Hi everyone! Sorry last week I had such a short email! This one will
be better I promise!
This last week went by SO fast. Our schedule is busy every day so
there really is no time to think of anything else but missionary work!
Here’s a typical day for me in the CCM:
Wake up at 6:30am, breakfast at 7:15. Contrary to popular belief, yes
I can actually shower and get ready in 45 minutes (more or less…). The
showers are nice and have hot water! Every time someone flushes the
toilet the water gets SUPER hot. But I’m just grateful for the warm
water! At 8am we have personal study. I usually use this time to read
my scriptures. Then from 9am-12:30pm we have class in our separate
districts. My district consists of me and my companion, Hermana King
(Bolivia Cochabamba Mission), Hermana Gallacher (Peru Lima East
Mission), Hermana Rushton (Peru Lima East Mission), Elder Chapman
(Peru Trujillo South Mission), Elder Hart (Peru Trujillo South
Mission), Elder Olsen (Bolivia Cochabamba Mission), and Elder Lish
(Peru Chiclayo Mission). We’re all super close. They are like my
family here! I love them! In class we learn Spanish and practice
teaching lessons in Spanish. At 12:30 we have lunch! The food is
always great here. They have homemade bread EVERY DAY. It puts
American bread to shame. They also have super good juice! Then at 1:15
we have whats called TALL. It’s a super great computer program that
helps us with Spanish! At 2:15 we have additional study. During this
time we can read scriptures or work on Spanish, whatever we feel like
we need to work on the most. Then at 3 we have physical activity. My
district and a couple other of the American districts usually play
ultimate Frisbee, but with a football. So I guess it’s ultimate
football? Haha they don’t have Frisbees here anyway. Then we have a
little break from 4-4:45 to get ready for the rest of our day. At 4:45
we have more class! It’s just language study and preparing to teach
lessons. Then dinner is at 6:15. Again, I can’t tell you how great the
food is(: From 7-9 we have class again. During this time is when we
teach investigators. We just use the term investigator to describe
someone who is interested in the church and is taking lessons from the
missionaries. But here in the CCM we don’t actually teach real
investigators, we just practice teaching our teachers! And then our
teachers will just take on the role of an investigator. It’s pretty
cool they actually have these tiny houses here at the CCM so we
practice going up to the door and teaching the lessons inside their
homes and everything! Oh and did I mention the lessons are all in
Spanish? That’s definitely the hardest part! But I know the language
will come to me eventually. After class we go back up to our rooms and
get ready for bed. We have to have lights out by 10:30 every night! I
haven’t had any issues sleeping here haha I’m always so tired by the
end of the day!

This last Sunday my district was asked to perform a special musical
number during church. So we decided we were going to sing Angels We
Have Heard on High, but in Spanish of course! We sang it acapella
(spell check?) and Hermana Rushton played the flute for the last
verse. It was so beautiful! I even surprised myself haha. I was never
much of a singer before I started my mission but maybe that will
change by the time I get home! I was also forced into doing this
Christmas choir thing, and I really wasn’t crazy about it at first.
But honestly it’s so much fun! Me and my companion are really glad
we’re doing it. We are singing Noche de luz (Silent Night) and it
sounds so beautiful.
So you know that phrase “What in the world?!” we say all the time? It
definitely does not translate well into Spanish! But The Americans
here have kind of made it a phrase haha. In Spanish it translates to
“Que en el mundo”. We say it all the time but the latinos always look
at us super weird!
The Spirit is SO prominent here I can’t even explain it! I’ve seen so
many miracles and tender mercies in the short two weeks I’ve been
here. And for that, I am so grateful! One thing I’ve learned while
being out here is to fully and completely put my faith in the Lord. I
know if I do exactly that, I will never be led astray. I’m so grateful
for this opportunity I have to serve a mission and to reach out to the
people here in Peru! It’s been a great two weeks and I can’t wait to
experience the next 17 and a half months!

¡Hasta luego!
Hermana Celardo