Hola a todos! Como estan!

Number one mama I forgot my patriarchal blessing. Not sure what to do about that or how I forgot it but I did! So yeah. :) Anyway this week has been so crazy full of everything! I have been called to be the Sisters coordinator, so basically if any of the sisters need anything or have anything they don´t feel they can talk to their companion about...they can talk to me. (please forgive the bad writing, the keys are all set up for spanish letters..so no grammatical lessons needed!(: I feel blessed to have that calling and to be able to take on the task of getting to know so many wonderful women! We just received 17 new sisters from the US last night at 11pm. I have yet to talk to them all but they seem so wonderful and excited to be here! Yesterday at 5pm we received 3 Haitian sisters and 10 Haitian Elders. They all speak creole and french. So this is where I am so grateful that my companion knows french! haha we balance each other out in so many ways!

Now...let me make this next part very clear. I wet the bed. I am not sure if I can make it any more clear than that. I drank so much water before bed and had a dream that I was going to the bathroom....woke up after my dream became scary and thought it was odd that I was sweating but my feet were cold. Yeah...I SOAKED the bed. Brand new mattress too. Needless to say, everyone in the MTC knows and we all have good laughs about it! haha So moving on from that...The cook, Alex, is trying to make our food more American since all of the Americans cant seem to gain a love for sucking bone marrow out of bones in our soup! haha I am normally a very picky eater, but i have tried plantain, bone marrow, huge mangos, huge avocados (for you mom), and a ton of other things that I really could not tell you what was in it. I am slowly liking it, but now they are trying to make it better. The avg weight gain at Provo MTC is 35lbs and here is 15lbs. I have stayed at the same weight the whole time, thank goodness. I have tried to work out hard for 30 minutes each day and then play basketball or volley ball for the last 30 minutes. It seems to be doing good.

Some of you will be getting letters soon because our friend Reed and his parents are going up to Salt Lake this Friday. Reed has Down Syndrome and is amazing! He is very intelligent! More on the mild side of DS. He figure skates on his roller blades, plays bball and vball really well. Can have a very normal conversation with anyone. So he has offered to take everyone's letters back to Salt Lake to send them there so they don't take so long! He is a wonderful example to us.

So on Monday it was our shopping day. Our first time out of the walls of the MTC and Temple grounds. We cant see too much outside of here because there are just tall buildings. We are gated in here and in our own little world. The sisters and Elders loaded into two vans and we drove to the store. At the store we met a man named Manuel Angelino from Italy. He spoke English, Spanish, and Italian. He was commenting on how this was the week for us to fast with bread and water like Christ did and the Elders had carts FULL of junk food. haha he was only half joking. My companion scared me when she said Well I am not Jesus I cant live off of bread and water. I couldn't tell if she was being contentious or funny. I quickly jumped in and explained our beliefs briefly and who we are. That turned into a thirty minute conversation in the store. He now wants to know more about the church and was very interested when I told him about the Book of Mormon. He thought it was our bible and I explained that it goes hand in hand with the bible and it is a history of the Americas and Christ coming to them. He gave us his information and we gave him the church websites. I hope he finds the joy in the Gospel. 

 It was a whole new world to see outside. People walking in between the lanes selling things, kids wearing rags and playing, garbage filled the streets. And this is the better part of the DR. An old man (late 70s or early 80s) came up to our van window holding three huge avocados and asked if we would buy one for 50 pesos. Hna Stevens was getting her money out when the traffic started to move. The man tried to run and catch up to us but the van was too fast. Hna Laureano (our young sassy teacher) had the driver stop. This old man ran all the way through two intersections to our van so we could buy one avocado. He was so happy. I couldn't stop seeing his face in my head. When we got into the apartment I laid on the floor and cried and cried. First time crying here. Hna Laureano came and laid by me and talked to me about it. She told me that many of the people become so happy because that means they can take some food home to their family or they can keep their home a little longer. I told her I felt bad that I had only a message for them. And all I could do was tell them that this message will be enough and it will fill their hearts with so much joy. I learned that, that is all I can do for now. I must help these people receive their Savior and His Gospel, make it to the temple, and have eternal life.

I am so blessed to be here. I am so excited for this opportunity. I love my Savior and the strength he has given me to be here. I have felt the Spirit touch my heart while being here. I have come to know many things by the revelations I have been able to receive. I am grateful for a companion who loves me selflessly and who helps me learn and grow each day that I feel I cannot teach right or say the right things.

My scripture for you all to read is 1Nephi chapter 1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is all in that Chapter. That one Chapter speaks of God speaking to his prophets, personal revelation, our Savior, prayer, faith, and so much more. Read it again and feel the Spirit speak to you. Work on the things that you may be lacking in. Little by little. I keep forgetting to bring my scriptures and notebook to the Computer lab to send you my other scriptures and thoughts. Next week will be better!

I love you all so so so much! Thank you for being so wonderful and helping me be here!

Love,

Hermana Davila

Mom put any Davila family emails on here too. as well as Joshua and Dallas. thank you! I love you!