Last Tuesday was probably the longest day of my life. I had to wake up at 1:30 a.m. Mexico city time (which is 11:30 p.m. Reno time!) and our flight didn't even leave until 6:30. We had to run through the L.A. airport in order to make it to our connecting flight. When we got to Reno, President and Sister Chesnut were waiting for us in the airport! They are awesome. We had a quick lunch at the mission headquarters (not the mission home) and then we went to all sorts of meetings. We met our new companions, and then we went straight to our areas! I am staying in Reno to serve so that I will be able to stay in a Spanish branch, at least for my first couple transfers. I thought they would let me take a nap or something when I arrived but nope, I still had to wait until10:30! The first couple days here I was so so tired. My trainer told me I needed to be happier but I just did not have the energy for that haha.
My new companion is amazing though! Her name is Hermana Martinez, and she is so hard working and obedient. I've learned so much from her. And, she is from Puerto Rico! I really wanted my first companion to be a native speaker, so I was so excited when I met her. The nice thing is that I get excellent practice listening to Spanish. The hard part is that, apparently in Puerto Rico they think it's okay to just drop the end of some of their words?! Especially S's. In Spanish though, conjugations, gender, and number are so important. I'm more used to in now, but I hope I keep my Mexican accent! The best part about Hermana Martinez being Latina, though, is something that I hadn't considered before. Every time I start a conversation with a Latino in Spanish, I feel so racist, and they probably think so too. so, I always let my companion say the first Spanish word. I don't know what I'm going to do when I have a white companion though, haha!
So far my best experience actually happened on the plane ride here. On the plane from L.A. to Reno, the 3 Hermanas coming in from Mexico happened to sit next to a couple women (a mother and her daughter) who only spoke Spanish! They were really interested in listening to our message. I don't even remember all the things I taught them, but they both accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon. They are both from Mexico, but they were coming to Reno to visit their sister/ daughter. We got her address, and turns out, they will be staying in my area! Hermana Martinez and I stopped by, and we have an appointment with them later today! We will get them started for the Missionaries in Mexico.
Worst thing about Reno: The heat. The high (that I've seen) has been 106 degrees, and if I had to guess, I would say that the low was about... 106 degrees. I'm seriously melting. The worst is when we have an appointment with a man and there aren't any women at home so we have to teach him outside.
Best thing about Reno: The people! It's what everyone always says, but it's not something you can understand until you actually meet the people whom you serve. I've only been here a week, and it's still hard for me to remember names (especially all these Latino names) but everyone here is amazing. The members are so good to us, and I've had so much great food.
Yesterday I had to introduce myself to the branch (in Spanish of course) and I think it was okay, except that I totally forgot to close in the name of Jesus Christ! My trainer told me when I sat down. That was awkward, haha, but I won't make that mistake again!
Our branch president, Presidente Castiblanco, is awesome! He is so fun to talk to. Yesterday we went to have dinner with him and his family, and apparently it is a tradition that the new missionaries have to try one of their tiny piquin peppers. I had never heard of that before, but man was it hot! My mouth hurt for a good 30 minutes.
This has been quite an adjustment for me. I feel like the CCM was a piece of cake because it was just like college (an the homework was a lot easier!) but now in the field, it's quite a different experience. I think I'm starting to get the hang of things, but I know I still have a lot to learn!
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