Second week, All is well... and CCM surprise!

Howdy Ya'll! Update time!

Forgive me in advance, I'm still trying to get used to this Spanish keyboard. 

So this past week has been absolutely great, mainly because I love my companion so much, and we get a long so well. Guys, we could be paternal twins.  No joke.  We work so well together, it's amazing!  We were recently given an 'investigator' to teach, but he ended up being our new afternoon teacher in our classroom. It's cool how they get all the teaching in with our resources. They basically play roles of people that our teachers taught on THEIR missions, who had the same problems. So after committing D..... to baptism, he shows up the next day in the afternoon as our afternoon language teacher! It's awesome. 

We also have a chance to do service every week.  Last week and this week we filled and cleaned water tanks. I think that's what you call them.  It's those water jug tank machines that you can fill your bottles from.  I hope that's right!

So I'm not sure who else knows this, but David Archuleta attended a Evening Devotional at the Provo MTC about a month ago, and apparently half of the missionaries on campus saw him walking around with the CCM President on Saturday afternoon. We got so excited because we thought he would come and talk and sing to us... But unfortunately did not. It was a little sad, but he told our CCM President to tell us all hi for him, which was just as cool! 

Sunday, two days ago, I gave my first Spanish talk!  I make an outline of what I want to say, and then I just translate it into Spanish with what I currently know, and what my dictionary can give me. It didn't turn out as well as I thought, but the spirit worked through me very well. I talked about how Priesthood blessings have blessed my life so much since I was young, and I had a few pauses where I couldn't figure out exactly what I wanted to say, because I also didn't have a whole lot on my paper, but I did my best!

I also learned this week how we missionaries are sort of like those glass prisms that are on chandeliers and such. We have to be in tune with the spirit in order for the spirit to work on our investigator, and for them to receive revelation from our Padre Celestial *Heavenly Father*. It's been amazing how well the spirit has worked through me this week with our lessons, our companionship studies that Hermana Harston and I have, and also our spiritual thoughts as a district as we separate to go home after language study. It's amazing! I've loved being here!

So everyone and their districts are able to visit the Mexico City Temple and sometimes do a session, but for the past few months no one has been able to do a session because of temple construction. It reminds me a lot of the San Antonio Texas temple, and even the San Jose Costa Rica temple. Square, boxy, but absolutely stunning! 

We got a tour of the visitor center, then went to the small visitor center store. Everyone comes back with these awesome scripture covers, and they're are pretty cheap and awesome. So I got one for my Spanish Bible and one for my Book of Mormon to protect them. The scriptures they gave us in Spanish are super nice. I read the Spanish and English Book of Mormon together every night so I can comprehend the language and learn more. It's wonderful here!

Me and the hermanas including our short, cute teacher, Hermana Arnaud. She is amazing!

Our District leader, Elder Johnson, and me and my companion are all going to the same mission, and we just found out that all three of us are on the same flight together to Kennewick, which is awesome! I'm so excited!

I've also been having some weird symptoms, they aren't too bad, and I'm watching what I'm eating, but its just totally random. So hopefully I don't need to go to the infermia this week *our nurses office*.  Elder Chia has already gone twice for jamming his thumb playing volleyball. His thumb is fine now though. Don't worry, I'm not gonna die guys, Haha!  I really enjoy it here, and driving to the temple this morning was beautiful, and the town is so cool. But also very busy and dangerous. I'm thankful for the mission I'm being sent to... Haha. Anyway, enjoy the pics! Love you all, thanks for all the awesome emails! I love them! Also, letters take about 3 weeks to get here, so if you want to send me one, send it to my mission home, which I'll have my Mom attach somewhere on the blog.

Love you guys, the Church is true! 

Preseverar hasta al fin!

*Endure to the end*

Hermana Sarah Marble (must use both names)
8202 W. Quinault Ave #D  (as in dynamite)
Kennewick, WA  99336

From the first week in 18 months

Hi Everyone! 

I hope you are all doing well! I've made it through my first week of being at the Mexico CCM, and I can say that I absolutely love it here. Forgive me if you see I'm bad at my punctuation, but these Spanish keyboards are hard to get used to, haha! We do a lot of studying, and when I mean studying, I mean HARDCORE studying. We study in between each meal for about 2 to 3 hours. So if anyone wants to know what I do all day, I study like a madwoman! 

