Venturing into the Unknown

Hola people! Did everybody else hear the amazing news!? I am sure you actually watched it happen because you are not in a gospel bubble, but... THE SEAHAWKS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!!! 

I found out at about 8:15 on Monday morning while eating breakfast in the comedor. My compañera and I were casually eating our breakfast when a kitchen worker named Noe came to tell us the good news. We have become friends with Noe and he is our source for news both good and bad from the outside world. He came up to me with a sign that said "Manning couldn't pull through!" I jumped up and started screaming! The whole comedor was staring at me but I didn't care because the SeaHawks had won! Neo was laughing and all the boys who are Manning fans were coming over trying to give me grief, but it was simply a perfect morning. I may have accidentally spilled some milk in all my excitement, but again, I was too happy to care. It was a total butt-whooping at 43- 8 and I am so proud of my Seattle boys! Go Hawks!

The rest of the week was more of the usual. Studying the gospel and language from dawn until dusk. Although I am nowhere near fluent yet, I think that my language skills are noticeably improving from day to day. Although it feels like an eternity, I have been here for three weeks, which means only three more weeks until I get to finally be in Ecuador!

The main even of this week was going to the Mexico City Temple. I was so excited to leave the CCM campus because despite all of the glorious space available on these 90 acres of beautiful Provo-like property, I have been starting to feel a little claustrophobic here. We left early this Thursday morning. We hoped on some of the CCM buses and settled in for the hour long ride to the temple. 

When the gates at the entrance of the CCM opened to release us, I swear the air somehow seemed more breathable. Of course, three second later we were almost T-boned by some of the crazy Mexico City drivers, but our driver was competent enough to get us out of the way in time and we continued on our very bumpy, scary, merry way to the temple.

We didn't get to do a session at the temple because it is currently being renovated, but we got a tour of the visitor's center and got to spend some time on the temple grounds. It is a very gorgeous temple and I would love to be able to go inside it one day. But, I think it is safe to say the visitor's center more than made up for it. The visitor center is very large and very beautiful. It has huge rooms dedicated to sharing and showing the history of the church in Mexico and it even has a room that is so elaborately created, that you actually feel like you have walked into a random street in Israel during the time of Jesus. It is such a peaceful and magnificent place. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to visit there.

On the way home from the temple, I felt truly humbled to be here in Mexico City. I paid more attention to the surrounding streets and all the people who were out and about. As we passed by block after block of random street vendors and shops with garage doors wide open for business and hardly anyone in them, a feeling of love for each and everyone of of God's children came over me. 

I have always known that despite my hardships, I have lived a truly blessed life, but seeing the way that the 20 something million people who inhabit this city live everyday has made me even more grateful for everything I have. It is amazing to me that I can look at this city, with all of its color, vibrancy, music, and happy people, and in so many ways be glad that I don't actually live here. Despite the dirt, the heat, the pollution, and the lack of space, everyone I saw today looked genuinely happy. Nevertheless, I know that I am blessed to live in a place with clean water all the time and actual street gutters. I am lucky to live in a place where picking up trash off the street is considered important. I am so lucky to not have to know what it is like to go without a shower or clean clothes. I am lucky in so many ways to have things that the people here don't, and even still I am even more lucky to get to experience the way they live as well. I know that once I get to Ecuador I will be even more humbled, but I am so thankful for the opportunity to see life here in Mexico City first. 

This truly is a beautiful city. In many ways it is similar to Salt lake. It is nestled in between the mountains and has amazing natural features. However, much of the natural beauty gets hidden by the many cement houses that seem to climb half way up the side of every mountain in view. It is a type of beauty that I am not quite used to yet, but that I am learning to appreciate for its own unique qualities. I think I am starting to see the people around me the way that God sees them. All of the 20 million people in this city are children of God. He loves them just as he loves me and I think he is teaching me to love them too. I know that soon I will feel the same way about all of the people in Ecuador, and the more I love them, the more I love their language!

Now, to impart a little bit of Missionary wisdom: I challenge everyone to read Mosiah 4 this week. It is an amazing chapter; one that I have been using in lessons all week. I hope it will give you all as much inspiration as it did for me.

Anyway, that's all for now! Until next week!

Love,

Hermana Eyre