Hola hola hola!!!
Five days left!!! This week we've only been speaking Spanish
all day and it's crazy how fast we're all growing! And it's hard switching back
to English at the end of the day haha. But I wish we had started this earlier
because it's awesome!
Since I finished the book of Mormon a few days ago, I've
been reading the book of Mormon again but in Spanish. It's really interesting
reading it in Spanish because I have to focus on every word - I can't skim over
anything. And so, I was reading in first Nephi chapter 17 and these verses that
I hadn't really noticed before stuck out to me (it's Nephi talking):
50 And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all
things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this
water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be
done.
51 And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has
wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot
instruct me, that I should build a ship?
The idea of these verses is pretty awesome. God can do
EVERYTHING! It was by the power of God that the red sea was parted, that
Lazarus was raised from the dead, that the earth was made. So, Nephi has it
right: if Heavenly Father's power can do all these incredible things, of COURSE
he can give Nephi the strength and knowledge he needs to build a ship. And just
like Nephi, we can apply this knowledge to our lives. Through God we have the
ability to teach a good lesson or be more patient or have charity or do
anything!
Sorry I'm turning into such a missionary haha.
Moving on...
On Friday I think, somehow that Spiderman TV show on Disney
XD came up that we used to watch with Dad and Nathan sometimes, where they're
all teenagers. And then I was trying to remember the name of one of the
characters and I COULD NOT. I enlisted the help of a few elders and they knew
who I was talking about but none of us could remember the name of the guy and
it was kind of driving us insane. Anyway, we eventually got a teacher to look
it up for us-the guy’s name is Nova. It really doesn't matter but definitely is
one of the problems of not having internet access, since that was kind of
making me crazy for a solid six hours.
Also, will someone look up the history of Johnny Appleseed?
I have no idea how he came up but yesterday we got talking about him at lunch
and are REALLY curious how real he is. President looked him up and says he is
real but that's all he told us. Like was there really someone named Johnny
Appleseed who went around planting apple trees and wearing a pot on his head??
SOS. (Holly’s mom sent her info about Johnny Appleseed already)
On Saturday, I was park companions with a sister named...
Actually, I don't know her name. Her name tag is in Russian and I definitely
don't know Russian. She is from Ukraine and going on a mission to a different
part of Ukraine. She definitely doesn't speak any Spanish but has amazing
English. It was super awesome being her companion because she is willing to
just go up to everyone even though she doesn't know the language! And
miraculously we were able to meet several English speakers who were really
interested and really nice. The sister I was companions with was also just
incredible, she's a convert who joined the church when she was about 18 (I
think she's a little older, like 21 now) and has such a strong testimony and
wants to share it with everyone! She also lives in the city and apparently
bikes to the country where her parents live a few weekends every month... Which
is about a two-hour bike ride each way! Anyway, it was really cool being her
companion for a few hours.
Today we became official residents of Spain! We went and
picked up our residence cards, then went back to the plaza mayor and went to a
few stores. It was nice to be able to walk around in the sun for a while.
Our park companions this Saturday are just our normal
companions (I'm pretty sure), so that will be cool to be able to be in the park
with Hermana Lighten. Then we have Sunday and Monday and we leave Tuesday! It's
crazy to see how fast the time has flown by. In some ways, it feels like I've
been here for two years and in others it feels like it's only been 2 days. And
I love the MTC and all the people and the teachers and the amount of learning
and growth that we have all had in just a month and a half, but I'm also super
excited to get into the field and get to experience being a "real"
missionary with a new companion to work with and new people to meet. So, the
next time you hear from me will be when I'm somewhere in Southern Spain! Have a
great week!
Hermana Walker
Picture of us in the classroom: Me, Hermana Lighten, and Hermana Barton
Picture of white board with vocab words I wrote and illustrated.
Picture of us in the rows on the bus: That was on the way to
the residency appointment, I guess the subway doesn't go there so they had a
bus for us to take.
Picture of the six girls, me in my floral skirt and black
shirt: that was today
Picture of the wrists: We all got bracelets today!
Below is a short overview of Johnny Appleseed from History.com . Since we grew up without a television, we listened to a lot of records with stories on them. One was Johnny Appleseed so I still remember the song, "The Lord is good to me and so I thank the Lord for giving me the things I need: the sun and the rain and the apple seed. The Lord is good to me."
ReplyDelete(Below from History.com)
It may surprise you that one of the most notable entrepreneurs of the American frontier didn’t wear a jacket, tip his hat and shine his shoes, but rather dressed in a coffee sack, donned a tin hat and traveled barefoot. John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, was a 19th-century horticulturist who made great contributions to the westward expansion of the United States. Though he may not have traveled down the Allegheny River on a block of ice like his folk-hero persona, Chapman paved the way for countless frontiersmen to settle new land around his orchards.
Chapman, the son of a farmer, was born on September 26, 1774 in Leominster, Massachusetts. He moved to Ohio at the beginning of the 19th century, bringing seeds from Pennsylvania cider presses with him and planting them along the way. Though his legend may paint a picture of Johnny Appleseed planting at random and selflessly handing out seeds to needy settlers, in reality Chapman’s path followed a strategic business plan. Children’s books about Appleseed have, of course, removed the element of alcohol from the story, but Chapman’s success was centered not around fresh apples but rather the cider they could create. Cider was an essential at the American dinner table at the time, so most homes had their own small orchard. Chapman planted orchards along the pioneers’ routes, staying ahead of other orchardist competition since his nomadic, unmarried lifestyle allowed him to cover more ground. He would then trade his seedlings with new settlers in the area so that they could grow apples for their new homes.
It wasn’t all just business for him, though. Chapman did show kindness to these struggling pioneers and would sometimes grant them the seedlings for free; this benevolent nature earned him the nickname “Johnny Appleseed” from grateful frontiersmen. He was also a missionary for the New Church, spreading its religious ideals along with his apple seeds, and did his part to maintain peaceful relationships between Native Americans and new settlers. He also practiced vegetarianism and advocated for animal rights. In 1871, W.D. Haley wrote a colorful chronicle of Chapman’s life for “Harper’s Weekly,” propelling the legend of Johnny Appleseed into American popular culture. He has since been an iconic subject in American literature, music and film as both a real and fictional representation of the American pioneer spirit.