Monday, February 25, 2013

Excerpt from Emily's letter 2/14-15

Most of this letter was responding to things we had written in our letters to Emily, so it won't be very meaningful to anyone, but I want to share what she wrote about learning Spanish.

"Quiero comparir una experiencia con el don de lenguas [translation: I want to share an experience with the gift of tongues] I really had a leg up with Spanish when we got here, but I've learned a whole lot since then which I can't take credit for either. Before the MTC, when I was studying Spanish, I would pull on the Book of Mormon [in Spanish] and read a few sentences or verses and get just a few words. It was hard enough that I  transferred over to Gospel Principles. I think our first full day our teacher, Hermano H had us read from the Book of Mormon as companionships "en voz alta" [out loud] just to practice our accent. I hadn't even been here 24 hours and suddently "Yo Nefi" started to make sense. I can't even explain it. It was so cool! It was just like *click, click, click, click* and everything started falling into place. I didn't understand perfectly of course, but the difference was amazing.. That's not me. That's the Spirit. Despues de nuestra ultima leccion con Gabriel, Hermana Lme dijo, [After our last lesson with Gabriel Sister Lund said...] "Your Spanish has gotten so much better!". I don't necessarily feel like I've learned a whole bunch, but she's right that the Spanish, what little I have, does flow. When I used to try to speak with the Ochoas, Valverdes, and Brother Arana, etc, it was so hard for me to think of what to say and how to say it. When we teach Gabriel, it's like my mind is just super well oiled. Even though I rely heavily on a few key verbs, I can communicate. It's really cool. And that's the power of the Spirit, not anything that I've done amazingly well."

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