Last Week at the CCM (That's MTC in Spanish)

The Best Study Bench in the World
(Located under their favorite palm tree)

Hello everyone!

This week has just flown by, and we received about a hundred more missionaries! They were all so wide-eyed and full of excitement which was really neat to see! Also, it´s crazy to think about, but we started packing to leave the MTC today! I love the MTC, but I am also so excited to serve in Bolivia next week!

Katie and Sister Masina with some friends they made at the CCM
Katie has really loved these people, and it is not just because she enjoyed the pancakes that she could request at any time.
These two wonderful gentlemen fixed the plumbing in the girls' dorm - Roberto and Alberto.  It's good to know good people!  

We have decided as a family to omit part of Katie's entry this week.  It seems that there have been a few pranks played this past week that would detract from the serious nature of the work in which they are engaged.  Needless to say, they have not lost their sense of humor.  We offer in replacement, the following.  It is an excerpt from a letter sent to Rachel:

This week I have been playing a lot of cage soccer and it is so fun! Playing soccer with Jas is so fun, and I love playing again, weird, haha! The only person I could play soccer with forever was you because it terrified me! Also, I have a PRIME story for you! Our teacher announced that he was having a baby girl and so we all started shouting out names. When it all got quiet, I raised my hand and said "platano" (which means banana), haha! It was so funny and we all laughed forever. I tell you this, because it was something I thought you would TOTALLY say!

Last P-Day with Sister Masina

All of the hermanas have been laughing about these (the omitted pranks) ALL WEEK! Amazingly enough, I think Hermana Masina and I have laughed even harder.  This was included to let you know that they are having a lot of fun.  Please know that they are still working hard and learning a lot.  They just prefer to enjoy the journey:)

Lots of people put "Only Spanish" on their nametags, so we decided to switch things up a bit.

A few more friends at the CCM

Cultural moment: I´m pretty sure that Hispanics cut apples the traditional way-with a knife, but the cultural moment definitely goes to my companion who showed me how to chop an apple in half with my head. It was great!!

The Devotional Singers

Spiritual moment: This week I had the great opportunity to sing in a quartet with Hermana Masina, two other elders in our district and Elder Bagley (on the piano). We sang "Where Can I Turn for Peace" in Spanish, and it was so neat! We all loved bringing the spirit into the meeting that way.

Have a great week in school/work and enjoy watching the football games!

Love, Hermana Garff

Bunk Buddies

Words cannot hope to express our gratitude for Sister Jaslyn Masina and her wonderful family.  They, along with the marvelous residents and staff of the CCM have made these first few weeks of Katie's mission a joyful experience.  We are delighted that Katie has had the chance to learn from such amazing individuals.  Our hearts are filled with gratitude for all who have helped her along the way.

Goodbye to Disneyland on Friday!

A Note from Hermana Pugsley
Sister Annie Pugsley left the CCM just hours before Katie arrived.  She was kind enough to pave the way for her - especially by leaving a fabulous dress and a note for her.  We love you Annie!!!

Hello Everyone!

This was another great week! I probably should have described this earlier, but the MTC is a lot like Disneyland:) There are colorful little houses everywhere, the kindest of people, and there are garbage cans every few steps! Also, I was running with my companion earlier today, and we were running through hundreds of tiny, little flowers. It is so beautiful here and I love it, but I am so excited to enter Bolivia in a few days! I know it will not be like Disneyland, but I am anxious to get out and serve as I know that´s where I need to be and that´s why I have entered the Disneyland bubble at all!

Our House
In our room we created a house out of sticks and put our won drawings of each other in there too.  Mine is the one that looks like it has dead bumblebees on the bottoms...but they're really flowers ha, ha!

Funny moments:

One of my favorite parts was when our elders were getting haircuts. One elder didn't particularly care about how his hair got cut, so the other elders encouraged the women to "Shave him like a cat!" So...she did....and he looks like a cat, haha!!

Break the Wrist and Walk Away
This is a photo of our Martial Arts lesson given by Elder Scott.

