfortunately. Well, a little. We moved rooms. The place we live has two little rooms side by side, and we moved to the one next door, which is much prettier, and that bathroom´s a tiny bit bigger. So that´s a plus. And we have shelves and a spot for hangers. YES. That´s fantastic. And I don´t have any pictures of our old room, and I forgot my cord to show you all my pictures from this week :( Sad day. But next week! And my companion is awesome and has pictures that I will be sending ;) So I won´t leave you without anything again.
We also super cleaned our room for our room inspection/interview with the mission president. Those went well, and Hna Collado (the mission president's wife) said our casa was "¡Que linda! pero pequeña." Haha. I´ll take it.

We also were supposed to have three baptisms this week, but all of them fell through...ay. No bueno. But Hna Miza and I are working hard on our current investigators and on the baptisms that fell through to make sure they all get baptized :) Hna Miza loves her baptisms. But for a good reason. We´re not trying to get numbers up; we´re inviting children of God to change their lives for the better and come unto Him to receive all the blessings waiting for them. I love it. We actually placed our first baptismal fecha since I got here! That was a super neat experience, and I´m excited for him. He´s related to one of our recent converts who´s super strong in the church, so hopefully all goes well with him.

 

To answer questions:

I haven´t had to cook yet! We always have lunch and dinner citas. I eat cereal and granola bars for breakfast, so we´re good there x3 We also don´t have a stove anymore...so yeah. Shelves and a fridge is what we´ve got to work with. 

 

We have supermarkets where we can buy normal American food, but only on P-day. For the most part, we buy little snacks and water and drinks from pulperias during the day if we need to. There´s lots of street food. Lots and lots of street food. You can buy tortillas anywhere, pollo, carne. Platanos fritos. Oh my gosh fried plantains are the best. They were a little weird at first, but now I can´t get enough. Either cooked just so their soft inside and a little caramelized on the outside, or cut thin and fried like potato chips, they´re the BOMB. 

 

Money!
The main currency is Nicaraguan córdobas. About 27 of them is a dollar. So everything here is super cheap. Super cheap. A huge bottle of water is less than a dollar. And I got a razor here for like 30 cents. Some places actually do accept American dollars, but for the small household places like pulperias and street food, we only use córdobas. There are smaller forms of currency in coin form, but we never actually use them. I´m not sure why they exist. I´ll take pictures next week, but they have bill denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 córdobas, and then there are coins of 1 and 5 córdobas. There are ATMs in some places so occasionally we can go pull out money from our cards. And I always use currency. It´s just easier to pull out all of your money to avoid lots of fees, and then keep it on you or at the house. 

 

Our ward is a decent size. We have about 100 in attendance every week. Everyone shows up late, though x3 Oh dear. But everyone is super nice and super cool.

 

We have 10 companionships in our zone, and 5 companionships in our district. We don´t work with each other that much, but Hna Miza, as Sister Training Leader, definitely does. I´ve gone on exchanges already, and we have another two set up for this week. So we work with each other a decent amount, but not plenty. 

 

I´ll talk about the food some more. So yeah, gallo pinto. Gallo pinto, gallo pinto. I´m almost starting to get sick of it. But it´s good, so I can manage x3 We eat plantains a lot, and then ensalada, which is cabbage/lettuce, not sure which, carrots, tomatoes, and onions. I´m always grateful when they don´t put tomatoes and onions in x3 My missionary taste buds haven´t kicked in yet; I still can´t stand them. Lots of tortillas. Super thick, homemade tortillas. And they´re pretty good. Oh, we also had a cita with avocado. Yum. Me encanta. And we very very rarely drink water. It´s always juice, Coke, or the powder drink I talked about last week. I´m always grateful for water. This week we had lunch that was some kind of soup, and it was amazing. It had rice, chicken, potatoes, and some kind of spinach or lettuce, and it was a kind of red/orange oil sauce. Some kind of chili. It was fantastic, and I´m for sure going to get a recipe.

Selfies at the church waiting for a meeting

First day in the mission field

Hermana Miza and Sarah hanging out with a 14 year old member named Paola

Sarah killing spiders--"Don't judge me."

Hermanas with Yanoritt, the 4 year old daughter of a member of the bishopric in her "party dress"

Hermanas eating huge desert at Pizza Hut

Alright, that´s all for now. Thanks for the emails :) I love reading them. I hope you all have an awesome week! Les quiero muchisimo!

