Poco A Poco

 

Thats what all the teachers here say, "Poco a poco..." Little by little. Its true though, we are learning a lot but little by little.  Our maestra said its like watching your fingure nail grow. You cant see it growing if you consciously look at it, but if you arent focused on it then one day its just super long. One day we are just going to be able to hold a compoletely normal fluid conversation in spanish.

 

This week FLEW past! I cant beleive its already P-Day again! The newest group of missionaries got here last night. THere are about 20 North Americans and 60 Latinos (thats what I heard anyway). Its kind of odd though because the group that just left had 40 North Americans in it. Its also weird being considerered Intermedios instead of Principates, I feel like i just got here.

 

Things have gotten to be in a pretty regular shcedule now, so nothing SUPER exciting. Ive taught about 5-6 lessons in spanish, broken of course, but its coming along pretty well :)

 

The birds here are super nice! :) Ive seen blue, yellow and red ones, and mulitple hummingbirds, and there are a lot of morning doves everywhere. But the sounds here are so different there are so many there is always birds singing which I enjoy. The plants are also very different of course.  Its just weird to see palm tress and other tripical-ish plants ive never seen on a regular basis. Not complaining though!

 

There is a ton of construction all the time around (outside the MTC) that echoes off everything and its super loud sometimes. We study outside a lot so sometimes its gets pretty irritating. There are actually quite a few small mountains that jut up everywhere here so it echoes off that too. You cant see teh mountains all the time though because of A. the fog in the morning or B. the smog during the day.  Some people joke that on P-Days when we leave the walls of hte MTC that we breathe in straight cancer. Its really not THAT bad though, there are definitely way worse cities in the world!!

 

...So the rumors turned out to be true, I DO eat rice at least once everyday. I actually am not sick of it yet though, after 2 weaks!! I also have never eaten this much meat in my life! I, most of the time, at lunch and dinner either chicken of some kind or carne (meat). They dont sepcify the meat unless its chicken (pollo), so its just meat. And every morning we have fired or scrambled eggs a piece of cheese, a slice of deli ham, and a couple rolls. And they have THE. BEST. juice here!! Im pretty sure its because its the real deal.

 

My companions are still great. Im so very thankful they dont get on my nerves or anything because I have LITERALLY been around them 24/7 since I got here. And my district is still amazing. We had the BEST district meeting/testimony meeting on Sunday. They will all be fantastic missionaries.

 

So until today when we went out into the city after the Temple I didnt feel like I was in South America. But today, when we went to some stores I actually did feel like I was not in the US anymore. There were just so many people out and about and darting in between traffic and the shops have their different food/fruit and stuff! It was amazing. I think I will thrive here in the fact that I love just going out and getting after it. We went to a place today called Garajes, which is its nick name because it is litterally a building of garages that they roll up and have their teeny shops inside. I bought a couple Peruvian soccer jerseys there today. ALSO, the busses make it seem like Peru. They shove as many people as they can onto these busses and we are standing so close together we are about as close as pringles. Its nuts. But it is SO much fun. :D 

 

I can and I cant wait to get out into the field. I am enjoying learning here, but at the same time I miss the interactions with everyday people and I cant to get out and experience the Peruvian people and culture more.

 

Well, not a whole lot else to report. I love it here! Until next week! :)

 

Love, 

 

Hermana Kiser

 

P.S. WE GOT TO WATCH THE "MEET THE MORMONS" FILM!!!!! They had it as a surprise! We asked when we got here if wed be able to watch it an they said no. And then on Sunday we actually DID get to see it!! What a great movie (documentary). I highly  suggest it to anyone/everyone. :D ...quote from Hermana Gonzalez (MTC Presidents wife) "I am going to say the name of the movie we are going to watch. And you will not scream." Rotflol. It was great. :)

I'M FAMOUS

 

So I've literally played soccer everyday except for Sunday and today which is pday and dont have time to. I played the very first day i was here and suprised all the latinos so much! Now everyday they ask me if im playing and say champion everytime i walk bye. Really, just about every person in the MTC knows who I am and that ive played college soccer. its the absolute best to be playing here in Peru, its insane. it still hasnt hit me yet that im in south america, its just not real. 

