July 2, 2015- Hello Family!

Hello family!! I apologize in advance if my spelling and grammar are bad... I have one hour, a strange keyboard, and weird spanish&english brain. 

So... I've been here at the CCM for an entire week now! It has been muy bien! I'm sorry that it sounded like nobody heard from me, I thought for sure I had sent the email when I got here! Thank you for all of the prayers and support, I love you all so much.

Whenever anybody told me that I needed to prepare for the Mission more because it would be hard, i was like- but I"m LILLIE! Haha, how young and naive. This has easily been the hardest week of my entire life. The other missionaries don't even seem to worry about their family, but the first night I cried like a baby! I realized it is a huge blessing to me to have a family that I love so much to miss so much. 

I have been placed in a trio companionship (as if adjusting to one companion would be hard- we get to adjust to having two;) But Hermana Keller and Hma Warner are great, and I am grateful to have them here beside me. Hma Warner is the short one, she is so funny and really lightens our companionship. Hma Keller is the blond, and she... is basically ME. Which can cause some tension since I'm a pretty hard person to get along with;) But things have been going good, and we are really learning how to follow the spirit to know how to serve one another and work as a team!

We were placed in a trio companionship probably because we're all in the intermediate Spanish class. I think our district is the only one that is. Not that it means anything, we still are learning the basics of Spanish because I don't think our maestro knows how to not follow the book. But that's fine because we have a lot of additional study time to do what we are on the level do to. I feel like I could be doing more additional study... but ask me how to invite someone to be baptized, the missionary purpose, and the first vision and i''ve got those down perfectly in Español! 

The second day we got here they told us we had an investigator to teach and we were like, 'Whaaaa??" and then they told us we had to teach him completely in Spanish and we were like, "Quééééé?" ;) His name is Fabian and we have since taught him 4 times, and he has agreed to baptism on August 1st! But, we found out he was a teacher yesterday when we saw him eating lunch in the comedor and I was a little annoyed that I had invested so much personal time and prayer for someone who was already endowed. Or maybe we can tell people I've already got my first investigator through the temple...? ;) 

The CCM here in Mexico City is seriously a place set apart for a divine purpose. The spirit is so strong, and the purpose clear. It used to be a church highschool, but then they converted it to be the MTC here in Mexico when the time was finally right:) Mexico City is like the most jam-packed city ever, but here we have 90 beautiful acres of classes, plants, and beauty. And, the water comes from a large well they have on campus so you can drink it here! Tell me that God doesn't work miracles, and I will prove you wrong:) This campus was prepared like 50 years in advance for us to learn Spanish here and learn how to teach as Christ would.

I can't wait to be out in the field.. but I only have 5 weeks left here at the CCM and I am grateful! When things were really hard last week I cried to my Branch Presidente in our personal interview about how hard the work was, and how much I missed home. He told me that I need to stop thinking about myself and start serving others. I was like "But, I'm not in the field yet..." and he told me that I have been given two companions to focus on and help, one extra than any one else here! It was a little hard for him to tell me I was being selfish, but I realized that I didn't come here to Mexico for me, so I should stop thinking so much about ME. Things have gotten ten thousand times better since I've had this realization. 

I'm going to try to send some personal emails now, so I love you so much!! Have an amazing week, and I'll write again next Thursday!

Con Amor,

Hermana Swallow

Here are some more fotos I took earlier today:) I love you soooo much!

The green circle is where we go if there is an earthquake, its our safe spot.

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