Official Arrival in El Salvador

Dear Ferre Family,

            We are happy to announce that your daughter, Hermana Ferre, has safely arrived in our mission. The night of her arrival, we enjoyed getting to know her during dinner at the mission home, and we can tell that she is going to be a great missionary. We are grateful for the sacrifices you and your missionary have made that allow her to be here. We pray that our Lord Jesus Christ will pour out his blessings upon your family. We are very happy to have your daughter with us and we know she will bless the lives of many people here in the great country of El Salvador.

She has been assigned to the area of El Progreso in the Juayúa Stake. Her companion is Hermana Sien from Arizona and Hermana Najera from Honduras.  She is a determined, hardworking missionary who is diligent in the Lord´s work. We expect to see great success from this companionship.

Sincerely,

President and Sister Spjut

Hello from El Salvador!

Hello family! I hope you guys are having a wonderful week. I just wanted to say hello from El Salvador. I am finally in my country and my mission has completely begun!! 

We woke up at 2 this morning and left at 4. We took a bus and stopped at the Guatemala and El Salvador boarders to get my Passport stamped. We got here around 8 and then went to the nurses house to nap. It has been a long day that is for sure but I am so happy to finally be here. This experience is definitely going to bring me to my knees but it is going to be the best experience. 

I do not have a lot of time so next week I will email with detail. I am safe and sound and I AM IN EL SALVADOR! President Spujt will email you a photo tomorrow I think so be on the look out. I am about to go street contacting for the first time and I will get my new companion tomorrow. More info and details next week. Monday is my pday. Also, I got your Thanksgiving card. It made me so happy. Thank you so much and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! 

I miss you like crazy. Enjoy your week! I love you all!

Con mucho amor, 

Hermana Ferre 

Hello Friends & Family!

We received another early email from Hermana Ferre and it definitely made our day! I am posting her letter to everyone and also some little bits and pieces from our personal emails! Enjoy! 

Hello friends and family! Happy Tuesday!

 

This week has been wonderful. First off, I only have two more weeks in the CCM! I am getting so excited to get out in the mission field.

 

This week was a lot of studying and teaching as usual. One day I taught 7 lessons, crazy! I definitely like teaching better than studying all day.

 

On Friday I was able to have my first baptism!! My Investigador, Daniel Sanchez. We seriously put on a Baptism service. My companion and I welcomed everyone. Hermana Nelson prepared a talk on the Holy Ghost. Hermana Reed played paino. Elder Astel prepared a talk on Baptism. Elder Morgan was the baptizer. Elder Dunn was Bishop and Elder Farnsworth was the Stake President. We set up chairs like a font and had everyone gather for his baptism. It was about 3 minutes long and it was hilarious. We even took an air picture of Daniel with Elder Morgan doing thumbs up after he was "baptized". It was definitely the highlight of my week!

 

Sunday was really spiritual. My companion and I taught in District Class about how the gospel blesses families. Sacrament Meeting is the most quiet and spiritual part of the day. I absolutely love Sundays and the strong Spirit that is always there.

 

I have learned how to greet people properly here in Guatemala. We kiss each other. We actually just touch cheecks and make a kissy sound. A Guatemalan lady came up to me today in the temple and I knew exactly what to do. Everyone is so friendly and loving here. And they show their love! It's fun.

 

Nothing too crazy happened this week so I think just share some thoughts and feelings. I love this gospel so much and I am so thankful to be apart of this great work. My testimony is being strengthened every day. I love being able to teach and I am continually progressing. This week my testimony was really strengthened on Joseph Smith. I wouldn't be serving a mission and this gospel wouldn't be here on earth if it weren't for him and all of the challenges and trials he faced. I am thankful for the knowledge I have that I am a daughter of God and that I have a plan in this life. I know that Heavenly Father knows each and every one of us and that He listens to our prayers. He knows what we need and when we need it. He will always provide for us. I know that through my Savior, Jesus Christ, I can have happiness in this life and that I can return to live with my Heavenly Father again. I am so thankful families can be together para siempre!!