Love, 

Hna Oliphant

¡Primera Semana en Nicaragua!

Oh, where to begin? Nicaragua is crazy. Both in good and bad ways :) First of all I´m struggling with this Spanish keyboard...but that´s overcome-able ;)

So, Spanish...that´s been an adventure. My compañera, Hna Miza is from Guatemala, but she speaks a little English and understands me pretty well, so everything´s good there. I very seldom speak English, so my Spanish is mucho mejor aquí. My understanding went down the drain, though. My goodness. I don´t understand anything people tell me x3 very very barely. Teaching is...exciting. And hard. Honestly I just translate the scripture we´re sharing and listen carefully to what Hna Miza is saying so I have context when she looks at me (which is my cue to say my part). The Nicaraguan accent is very very hard to understand. It´s not that they speak quickly, it´s just the American of Spanish accents. They drop consonants, they don´t enunciate, etc. I´m getting better. But that´s honestly the hardest part of being here, is not being able to communicate. But Hna Miza seems to think my Spanish is really good, and other people keep telling me that...but I honestly don´t believe them x3 They´re probably comparing me to Hna Miza´s previous companion, who didn´t speak Spanish much, and didn´t speak very well, since this was her first area. But I´ve been told that my accent is really good, multiple times. I´ve been reassured that my Spanish and my accent is bueno...so I´m trying not to worry so much and rely more on the Spirit, because I won´t talk to people otherwise. That´s definitely been part of my grand adventure here. 

Food. The food is actually really good. I haven´t gone a single meal at someone´s house without rice and beans. They mix beans and rice together and call it gallo pinto. They eat it with everything :) But I love it. Most people give us Coke or Pepsi to drink, which is good. A couple people have put oatmeal (here it´s called avena mosh) in water or milk to flavor it and then give that to us...it´s interesting. There´s always stuff left at the bottom x3 People also set up pulperias, which are essentially like mini convenience stores you find at gas stations, except they´re a little smaller. You can buy drinks, water, snacks, and occasionally other things like toys. They´re everywhere, and people just buy homes and set up these little shops, and they´re awesome. If I ever need a bottle of water, there´s probably a pulperia nearby that I can buy one at :)

Speaking of homes. They´re kind of crazy here. No one really uses doors. At least here in Villa Flor. They have gates instead of doors, and a lot of homes have open roofs in some spots, so they´re never completely cut off from open air. It´s hard to explain. But also, some people actually have homes that look like tiny houses, and others live on dirt floors with sheets of tin and wood for walls and ceilings. The people here really are so poor. Not everyone, but some people definitely are. And if they´re not living in tin houses, they don´t have much more. Our "apartment" that´s actualy a room with a bathroom separated by a curtain, is actually fairly decent. It´s about 12x12 ft, if I´m calculating correctly. There´s room for 2 bunk beds, two fold out tables for desks, a couple fans (thank heavens), the "kitchen" with a mini fridge, a sink, and a portable gas stove with two stove tops that goes on top of the fridge, and then the bathroom with running (but cold) water. You don´t even want hot water for a shower here anyways...the cold showers I take every night are what I look forward to when I´m walking around all hot and sweaty. I´ll remember to take pictures for next week. Our room is cozy and tiny, but I love it. There´s just enough room. We really don´t need more.

The streets...oh my land. Rules of the road?? Here: if you´re a pedestrian, do what you want, just don´t get killed. If you´re a taxi driver, honk anytime you have to stop, and go as fast as you want, just don´t get killed. If you´re a bus driver, same thing applies to a taxi driver, but you have to wait until the last person at least has a foot in the door before you leave...and don´t get killed. Road lines are more like guidelines; you can essentially drive on whatever side of the road you want unless it´s separated by a median, and unless there´s another car coming. You can crowd as many cars as you want, as long as no one gets killed. It´s terrifying, honestly. Especially riding the buses. They´re huge and massive, and you honestly need to hold on really tight, because the drivers don´t care too much as long as you´re on the bus. And then I almost tried to underpay a taxi...oops. Sorry, sir. Thank goodness my companion speaks Spanish...and knows how much to pay a taxi.

Yeah, we essentially just walk around everywhere. But if we need to go far, we´ll take a bus or a taxi, depending. The bus is cheaper, but crazy. Taxis are easy, but expensive. They´re everywhere, honking at everyone to try and get a customer. 

