Week 4 - On the map

Week 3 - One Handed Jill

Sorry- that was a reference to Peter Pan and I couldn't help it :)

Life here in Mexico is pretty fantastic if I may say so!! I have no idea where to start! 

On Tuesday I got my first ever piece of mail in the mission- and to that person- you know who you are- I say you are a fantastic individual and thank you, thank you! It took 23 days for that letter to go from the states to Mexico, so I don't have much hopes for getting any more mail until I reach Texas, but it was awesome! 

The brand new Comedor (cafeteria) opened up this week and it is so shiny and new and every time I walk in there I feel like Dorothy as she walks into the emerald city for the first time and I feel like singing. The food is the same, but the new building is really neat.

Hermana Fuller and I have committed both of our investigators to baptism! It is a great feeling, but I am even more excited to do it out in the field. Speaking of Hermana Fuller, I have started to learn what a perfect companion she is. Almost everyday I find a new way to help her. Many of the things that she struggles with I am a nearly perfect match for. (For example, she's 'reserved' and wants to smile more. And I, am myself) I also really love to make her laugh. She is always so surprised when I do things and her giggle is adorable. 

One of the Elders in my District was a gymnast, and so this week when we were playing Ninja he did a backflip. That was cool. 

Perhaps my favorite thing to help my district with is the scriptures. They love to ask me questions, especially Elder Ebeling, and I love answering them! The only downfall to this is that they like to play a stupid game during lunch in which they come up with crazy situations and ask me what scripture I would use to solve the situation. For example, what if all the water my friend touched turned to lava and he thought he was going to die? Apparently I give good answers because they keep trying to play it. Also this week, Elder Ebeling was trying to convince me that I was one of the three nephites pretending to be a sister missionary so that I could help him with the scriptures. I was both really flattered and really offended at the same time. I taught another Elder in my district how to lead music this week. He actually picked it up really fast and now he loves it. 

And if you are wondering about 'Red Handed Jill' you see, I have felt like one handed Jill this week, as I could only use my right hand. There are two Elders who had been begging me and Hermana Fuller to play volleyball with them for a week, and finally when we did I managed to sprain my finger. I didn't think it was that bad until I couldn't use my entire left hand and went and asked for ice and they gave me a finger splint and pain medication instead. Don't worry though! It came off after 5 days, and I have my full range of motion back, even if it only hurts a little bit. 

I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon. It has brought me so much joy and happiness in my life. It has changed my perspective on everything and continues to do so. I know that it is true and I am grateful for the way that this knowledge continues to mold and shape me into a better Hermana McCurdy. I know that you all can too know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that it can do for you exactly what it did for me. All you need to do is read it and pray about it with a sincere heart and you will get an answer. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve and I love every single one of you! 

All my love,

Hermana McCurdy

 I had to hug the palm tree- and also Hermana Fuller and I like hiding in the cabinet and scaring the Elders.

I kind of sprained my finger. And also the girls really like my fan collection

Week 2 - Rain and carrots

Hola *querida familia y amigos*

Once again things are awesome possum here in Mexico! This week it even rained a little less than it usually does! This was only the beginning of the awesome things that happened this week! I had real Mexican Enchiladas, which are actually very different than my mothers. I got treats from other missionaries in my districts mothers. I made really good friends with the lady in the post office because I check the mail about four times a day. (Old habits die hard) And- I even met an Elder Larsen who knows a Jacob Wilkins.

The nonmember who we have been teaching, we discovered this week, is not named Fabian, but instead CARLOS. He not only is a member who is helping us learn, but also speaks English! He has become one of our teachers. That was a bit of a surprise and we have a hard time not calling him Fabian in class but it is still fun. I really like him as a teacher. He pushes us to try new things and he keeps the Elders in line. The Elders are doing very well! We are all getting along really well and really know how to make each other laugh. I spend most of my time smiling or laughing, because I am so happy to be here doing the Lord's work, but also because they are very funny. Elder Shepherd, for example, this week freestyle made up new lyrics to "Let it go" but about repentance. It ends with: "Satan never bothered me anyway." Although not your typical choral group, the Elders love to sing, and do so a lot! I enjoy hearing all the music. Their other favorite thing, other than singing, is this type of Mexican Chips Ahoy, called Chokies. They are very yummy, though I try to eat them less than they do!

Here in the MTC, we did not hear about President Packers passing away until the weekend after it happened. We watched his funeral services here and it was a sad occasion. It did inspire me to be more humble so that I can be a more willing instrument in the hands of the Lord, and will be willing and able to do and become anything that he wants me to be. 

This week as I was struggling learning Spanish, I was thinking about the apostle Peter in the Bible. Peter was an apostle of Jesus Christ, but later denied him three times. I have never thought of myself as being similar to Peter, as I have tried to follow Him in all things. However, this last week, it occurred to me that when I say to myself that Spanish is too hard, that I will never learn it, or that I am not good enough, I am exactly like Peter in denying my Savior. I forget that it is HE that called me to be a Spanish speaking missionary, by HIS authority I was set apart, and that it is HE that I represent. When I tell myself those things, I am telling Him that His promises are unsure, and that He is not good enough. I know that the promises of the Savior are sure, and that He has born my burdens, whether they be Spanish related or not. Yo sé que Jesucristo es el Redentor y que Dios es nuestro Padre Celestial. This is His gospel that I am sharing. I am so glad for this opportunity and the chance to become better through it. I love you all A LOT. 