Another great moment was when Hermana Masina and I were teaching a fake investigator about the law of chastity. During the lesson he asked what it meant to "lust after another women" and why that was bad. However, I thought he was asking for the definition of pornography. I started to talk until I realized that I really didn't know any computer terms. I panicked a little and tried to think of any stories, but couldn't, so I turned to my companion and asked if she had any personal stories associated with his question, hahaha!! We all started to laugh hysterically and couldn't stop for multiple minutes.

Friends in Our District - They will be going to Chicago, Texas and Cali:)

Cultural moment:

Pronouncing last names is apparently also one of the things I need to work on. Hispanic names are a little more challenging to say, and there was one Hispanic who had the last name of "Astle" I completely pronounced this wrong and accidentally swore.

Friends from high school (Hermana Free and Hermana Masina)

Spiritual moment:

I realized that the gift of tongues is something that needs to come with time, faith, hard work, and hope. Thus, I have ceased to pray for the Gift of Tongues as a whole, but rather, for specific attributes of it. After my experience with teaching the law of chastity, I prayed and worked really hard to seek the gift of understanding. Slowly but surely, I have been able to understand much more. The gift of prayer is so powerful!

Hermana Clifford and I will be going to Cochabamba together:)

I love you all! Have a great week and know that I love you all so much!

Hermana Garff

Katie and Jas with the Latina Sisters

Katie will be heading to Bolivia this Friday.  We are convinced that part of the reason the CCM has seemed a bit like Disneyland is because of her great companion.  Jas has been wonderful to her, and has shown her the value of finding the fun in every moment.  What better gift than to learn to find the joy in the journey.  Thanks Hermana Masina!

Hermanas de Cuarto
They are just the BEST!  We laugh so hard every night through our stories and Bible charades!

The Weekly Schedule

Why We Have Caterpillars Today

Yes, that is a snail crawling up this Elders's face.
Glad we are taking this seriously...

Hello Everybody:)

This week has flown by so fast! 200 new missionaries entered the MTC on Tuesday and it was so great to greet them during a huge rainstorm! Rain is very common here, and I have come to absolutely love it, because Hermana Masina and I always end up running barefoot through the river of a street to get to class:D

Funny moments: This week we were able to teach in TRC (which is where we teach "real members" because they come from "outside of the wall." They were all very nice, but their Spanish was so fast that I could hardly understand them. I tried to tell them that their family was very kind and warm, but I ended up telling them that I was very hot in their presence. Whoops! Also, the other night, our house decided that it would be a good idea to do Bible charades in order to get to know the stories better. One particular night, our room was in charge, and chose to reenact Noah´s arc, so naturally, Hermana Masina and I decided to act as caterpillars. It was SO funny, and now, our house will never forget that Noah gathered caterpillars to be on the boat too!

Katie, Jas and Alyssa Free at the CCM

Cultural moment: There are lots of phrases in Spanish that aren´t used in English. One of these great words includes "SuperWow!" This means exactly as it intends, but it is so funny to use! I challenge all of you to try using it in your sentences/classes/work this week;)

Katie and Sister Jas Masina.  Katie's outfit comes from a bet made during a tennis match with the Pugsley Sisters.
 As one might have guessed, they lost.

Spiritual moment: The gift of tongues is a great blessing. Some days I am helped so much by this great power, but other days it is harder to recognize. Teaching in TRC this week was one of these moments where I was really struggling to recognize this gift. In moments like this, I have learned that when the gift of tongues isn't as present it is a good time to pray, because God loves us so much and wants to help us with our challenges. We are so loved! Prayer is such a great gift!

I love you all so much! Thanks for your great examples to me:)

Love, Hermana Garff

Katie also writes us a separate letter.  I have decided to include a little of that letter for all of the "Piano/Choir- Pushing Parents" - or current piano students that may read this. LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT.:

"I am glad that you encouraged me to take piano lessons. I have played in every meeting here, and I can sight read just about everything. Thank you for this wonderful gift!! Also, thank you so much for pushing me to do choir. I am not EVER afraid to sing. In fact, Jas and I always wake up singing Mary Poppins and we keep singing throughout the day, because it makes us smile. Today, we actually sang Happy Birthday to a worker and gave him some chocolate. His face lit up, and it totally made my day!"

The CCM (That's MTC in Spanish) Thanks Katie.