Church on Sunday was interesting...they don´t have a pianist in their ward at all...and they have an electric piano that plays prelude. So I play the electronic piano now for the La Catorce de Septiembre ward...haha. Literally no one knows how to play. But at least I´m here...I suppose...I can sight-read.
So that´s about it :) Nicaragua is crazy but exciting. I love it, and I´m getting more used to it. I´ll tell you all about my adventures next week :) Love you all. The gift of tongues is real and Heavenly Father really does hear our prayers. I know that for a fact. 

- Hna Oliphant

Estoy aqui :)

Hey, I made it here okay. :) I flew in to Managua anoche and then this morning we went to the mission home. I have my new companion, and I get a few minutes to type an email really quickly.
Today has been kind of crazy, but it´s been really good. I met the mission president and his wife yesterday, and we went to pizza hut, which was pretty interesting. Today we had our interviews and got our companions, and we just barely got back to our apartment and have just set out again for our citas.

I´m still in Managua, but more on the outskirts. The area is called Catorce, and it´s super poor and tiny and cute. Everything here is so different. The people, the traffic laws, the buildings. Todo. I have a feeling I´m going to learn Spanish very quickly.
So I just had a little bit of time to send this to you, to let you know I´m here and doing okay and everything. My pday is on Monday, so I´ll be sending another email then telling you all about my first week here :)

Gracias por todos. I can´t wait to tell you all about my first week here in Managua :)

- Hermana Oliphant

Last P-Day in the MTC!

Hola!
This week has been very eventful for sure. We had the new
mission presidents here for their seminar, and singing for them was
amazing. The songs we sing were beautiful, and I need to track them
down at some point. We sung the missionary medley that the MTC
missionaries sung in general conference a few conferences ago, An
arrangement of Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer that is so so so
gorgeous. We also sung an arrangement of Joseph Smith's First Prayer
on Saturday to commemorate the martyrdom, and on Sunday. For their
sacrament meeting that President Monson was speaking at, we sang a
different version of I Know that My Redeemer Lives called Oh Sweet the
Joy this Sentence Gives. It's so gorgeous, and I feel so privileged to
have been able to sing it for the prophet.

We all got to meet a couple elders in the quorum of the Seventy, including Elder Baxter, who's
from Scotland, and then we got to meet Elder Bednar and his wife! We
didn't get to meet anyone else, but as I was walking on stage a couple
times. I was able to see Elder Hales, Elder Bednar, and President
Uchtdorf, which is exciting. :) And then we got to sing all of our
songs in devotional this past Sunday, which was awesome. I felt the
Spirit so strongly, and Elder Allen who spoke in the devotional was
amazing. He was having everyone stand up for things and sing songs
over again and he told the Elders to take off their suit coats if they
wanted to. It was an amazing sea of white shirts, let me tell you x3
but he just spoke so powerfully and kept us all awake and entertained.
I know now the method to keeping a bunch of 20-somethings entertained.

What else happened this week...oh, we moved again. Yep. I was
literally in our new residence for 2 days, and then we were all called
to a meeting where President Bertasso let us know that someone had
seen a bat on the 4th floor of 17M, so we would all be moving back to
our other residences that day. Yeah I was not happy. None of us were
especially since we didn't really want to move into a new building in
the first place. But it only took about two hours to get all of our
stuff packed and in our new room. It was because of all the amazing
elders who came to the rescue. All the sisters in our zone got all of
our stuff out the door in one trip, but we wouldn't be able to take it
all. Apparently, as soon as the elders heard what had happened, and
that we were moving, they just dropped everything and ran back and
forth taking our things to the outside of our building. It was so
sweet, and so incredible. It only took one trip to get moved into my
room, and then all the sisters, after getting their stuff in their
room, would help everyone else take their bags into their room. With
us all working together, it only took 4 hours for all of the sisters
to move. It was exciting, but it was an adventure. And I was actually
able to keep a good attitude about it when I randomly thought about
the pioneers. How many times did they settle in a new town, thinking
they were set for life, only to have to leave again and travel even
farther, having no idea whether they would even make it alive to their
next location? And they had to take literally everything they own, and
their entire families and livelihoods, and travel into the unknown, on
multiple occasions, following the word of one man. A very important
man, but still just a man. I can't imagine the amount of trust and
faith I would have to have, and I don't know if I could do it. So I'm
very grateful that I only have to move a quarter of a mile away into
an air-conditioned room. It definitely humbled me and kept me from
complaining as much as I wanted to :)

