Week 7: The Field Is White (and Gold)

Mom note:  These are the 5 questions this week:

1) Where is your new area?  Do you have a snail mail address for me?

2) Who is your new companion?  Are you getting along?  Do you feel like you can learn a lot from her?

3) What did the first few days in Illinois bring?  Scheduled interviews with the president?  Training? Assignments?

4) Do you really speak that much Spanish in IL?

5) Is your new P-Day back to Mondays now?   


Mom, distrito 5A, Kent

To my one true love, distrito 5A: I thought of you guys a lot this week. Especially when I tried deep dish pizza for the first time, and again when I had my very first Chipotle burrito. (; love you guys.

Momma, in answer to your questions:

1. I'm in the Bloomington-Normal area, in the Peoria stake. Mi compañera y yo somos las sólas hermanas en nuestra zone, which is half of the stake. We live in an apartment, right next to the sisters in our distrito. I do have an address. But if you send letters to the mission office, I think that's better because then it won't get lost around transfer time. Also, we have a new missionary meeting in a month or so, so that will probably be the soonest I get that package....thanks for sending it though. It is already started to get real cold.....I'm gonna go buy a coat and some fleece-lined tights too today... 

2. Mi nueva compañera se llama Hermana Israelsen. Whom, funnily enough, I was aware of prior to when I reported. When I opened my call at school, one of my ward members told me his cousin was serving in that same mission. Guess what her name was...yup. So that's pretty cool. She's on her last two transfers, so when she's finished training me in 11 weeks, she'll be going back to Providence Utah. She also went to USU before the mish, so that's pretty cool. She also went to the same high school as one of my elders, Elder Braden Jensen. So yeah, she's awesome. She's a great trainer; she's definitely gonna keep me in line--not that I'm particularly wild, but it's good.

3. And then the first couple of days. Oh boy. So, way back when at the CCM, Sunday night we had a devotional/testimony meeting with all those who would be leaving in the next few days. It was great--and in English. Then, since our bus was leaving at 2:30 AM (about five hours later) we didn't sleep, and packed instead. I don't think I've ever put off packing that long but we just didn't have time before hand. Then we drove the 40 minutes to the airport, but our flight didn't leave until 7:30. Oh boy.....I kind of dozed in the airport, but not really well. Once on the plane, I slept so hard. As in, I was asleep before we even took off. I remember the little introduction of the flight attendants, sort of. But yeah. Then we had a four hour flight to Chicago, where we were met by the assistants--two current and two in training, one of whom was a Spanish speaking elder. Then we met up with the Fenns and waited for a while for the rest of the missionaries coming in. In total, we were 11: four hermanas (three from CCM, one from SL who had been serving in Peru for a month after the CCM there then came home for medical stuff and here is her reassignment), and then two English sisters and the rest English elders. Then we drove to the mission home where we had training, ate food, had more training, ate more food, and had some more training and interviews. So I ate Italian beef sandwiches for the first time and then deep dish pizza with some amazing salad. Oh man. Delicious. We finally got to sleep, then in the morning had some breakfast casserole then headed to the stake center for more training and the transfer meeting. There we got our companions and areas, then headed out. Ours was a two hour drive. We met up with the sisters for a dinner with some members (in English). All I did was the first half of la Primera Visión. Then the first lesson I was really a part of was with a part member family, the Martinez familia. I was so nervous, but it went well. Oh and we went to the store to buy some sheets so I could sleep. Whew.

4. So yes we do speak Spanish quite frequently, but we switch between the languages a lot, which confuses my brain a veces. But Hna Israelsen and I try to speak Spanish to each other. And we do all our prayers in Spanish. I feel like my language is already improving, so it's all good in the hood here.

5. Yes, P day is Monday now. However, at district meeting last Wednesday, the zone leaders told us that we got permission to go to the temple the following Tuesday, if we could find a ride. So, we did. We left this morning at 4:30 and drove almost three hours to the Nauvoo temple. Oh man. It was beautiful...like, it was unreal. Amazing. And, to top it off, guess what the new name today was? Uh, yeah: mine. So, that was a tender mercy from the Lord. So great.

Okay, well I'm not gonna write much, but here's a breve resumen: last week, we had a total of 17 lessons. I'm definitely not confident in my Spanish, nor in my ability to teach, but I can honestly say I feel the spirit in every lesson. I'd tell you more. But that's all you get.

It's been two weeks since my last P day, so I've been in need of this day for a while.

The biggest thing I learned this week is that there is no way to prepare yourself emotionally for a mission. I knew I didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't this. You just get so engaged in the work and care so much about these people you've never met before. It's crazy. I was almost crying yesterday because one woman refused to take the LdM, (Libro de Mormon (Book of Mormon)) no matter what. It just makes me tan triste.... But I can also say that there is no where I'd rather be, and nothing I'd rather do.

I read Romans 8 in the temple this morning,and verse 28 hit me so hard. Go check it out. SO applicable for missionaries.

Love you all so much. I know this Gospel is the most important thing anyone could hear. And that the people who don't want to hear it just aren't ready, so we just need to get out there and find those people who God has prepared. I just hope I'm worthy for the work, and that I'm able to do all that is asked of me.

Con Todo Mi Amor,

Su Amorosa Hija y Amiga,

Hermana DeBuck 

P.S.

Mama: will you email me the recipe for scalloped potatoes? Hna Israelsen loves potatoes like me so we're gonna try making it sometime. Also, could you email me the current balance of my debit card?

Yes, I did spend money last Saturday at Chipotle--we had earned some food made not by us. I just don't wanna go over my balance...hoping to buy some stuff today so I don't freeze...also, my understanding of the current situation with the iPads right now is that at the end of our service, we return the electronic device. But they're working on being able to buy them. I imagine that will probably be all set up by the time I leave, if I decide to buy it that is. Still not sure. Though, I admit, I'm beginning to be converted to this mini....but yes. And then, we won't be riding bikes in the winter so I don't think we need to worry about buying a bike just yet. Just so you know.

One more thing, should I have a medical card with me? I'm not sure... And to be quite honest I haven't looked in my wallet...but just thought I'd ask. Sister Fenn is in charge of medical stuff for the missionaries here, and said something about our family insurance being what we used first and I realized I wasn't sure if I had a card with me/if I needed one with me.

Thanks momma! Love you so much, and appreciate everything you do.

In case you weren't sure what they grow here: it's corn.

  The Nauvoo temple. I have more fotos on mi camera pero, this is all you'll get this week.

 All of us new missionaries, with our trainers, and the Fenn's