Katie and Jaslyn Masina

The title of this post was inspired by every missionary who has ever written from this training center. The first mention of its name, CCM, is always followed by "That's MTC in Spanish". Katie has taken great pains to repeat this frequently throughout her letters.

Hey Everyone:)

This was another great week! I met lots of new people and learned a ton. One of the major highlights this week was that I actually learned some martial art kicks and moves from one of the Elders-break the wrist and walk away!

Funny moment: Our classes are all taught in Spanish so sometimes the translations get a bit fuzzy... one day we were talking about stress management and what happens to our bodies when we get stressed. A sweet Elder from our district immediately answered "our pee turns brown!" The teacher paused for a minute and responded "Well, maybe for you…" Later the Elder explained that he thought the question was about what happens when we aren´t hydrated. I have not been able to stop laughing about this!!!

Katie and Jas Masina with friends form the CCM

Cultural moment: Latinos are the absolute GREATEST! I love these people SO much! I was thinking about them one night, when I realized that they actually remind me of minions from despicable me:D They are always so kind, loving and patient (even when they listen to my rough Spanish, haha)

Spiritual moment: I was assigned to teach a Book of Mormon class in all Spanish, so naturally I was a bit panicked as I don´t exactly speak the language. Regardless, I prepared the best I could and prayed diligently for help. The lesson was, in fact, a bit choppy due to language, but the spirit was so strong and I didn´t die so that´s a major plus!

Lastly, I met these super cute Latinas who Jas and I were really great friends with. They had to leave a few days ago, but they were super kind and they gave us these cute friendship bracelets that I wear every day!

The love, prayers and support of people is such an amazing thing!! I know that a major reason I am not homesick is because of all of the support from everyone.

Know that I love you all and am praying for you. Have a good one!

Hermana Garff

Complimenting the "Dress of Sin"

Katie and Jas Masina at the Mexico MTC
This picture was graciously shared by the Masina family!

Katie arrvied at the CCM to find out that her companion was to be Jaslyn Masina, an amazing girl that she served with in Student Government at Skyline High School. Jas is someone that everyone loves, simply because she loves everyone. We consider this a tender mercy. Knowing that she is in good hands helps us a lot back home.

Hello Everyone!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers! I felt so uplifted and comforted during the first two weeks! The CCM (that´s MTC in Spanish;)) is absolutely beautiful and the spirit is incredible here. The best part about the CCM is that everyone is so nice here (especially the natives that are putting up with my struggling Spanish, haha)! Please know that you are all included in my prayers right along with my desire to obtain the gift of tongues...)

At the Mexico Temple.  Jas and Katie are the only sisters in their district.
Thanks for the photo Jas!

Funny moments: "Me gusta su vestido de pecado." I intended to compliment a sister on her dress with fishes on it, but I ended up complimenting her "dress of sin" instead. Whoops! I made tons of gringo mistakes similar to that one this week, but hey, it definitely creates lots of laughter! Also, there are tons of large green circles with arrows on them so my companion and I make it a point to jump directly in the center whenever we see one...which is about every hundred yards, haha!

Katie and Jas in one of the many green circles
Thanks for the photo Jas!

Cultural: Mom, I love your cooking, but it was pretty shocking to enter the CCM to find out that we get fed three hot meals every single day. It´s great!;)

Thanks (once again) for the photo Jas!

Spiritual Moments: Last week was Fast Sunday and it was incredible to listen to everyone's testimonies in Spanish. Although we all struggled to speak in Spanish, the spirit was incredibly strong! Also, we all had the privilege to go to the Mexico City temple. It was absolutely beautiful and the peace it allowed was incredible!

I love you all, have the best darn week of your life!;)

Love,

Hermana Garff

Hit By A Mack Truck

Hi Mom and Dad!

I feel like I got hit by a Mack truck, but other than that I am doing really well, our plane arrived safely and things are great. Talk to you soon! My P-days are on Friday.

Farewell Fiesta

Prior to Katie's departure we had a Fiesta.  She spoke in church the next day, and then was off that next Tuesday.

           

Carrie, Katie and 

Katie, trying to light the panda bear tie on fire.
It was a gift she purchased in Korea.  It's fire-resist
qualities are what really sold it to her.

With Gam and Pa.
Trying to see who is taller

Katie and the Menlove Family