I Guess I Haven't Found My Land Legs Yet...

Amy, your message was perfect, I am out at sea, Thank You! 

Here are some pics of me and my hija (daughter= out running in the morning. I cannot believe I am doing this! 

And also the baptism we had for a lil 9 yr. old super intellegent kid named Adriano. He gave part of his testimony in English! Yup, hello future Elder Christofferson.

Land Lover

Ahh, mi companera is too funny, she told me, [I cannot believe you have so much patience at the computer! I feel like I am going to die everytime I start typing my family. 

I just began to pet her back and sing soothing songs. Its always that way with the new missionaries in the field. You have to do this huge transition from your home life to mission life, and never feel like there is time for anything. But after a while, you get used to it. Or maybe that is just me, and my naturallt Winnie the Pooh like slowness. Hey, I blame it on both my mama and pop. 

I really am super happy to be training, although it is one of the most challenging things I have ever done in the mission thus far. You have so many goals and standards to set so that your kid can follow, and if you mess up, you have to explain that you are human.

 But President Douglas gave me a really great piece of advice this week, something that NONE of ya"ll have ever told me in your lives: I need to do more, and speak less. Original, right? But it is very true, because actions are so much more of an example than words. A great quote he gave me was: Ï cannot hear what you are saying because your actions are so loud. 

Most of the time, I take action to teach, to find investigators, to memorize, but I spend a whole lot of time before thinking and questioning about how and where and when to do it. 

I am not saying it is bad to be informed and detailed, because that is extremely important, but there are many times when i could be following the spirit more. That is the thing I want to teach Hma. Ramirez more than aything: how to trust God, and then yourself. That applies to everyone

. 

Today, begin your day not thinking in solving problems with only your limited capacities, but in what God will help you do. I know that all of ya"ll can accomplish your new goals and aspirations, if you think and more importantly, act this way. 

I love ya"ll so much, and I know that you are going to have a great week!

Hma. Addington

P.S. My companera has the cutest accent ever: Un momentico, potico aji, por favor! lol look up a vidoe of a Colombian accent in youtube if you wanna hear what I am talking about.

1Nephi 3:7, Mosiah 3:1, 5 Dand C 88:82, 83, 88

I'm a trainer!

I was so happy to talk with all of yall for Christmas. Although it was a pretty big headache, and we lost like 2 hours to teach, I could see your faces and know that everything is going okay. And me and Hma. Guelet got to sing our special musical number! That was rich, because my voice was pretty much shaking. 

And geez, Christmas night was a total blur. Every single day practically is a fiesta here, but especially for Christmas. We had permission to eat in The stake president"s house, and they helped us prepare a special desert,Italian cream cake.. (Really my specialty.) But then, we did not start to eat until about 11PM, and then there was the round of hugs and kisses, (don"t worry, I kissed Aisha, their dog), and then the crazy fireworks, and then we finally went to bed at 12:30 PM. We felt dead the next day. And then I talked with ya"ll, and felt even more tired! 

I got called to serve in Chorillos, another part of Lima like 40 minutes away, and finish the training for a new sister, Hma. Ramirez! She is beautiful, small, Colombian, and talks in a sing songy way. I am her second mama, just like Hma. Mendoza, my second triainer, and I could not be happier.

 I know that it is going to be a huge challenge for me, because it is the first time that I am training, but she already knows alot. I had an exchange with her one month ago, so I kinda already knew how she worked with her first mama, Hma. Hansen, but now we will be working together! 

I know that this year is going to be different but great, and is a new opportunity to be better. I was thinking about that Regina Spektor song the other day, and one part that says,"And a happy new year, to all that is living, to all that is kind, young and forgiving"" 

Its really something beautiful that I have learned how to do more than anything in the mission: forgive. Mostly myself, for ll my imperfections, and others as well. I know that its the only way that we are going to progress here, in the mission and in life in general. 

I love all of you, at home in the mission, and all over the world1 Have a great new year, I will write more next week, and I don"t know what more to say!

Chaio! 

Hermana Banana Addington

P.S. Look up vids from Mormon.org and share them with someone (less active, investigator, lo que sera)  this week, or I will HUNT YOU DOWN!

