Epistle from our Favorite Hermana

Guess what?! Hermana Huff and I were made Sister Leaders! So we are pretty much sister zone leaders! I´m so excited! Last Sunday I played the piano and gave a prayer in church. The week before I lead the music. This week we´re all expected to share a testimony. I think that now I´ve begun to understand conjugation which is a blessing. I still have SO much to learn. We teach investigators in Spanish. It´s not always the easiest but I try my best and Hermana Huff helps me out. 

Guess what?! Hermana Huff´s great grandmother is Helen. Remember Helen that was living with Lynette W? Lynette is Hermana Huff's great aunt. I was so excited to make this connection!

The food here is always fun to try. I tried mango yesterday, yum! I don´t like papaya. The pineapple and honeydew are really good. I thought of Emily´s sweet tooth this morning when I ate toast with nutella for breakfast. So good! 

This morning we were eating and this Spanish man came up and started talking to us. He is trying to learn English and was asking questions. We taught him the words of how to pray in English. I´ve been trying to teach in Spanish for a while so it was nice to be able to say something that I really know. I love the people here. The Spanish people are so nice and helpful.

So last week we had a fun service project. Our job was to clean the floors in the kitchen. What they had us do was take a bucket of water and throw it across the floor. Then we scrubbed the floor with brooms! Haha and then we squeeged the water off the floor. It was really funny. 

So last Pday I sewed on a button and reinforced others and one of my shirts. I think my roommate Hermana Hooper wanted me to adjust some buttons on one of her skirts so I´ll probably do that today. 

On Pday we clean, do laundry, write letters, and anything else we need to. Hermana Huff might get a haircut. We get to exercise everyday and on Tuesday we all ran 2 miles! Whew, it was good but it´s been about a year since I´ve run that much! Yesterday I ran a mile and worked out in the gym after. If anything I'm in better shape here and I think I´m getting stronger from pushups and lifting weights, haha.

I love being on a mission. As one girls described it's "Take your Daughter to Work Day" (or year and a half haha) because I get to work with Heavenly Father. This is His work! I am so excited to be able to learn and grow everyday. I love the spirit that comes when we are obedient. 

So it was funny. My first week here I thought I heard a kitten meowing outside. Turns out it was a bird! The birds here are kinda crazy sometimes. They makes a wide range of sounds. 

Last week Hermana Hooper cut her foot on the shower and I wrapped it up for her. I like to pretend that I know what I´m doing but I find out that I actually know a lilttle more than I thought I did. 

I am getting tanner which is fun. I love it because here at the CCM we have a lot of independence. They tell you what you should be doing and express the importance of using time wisely and then you can do your own thing. It´s really nice to be able to read or study outside.

Hermana Killpack's tan line

One day we were studying outside when we heard some Mexican music playing. After a while I noticed that I heard American music. Lady Gaga and Kesha seem to be popular in Mexico. Hahaha it was pretty funny to hear the music blaring from the city as we read our scriptures. 

Hermana Huff is from Pennsylvania. She is also going to Ventura. Guess what? Remember that elder in the airport that left the day I left?  His name is Elder Gamble and he is from Blackfoot. He is in my district and is a great kid. He is district leader. 

Whew, I´m getting better at emailing everyone which is good. La tienda is great! There is this really tasty candy there that I like. It is like these little mint chocolate balls of deliciousness. It´s pretty amazing. 

I love the scripture from Alma 26:27...I do not boast in my own strength... I feel this way everyday! Everything I am able to learn I know is by the grace of Heavenly Father. Without His help there is no way I could learn the things that I am learning. Every night we say companion prayers. One of us prays in Spanish and then the other one prays in English. Every night when I kneel down I feel such overwhelming gratitude to be here and to be a servant of the Lord. It is really quite humbling. I love life! Sorry my thoughts are so jumbled.  I just want to tell you all that I can with the time I have.

The sinks here are weird. You have to push that thing that hangs down for the water to come. 

Mi casa! 

Haha the toilet paper here is also weird. It is like papel towel dispensers sideways.

Mexico is quite beautiful and I wish you could all truly see the beauty. Pictures don´t really do it justice. It´s funny because I feel like the sun is rising and setting on the wrong side. It kinda throws me off but I´m sure I´ll get used to it.

We teach people almost everyday (people posing as investigators, others missionaries, and teachers) almost everyday. It´s amazing to feel the love that Heavenly Father has for them. I can´t wait to get out into the field to teach the people that Heavenly Father has prepared. I pray for the people in the Ventura Mission and I know that the Lord will guide us to those people we need to teach. I love hearing about everyone and from everyone. It makes me excited, yo estoy emoncionada, to hear from you guys and know that you are doing well! I'm getting a nice tan line on my foot. Hah it´s great. I love you all and pray for you all everyday. I can´t wait to hear from you. I´m sure you can´t wait to write to me, me being your favorite sister/sister-in-law and all. Haha but in all seriousness thank you all for being amazing example and for living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Love your favorite Hermana,

Hermana Killpack :)

Praying for Bandits, Costco Pizza, and More

(We have to wonder what Mexican keyboards are like…Ashley accidentally deleted her first email and had to type fast to get her subsequent emails sent.)

