Bueno, Estoy aqui en Newport News!

He hablado mas espanol en esta semana que todo en mi mision! Y he tenido mas nuevos investigadores tambien!

Newport News. Spanish Branch.

Population: about 30

English speakers: 3 families

Branch Mission Leader: Incredible

Potential: Limitless

I am so excited to be e-mailing you from Newport News! It has been quite the week. The work here is incredible. There are an average of 2 new investigators a week. There are very few progressing, but we will get there soon! It's amazing. Spanish work is so very very different from English work. The people are so open and willing to allow you into their homes. You can actually talk to people! (Pues, not if this is your first Spanish area and you can't really speak Spanish, but in a very general sense ;D)

My first day in the area, of course I was nervous because I haven't spoken much Spanish at all since the CCM, and even there I wasn't extremely good at it. Pues, in my first two lessons here I understood almost everything that my companions and the investigators were saying. Which is a huge deal because I never have understood Spanish. But I did. Fast forward a few days, and at church I didn't understand hardly anything again.

Wait, did the gift of tongues leave me? Am I not being righteous enough? Do I need to pray more? No. What I learned was that God grants us power according to our needs. I knew nothing first coming here. I needed to understand. I needed that tender mercy. But if God just gives me that power, what have I learned? Nothing, of course. I need to be able to learn and grow and stretch and reach for that strength. I need to rely on him, but I also need to learn to walk (or in this case, talk).

And that is what a mission is. That is what life is. It's learning to Walk. It is learning to Talk. It is learning to Be all those things that God needs us to be.

And I guess that is what I am excited for most.

Anyway, I have two companeras otra vez. Hermana Johnson and Hermana Phillipy. Hna Johnson just finished training and Hna Phillipy has 6 months left but due to some special circumstances has been out for almost 16 months (if not more). I am a very fortunate lady. Hna Phillipy is stunning. She is humble and sweet and so dedicated to the work. I know that if I am like her by the end of my mission, I can call it a success.

I don't have much to report on the work here, because, I'll be honest, I don't know what a lot of people are saying. But I'm getting ready for it. And I'm learning Spanish as fast as able. Give me a couple of months and I'll probably feel comfortable having a chat with Uncle Michael and Danielle! Jaja.

Con Amor,

Hermana Fletcher

PS- The three pictures are my district.

Hnas Fletcher, Phillipy y Johnson