I finally have an opportunity to write. I thought my P day was Tuesday, but apparently it was Wednesday...I didn't completely freak out or anything...
But jes I am in the CCM now! I have been here officially a whole week. And it has, honestly, been the longest week of my life. Both because it's been incredibly emotional and because we have just done so much!
I arrived on my first day to the CCM at like 6am and they started us right off. We had breakfast, met with the CCM President, Presidente Cox and his wife, and then they let us sleep for a few hours. Then we went right to lunch and classes! I am in Distrito "Moroni". My companion is Hermana Powers! She's from utah and apparently she didn't have a consistent companion for the whole time she has been here. They kept leaving i think...and then she was in trios or something but now she's got me and we're leaving at the same time - a week from yesterday.
The classes have been super intense. It is like church/seminary on steroids. Which is actually pretty nice, but stressful at the same time. I'm pretty sure they just want us to know the material really, really well so they're pounding it into our heads everyday. We also have fake investigators that we're teaching and it's been nice because you learn effective ways of teaching the different topics and you can genuinely pray and bear your testimony to these people about it and you feel the Spirit pretty strongly. Even though it's our teachers who are playing the investigators!
The food has been pretty great, not going to lie. This place reminds me of Mexico so much. We got on this old school bus to drive from the airport to the CCM and the streets reminded me of the streets of Mexico, and while the rest of the American missionaries on the bus were freaking out because we cut off tons of people and almost hit a biker, I almost was in tears because it was just so nostalgic!! And yeah the food has been filled with rice, beans, eggs, tamales and all sorts of other delicious things. Some of the hermanas have complained that they're gaining weight and I understand why. It's delicious.
Today is our P day and we had a chance to go to the Guatemala City temple! It's right next to the CCM so we just walked to it. It was so great. It was very small and it was all in Spanish, but the Spirit was still the same. And that was incredible - that I am thousands of miles away from the US and I can still feel the presence of God and peace in the temple down here. It was pretty overwhelming.
It has been such a whirlwind week full of tears of homesickness, but then incredibly good days - which I now appreciate soooooo much. Presidente Cox and Hermana Cox are awesome too and really look out for you. He asked to talk to me for a bit because he saw that I was pretty sad at the beginning and just wanted me to know that they're thinking about me and that I'm definitely not alone in missing my family.
I do miss you all. So much that my heart aches pretty much every day. But I'm not forgetting the feeling I had to come here and I know why I'm here. I'm here to work hard and to feel the Spirit and serve the people I am meant to serve in Guatemala. And I'm excited to get out to my area, Retalhuleu and meet the people there.
Sorry for the lack of pictures!! They took away our cameras at the beginning because apparently they've had problems with some Elders taking innappropriate pictures of the sisters or something at the CCM - so we get it when we go out. So I'll send you tons when I get to my area. Although we do have a couple pictures of us standing in front of the temple and the CCM! But they still have to send that to us.
I love you all and miss you all. Keep praying for me and the missionaries here! And I'm praying for all of you everyday.
-Hermana Layton
Oh yeah also peoples!
I don't know when my next P day will be actually. I leave for Retalhuleu next Tuesday and I don't know when the P day is there. Maybe the next Monday? I dunno. But hopefully they'll allow us another 5 minute - I'm alive - email when I get there. But I will for sure let you know. I'm pretty excited to get there actually. And take pictures!!!\
Love you all again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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