June 10, 2013

HOWDY, Familia. 

This week has been great! I love it here. I honestly love it here. There are so many moments every day where I stop and think ¨This is the greatest. I don't want to be anywhere else in the WHOLE WORLD.¨ The people here are so funny to me. I was saying yesterday how extremely boring Utah Relief Society is going to be once I get back. We´re going to go back to a place where people raise their hands and talk quietly and don't walk over each other. Here, people yell out amens and cry and yell at each other and stand up and demand attention. I just love them! They are so passionate about the gospel which I love. They´re just the best people and I love them so much.

So the bishop is funny..haha. He keeps saying that I look like this french actress, and asks me if i´m going to school to be famous. Every time I see him. And he then told me that his daughter and Brynn can go on missions to Puerto Rico together. Why Puerto Rico? I don't know. He just gets on these crazy tangents and we have to help him focus. Haha, what a funny guy.

Basically we just work with less actives and try to get them back to church. It's a lot of hard work and emotionally exhausting at times. People think that baptism is like a graduation. But in reality, it's more like an acceptance into the program. They forget that there´s this little thing called ¨enduring to the end¨ or something. But it's crazy here, and there´s a lot of temptation staring them right in the face. Right when you walk out the door you run into everything. Husbands cheat on their wives ALL the time.  But the wives won't leave because they can't afford it. One of the elders in my district found out that one of his coverts got pregnant (she's 14). He just cried. The thought made me sick to my stomach! What's worse is how that is their culture and how that is socially acceptable. I swear everyone is pregnant and no one is married and everyone cheats on everyone. Then there´s me, saying ¨You guys are all idiots.¨ It's not nice, but cheating is not nice!.

People have a difficult time understanding that they need organized religion in their lives. Or I hate it when we´ll talk to someone about the church and they´ll say ¨our churches are the same.¨ Uh NOOO.

Spanish is coming along. I´ve learned that I have to do my part first. I need to ACT then the words will come. He can't just make me talk, that´s contrary to the entire point of free agency. I need to open my mouth and then the words will come.

The girls in the house and I have a good time. One of them is going home in a week and she says things like ¨Back in my country¨ and we´re all like ¨WE´RE ALL FROM THE SAME COUNTRY¨ or she´ll say ¨in 9 days I'm going to be in American the beautiful¨. Haha. But like any other house, there´s all that drama crap. Haha but I just ignore them or read. 

I remember growing up and not really thinking much about the importance of the veil. I've come to realize that it's such a blessing and quite overlooked. To come down to earth and remember heaven and how much loved our Father in Heaven and how much He loves us would be devastating to leave. We´d do everything to get back to what we had before.

A less active asked me what my parents and family thought when I told them that I was going to serve a mission, and I could happily tell them that they´ve been so supportive and spoiled rotten since I´ve been gone. Really, you guys are the best. I'm sorry that I don't have time to email you guys back, but I love getting your emails and hearing from everyone. I'll have to get everyone´s addresses so i can write you all letters! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH. I pray for you guys every day! Tjanks for everything!

Con amor, Hermana Buhrley

Ps. Sorry about this lame email!

Pss. Still have zits on my face. It makes me feel GREAT INSIDE. I honestly don't know what to do anymore, so I've considered just wearing a mask.