1 Cor. 13:11, 13, and Santiago 4:17 Joseph Smith History Ch. 1:29

Christmas Festivities

We went to the Zoo, and then received Christmas presents, and then made a Christmas tree!      

Not in that order

 

Chrimbus Cheers!

The first are the pics from the Chrimbus multizona we had in San Juan, with all of Lima but most importantly, all the Hermanas, misioneras! 

Seriously, me and Hma. Guelet were dying, two hens in this flock of chickens. We are the only sisters in Villa El Salvador. But its cool because we got our little feminine break there in San Juan. 

Then we made a Crimbus tree in our lil" apartment! I modeled it after my first grade projects, because we have no plata, (money, greenbacks), to spend on a real one. But yeah, it turned out pretty well. 

Blame It On the Rain, ya ya

Well, I am super glad y'all liked my photos last week, because this week I forgot my adapter for my camera and cannot send any.But its cool, because I could take more time now to send a heartfelt letter that will make y'all both laugh tears of joy and cry laughs at the same time. 

 Just a few old photos to show for the heck of it. She'll be angry later LOL

 Hannah and me. BFF's pretty much..

 Hannah swaggin in Hawaii '09

I'm sure if she found a tramp she'd recreate this pose

Geez, these letters that I received from ya"ll are so funny, I am laughing like a fool just from reading little parts of them. So much that all the nerds in this Internet are looking at me all weird, (like I"m the one that doesn't have a life. lol) (One of them is making a game character that he says looks just like his "girlfriend". Keep dreamin Carlito, keep dreamin.) 

This week has been really fun, because I got to have an intercambio (exchange) with the girls in Chorillos! It was meant to be an intercambio with the sisters in San Juan, but Hma, Mendoza, my gorgeous anterior companion has a swollen eye, and so I went to Chorillos, because if Hma. Guelet went to her same old area with her same companion, I think she would have gone crazy. 

I learned a lot from Hma. Hansen and her baby Hma. Ramirez (new companion she is training, we call them daughters in the mission). Hma. Hansen is Californian and Hma. Ramirez is Colombian, so both of them have these sing song accents. They both taught me how to be a harder worker, how to be super positive even though their area is super hard and touristy. 

We ran in the morning to the beach and they both kicked my butt. Hma. Hansen's father died about a month ago, and she went home for a week to have his funeral and comfort her family. I expected her to be really sad, but she was actually really put together. 

She helped me to realize that we really can do anything if we have enough faith, and we put more of our trust in God. Of course we are going to have off days, but the important thing is that we need to keep picking ourselves up again. I love all of ya"ll, and I don"t know what is going to happen in this life, but I know that if we can all be more like Hma. Hansen, we will be okay. 

Mosiah 16:9

Have fun with your Chrimbus decorations! We still have a mountain of things to do in the house. 

Hma. Addington

I promise I will write more next week. 

Hola, Hermanita! A letter from Hannah's friend

This is an email that Hma. Heide, a super gorgeous sister from 

From: Heidy Correa <hcorrea2982@gmail.com>
Date: 2014-11-24 7:30 GMT-05:00
Subject: hOLA HERMANITA
To: hannah.addington@myldsmail.net

HERMANA ADDINGTON:

COMO ESTA HERMANITA, FUE GUSTO HABERTE CONOCIDO EL SABADO UD ES SUPER, ES LO MAXIMO ESPERO TENER LA OPORTUNIDAD DE TENERLA EN MI BARRIO MUY PRONTO, TAMBIEN DESEO QUE SE RECUPERE DE SU BRAZO CON MUCHA FE Y ORANDO A NPC SE QUE TODO SE PUEDE PORQUE PARA NPC NO HAY IMPOSIBLES.

LE AMO MUCHISIMO SE ME CUIDA LE ESCRIBO LA PROXIMA SEMANA.

HERMANA HEIDY

Translates to:

SISTER ADDINGTON:

AS THIS SISTER WAS LIKE have met SATURDAY YOU IS SUPER, ES LO MAXIMO HOPE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE IT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD SOON ALSO WISH TO RECOVER YOUR ARM WITH MUCH FAITH AND PRAYING TO NPC IS THAT ALL YOU CAN BECAUSE IMPOSSIBLE FOR NO NPC.

I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH YOU CARE WILL WRITE ME NEXT WEEK.

SISTER HEIDY