Oh, and before I share my spiritual favorites of the week, I did
something very exciting today :) since the temple was closed for deep
cleaning, we weren't able to go to a session today. We did, however,
get the chance to go and do some of the cleaning. I was kind of
excited, since I'd still get to go in the temple, since this is the
last time I'll see one for another year and a half. And besides, how
often do you get the chance to clean the temple? It's pretty legit. So
we got there, and we went and got changed, and we were there with a
couple other districts. A temple worker comes in and says, "Elders,
you're cleaning out lockers, and we're giving you q-tips and
toothpicks to help with that. Make sure to take them out of your pants
when we're done. Sisters, you're going to help in the celestial room.
You don't need to hear the rest of this, so go ahead and go upstairs."
So we walk upstairs, and the giant chandelier is lowered, and most of
the crystals are taken off, and all the temple worker sisters tell us
that we're taking off all the crystals and cleaning them off. It
doesn't sound very exciting typing it up, but that is seriously the
coolest job you could ever get when you're cleaning in the temple. I
got to climb up ladders and scaffolding to pull some of the 1200+
crystals off, and then we dusted the giant frame and replaced all the
broken lightbulbs, and then I got to climb up high some more and put
them back on. That's literally what I did for 3 hours. It's a very
meticulous process, because that chandelier is huge. Huge. While I was
doing that, most everyone else was sitting and cleaning the crystals
with vinegar. I got the best job. I got to wear fancy gloves and
handle the crystals and put some of them back on the frame. It was so
fun. So so so fun. I loved every second of it. We chatted a bit as we
worked and we were also singing hymns and children's songs the whole
time and you just felt so much peace, even though we were all working
and there was lots of equipment and ladders and such around. It was
just the best feeling, and the best start to my day :) I love it. So
much.

Oh, I also got my flight plan :) I leave very very early next Tuesday
morning, so the next time you hear from me, I'll be in Nicaragua :D so
look forward to that. I'm not quite ready to leave yet. But I'm so
excited to get out there and do some real missionary work, even if
that means leaving my iPad behind ;) but seriously, I can't wait. I'm
going to miss everyone here, but I can't wait.

So that's all the excitingness of my week. I have lots of favorites
this week. There's a Mormon message called "Origin" that I really
really love, and I highly recommend you all watch it. Then on Sunday,
we were able to watch Treasure in Heaven, and Only a Stonecutter, the
stories of John Rowe Moyle and John Tanner, respectively. Oh my
goodness, so fabulous. I've watched them both in seminary a thousand
times, but it just hit me again how much these men believed in
Heavenly Father, and how much faith they had in the gospel. It
inspires me, and I hope I can have even a shred of as much faith as
those men, especially while I'm on my mission. I highly recommend you
all watch those movies as well :)

My scripture favorites are Mark 10:28-30, and Ether 12:6. There are so
many blessings that are promised to us as missionaries, and it's good
to know that we'll be taken care of, and that our families will be
taken care of. God watches out for his missionaries, that's for sure
;) and then in Ether, that scripture really was just something I
needed this week. We don't get signs or witnesses of truth because we
want them. We need to have faith first, and pass that test before we
can receive of that special witness of the truth. We also always must
pass though the trial before we can look back and see why we needed
that trial in our lives.

I know that God lives and loves us, and I know that he always listens to us. He's waiting to answer us. Read in the Bible dictionary on Prayer. Especially the 2nd to last long
paragraph. Read it, and think about what it means. It has blessed me
so much in my life here once I received that understanding of prayer.
I know that through Christ's atonement, we can be purified of sin, and
if we endure to the end, continuing in patience, doing good deeds, we
will achieve salvation and eternal life. I know it. And you know what,
even if I'm wrong, even if none of the things I've chosen to give my
life for are true, it's still a beautiful thing to hope for, isn't it?
It's such a beautiful way to live your life, having that desire to
become like Christ, and to remain faithful to promises you've made.
Those who truly keep their covenants and love the Lord and love the
gospel are so happy. So happy. What's so wrong about that, then? Being
happy? I have a very strong testimony in the gospel, and on the
powerful change it can bring into everyone's life. I know this with a
surety.

Thank you all again for the love and support, it means so
much. These next 17 months are going to fly by. I'm so honored to be
here right now. I can't wait until I can fulfill everything I've
promised to do as a missionary. I hope you all have an excellent week,
and I'll talk to you in Nicaragua!

- Hermana Oliphant