Training is such an adventure

The point of training is to help prepare a missionary to know all of his or her duties in the mission field and help them learn to really 'be a missionary'. In case of missionaries who are learning languages, it is also to help the new missionaries learn how to speak the language. Luckily, I'm not even hardly having to train Sister Chung! She came pre-trained!

IT SNOWED!

Sister Chung is half Chinese (thus her last name), and half Chilena (her middle name is Alejandra). She is amazing! She speaks Spanish fluently, having spoken it at home, is a convert, and does better in our lessons than I do! She is kind, loves the people, adores Hispanic food, is from California, is very in tune with the spirit, and is overall just great. I look forward to being with her for the next three months!

Going to transfers is always a roller coaster, and a bit overwhelming given the number of people who congregate there. All the same, it was a blessing to see the majority of my old companions, district members, and Zone Leaders. They lined us (the trainers) up in a room with the trainees and President Reynolds read off who was training who and I was very blessed to receive Sister Chung.

She did the three-week program in the MTC like me, with the same Branch President as me. It's been crazy how many little connections we have been finding as we have gone through the days. We had pizza after we all were acquainted with our fledglings. Elder Rogers in my District is training Elder Rigby, and Elder Lance is training Elder Merrell. We are a district full of greenie fire!

Even more fun is that a member of our District, the companion of our District Leader (who is from Puerto Rico), only speaks Spanish (he's from Puebla, Mexico). What does that mean? District meetings are now going to be held entirely in Spanish. Crazy. That's never happened to me before. It's great for the new Spanish-speakers in our district, though. I know it will really help them become fluent in Spanish. Sister Chung has that one down already, but it will still be fun for her to enjoy more opportunities speaking Spanish. (Question of the day in District Meeting: "Quiere Esposo feo o hijos feos?" Mi y mi compañera escogimos un esposo feo en vez de hijos feos porque queremos lo mejor por nuestros hijos, pero los muchachos (todos) decidieron "porque va a vivir toda su tiempo en las eternidades con esta persona" que es mas importante a tener una esposa linda y hijos feos. Ay ay ay. Hombres.)

Me and my trainee and my new red dress!

Generation Photo. My Trainer, Me, and my Trainee

First day care photo in Scottie Corolli.

I may or may not have covered my trainee's bed in balloons.... (the

note says *thanks for being such a FUN companion*)

It's fun because as a companionship we actually speak Spanish a lot. I'd say maybe a third of the time we speak, we are speaking in Spanish! I thought it was fun being companions with Sister Valverde because of how much we spoke Spanish, but with Sister Chung it's even more. I love it. We speak and understand one another's Spanish, and she is helping me grow in your mission language as well. Now the question is: since we were both put into the "native" program for Spanish at the MTC, do we actually have to do an hour of language study every day? The guideline is that if it's not your native language to still study every day, but by mission standards isn't it technically already our "native" language? Think, ponder, discuss. Until I have the opportunity to ask my Mission President, we will.... But Sister Chung is anxious about every moment we are not outside teaching the gospel and proselyting, so sometimes I wonder if maybe we just shouldn't.... I'm not sure I ever thought I would end up in this situation!

On my trainee's first day I went through a yellow light and it turned red (apparently - our member said it did) and we got flashed. Oops. I have actually never been flashed by a light before. Good Golly Miss Molly, but I do not much enjoy it.

This week we have done quite a bit of knocking in the freezing cold. At risk of over-pressing the point, it was cold. Most cold. Most extraordinarily frigid. One could even say it was glacial. Toe warmers and hand warmers converted into ice packs. Noses converted into Rudolphs. Fingers holding the Book of Mormon have temporarily lost dexterity. Yea, even unto the dropping of the temperature of the apartment day after day.

"And now all these things did [Hermana Voss] and [her] fellow laborers do who were over the church, walking in all diligence [in the North Pole], teaching the word of God in all things [even when it was 'too cold' to keep the door open so they could share their message], suffering all manner of afflictions [like unto frozen toes and fingers], being persecuted by all those who did not belong to the church of God [insomuch that they were too prideful to impart of their substance and warmth to the freezing missionaries]." (Slight unscriptural adaptation credit of Mosiah 26:38)

However, snow covering Glen Cove is very scenic. We were driving up to Glen Cove and the snow was gently blowing off trees and falling on the road and on the ground. We passed frozen lakes, cute Victorian houses covered in a layer of winter, and the sky was that purpleish color that always precedes and follows snowfalls. We sang Disney songs whilst knocking to distract ourselves from the cold. Our favorite was adapted from "How Do You Know?" in the Disney movie Enchanted. Our new lyrics were, "Who Do You Know?" Asking referrals is very important.

We took silhouette pictures in Garden City and this one makes me

look smallest. :)

Guess who came back from Ecuador this week? Ana the elder! We are going to see her today and I am thrilled. I was at church talking to an investigator (we had eight at church this week) and I heard a very familiar voice say, "¡hermanita!". I turned around and just about died from happiness. I know Ana and her family were only gone for a month but it felt like a decade. My week was never the same without going over for Family Home Evenings with them, and I am pleased to resume doing so.

Little Spiritual Thought from D&C 121:

"41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile--

43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;"

This has really struck me this week and I know as we strive to be kind leaders, the type of leaders who help others and don't view themselves even really as leaders, we will be blessed. Our examples are more powerful than we believe. I feel blessed to be able to access priesthood power through Leaders in my life and I know the priesthood will continue to bless me my whole life through.

I found Sister McDowell! Sister Fa'ulao joined her over in the Hamptons.

May your lives continue to be blessed and sanctified.

My love,

Hermana Ally Voss