PAU HANAZ in the CCM!

Ayyyyyyye boiiiizzzzz and hermanas!

Guess who got their travel plans this week? WE DID! I fly to Boise on Wednesday, March 1st! CHEEEHEEEE! I'm the last one to leave from my district so that's smallkine sad but whatev can hando! 

This week we had some cool experiences - our TRC investigator is actually forreal investigating the church which is bomb. She took a bunch of pictures with us during our last lesson and said thank you for sharing our personal stories with the church with her - she has felt a peace about the church and loves feeling the spirit. It was crazy sweet! We love her! It made me so stoked to be able to get out there (out of this prison lol) and teach the people of Idahooooooo! 

This week Hermana Hutchinson sprained her ankle playing volleyball which was hilarious and sad because now she needs crutches and it sucks lol. We've been doing some good work though - she's so funny and says random things at random times so she's my fave. Me and Hermana Saari also spent some time outside yesterday just cruising (forevs one cruuuuzahhhh) and it was way sweet - Provo can have it's moments I guess. 

It's crazy days but I love it! Being busy is sometimes the bomb (when I no like cruise lol). Last thing, this week we got to see the Easter video that the church is gonna come out with this year cuz the Church Media guy (he's haole surprise lol) came and did a devotional and he showed us the Easter video (Grace you jealous or WHAT)! It's called the Prince of Peace. As we have taught some of our lessons on the Savior this week I'm reminded that he's the center of our gospel - da #1 guy in all of the earth. Honestly being out in Boise during Easter is gonna be bommmmmmmb I'm stoked as! Imma get out there and guaranz not be able to speak any Espanol but freaking excited anyway! 

​​​​

Hope everyone has a great week! Stay happy my papayas jajaja

Lots of love, 

Hermana Elkington 

Teach the SHEEEPS

Aloooooha all you potatoes! 

This week was bomb cuz we had the spirit with us as we taught! It was nuuuuuuuuts. Me and my companeras have been having a really hard time teaching in unity and our Espanol is not so hot either - this week I have had a prayer every night and every morning that we can have a lesson where the spirit would be really strong. When we were teaching our TRC investigator, we taught a lesson about Families - we talked to her about the Family Proclamation. She is recently married, from Mexico, and was raised in a family with only her mom. She opened up in the lesson and talked to us about her family and how hard it was to have only her mom raise her - her dad had made some bad decisions. We bore some powerful as testimonies about families and how the Gospel blesses families. She then said she loves hearing our messages because the Mormon Church provides this way for families to live together forever and provides these specific ways for families to be happy together here on Earth! How freaking dope is that! It was one of the coolest things I've been a part of since I've been here at the CCM. We love her so much. It was crazy to see how God answers prayers so directly sometimes - pretty much a miracle. 

Valentines Day in the CCM was funner than you would think. Our district made valentines for everyone in our zone and for our teachers and it was grand. M. Russell Ballard also got to come talk to us that day and said some great things on how to be a positive missionary. 

Hermana Saari, one of the Hermanas in my district, has a story for every word. Not even a joke right here - you give her any word, she has a story about it, whether it's about camels or kids throwing up while taking the ACT. It is a bomb time with her let me tell you jajajaja we have trouble going to bed on time because she makes us all laugh so hard. We were in a zone meeting together (She is one of the Zone STL's and I'm a district STL) and one of our old haole leaders said "babysit" but he said it with a lisp so the "sit" part had a little "sh" sound to it and we just straight up DIED in our seats right there. The CCM is a place where you laugh at every little thing I swear. 

Here's some of my favorite quotes from this week:

"The spirit is like a burning in your bosom - that's why my pecs are so sore!" -Elder Morgan

"Ho ho ho...yo soy Santa Claus" -Elder Clarke

"Alright clothes, let's go shower!" -Hermana Saari

This week has been great. It's hard to be here, but once I find the time to just go nuts with my district we have tons of fun. Some of our leaders tell us still that this isn't about fun, but it for totes mcchickens is about fun. Teaching the gospel is fun and learning is way divertido and my goodness, the CCM is a place where if you get a song stuck in your head it stays there for DAYYYYYZZZZZ

Also, guess who I saw at the temple! SALA WITH ORANGES!!!!!

Hope everyone has a mean week! Stay happy! Lots of love,

Hermana Elkington

Todo Dia, Cada Dia!

Hola amigos!

So in our district we have an Elder, Elder Gill, who only eats bread. We're not sure what's wrong with him but he forreal only eats bread. So we call him "Pansolo" jajajajaja (Grace, I thought you'd get a kick outta that one yee)

Our Maestro, Hermano Kartchner, gives us a chiste (joke) every time we are good. His jokes are muy blanco jajaja but really funny. He also lets us have class in the gym sometimes so that we can get out of that freaking tiny classroom and we will walk around outside and practice Spanish together. Our district has been jamming to EFY music lately cuz we all miss music so much - there's some turnt EFY music though, supresa! (not really, but we act like it). 