 

The MTC (missionary training center) or CCM (in spanish) is great!! There are about 120 missionaries here. My companions are pretty great too, which is nice. And yes, I have 2. This is because the girl who was suppose to be my companion got engaged literally the day before coming out here. craziness! so im in a trio. My district is also the best. (A district is basically just a group of missionaries about 10 or so for classes etc. not very many people came into the MTC at the same time as me so all the people I flew in with on the plane are in my district. They are all North Americans of course we are all at basically the same place in our learning in classes. We will be one class together for the entire 6 weeks we are here. And there are 11 of us. 6 Elders and then 5 of us sisters. The guys in my district seriously are the best though. They are all very fun, kind and considerate, spiritual, and hard working guys. I am extremely impressed with them. And one is British!! so that always keeps it interesting with his accent and goofy sayings/phrases nobody else knows.

 

Adjusting to the missionary life has actually been way easier than I thought it was going to be. I havent had withdrawals from facebook or anything like that really yet. but i guess it has only been a week. So I share one room with the 4 other sisters in my district. we have bunkbeds. and I get up to shower at 5:30 in the morning. Which is about 30 minutes earlier than I have to but I hate the rush of it and like to just be able to get ready when not everyone else is around. I say its crazy because there are 3 showers and 3 bathroom stalls for about 24 girls. which are all the sister missinoaries here. it nuts. then we have breakfast at 7:00 which always consists of some kind of egg, fried or scrambled, a piece of cheese, a piece of ham, and some fruit and rolls. everyday. but i totally dont mind. and from about 7:45-9:30 its classes and studying all day except for 1 hr of Physical Activity time and 45 Minutes for lunch and dinner. Although I am adjusting, i still am tired basically all the time, but its completely fine! :) It will be my life of being tired for the next 18 months anyway.

 

Its crazy how fast we learn here. I just think about HS spanish and how long we took to learn somethings and here, its like MANY things in one day. I cant imagine how it is for people with zero spanish background. Ive been here a week and I can already pray, bear my testimony, approach people and ask about them, and today I am teaching my first lesson...ALL IN SPANISH.

 

So I guess its super rare for missionaries going to any of the Lima missions to come to the Lima MTC. They all generally go to the Mexico MTC. So I am literally the only sister missionary going anywhere here in Lima and there are only a couple Elders going to Lima missions. So im unique in that aspect here too.

 

Haha, one thing that is super funny, that im just going to have to go with the flow of is everyone calls me Hermana (sister) Kisser because they cant pronounce Kiser correctly. 

 

So as missionaries we have one Pday a week (Personal Day) which is today. It's our one day a week to EMAIL family and friends, wash our clothes and bedding, and not wear church clothes all day, and take pictures of any kind. The unfortunate thing though is that it ends at 3:45 :/ Oh well! Because one unique thing about the Peru MTC is that we get to go to the Temple once a week on our Pdays in the morning. Its pretty close so we just hop on a bus and go! But the evern CRAZIER thing is that we get to go shopping afterwards for 1.5-2 hours depending. We of course stay close-ish to the temple. But its weird because we literally leave the mtc, catch a bus for 50 cents (peruvian) WITH NO ADULTS OR LEADERS WHATSOEVER and just go to the temple and go about shopping after wherever we want. (within reason of course. we dont go anywhere dangerous or sketchy or where we shouldnt) Today we just went to the temple store (peruvian deseret book kinda, but super teeny) and this place called Totus. Its just a big grocery store. Kinda of like a mini walmart, but it was SUPER nice. But it was just weird to me to learn that we could leave the walls of the MTC at all, let alone go shop by ourselves!

 

So funny story. The toilets here are not up to par. I say this, because I flooded one! 0__O In the US it never would have. But I flushed it, then it went up a teeny then I thought it was going to go down, but it never did! So thank goodness there was a plunger there so I could plunge it. ...although I still had to clean up some water,  :/ unfortnately because of this me and my companions were a bit late to our sunday devotional.

