Hermana Perez and Hermana Oliphant enjoying a rainy Dec. day.

This is the furniture in Justyce's living room.  

What a clean bedroom!

 That's my girl. . .snapping pictures in the bathroom at the church before a fireside with an area seventy:)

 Mom asked for photos of the streets and the people.

This cow was randomly standing in the street.  This is common to see animals everywhere.  After Justyce took the picture, it turned and started to run at her!

This is one of Justyce's favorite places.

The zone Christmas party.  Justyce is the cute Hermana in the hot pink blouse front and center!

We had our Area Christmas banquet on Thursday with our mission president and his wife. I was at a table with two elders from Arizona and Idaho! They both are over a year into their missions and both of them said that my Spanish is way better than theirs was! They said it took them 2 or 3 months in the field to understand as well as I do! Talk about a confidence booster! And they also said it took them about 5 or 6 months to be comfortable speaking it.. and I am already starting to be comfortable! Hopefully it will keep clicking! We practice grammar every morning as well as reading out loud to help my pronunciation... It really helps to have Hna Perez correct me so I say it right! We also practice lessons together so that I will know how to extend commitments and ask questions! I have also been teaching English to a few people. It's really cool how we can teach English and slip in gospel principles! I have also realized how bad my English is... I don´t even know some of the English grammar principles! hahah

Hermana Perez, the two training Hermanas, and Hermana Oliphant

Hermana Oliphant with her trainer before becoming sick.

Where  are you all at in the Book of Mormon? I was studyng Alma chapter 5 this morning. I love this chapter. read it together for me okay?

Have a very merry Christmas. I will admit, I miss the snow!!! It's more fun when it is cold and there is snow!

Justyce permed her hair today!

Yep, this week has been a fun one! 

So last Monday night a nice member of our bishopric gave me a blessing and even though I did not understand anything, I could feel the power of the priesthood helping me. It was a beautiful blessing and my companion told me that he promised me that as long as I am faithful and obedient, I will have an amazing experience out here on my mission and will find happiness and success. I really felt so wonderful after, and this week was so much smoother and went by so fast!! 

 

We were a little discouraged because none of our investigators were progressing or keeping their commitments. Hna Pérez and I prayed Saturday night and Sunday morning that we would be able to help our investigators and also be able to find new people to teach. Sunday morning one investigator was going to come to church with us, but when we got to her house she said she didn't want to go. We walked away really discouraged and sad. We got to the end of the street and were waiting for the bus when she came running up to us and told us to wait for her!!! The Spirit definitely heard our cry for help and touched her heart! Then when we got to church, another investigator was there with her children!! And when we were singing the sacrament hymn, the family (we are working with) walked in!!!! Miracles do happen!!! I can testify that I have already seen so many!! 

 

Then, at our missionary work training meeting last night with our mission president and Elder Reyes of the 70, I was able to understand most of what was said!! It made me so incredibly happy!! Another miracle! 

 

Afterwards, we took a taxi and I thought that we were going to our apartment to teach ´mama´ (she treats us like her children!! she really is our apartment land lady) who lives down stairs, but we got out of the taxi in a different neighborhood. I was confused but then a lady started calling to us asking if we were Christians! She was really freaking out and saying something about her son. We went with her to her house and inside was her son and her friend (a lady). Her son was bleeding and there was bloody tissues on the floor from trying to stop the bleeding. (her son is 25). He was completely drunk and had been hurting himself. We sang a hymn.  Finally we got him to sit in a chair across from us and Hna Perez started talking to him about how much he is loved and really trying to get the mother to stop freaking out. Then he went crazy.. not violent, but like shaking and I am not sure what happened. But he had drunk way too much and who knows if he had drugs in him or not... but it was really scary. He passed out and we got him to the couch. Long story short, we had to find someone who had a phone we could use (we asked an investigator who lived close by) and we called the ambulance. They came and we left the house and stood in the rain with his mother because she was making the situation worse with her freaking out. We helped her calm down and the end of the story is that the police ended up needing to be called, but we had curfew and had to leave before the police came. It was definitely something that I will always remember, though, because of how intense it was! 

 

The smell of alcohol is everywhere here. I am used to it. That and the other... bad... smells that I smell every day! It took me forever to get used to it but I am finally over how ... hmm... different, it smells here. 

On the 12th was some holiday, I think it was about  mother Mary? but there was so many parades and fireworks and partying and dancing. We just worked as normal! There are fireworks that go off like every day. At first it scared me because I always thought that it was gunshots!! But no, it's just fireworks! They aren't the pretty ones though, just the big booming ones, ya know the ones that are small bursts of light and really loud? yep, those ones!

 

And the food! I can´t be picky, so when people asked what I like, I just say anything because everything is so different here. But I do love tamales and tortillas.. I eat way too much bread too.. probably gonna come  home a marshmallow! hahaha, oh, marshmallows are called bon bons! 

Well I don´t have anymore time.

I love you all!!

Hermana Oliphant

Well, I don´t really know where to start. All of my days are blending into one.  I really love that I have so many wonderful and supportive friends who helped get me out the door and on this mission. It's hard. I won't lie. I was so strong and held in my tears for a long time, but they fell yesterday. and I couldn't stop them. The language is hard, the investigators aren´t progressing, yeah I miss my family and friends, but then my companion sat me down and we had a talk and she helped remind me why I am here. She helped me stop thinking of myself and helped me remember that I am here to help bring people to Christ and help them find happiness. It really helped me be happy. 

