Week #4 Time flies in the CCM

Everything's going well here at the CCM! Learning is going great, I'm learning so much and so fast. Every week the Spanish gets better and better. I can understand Spanish really well and I can have conversations. It is definitely getting easier as the weeks go on but I know when I get to Chile it will be completely different. I can do pretty much everything in Spanish that I need to do. I can pray, share testimony, and teach lessons. But there is still sooo much that I still need to learn though, still a lot of words to learn and a ton of grammar. The gift of tongues is definitely real, but I have learned it isn't a gift that happens all the time when you want it to. You have to prepare yourself and do all that you can then that is when the Holy Ghost steps in and helps.

It doesn't feel like the CCM is that ginormous. Everything is pretty close to where we sleep except for out casa is the furthest casa away from absolutely everything. It is in the back corner of the CCM. But there isn't a ton of walking and the shoes are fine. I've been just wearing my slip on shoes because it is more work to tie my shoes. 

Geez Golden State is on there way to beating the Bulls amazing record. That would be awesome if they did. That's awesome that the Thunder are also doing really well. Hopefully they'll keep it up and maybe take that championship away from the Warriors. Wow I'm surprised that the Jazz still suck, I thought they would be doing better than the Warriors haha. That's cool that Denver made it to the super bowl, has Manning been playing? Should be a good game. 

I haven't gotten your care package yet from you guys. It will probably be here tomorrow or by the latest Monday because they are closed on the weekends. Also Grandma N sent me an email saying that she ordered me some things as well. Thanks!

I really don't know what I want. The only thing that I'm wishing that I brought was a sweatshirt because it is pretty cold today in Mexico City and I only have shorts and short sleeve shirts. But I'll probably just buy a cool one once I get to Chile. 

So actually Esteban sent us the pictures that I think he posted on his Instagram so I'll be sending those to you guys. But his Instagram is Estebannava if you want to look at his Instagram. 

Elder Newkirk's district and Esteban Nava

Elder Newkirk's district and Esteban Nava

There are so many spiritual experience that happen here all the time. This is the perfect place to grow your testimony and learn so much to be ready for the field. Sunday's are definitely the best spiritual days here at the CCM. There are many different devotional and classes which are all super amazing. Sunday's are like the spiritual paycheck for the week. Like this Sunday we listened to a devotional given by Elder Holland at the Provo MTC a few years ago. He talked about how much you need to know as a missionary and how much you need to prepare. It made me want to just sit and read scriptures and stuff all day, but there just isn't time. His talk made me want to work even harder as a missionary and to do all that I can to be ready to help any investigator that I meet. Also throughout the CCM I have been reading the Book of Mormon. I started reading it a couple weeks ago and I'm already in 3 Nephi. This has been the fastest the I have read the scriptures and I absolutely love reading the scriptures now. Almost every spare opportunity of studying that I get I am reading the Book of Mormon. We also heard a devotional given by Elder Bednar a couple weeks ago in which he challenged us to get a simple paperback Book of Mormon and read it with one question in your mind. As you read it you mark scriptures that apply to your question that you have. He said that if you start doing this now by the time that we are his age that we will have a bookshelf full of just Book of Mormons that have been marked for specific questions. After I have finished reading just normally I'm going to try and start doing this. I already and a paperback Book of Mormon ready to go. But I have learned so much here and am constantly learning more each and every day. I love it here but I'm also just ready to leave and go out to the field.

It's so crazy how fast time flys. This is my second to last P-day here at the CCM. I only have one more full week before I leave to Chile. I can't wait to get out there and actually become a missionary and teach people. It seriously has felt like I haven't even been here that long but when I think about last week or something it felt like forever ago. Like last week I went to the temple but when I think back to it, it felt like I went a month ago. Time here is crazy and makes no sense. But I absolutely love every second of it!

Yo se que la Iglesia es verdadero. Se que José Smith fue una profeta de Dios. Se que el Libro de Mormón es la palabra de Dios. I would keep going but I am almost out of time and I have to send pictures and email a couple people back. Love you guys so much!

Love

Elder Newkirk