Monday 23 September 2013

At home in Villa Mella!

Ohhh heyy, so sorry for that whole falling off the face of the planet thing... But I'm back!  And even in a new area!  Will explain everything, but going to start with my last week in Gazcue ... which just happened to be super epic.

 Had our last district meeting. 
This is my whole district minus our district leader and his companion.
Seriously all girls, and keeps growing every transfer.


And, Elder Jn Baptiste is finishing his mission!
He has literally been my zone leader since getting here...sooo I just had to document it
with a good old, awkward missionary picture!


Said goodbye to Wendy, and the next day I was off for my new area.



Gazcue has seriously become like home, I´ll miss it tons, but it was also such a relief to have a change after 4 transfers (7 months) in the same half of one area. I was pretty sure I had missed the part of my call that said I would be serving in the "Santo Domingo East Gazcue mission" ...Haha



I´m now serving in Villa Mella, 
and back with my 1st trainer, Hermana Prestwich! 
It´s been way exciting and fun to be back with her!  
We celebrated my 7 month anniversary
(with my newest food love -- a huge colmado fanta)
and got right to work.


This area is the weirdest mix of city and jungle. We live right next to the metro and basically use it to get to the office for meetings.  It is such an adventure all the time.


I have a hugee list of things I want to write about, but it will have to wait until next week! Especially now that I´ve found an internet center that has space bars that work!!!  Scoree!

love you all, hope life is greatt

love, hermana coe





Monday 16 September 2013

Finally!!


Soooo, transfer day came and I'm actually in a new area!  I'm now serving in Villa Mella with  Hermana Prestwich again!  Crazy right? At first it looked like I would be staying (AGAIN!) in Gazcue, but Tuesday night I received a call fromoneof (ughh hate internet centers - this keyboard sucksssss) the A.Ps sayingI would be leaving, and to pack to go the next day. 

Talk about crazy.  I was excited and upset all at the same time.  But the change came and wentand I adjusted alot more smoothly than I thought I would. Nothing like my first transition into the field :-)  And being able to be in an equal companionship is awesome (not training this time). I feel like I'll finally actually be able to focus on fine tuning my teaching and I also willget tohelp Hna Prestwich out with her sister training leader responsibilities.

The house in Villa Mella is completelydifferent. Hugeeeee compared to gazcue. The power goes out A LOT, and we have a mega ant problem. But its also a very serious house soo I've beentrying myhardest  to lighten it up. Trying to have faith thatthis is where I need to be.

My bruise from the gua gua mishap is healing - and I had my first ride on the metro here (today) and it is so rad. The bright side is I will hardly ever be using gua guas or carritos here!

Also I'm superbummed at myself because I forgot my camera cord at the house, and this is a way ghetto computer with no memorycard slot. sooooooo you'll have to wait until next week for pictures!

love youguys tonsssssss<3
hna kenz

Monday 9 September 2013

Mr. Toad's Wild GuaGua Ride


(Preface from Sue)
So...we have been having some trouble getting some new shoes to Kenzie (sent a pair a month ago that either got lost our stolen) so, today, in order to ask a few questions about how to send another pair, I was working at the computer, at the time she usually sends her Monday email today, to catch her so we could email back and forth a bit. 

As luck would have it, I noticed just as her first email arrived.  It said "Are you on?"  I told her I was, and that I needed to talk to her about shoes.  She said OK, but asked if I would read her email first in case I had any questions or concerns to ask her, so she could answer me during the 60 minutes she is able to be online, and I wouldn't have to wait a week for answers.  So here's the letter:
  
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hi family, so this week has been an absolutely crazy one to say the least, I have kind of a crazy story and I've been debating if I should even send it or not, but honestly it turned into a testimony builder that is really close to my heart and I hope that you can take it in the same way.

This past saturday we had district meeting, it got moved from thursday, and on the way there in the guagua, we got into a car accident. Let me preface this with the fact that we are all fine. Luckily the car that hit us was a really small fruit truck thing and the gua gua just tipped a little to the side before we came to a stop. Unfortunately because of the speed we were going, and the lack of seat belts or doors, three woman fell right out. It was a really, really scary, eye opening experience. 

No one was injured too badly, some skinned legs, and possibly a broken bone but no one mortally injured. But what I learned is that Heavenly Father truly watches over and loves his missionaries. Not one of us walked away with anything more than some bruises and some sore muscles the next day. We walked the rest of the way to our meeting (I think we were a little in shock at that point)

The opening hymn at our meeting was "Senor Te Necesito" (I need thee every hour), and not  one of us could sing because of the realization of how true the words to that hymn were.

Literally no more than 5 minutes before the accident, I had made a joke to hna taylor about not wanting to slide off the guagua, and she had put her arm through mine. For some reason we never detached, and I think it helped me to stay as safe as I was. I know that Heavenly Father watches over His missionaries. I KNOW that there were angels there that day, and I KNOW that as crappy as that was to happen, it was something I needed to see and realize for myself. Talk about seeing the hand of the Lord in your life. We are so blessed and loved.

I really hope this isn't something that I should have just kept quiet, don't want to  freak you out, but I really am okay (except for a big bruise on my butt... and I lost my book of mormon.... must have dropped off my lap...)

I just want to send this off so that you can have a chance to respond or ask any questions if you need to, so that its not like an ended conversation that you have to think about this week without being able to ask. We've all been checked out by the doctor, and even got a chance to watch '17 miracles' at the bishop's house last night so that we wouldn't have to just sit in the house and we're back to normal schedule today!