The Spanish is hard, but my companion is so nice and patient with me. She helps me learn the language and helps me participate in the lessons. We practice in the mornings and then in the lessons when it is my turn to share part of the lesson  she looks at me and waits for me to finish trying to share and then she will help answer questions that the investigators have.  I really appreciate that because it is helping me learn the language I need to know to teach. I can teach lesson 1 all by myself now! It's choppy and it's not perfect Spanish, but it is understandable and I love the message of the restoration!  I love helping people learn about Joseph Smith! I love telling the first vision in his own words! 

We have two investigators who have accepted our invitation to be baptized this week. Their dates are in January.  One is a mother and a shop owner. She is so sweet! And the other is 11 and the daughter of one of our investigators. They are so sweet! And another investigator wants to get baptized but she has to either get married to her boy friend, or move out because they live together. She came to church with us yesterday! 

Also, last night was the Christmas fireside. We were supposed to watch it at the church but they could not get the transmission to come through so they just had a small fireside devotional. Hermana Perez volunteered me to sing... so I did! Hermana Park played the piano and I sang "Silent Night" with Hermana Perez. I soloed on the first verse!! After the fireside ( I also played the piano for the opening and closing songs) some of the other Hermanas and some girls in the ward and I all gathered around the piano and sang hymns together while I played. They also asked me to sing "Be Still My Soul". It is not in the Spanish hymn book so it was new to all of them. I love that song and the message it brings. "Be Still My Soul" has become my favorite hymn here on the mission. Please go and read it or sing it because the lyrics are my favorite. They really help calm my heart and help me feel peace. I have been teaching it to Hna Perez and we sing it now when we have a bad day and need to cool down or feel peace.

I love you and pray for you all every single day!

Love

Hermana Oliphant

PS  I got sunburned today when I did laundry on the roof!  We hand washed in a cement tub thing and then hung them up to dry.  My arms really hurt from the sunburn and I was dumb and didn't think. . .

Hermana Oliphant has arrived in Mexico.  Here she is walking the roads of San Cristobal, her first area.  She is 1 1/2 hours south of Tuxtla.

SO! the airplane... it was fun! we had 3 different planes we flew in. When we landed in Tuxtla our mission president and his wife picked us up and took us to the mission home where we had dinner. Luckily President Cardena and his wife speak a little English! but we only speak in Spanish which is hard!

That night we were dropped off at different missionaries houses to sleep and the next morning we had a small devotional type thing and then met our new companions and found out where we would be serving. We took a bus here from Tuxtla and then took a Taxi to our house. MY FIRST TAXI RIDE!!! It was fun haha Like I´ve said, I am in San Cristobal and it is so cold here! Not at all what I expected! haha But At least I brought sweaters and my companion lets me use her heavy coat on really cold days (she has a couple). 

My companion, Hermana Pèrez, is from Puebla and is so nice! She is 22 and has been on her mission for 7.5 months. She´s basically a pro. Although she doesn´t speak English, we get along pretty well. We make do with my little dictionary. Luckily I brought it. It's seriously been a life saver!

Walking around town is so much fun, there is so much to see and so much to do (if I wasn´t a missionary that is). I would like to come back here with Mom and Dad and show you all around (especially when I know Spanish! haha).

I am glad you got online and looked up San Cristobal. It's so pretty. Mexico is very colorful (meaning the houses) and it's fun to see all the different things, and  you know me, I love people watching. It makes contacting people fun!

Hna Pèrez makes fun of me because I am scared of the perros here (dogs). I said that the perros think I am food and now she makes fun of me for  it. But it's just a joke.... not. I really am scared of the dogs!

We are teaching a whole bunch of people. And all of them are so nice. I just love how nice everyone is here, (or maybe I just think they are being nice because I don´t know what they are saying?) Either way, everyone seems really nice. San Cristobal is a big city but then it also includes the mountain. So yes, I climb mountains to teach people. It's so pretty! And seeing the conditions here really has made me appreciate everything I have. I have so much and I have been blessed with so much:  my family, my friends, my house, running water you can drink, flushing toilets that you can put TP in (yep, there's a trash ,.. usually... that you have to put all TP into.. it makes the Baño´s stinky....) the list goes on and on. I just really appreciate everything I have been blessed with, including the gospel!

Hmm.... We went on a long walk this morning which was fun. We went exploring and climbed up these stairs of a church (I´m not sure which religion) but the stairs are so tall! I took a picture but you cant really tell how far up we are. Oh well.

SO.. Oliphant is hard for everyone to say. olpant opant alfan ... there's so many different ways people say it. So we´ve shortened my name. haha I now introduce my self as Soy Hna Oli hahaha soy de Estados Unidos. hahahah phew. It's tricky. but I love this work.  I thought I relied on the Lord before, but I was wrong. He is litterally sometimes the only one who understands me. He literally is my best friend here. Not even my companion knows exactly how I feel because of the language barrier but we make do. I just turn to the Lord for everything. Church was hard because everyone wanted to talk to me but I didn´t know how to respond because I didn´t know what they were saying. At least in our lessons we explain that I don´t know Spanish well and then the investigators and less actives help me understand and talk slower.
I will get it I have faith!

 

I love you all! 

I love this gospel and I love my Savior and my friend, Jesucristo. 

Thank you for all of your prayers!

Pass my love onto my friends at Chick-Fil-A and Facebook! 

I pray for you all every day multiple times. 

Love

Hermana Oli