Dear Mom, Dad, Lauren, and Elder Froude1,
I have lots to tell y'all about! First, my trip to the
campo, the country side.
After lunch last Friday, the East Mission missionaries
and I got onto a bus to see what it was like to proselyte in our mission for
the day. We were out from about 1:00 to 9:00. It was a very sobering
experience. All the MTC staff tells us that the temple and the surrounding area is
the nicest part of Santo Domingo. Not 5 minutes away from the MTC, we saw
hillsides covered in favelas of shanty homes. We didn't proselyte there; we
went to a place that was close to it. Funny enough, I was assigned a
Spanish-speaking companion! Two other Elders got a Spanish-only companion too
while everyone else got one that could speak English. I didn't mind though, I
was excited to see if my Spanish lessons paid off. And they have! We were able
to communicate very well! His name was Elder Cruz, he liked to Beat-box (I love
to beat box), liked to sing, and loved anime (Japanese cartoons)! We got along
very well! We spent the day going to teaching appointments and making contacts
with people. My companion understood that I could barely understand what our
investigators were saying so he did a lot of the teaching. But he had me talk
about a few things and bear my testimony so I was able to practice! The people
are so nice here. Even when they don't want to hear about the church they are
the nicest people about it! They also all thought I was Spanish; it was funny!
But all in all, on the way home I realized that what I did that day, it was
something I wanted to do for the next two years. Despite the heat and the sweat
and knowing only a handful of Spanish, I was happy. I can't wait to go out and do
this 24/7!
That's the biggest thing that happened since I last
emailed but I have a few little things to share that just made me super happy!
First, the other day we were in class. My teacher handed us a sheet for
self-improvement on our teaching and one of the elders in the room said
"Oh, it's in Spanish." And I said jokingly, "Claro! Gustaríale in
Alemán?" (Of course! Would you like it in German instead?) After I said
that, my teacher started laughing heartily. I asked what was up and my teacher
said "You are almost Dominican!" and he laughed some more.
Apparently, I made a joke that a Dominican would make. I think I'm gonna fit in
just fine here!
On Sunday, I sang in a quartet for a musical number for
church. I sang with my companion, Elder
Merrell, my roommate, Elder Barnet, and Elder Curtis. We sang How Great thou Art in harmonies. I
sang the tenor part! It took a lot of work because tenor was the hardest part,
but we sounded great! The mission president's counselor and his wife thanked us
for the song and it felt really nice that people felt the Spirit.
There is a brother that works in the temple where I go every
Thursday named Hermano Kanyanga. He is hilarious! He knows a little bit of
English and he is always there to welcome us to the temple. He also makes it a
personal goal to joke about my name every time he sees me. This is not a bad
thing, I love it! Anyway, he welcomed me this morning and he said "Elder
Frood (how most people here pronounce my name)... not Fruit!" I love the
guy!
Crazy thing! Last Tuesday, we had our Area Seventy talk
to us. It turns out he was Richard's
mission president!! Richard served in
Bilbao Spain, right? Yeah! His name was
Elder Zivic and I told him that Richard served there and he asked what his
name was. He said he knew Richard!
I'm doing great! These are my last few days in the MTC so I'm getting excited! The next time I
write, I will be in the mission field doing the Lord's work. I'm super excited
to go and I can't wait to tell you all about it!
I'm all out of time :( I'll write you on my next P-day
which is probably the next Monday since I'll be getting there Tuesday. I love you!
May the Spirit be With You,
-Elder Froude 2
No comments:
Post a Comment