 

Im not sure what all to write about! I feel like Ive written an awful lot, and congrats if you made it to the end and it all made sense. The keyboards here are weird because they are spanish keyboards so excuse the typos and the lack of punctuation. So much has happned this week and its been the longest week of my life, but not long at all at the same time, so its kind of odd to know what to write about what people would like to hear. But i think next weeks email will be more put together and consise and Ill tell you a bit more about how things work here and since Im in a schedule it wont be so hectic.

 

I hope everything is going well for all who read this! Life is great for me so far here in Peru!

 

Hermana, Kiser

One Week... How is this real life?!

Exactly one week from today I will be sitting in the Atlanta, GA airport in route to Lima!!  I feel like I have SO much to do still, but then at the same time it doesn't seem like that much.  People to see/say goodbye to, organizing, last minute shopping, packing, packing and more PACKING, printing important stuff I need, and then just the things of day to day living!! Either way, this week is going to be nuts!  There are so many thoughts and emotions in my head right now there is no way to even express them in words! ...If I had emojis on here that might do the trick ;)

Well, in honor of my last week in the U.S. here is a picture of the Peruvian flag!

One Month!

Today is September 7th and in exactly one month I will be setting foot in the Perú Missionary Training Center where I will spend the following 6 weeks learning Spanish and how to properly teach as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I feel like I mainly have most of my important preparations done, but still feel like I have a lot to do, which I do!!  Two months to get the right clothes, get immunizations, hygienic supplies, load up on mission appropriate music, go to the temple, and then visit family/friends before I leave is not much time at all! If I was staying in the United States where I wouldn't have to purchase a lot of extra things due to Peru not being a super developed country two months would totally be enough time.  But as of right now, I'm stressing a tad bit about my preparedness.  I do know that everything will be alright and it will turn out as it needs to and the Lord is most definitely there for me and will help me and provide for me if things go awry.

I was informed today at church that my mission plaque has arrived and it just needs a photo!! Things beginning to seem a lot more real!

To finish off this short little post I'd like to share the scripture that I put on my plaque for my "favorite scripture".

It's Doctrine and Covenants 88:67-68

 "And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you: and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.  Therefore, sanctify yourselves that you reminds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him: for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will."

God speed my friends, and let us live in the light and not the dark.

What IS an LDS Mission?

So what exactly is a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?

It might not be exactly what you might think of when you hear the word mission.  In many other churches and organizations they go on mission trips as well. However, these often times are only for a few weeks or a month or so, and these groups go together to help build a school, work in an orphanage or some kind of service related thing while sort of expressing their Christian ideals. While these are great things and it's wonderful that there are caring people who go out and help others throughout the world a mission for the LDS church is different in many aspects.

Most young men (not all, it is a personal choice to go although it is advised) in the church at the age of 18 go on missions for 2 years.  The young women in the church at 19 have the opportunity to go for 18 months. Both men and women don't HAVE to go at this age, they can go later by a certain amount of years. (I am 21 and just heading out)

The process includes filling out papers, doctors physicals/dentists appts, and an interview with your Bishop and Stake President. After all that is done the "papers" (online) are sent to the First Presidency  and Apostles of the church.  They, through the promptings of the Holy Ghost, assign you to somewhere in the world; within the United States or not. There really are very few places in the world where missionaries aren't allowed.  This assignment, or calling, we know to be from God, our Heavenly Father who knows exactly where we need to be and will be most successful in helping others and for our own personal growth.


So what is it that we DO for this time?

We are called as representatives of Jesus Christ. Our main duty is to help those we come in contact with and teach come to an understanding of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and bring them closer to Him through baptism. We also help less active members of the church as well as the active members in our areas.  Not only do we preach of Jesus Christ and his gospel and the knowledge, happiness and peace it brings to our lives but we participate in service for anyone who needs it.

Because we want to be as close to our Heavenly Father as possible on our mission and have the spirit with us continually there are some guidelines we follow to help us achieve this.

Music: "Listen only to music that is consistent with the sacred spirit of your calling. Music should invite the Spirit, help you focus on the work, and direct your thoughts and feelings to the Savior. Do not listen to music that pulls your thoughts away from your work, merely entertains, has romantic lyrics or overtones, or dulls your spiritual sensitivity by its tempo, beat, loudness, lyrics, or intensity."

