Trip to Barcelona:
I felt like Harry potter when I got to the train station with my MTC group. There were 8 of us, the ride was beautiful! It was about 2 hours, but it felt like 2 minutes. When I stepped off the train the first thing I noticed was the humidity, it was like I had just taken a mouthful of fishy water! It is humid, but I love it! (Side note: I heard about the train accident that happened transfer day. Elder Ward who was in our MTC group was injured in the accident. We have been told he would make a full recovery and will be able to stay in the mission field. The lord looks out for his missionaries. The elders said he was in the office the other day with his neck brace just cracking jokes...good for him.)
Companion Assignment:
President assigned us our companions like we were on a T.V. show. There was a room full of trainers, and the new batch of missionaries. I was called up first and President gave my brief intro and gave hints for where I would be serving and then paused for effect... "You will be serving just over the hill from Barcelona, how would you like that? How about...SABADELL!?" I had no idea where that was of course, so i just smiled as my trainer Hermana Barrera came up to give me a hug. Hermana Barrera is everything I could have hoped for in a trainer. She is from Texas, but her parents are from Mexico, she speaks Spanish perfectly. She is very patient, organized, humble, a great teacher and incredibly faithful. Sometimes In think she has more faith in me than I do. Her faith and excitement for the work is contagious. The very first day on our way to our Piso, we missed our train and I made a comment like, well I guess there's someone we are supposed to find who needs to get baptized. She lookesd me straight in the eyes and said "Hermana, that is exactly why." She is excited that I know Spanish, she openly compliments me on my Spanish every time we meet someone new, she gives me the validation I need to feel like I am doing well and can therefore progress faster.
First Day in the Field:
We had to wait in this government building for our residency or something and I got antsy. I told my companion I wanted to start talking to people and she egged me on, so I did. It was awesome. I talked to the man across from me and it was contagious, other missionaries caught up with our group and pretty soon we had the whole building talking. After 2 hours waiting for our turn we had talked to almost everyone sitting down. I decided to make a game out of it so we set the goal to get three people's telephone numbers and we did! I was going to give it to the AP, but he told me it would be better to give it to the president at lunch, so we did! He was surprised, smiled, and said that was a first. We were all way too proud of ourselves and just beaming!
A Few Random Things:
I will likely be training on my 2nd transfer.
There are no carpets here! weird.
Everyone here kisses on thee cheek, on on each side, I'm getting used to it, it is more personal and kind of nice.
I am enjoying using my Spanish.
I do stand out by the way, everyone thinks I am European, which is good, because If they thought I was American they would not talk to me (so my companion tells me).
This week has been hard, but very rewarding, the lord is helping me in very specific ways and I am grateful!
Love,
Hermana Bennett
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