Llamado a Servir en España: PDAY...it's like CHRISTMAS every single week!!!!

MI FAMILIA!!!!!! Hola! Come estan?!?! IT´S PDAY!!! Honestly, PDAY is like having Christmas every week because we get to email home. Of course we are all focused but emailing your family is just wonderful! PDAY is so fun... well so far! We go to the temple every Thursday and I love it!! Then we have personal study but NOBODY can focus because we are all just counting down the minutes until we can email haha. It´s quite hilarious.

I can't believe I have been gone for more than a week! But at the same time it feels like it's been years since I last saw all of you! How is everyone doing? How is the last week of school going? I guess it's pretty much over now, huh?! Are you so excited for summer?? What are your first plans for the first week of summer? Mom and dad, how was Boston? I am so incredibly jealous! I wish I could have been with you but also Spain is pretty great too ;) well. I guess the CCM is pretty great- we haven't really been anywhere besides the CCM, the temple (literally right outside the door- pic to follow), THE park (where we go every Saturday to teach people), and the fields where we go to play soccer and ultimate frisbee. Fun fact- ultimate frisbee is definitely my sport ;) it's so much fun and it's something that all of us missionaries here in the CCM love to play during our physical activity time (we get an hour a day). Ok sorry, back to your lives really fast- thanks for all of the pictures and emails!! If I have time I will write each of you back personally. We literally have ZERO time here in the CCM! There are only 24 of us here and on Tuesday, all the Russian, Portuguese and French learners leave! But I think we're getting a few more misioneros. Anyway, we are small in number but it just makes it that much more fun!!! Honestly we all have SO much fun together! We are going to all cry so hard when we have to go! I am NOT looking forward to that day! Actually, I'm not looking forward to any transfer.... As you all know... I don't do well with change ;) but that's ok because I have a dear friend who once told me that Heavenly Father lets us be comfortable where we are and in our callings and then he changes things on us so we can continue to learn and grow!

Wow! Lo siento (I am sorry)! This email is ALL over the place! Trying to write a week and a half's worth of stuff is just too much to ask of Hermana Allie Eyring! Writing about one day would probably take at least an hour! And I only get 45 minutes here in the CCM!!!!!! Ahhh! Ok. Let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns. Hahaha ok sorry. That was for all my Disney lovers). Now for real :)

I was called to be the music coordinator for the CCM! I put together all of the music and help direct the music at the park on Saturday's and also on Sunday´s in front of the temple. I love it!!!!

Getting my "Chapa" (or Placa or name badge or whatever you like to call it. Here we call it a Chapa) was the most incredible thing EVER!!! It made me feel like a real live missionary!!! I never take it off except for when I am showering haha. The other sisters probably think I am weird but I even sleep in it! I am going to take advantage of every minute I get to wear it for these 18 months.

Random:

-my freckles are going crazy here in España!

-my straightener doesn´t work and neither does anyone else's so the mission president´s wife is taking us all shopping tomorrow! Yay!!

-I can read spanish but hearing it is hard because of the ceta. But I´m getting used to it!

-When I was nervous this is something Elder Merrill said, "Hermana Eyring might be nervous, but Jesus Christ isn´t nervous. And you don´t represent Hermana Eyring on your mission, you represent Jesus Christ. So you don´t have to be afraid!! I promised Him that I would give up my fears from day one and you can do it too!!" I loved that!!

-Our District is the ALMA district (it´s the best one in case you were wondering). Our district motto (nobody else has one... just us haha) is, "Si Se Puede!!" We can do it!!!! Also our district mascot is "gato grande". Don´t ask why because I´m not really sure haha.

-FUTURE MISSIONARIES.... BRING STICKY NOTES!!!!!! I use them everyday and wish I brought more! They will save your life!! Also, just know that you can study PMG everyday before your mission (and you should) but on your mission you are going to come to appreciate it so much more and it will apply DIRECTLY to you!!! Same with the scriptures and everything else you read. Everything becomes so much more personal on a mission!!

-We have watched a few different devotionals and I love them all! Elder Bednar´s 2009 MTC talk was incredible!!! everyone go look it up and read it this week... that´s my challenge to you!!

-Grandpa Zwick.... the objective in chapter one of PMG is wrong in the Spanish version on the Ipads. I am not sure why they haven´t changed it but we realized that it isn´t the same as the correct one in the actual PMG.

-There is a ginormous lizard in the Elders' room!!!! Pray that it doesn´t come into my room haha.

-ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS invite someone to be baptized the first time you teach them (unless the spirit tells you not to). The Giorginos explained it to me like this... we are in a boat in the ocean and thousands of people are surrounding us with nothing to float on. In our boat we have thousands of life vests. We aren´t just going to keep the life vests to ourselves, right? We are going to start throwing them to people! We have the necessary doctrines and steps that lead to eternal life with our father in heaven. We can´t just keep it to ourselves! We have to share it!!! It is then up to them whether or not they accept it but we just have to do the inviting. OPEN YOUR MOUTH!!! Talk to everyone you see... that is something I have learned this first week and it makes life so much more fun! So just trust me and do it! Share the gospel with everyone around you and you will bless lives!!!