All my love, and sorry for all the spelling and grammar mistakes in here, this is a Spanish keyboard, 

-Hermana Madison McCurdy

Week 1 - Mexico City Here She Comes!

Querido mi familia y amigos,

    For those of you who didn`t know, my second word spoken as a child was `taco`. We should have know long ago that this was a sign about my love for Mexico because I really do LOVE IT HERE. 

    My grand adventure started off with a bang, and I mean that literally as my flight out of Hartford to Atlanta was delayed an hour as we boarded due to a thunderstorm. (Oh, Connecticut. Not so ready for me to leave just yet.) Normally, that would have completely stressed me out, but I had a three hour layover in Atlanta, so it was okay. Also, quite wonderfully, I made friends with a beautiful and inspirational lady named Amy, and that was a blessing. 

    In Atlanta, I rode the underground subway in the airport for a bit (so fun), got some pesos, and then went over to my boarding gate. For those of you who do not know, as a missionary I have to have a companion (another sister missionary) with me at all times. I was given instructions to find other missionaries on my flight and be their temporary companions until I got to the CCM. The other missionaries were not hard to find- the young men, or Elders, were particularly easy to spot as they were all wearing suits. And that was the story of how 5 elders became my first companions. 

    I am in Mexico City, and if you thought the smog was bad in Utah it is even worse here. All the missionaries are in a 94 compound called the Centro de Capacitacion Missional (the CCM) or in English, the Missionary Training Center. There is a super thick super tall cement wall topped with barbed wire, and it is essentially a little city inside a much bigger city. 

    We arrived in Mexico in the rainy season, where it thunders every day from about 4 to 10 pm. It is really quite beautiful, but that being said, our bus had to plow through streets-converted-rivers to get to the CCM. In many ways the CCM reminds me of the Manhattan Temple, you completely forget that you are in one of the 10 largest cities in the world until you stop and listen. 

    My companion and roommate is Hermana Fuller. Hermana means Sister in Spanish. She is going to the Iowa Des Moines Mission. She is a little bit shorter than me, with curly brown hair, pretty eyes, and an even sweeter personaloty. She is darling and she goes along with my shenanigans, which, is always a good thing. 

    Here in the CCM I am learning how to be a better missionary, and also how to speak Spanish, Sign Language, and Bird. The Spanish is coming along surprisingly. On my second day here me and mi companiera had to teach our first lesson to an investigator (a nonmember learning about the church) who spoke 0 English. THAT was about as stressful as that time I took my driver`s test, which is to say one of the most stressful experiences of my life. But it has all gotten better from there. I have learned more spanish in one week than I did in one year of french. What would yall do if I came home and I do not remember how to speak English? Ha. Just kidding that will not happen. But it is my goal to know spanish so well that it will happen- so be prepared. 

    As for the sign language, Hermana Fuller took ASL in High School, and when she speaks Spanish she also usually speaks ASL with her hands without meaning to- and also when she does not know a word- so I do know a bit more sign language than I did a week ago. Hermana Fuller is also gracious in the fact that she puts up with, and apprently even likes, my constant whistling, humming, and signing. Soon after our arrival I was one day studying Spanish in our classroom and there was a bird perched in the tree outside the open window and it was calling. I began to mimick its call with my whistle, and I now can get the birds to sing back and forth with me. Hermana Fuller affectionately refers to me as ``Snow Beauty`` for my apparently desirable ability to sleep, and my Snow White similar bird calling. 

    Here in the mission we are organized into districts, and zones. A zone is made up of several districts. My district has three companionships, myself and Hermana Fuller, and then Elder Shepherd and Elder Ebeling who are going to the Indiana Indianapolis Mission, and Elder Fitt (Washington Everett Mission with Elders Martin (Colorado Colorado Springs Mission) and Orgill (Iowa Des Moines Mission), who reminds me a bit of Jarrett. I love my district. As Elder Ebeling is very fond of saying, ``We know how to laugh when it is time to laugh, and how to be spiritual when it is time to be spiritual.`` We are a fun group. I am very impressed with the Elders often, especially how mature they are most of the time. But then again, I have only known them as Elders, which probably makes a difference. They have labeled me as the ``Mom`` of our district. Hermana Fuller and I are Sister Trainers, which means that we are in charge of the sisters in our Zone. (Like Zone Leaders, but for girls) Two of our Hermanas are going to the Massachusetts Bostons Mission. You guys will love them :) And don`t worry I am taking good care of them in answering all their questions, warning them about New England Spelling and pronunciation, and making sure they know they are going to the second best mission in the world, the first being Houston Texas of course. 

    Today we got to go to the Mexico City temple visitor`s center. I know that the temple is the real reason that I am here- so that families can be together forever. I love all you guys and I hope you know that I know that what I am doing and teaching is true- no matter how bad the Spanish. :) 

    All my love, 

    Hermana McCurdy