 Entertainment: "Do not watch television, go to movies, listen to the radio, or use the Internet (except to communicate with your family or your mission president or as otherwise authorized). Watch only videos or DVDs that have been authorized by the Church or your mission president."  "You are not authorized to have a personal computer. Do not use a computer except to communicate with your family or your mission president."

We also desire to uphold a certain appearance.  As ambassadors of the Lord we want to dress professional and conservative.  As Sister missionaries we wear dresses or skirts. 
 "Choose attractive, colorful blouses and tops that you can mix and match with a variety of skirts."

Our dear Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson said the following:
"You can dress attractively without being immodest. Within the Lord’s guidelines, there is room for you to be lively, vibrant, and beautiful both in your dress and in your actions."

We want to present ourselves well but not be flashy. We don't want to detract anything from the spirit or our message.


A missionary's schedule is also a bit different to most people.

Everyday is a day of lessons, proselytizing, or planning and studying.  We have one day a week, called Preparation Day (P-Day) where we wash our clothes, go grocery shopping, email/write letters to friends and family, and if we have time participate in some kind of activity we wouldn't be able to do on the normal days.  Then of course every Sunday we attend Church.


This post, although it IS a synopsis of an LDS missionary, still turned out to be way longer than I anticipated!! (not as brief as I had hoped, I have issues with condensing things) BUT, I hope in some way...if you read it all... it helped you come to a better understanding of what I will be doing with my time for the next year and a half!! :)

Pre-Mission Bucket List of Food

So since I'm going to be in Peru for a year and a half and much of it will be rural communities in the Andean Highlands I will be exposed to a great deal of new food (which I may or may not do a future post about) and will be without the regular American fast food/junky food/desserts/candies etc etc. So this is a tribute to all the food that I want to eat at least once more before I leave.

In no particular order... just as it pops into my head.

• Bacon Cheese Burgers
• Regular Cheese Burgers
• Fried Chicken
• Milkshakes
• Fake Mexican Food (Not like the real stuff in New Mexico)
• Fake Chinese Food (Panda Express)
• Cake
• Ice Cream
• Brownies
• Donuts
• MOUNTAIN DEW
• Pizza (Various kinds)
• Chocolate Bars
• Butterfingers
• Snickers
• Twix
• REESE'S
• Hard Candies
• Skittles
• Lemon Drops
• Starbursts
• Werther's Caramels
• Hot Dogs
• Shepard's Pie
• Meatloaf
• Tuna Noodle Casserole
• Cookies
• Kraft American Singles (Cheese)
• Popsicles
• Sunny D

And I'm sure I could make the list go on!! But these are some that I am indulging on before I go. :)

Called To Serve

So after going back and forth between the decision to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for actually several years I have come to know that that is exactly what I need to be doing with my life for the next year and a half.

I heard that people generally get their calls on Thursdays or Fridays.  So I was sitting eating lunch and heard that a young man from my home ward just got his mission call that day and he had turned his papers in a week or two before I had. So I thought, could there be a chance?! I decided I wouldn't get my hopes up too high and I would just wait for my dad to bring home the mail from the P.O. as usual. THEN, I heard of a girl in my singles branch who got her call that day as well! Two weeks prior she claimed we turned in our papers on the same day.  After I heard that there was NO waiting! I found an extra P.O. Box key at my house and rushed off the to the post office.  I opened our box and there, squished in half was my mission call!

So on August 8, 2014 I opened my call to be a missionary for the LDS church in front of my Dad, Mom and sister Chelsea, with my grandma on the phone and my dear friend college Corey Hubbert on FaceTime.  I opened it up and flipped the paper over as usual so I couldn't see the destination right away.  But after I did that, staring me in the face were passport application papers.  I knew at that moment I HAD to be going out of the states somewhere.

I read from the beginning-

Dear Sister Kiser:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the PERU LIMA SOUTH MISSION.  It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.

You shall report to the Peru Missionary Training Center on Tuesday, October 7, 2014.  You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language.

I am SO excited for this opportunity and will hopefully have my mom keep this blog as up-to-date as possible!

I hope you all enjoy following my experiences in Peru!!