I feel so bad that I accidently deleted everything. I´ll try to write fast since I don't have much time. 

It´s been a week and would you believe that I´m fluent in Spanish! 

Well, don't believe it because it's not true! 

Haha our first day in class our teacher only spoke Spanish. That was fun. Our 2nd we taught our investigator, Yanis, in Spanish. I am blessed with an amazing companion. Hermana Huff. She is so patient with me as I constantly ask, "Como se dice ___ " (it means "How do you say…")

Sorry my last email was lots better. I wish that my fingers hadn´t delete it! No bueno!  

I was talking to my branch president on Sunday and he said, "I can´t tell you that you won´t be homesick and I can´t tell you this and this, but I can tell you that you will learn Spanish." That was such a comfort to hear. Sometimes it´s hard to see my progress because the girls that I live with all have had more years and experience in Spanish but I know I am learning. The other day one of my roommates said that I was talking in Spanish in my sleep! Yeah! It was probably just gibberish but I was excited.

I´m scared that I will delete it again whoops! On Sunday we got to watch a movie, a Joseph Smith movie. It was good and nice to be able to watch a movie. We also watched a devotional given last year in the Provo MTC by Jeffrey R. Holland. He said some things that I liked. He said, "I may be dumb but I ain´t stupid." I liked that because it reminded me of Dad and made me smile. He also said that PMG (Preach My Gospel) was meant to convert us and when we are converted to the gospel that we can go out and teach. I always thought that PMG was for the investigator, but it´s actually for us!  

So when I meet people sometimes they think I´m Spánish because I´m kinda tanner so they start talking to me in Spanish. I can only stare and say repiten por favor. 

Haha, so some elders were teaching Yanis and they were trying to teach her how to pray. They were trying to tell her to pray for blessings but they accidentally told her to pray for bandits. Muy mal Elderes! It was funny. 

I´ve tried flan, ewww and tamales. The tamales were served at breakfast and I took one bite and they just made me sick. But guess what? Yesterday I was saying, I really hope that I can have Costco pizza at least once before I leave the MTC and guess what was for dinner? Costco Pizza! The Lord loves me! 

I´m so sorry I don´t have much time. I really had written the best email… 

So the man I met on the plane, his name is Javier and his daughter´s name is Olivia. After we had talked a while he said, "When you walked on the plane you looked familiar." I said "Maybe we were supposed to meet," (this was after I had given him the Book of Mormon) and he said, "I think so."

One morning I saw an elder eating a bowl of Nutella for breakfast. I´m sure he was in heaven. It´s pretty good on waffles-haha. 

So the airport in Phoenix was crazy! It is huge and it´s a blessing that I made it to my flight on time. I´ll have to tell you more about that later. 

We hear sirens all the time no matter night or day but we know that we are safe here at the CCM. It´s been such a great experience. I´m not homesick at all. I feel like you guys are close. I pray for you everyday. I was so excited to write to you mom. Sorry I couldn´t write more. I realize that you have become one of my best friends and I love you! Thank you so much for blessing my life.

On Feb 9, the MTC will be dedicated. We will have an apostle come. We aren´t sure who though. 

Something funny is that when a person sneezes you say Salud which means health or bless you. Something we kinda do in my district is say Salad when someone sneezes; it is funny. 

I am doing great here! The Lord has blessed me every single day. I hope to hear from you. Pdays (Preparation days) are on Thursday for us here. I love you all very much and am eternally gratefully for you all. La igesia es verdadero!!!  Love your favorite Hermana in the world!

A Call to Serve

Note from Ashley's Mom:  Ashley has planned on serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints her entire life, so when the mission age was lowered to 19 for young women, she was thrilled with the new opportunities and possibilities.  Ashley submitted her mission papers just about as soon as she could, and she was thrilled when that large white envelope came from Salt Lake City.

She was even more excited to read that she had been called to serve in the California Ventura Mission, speaking Spanish, and that she would learn it at the Mexico City MTC, or CCM as it is called in the Spanish language.

January 15, 2014

Ashley flew to Mexico City.  It was a whirlwind day, and she sent us this brief email to tell us she had arrived safely:

I have had quite the adventure already! And the keyboards are weird! So guess what?! I gave away my Spanish Book of Mormon to a man on the plane ride to Mexico. I sat by him and his daughter. I played dolls with his daughter for like 3 hours, no joke. We even acted out most of the movie Frozen. 

Hopefully I can send pictures next week. I´ve been trying to take a lot. Seriously this keyboard is really weird, sorry! Haha sorry! I´m wearing my mission tag! YES! And the CCM is gorgeous! We haven´t had dinner yet but that´s next on the agenda. We´ll see how the food is. 

It was funny because we got to the CCM, someone was like "Oh missionaries!" And then we all remember... "Oh yeah, WE are missionaries!" It´s so cool. 

Flying was crazy! The airports were so huge I cound not believe it. It really is a miracle that I am here! You should´ve seen me speed walking on those things that are basically flat escalators. I´m sure they have a name; I´m just not sure what. 

Well, I need to go do some others things but I am very excited and blessed to be here. I got here safe and sound. I love you all and pray for you. Have the best week ever!!!!! 

Love, Hermana Killpack