Elder Clarke, our district leader, extended an invitation to our district last week. His invitation was to say "I love you" to each member of our district each day, or find a way to make them feel loved. As we have lived this invitation these past couple weeks, I've felt so much love it is my JAM! Before we go back to our halls to sleep each night, we will go around in a circle and shake one another's hands (no hugs! booo!) and say "I love you." It's the best let me tell you. I've only known these people for 3 weeks now, but I feel like I've known them for 10 holy crapoley years. This week all the Hermanas in our district got blessings from the Elders (we actually aren't supposed to be able to get comfort blessings because of some rule, but we found a way around it and talked to our District President) and Elder Morgan gave me a blessing that was straiiiiiight from God. He blessed me with peace and comfort for my family back home and told me that there is not one, but lots and lots of people in Idaho that are waiting for me to be there and be their friends. It was a bomb blessing let me tell you!

I also got a letter from Uncle Aaron this week that said, "Remember that of all the things the Savior could have required as a prerequisite for missionary service, the one thing he said he needed from us to call us to the work is a desire to serve God." I freaking looooove itttttt! Heavenly Father doesn't require us to know scripture mastery or always listen to EFY music, we just need a desire to serve God and our brothers and sisters! I've felt this way strong this week. I know that when you have that desire, God is going to help you with the rest of the stuff you need to be doing, and you can bless the lives of others like crazy kine. 

This week I also got to see the one and only C Riley Chowen yeeeee! Tiana and Anne left on Monday and wowzers those 2 bangahs are in Japan now doing good stuff. Thank you for all your letters and support it means the whole world to me. In other news, Hermana Saari can't say "Totoro" and says "Totro" and it cracks me up and also this Hermana, Hermana Smith, from another District, is a freaking baaaalllller at basketball! She wins knockout every single time we play! And she's a total nerd from Idaho who has never played basketball! We call her "THE SMITH!" We also made beard braids w/ Brigham Young. Shoots. OH and my hermanas straightened my hair this week for the first time in ever. lol gurlz. 

Lots of Love,

Hermana Elkington 

Poppin' Bennies (& other drogas)

Allllllooooooooohaaaaa all you papayas!

This week en the CCM was a week full of sickness. We all had sore throats and were coughing like no other and our noses were stuffed to the brim (ew!). Elder Clarke got addicted to taking Benadryl at night (he goes back to the residence hall and "pops some bennies" and actually took way too many one time jajaja danger) and we're all basically full of dayquil so that's the jam forreal. Also I've just been playing music all week long (shhhh don't tell) because what is life without some slack key guitar! Es no bueno, I tell you that! Oh also, at Sunday devotional this week, this girl played the harp and it was some straight up folky-ness that I needed. All I wanted was to like build a campfire in the middle of the CCM and have one meeeean testimony meeting while playing some uke or something. 

We learned some new words this week: Saz, one that Hermano Kartchner taught us, means like "dang it" but I think only in Mexico but we were all just like screw it, saz, we say it anyway! Nuesos means nuts so we say "what the nuesos" all the time and my favorite thing to say is "verdad that." Espanol is crazy hard but our distrito is killin' it I think - we have good times together. 

Today we went to the temple session at 7 (we had to wake up early as nuesos) but it was crazy cool! The last two times I've been through I've just been freaked out and there was too much going on in my mind to like figure stuff out, but this time (even though I was smallkine falling asleep) I got to the celestial room and just full on cruised. I felt a peace like no other - it was bomb. I think Heavenly Father was like "hey I'll give you a break for 10 minutes, just clear your mind" and I felt so peaceful - whether it was because I was drugged up or it was from the spirit, I don't know (jaja jk I know). But in all seriousness, I love this gospel and this message we have to share with the world because it is a message of peace - we want people to feel this peace and this love that God has for us (even in an imperfect church) because it's the jam! I love it. There have been moments this week where I've felt it so strong and I'm grateful for that.

We taught our first TRC this week, which is teaching someone who is an actual investigator. Our past lessons were teaching someone just acting like an investigator. Her name was Mercedes and we were in there for a full 45 minutes just chatting with her! We brought some pictures of our familias and showed them to her and then she busted out all her pictures of her familia on her phone and showed them all to us I loved it! It was crazy to be able to have a full 45 minute conversation with someone who is a native Spanish speaker. The gift of tongues is real! 

This week I've gotten packages from my parents, the Shumways, and the Jarmans, and letters/emails from tons of missionary friends & aunties & uncles! I feel crazy blessed and just full to the brim of goob vibes. I think God is looking out for me (through all these wonderful peeps en mi vida). I think one day He is with me all day and I have this great, full on bomb day, and then the next day, He's like "aiight let's see how she does on her own" and kinda lets me get at it, and it turns out to be the worst day ever, and then He picks me back up again the next day (I know He's always with me, but I think some days more than others). He is for sure letting me learn and I'm crazy grateful for the good and the bad. I'm learning so much it's nuesos! 

I love you all with all mi corazon! It's pa'ina time here at the CCM jajaja but this biz is way powerful. 

Lots of love,

Hermana Elkington