*********************
(More from Sue)
So needless to say, we emailed back and forth a bit, and I thought I'd share a few excerpts from  her comments.  She is doing well, and I am unbelievably grateful for her safety. 

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 . . . thanks for everything. I got a blessing saturday after our meeting cause I was feeling a little scrambled and freaked out to get back on a guagua.... but it was a beautiful blessing promising comfort, and that I would have the health I need.  Everything will be okay, and on the bright side, I'm getting to see each color of the rainbow display itself on my bumm as the days go by...we're on to green and purple and pink right now... haha.  It looks a lot like a lower back tattoo, we've made lots of good jokes about it

. . . got the call re: transfers yesterday, and I'm staying in the same area with the same companion for another 6 weeks.  Can't say I'm not disappointed; feeling pretty ready for a change.  I literally will have spent more than 8 months of my mission in the same area.  But apparently there is someone I haven't met yet, or something I haven't done yet, and I gotta stick it out.

 . . . I will make sure to be extra careful and obedient to the mission rules ... and always sit in the backkk of the guagua!  I know that you are sacraficing a lot, and also that I'm so blessed by all the people I've got looking out for me, I'll do all I can out here!

LOVE YOU ALL LOTS!   STAY SAFE,
 hna coe



Monday 2 September 2013

Hna Coe, the terminator :-)



So I might have broken my second fan.... in our house....the same way both times.... and that way might have been by tripping on it and knocking it over causing the blade to shatter everywhere.

Hermana Lecheminant sent in the request for a new fan blade to the housing elders and it looked something like this:

Zone: Santo Domingo
Area: Gazcue
Need: new fan blade
Problem/Reason: Hermana Coe

Awesome haha, they are now both hidden under a cabinet in the kitchen which we call the fan graveyard. But don't worry I'm paying for it at our study desk every morning..... (Note from Sue:  I think this is the FIRST mention of how HOT and stinkin' HUMID it is in the D.R. -- I would be complaining DAILY - kenzie never does -- amazing!)


Although I will say my luck with plants hasn't gotten any better either. A less active member gave me a cactus to grow when she heard about another flowering plant that I had somehow managed to kill in a week (I just wanted something pretty for our house).
I am sad to say the cactus is now dead and gone.... but at least it lasted like 2 months... I don't know how I do it. I think its a talent.

ahaha, but it was a good week!  Almost hitting the end of another transfer, time is flying. Hope to get a better post off next week!


Hope you find a moment to laugh 
and that the happy moments keep rolling on by!

lovelovelove
hermana Coe

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NOTE FROM SUE:  Kenzie spent most of her computer time (60 min) writing to her 'baby sis' who has decided to serve a mission, just like her big sis!  Due to the lowering of the minimum age that girls can leave on a mission about 6 months ago (from 21-yrs to 19-yrs), both Kenzie & Abbie could end up on missions at the same time.  Kind of overwhelming to me (Sue), but their commitment to sharing the gospel and willingness to make a personal sacrifice to serve & share with others is a beautiful thing, and not something I can put the brakes on.  I LOVE the knowledge and peace that comes to my life from the gospel of Jesus Christ, how could I deny anyone the opportunity to solidify their testimony by teaching others, and give that peace to others in the process?

Anyway - thought I'd share Kenzie's letter to Abbie, full of advice & support & love that a mom can only dream of having her daughter #1 give to daughter #2.  I feel very grateful.



***********************************
abs

baby sis

twinkle toes!

I've got butterflies in my stomach right now, its blowing my mind. I can't believe its almost here, have you decided when the earliest you would leave is? This makes me so homesick for you! I miss you tons and tons and I hope you know that!

Read your scriptures every day and mark ones that stand out to you or that you like, you will usee them on the mish, let me tell you!

I only get an hour of personal study every day so I usually just study a chapter or 2, I've decided to study in 3rd nephi and work my way to the end, so far i'm a couple chapters of ether and its awesome, soo stinking interesting, then I try to read the same chapters in spanish during my language study

study the lessons and points to the lessons in preach my gospel and just prepare yourself emotionally too, I just dont think people always understand how emotionally hard missions are, they are exhuasting and you're going to be dooing a lot of new things. But also remember that you are so lucky to have the power of the atonement backing you up. I was talking to hna lecheminant the other day about this; that really I don't understand how so many people make it through missions because you really have to be strong, I feel like more people should be going home or giving up, but it is true that there is so much power that just doesn't come from you. I couldn't do half the things I do, under only my own power. This sunday I felt like I really needed to get up and share my testimony in sacrament mtg, which I've never done before here or in spanish, but I did and honestly dont remember what I said but afterwards I just kept hearing from people how good my spanish was in it. I know that that is the gift of tongues and it comes in the moments that we really need it. Later I found out that one of our investigators, an 18-year-old girl who I thought I would never see again (we stopped teaching her because she can't join the church because her boyf doesn't like it) was sitting in the back, I'm grateful that I had the chance to do that for her, especially because I might be leaving this area in a week (chances are pretty good i'll be transferred)

but I love you lots, I know that you will be an awesome missionary, I know that in the back of our minds, we always knew that you would be doing this -- it's just so rad that we could do it at the same time!  Dont be afraid, remember that you know enough, you are not the only one who has been preparing you, yourr heavenly father has been there every step of the way, giving you the experiences you need to change the lives of those who are prepared.

much love
big sis