So sitting at my terminal at the airport there were 6 of us sisters, and then one elder who jumped on the plane late because his previous plane was running late. We arrived in Mexico City, met up with 4 more sisters, and then waited for our Usher to show up, who was late and apparently running like a mad man around the airport looking for us... but we were right outside of customs. Haha, pretty funny. Lots of sisters, one elder, how do we NOT look like LDS missionaries? Anyway, after getting to the CCM we had a quick orientation, and then we ate dinner and emailed our families to let them know we got here safely. 


Campus is GORGEOUS! It used to be an old high school, but it's just perfect to be the CCM. It's beautiful just about everyday, and you see lots of bright green canaries in the palm trees on campus. Sorry, no picture of the canaries yet. 

Sunday was wonderful, we have district meeting, lots of goal making on our first Sunday, but then we have RS and Priesthood around 10:00 am, then we have sacrament with just our Zone, and our District Branch Presidency. We each have to write a talk by Sunday, ALL of us. Then Sunday morning as the meeting starts, they pick off their random list of who they want to hear from, no more than 5 minutes so we can hear from 7 people from different districts. Our District Leader, Elder Johnson, said the opening prayer and didn't think he would be called o to speak... karma on him, he was the first to speak in our sacrament meeting. He's 6'6 and He LOVES basketball. 

We just finished playing volleyball and on a small playground! Love them. 

In our district, there are only 7 of us.  We are pretty small compared to other districts. I love these missionaries, they are amazing! Our Elders are Elder Johnson, Elder Andruski from San Diego, and Elder Chia from Texas, but all three of them are a tri companionship. We have 4 of us Hermanas, Hermana Harston and I, we are a companionship, and then Hermana Hooker and Hermana James. Those two sisters are from Utah, and my companion Hermana Harston is from Texas. She's amazing, we are so similar it's not even funny... but it actually is. We may not look similar, but we truly could be twins. No kidding! It's been quite an adventure being here, it was pretty easy to adjust to being on campus everyday and going everywhere with my companion. Hermana Harston and I basically can't live without each other... no joke. She loves going to the Gym, and I actually have been wanting to go, so we get up at 5:30 every morning and go work out for 45 minutes to an hour and then come back and get ready for the day. It's nice getting up early, it honestly doesn't bother me since I got used to going to work at ??? around 5 - 6am each morning. I'm really enjoying it here besides all the busy, busy studying sessions we have with our companions, our district in the evening, and personal study in the morning and before bed. All four of us Hermanas room together and we have a blast. 

Feliz de Dia San Valentin from the Mexico CCM!

On Valentines Day, I opened my card from Mom and Dad, and out poured all the Valentines that some of you wrote me at my farewell! Thank you! I love you all! And Thank you Mom and Dad for the Washington Necklace, I Love it! I honestly can't take it off, It doesn't occur to me to take it off... ever. I love it, Thank you both!  

We had 8 Districts leave today and yesterday for their missions from the CCM, so the CCM is pretty empty and more quiet, but it's okay. We have more missionaries coming today and tomorrow. For those of you who don't know much about the CCM, They have different report dates for the locals who live here in Mexico City, and the Pueblo areas. They report on Tuesdays, and the incoming Americans come on Wednesdays, all day because of our different flight times, but you get the gist. It's amazing being here! I say this over and over again, but I truly enjoy it! Love you all, I love hearing from you guys!

Con amor,
Hermana Marble

Washington state with heart necklace

And... She's Off!

This morning Sarah left the Salt Lake City airport at 9:50 am bound for Mexico City.  As we left Providence for the airport it was dark.  The sun coming up was a welcome sight today.  I was so happy it was not raining or dreary.


We saw several other missionaries with name tags being dropped off presumably to go home or to their designated missions from the Provo MTC.  It was quite a sight!

Her farewell talk went very well on Sunday.  We had several of her friends and our friends and a handful of relatives stop by for some lunch and treats.

And now she is gone.  The house is very quiet and still.  We will miss her terribly.
 

But it is good to give back.  I think a sacrifice is not a sacrifice unless there is some pain somewhere.   We have been blessed so tremendously as a family, and it is good to give something back.  Sacrifice is a funny thing, though.  Just when you think you are in some small measure sacrificing something for the benefit of others - to the point of pain, the Lord steps in and blesses you with more.  And then you are even more in His debt.  This was very much the case when her brothers each served the Lord on full time missions.  I suspect that is what will happen again.  In the meantime, my selfish heart aches.  To the point of pain.