-My companions are PHENOMENAL!!!! I love them both! Hermana Rollins was a little more shy at first. Her mom passed away a few months ago and I about died when I heard that. I don´t think I could leave after that happened to me. She has an incredibly powerful testimony! Mom, maybe you could write her a letter? (and Hermana Devereaux too so she doesn´t feel left out haha). Hermana Devereaux is just the absolute cutest! The three of us get along so well and our lessons together are always wonderful. I love the spirit that they bring into everyday!

Ok, the park!! Really fast! Each week we get to go to the park that is a few metro stops away from the CCM. We get paired up with a random companion from the CCM the night before and then we just go out and start talking to people! We carry around BOMs, pamphlets, pass along cards and everything else we feel that we need! I was with Hermana Jessop this week and it was the most amazing thing in the whole entire world!!! We contacted 27 people, placed 5 BOMs, LOTS of pass along cards, and got 4 Referrals!! It was incredible!! The spirit of missionary work is real! Not that numbers mean anything, but I am just grateful that I was able to help other people come a little bit closer to their Savior Jesus Christ! Also, we get to sing in the park! SO SO fun!!!! And I lead it!

Teaching in the Park with Sister Jessop

My companions and I have SOOOO much fun together! They teach me so much every single day! Being a missionary is such a humbling experience... especially when you are learning a language. Mostly we just laugh at ourselves because we usually speak spanglish ,) We teach 2 lessons everyday. We have "progressing investigators" (our teachers... who I love!!! Especially the Gioginos! They are the CUTEST COUPLE EVER!!!!!! I want to be just like them when I am older! AH I love them!!). Anyways, we prepare for lessons everyday and go teach once in the morning and once at night. I was nervous at first that I wasn´t going to be able to do it because I don´t like teaching people who I know are members and know everything already. But it is crazy how close you get to your investigators and how much you can feel the spirit in those lessons. I have started crying multiple times! BEST LESSON EVER... so far.... it was our first lesson with Cristina and we had a whole lesson planned out about the Book of Mormon. But then it ended up taking a whole different route because she asked so many questions and was so interested in everything we said. We ended up teaching her about the whole restoration and then had her read the first vision to us. Remember this is all in Spanish. Then we all just felt the spirit so strongly and started crying! Cristina was crying the hardest. We hadn´t even really talked about Baptism but we just knew she was ready. We challenged her (in Spanish) to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized! And she ACCEPTED!!!!!!! It was so incredible!!! Golden investigator right there!!!!! I love teaching and I love sharing the gospel!! At times our language studies get really long because we go for so many hours in our district classroom without stopping. But then when we go in and teach lessons I remember my purpose as a missionary (in Spanish because I have that memorized) and all of the long Spanish classes are worth it!!

Our other progressing investigators are Pablo y Clara (played by the Giorginos). They are so fun to teach. Pablo used to be active but isn´t anymore and Clara wanted to know more about what he used to believe. They are incredible and we are taking them on a tour of the temple tomorrow and then challenging Clara to be baptized! She is so ready! It is amazing to me that even though I can´t speak anywhere near to fluent Spanish yet that the Lord can still use me as an instrument in His hands to bring His children back to Him. The Holy Ghost truly is the real teacher and as long as we are obedient and have the spirit with us then Heavenly Father will help us with the rest. Something that I love that Hermano Giorgino taught us this past week was this.... (technically it´s from Elder Bednar but he stole it from him). In Moses 1:39 it says what God´s purpose is... to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of men. In D yC 11:20 it says what our purpose is. Our work and glory is to be obedient. That is all we have to do and then if we are obedient to everything the Lord will help us to learn the language and to teach people and fulfill our missionary purpose of inviting and helping others come unto Christ. I know that as we strive to be EXACTLY obedient to everything that our Heavenly Father (or parents or mission president or general authorities) ask of us that we will be blessed and we will be able to be more effective servants for our Heavenly Father!!

Sorry I couldn´t write everyone back personally!!! Too many emails and not enough time! But I love hearing from you all so thank you thank you!!

Again, thank you SO SO SO much for emails, letters and pictures! They literally mean the world to me!! We have iPads here in the CCM and we are the first misioneros who get to have them here! Yay for being guinea pigs! Since we have email on our iPads, the rule is we get to read emails everyday after 5pm BUT we can only respond to them on pday (jueves... Thursday... Today). So if you ever want to just send me a sentence or picture or an "I love you" then I just know it would be greatly appreciated at 5pm Spain time ;)

I love you all and pray for you EVERY single time I say a prayer... also it´s in Spanish :) Have a great week!!!!