Merry Christmas/ New Years/ Three Kings day!!!

Merry Christmas/ New Years/ Three Kings day!!! The Three kings or Tres Magos are a big deal here! Half the people wait for Santa Claus and the other half wait until the beginning of Janurary for the Three Kings to give them gifts!

    So, this week was crazy! It started out with me going to Málaga to do residency so I could be legal here in Spain. We missed our first train because we some how only had tickets to come back to Cádiz and not to go to Málaga and so we hung out waiting for the next train and I rode down on a train to seville and then switched onto to one for Málaga. Needless to say Spain has cured my fear of public transportation because we use it 5 to 6 times a week and my fear of asking people for directions so I don´t end up riding on the wrong train in the wrong direction. I made it back to Cádiz Tuesday night and we just contacted people like crazy with Christmas cards! Wedsneday morning nothing too crazy except we went over to a members house for christmas eve dinner which is a big deal here! I don´t know half of what I ate but that´s ok because it was great! Christmas morning we work up opened our presents around our 1 foot tall christmas tree complete with two tiny nativity scenes and set out to San Fernando for Christmas breakfast which consisted of crepes and ziploc omelletes! Then we took a boat across the bay back to Cádiz and on the way there we saw a dolphin which was cool but it way great to see everyone elses reaction because almost no one had every seen one before. The rest of the week has been a bit tough because not many people want to meet during this time because they are with their families which is great but I´m not worried because I know that Hermana Ashby and I are going to attack this week and it´s going to be awesome!

   Intresting things about Spain side notes:

1. Washers are in the Kitchen

2. When you leave an elevator you always say adios

3. Chino stores are on almost every street. Chino stores are like Dollar stores owned by Chinese people.

4. For Christmas they have special sweets called Polveron which is an intresting chalky cookie.

5. No one has christmas lights because they all live in pisos(apartments) so the government puts up light to decorate the road.

That´s all for this week!

I miss and love you all!

Hermana Evelo

 

Gaby and her companion on a boat back to Cadiz

Just walking around Cadiz

 

Becoming Legal

Buenas! This week I´m writting a little bit early because I get to go Malaga this week to do Residency paper work so that I´m actually legally here in Spain! whooh! This week has flown by and I love it! The amazing thing about the mission is that you never know what that day is going to bring because you meet so many different people! On monday was my first P day(preperation day) this is where we stuff such as laundry, grocery shopping and explore Spain! We went to a pretty sweet catherdral and castillo and I don´t have pictures this week because I left the camera at the piso so for now you´ll just have to trust me that they were pretty great! Tuesday we went around talking to everyone and their mother and passing out El es la Davdiva cards which is He is the Gift in english. If you haven´t seen it yet you should! It´s a super short but super awesome video about the birth of Christ and it´s just the best! Wednesday we had a zone conference which is where missionaries from around our area meet together and listen to talks about different topics. It was nice to see all the people I know and just to be around so many missionaries! And to wrap things up Thursday and Friday we had intercambios where we trade companions for a day so I got to travel to beautiful Jerez for a day and Speak spanish all day because my temporary companion was a spain native! It was great but as a little bit exhausting! Hermana Ashby and I also manage to find a tiny Christmas tree and put lights and other decorations on it so our piso feels a little bit more Christmasy!  I just love this time of year because you can see people around you feel the spirit of christmas and are just more loving in general! I hope that all of you have a very Merry Christmas! I love you guys and hope you have a great week. Hopefully next week I can be a little bit more exciting!