 

Life is good and God is great!! Enjoy your week. I love you all!!

 

Love,

Hermana Ferre

Other Bits & Pieces:

-Something I think Mom and Dad would appreciate is that WHEREVER I go outside of the CCM gates, we have armed guards and Elders in front and behind of us. Hermanas pretty much rule the world. We always get to eat first. Always get second portions first. Elders are our body guards. It makes me feel safe, so be comforted!!

-On Sunday we got our health lecture for how to eat and drink and take care of ourselves while in the field. 2 WEEKS!! What! Anyway, I have it so so good here. My eyes are going to definitely be opened when I get out in the mission field. But I am so so excited. I am ready! But really, bugs galore. I can't eat or drink anything unless I purify it. Diseases going around because of Mosquitos. But I know I will be fine. I will follow the rules and I will make sure Bug Spray is my bff. Everyone was talking about the heat in different countries and everyone pretty much cringed when they talked about El Salvador and the heat there. So that's another thing to look forward to!

- I guess when I get to the mission field I will most likely have more time to write home. And I may possibly get a nap on Pday. So I was happy to hear both of those things. The great news is that I get to see all of your cute faces in a little over one MONTH. I am so excited. It will be a great day. There is always something to look forward to!

I Absolutely Love It Here!

Sorry I am a day late with the update, I've been a little busy with school! Here is the newest email from Ken. She is doing great and loves it in Guatemala. She wanted to thank everyone for their love and support. 

Well hello from Guatemala!

 

A lot happens every day and it has been such an amazing experience. I have made it to my halfway mark in the CCM.(MTC) Time is flying!  Last Tuesday we were able to go on aGuatemala City tour and see the town. The traffic and driving is crazy and people are everywhere. We got to go to the market also and I bought a skirt. It seriously looks like a Latina skirt, I love it.

 

The best part about that day was that we got to hand out our first Book of Mormon. We went to the Guatemala Plaza and walked up to a little old lady who was sitting on a little bench under an umbrella eating an ice cream cone. She was selling bird feed and told us she did that every day. Her name was Antonia. We asked her questions about her life and about her beliefs. We invited her to read the Libro de Mormon and testified that she would receive an answer if it was true or not through sincere prayer. She was willing and accepted the Libro de Mormon. We invited her to read Moroni 10 to begin with. It was such a fun experience to be out there and talking to real people and having the opportunity to share and use what we know.

 

When we got back to the CCM, one of the leaders said that we were back to the Garden of Eden.

It is so true. Complete differences from this building and the outside world.

 

I have also been ready and studying the Introduction of the Book of Mormon. It is so good. All of you should go read the Introduction and the testimonies of the three, the eight, and Joseph Smith. It is so good.

 

For Halloween my District and I dressed up as Latinos. The Elders wore Latino ties and the Hermanas wore Latina skirts. I French braided my hair into a bun. Not sure if we completely pulled it off but it was fun! Hermana Cox went all out. She had the kitchen staff join us and they dressed up, they don’t even celebrate Halloween! We had an orange chocolate fountain and these crazy desserts that were different Halloween shapes. It was fun.

 

On Saturday night we began our fast. We did a complete 24 hour fast. In testimony meeting most of us bore our testimonies in Spanish. The Spirit was so strong. My District and I love singing. It is probably one of the very best parts about being a missionary, we sing ALL the time. We sang last night in a Devotional. We sang Army of Helaman and changed the words in the chorus to we are NOW the Lords missionaries. I loved it. We are singing a different song soon also.

 

My District and I also play Mafia. Not all the time but we play when we need a break from studying. We laugh so hard and it is a fun change of pace! Our teacher Hermano Noack, actuallybrought it up so we started playing because of him and he totally makes the game. He is hilarious!

 

The showers are cold, the food is great. My teachers are amazing. I am convinced that one of them will be an Apostle one day.

 

I absolutely love it here. Being a missionary is the greatest thing. I love that I am surrounded by people who are centered on the same beliefs and focused on the same great work.

 

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

 

Con Mucho Amor, Hermana Ferre