Love Hermana Evelo

The Last Two Weeks

Hola Hola!!! So thank you everyone for your birthday wishes! I had an amazing birthday complete with an amazing Piñata made by one of the elders, tons of chocolate, being sung happy birthday at least 6 times and tons of cards. Sorry if all of this mixed up but transitioning between everything is not my forte. So, in addition to my birthday on Friday the day before was probably one of the best Thanksgivings I´ve ever had! We got to watch Meet the Mormons, stuff ourselves with tons of food and to end the day had an amazing devotional from Elder Bednar that was broadcasted to us live. Now that was cool in itself but to make it even better we were allowed to email him questions during the broadcast and he would answer them what?! Last Saturday we got to go to the park like always which was great except that it was raining and we were allowed to stay in the metro but me and my temporary companion Soeur Nalasco decided to go to the park anyways and it was great because I actually understood everything that people said to me and I was able to say everything that I wanted to in Spanish! Side note the squirrels here are weird... they´re black with red tails and huge ears and don´t mind coming right up to you. On Sunday our District sang oh, Holy Night and one of the Hermana´s here is a cello performance major and played a Poor Way Fairing Man of Grief. It was so beautiful! Nothing brings such peace as music!

Hello Everyone! 

As most of you... well maybe some of you know this has been my first week out of the MTC(missionary training center). On Tuesday I jumped on a train to Malaga where I met my new companion Hermana Ashby, who is amazing and will be my trainer for my first 12 weeks here, and then we jumped on a train to Cádiz where I will be staying for probably the next 18 weeks! So, a little bit about Cádiz is that is beautiful, it´s a little peninsula and I can see the ocean when I look out my window! Here are some differences first off no one here has a dryer! Everyone has clothes lines outside of their window and just hang everything out to dry which I think works out except when you live on the 12th floor because here in Spain everyone builds up so the average building has at least 10 floors and then what do you do when your clothes falls? Numero dos the elevators here are all tiny and say they can hold four people but even with just me and my companion it´s pretty snug and there is almost always a really nice jolt before the door opens. Numero tres bakeries and sweet shops are on almost every street and man bread is just such a beautiful thing it´s hard to resist popping in and buying everything! 

Here are some things I´ve already learned in the mission is that when you are over at someone´s house to eat and you don´t know what you are eating it´s probably best that you don´t ask what you are eating... and number two when in doubt nod your head and smile. I´m so glad that my companion knows Spanish because our investigators could be telling us they robbed a bank and I would just be smiling and nodding my head.

In conclusion I love the work I'm doing here in Spain! Even though I've only been here a week I already love the people here so much and am so excited to share the best message in the world with them. Sorry for my spelling and grammar I think that as I learn Spanish I lose my English! I hope that everyone is doing great and if any of you need anything send me an email and even though I´m in Spain I´ll see what I can do! Have a great week! I miss you all!

Train Station and First Companion

Just arriving from the Madrid MTC

 

My First Companion Hermana Ashby

 

Note from Mission President

She just arrived in her area, which is Cadiz, and at the moment is very excited and in awe of the beauty of Cadiz.  I am working on the blog right now so you can see a picture of her trainer. 

 

She is a very sharp young woman, and we are so glad we got her in the Spain Malaga Mission!  Thanks for sharing her with us, and I will call her again in a few days to see how she is adjusting.  

I'm Here!

Hey! So, I'm here!!!!!!! I just spent an hour contacting and it was so awesome!!!!! I'm so excited! I get to meet my trainer a little bit later and I still don't know where i'm going but hey anywhere is fine with me! I love you guys so much!!!!!!! <3

Leaving the MTC

Hey, so it turns out that I only have ten minutes to email..... awkward! so no long email until next monday :( Also this past 4 days has been a holiday here so im probably not going to get any of your stuff for another two weeks because they are going to get here tomorrow and then have to forward it to malaga mission home and then to me! im super sad! :( So, we leave at like 5 in the morning tomorrow and get on a train at like 7ish and then will be on the train for like 2 hours! No I wont be calling you because it´s just a couple of hours away and im still in the same country but I get to skype you guys in two weeks!!!!! But be prepared that it´s only for like 40 minutes! I miss you guys mucho! Also I would buy scriptures because they only give paper backs.  My camera is great! I love you guys! talk to you next monday!

Pictures

Are you from Florida?

Happy Turkey Day!

Man this week has flown by! So, in honor of today I will list a couple of things that I´m thankful for. Numero uno I´m thankful for this amazing gospel. It has blessed me like crazy and I would´t be even close to the person I am today. Numero dos my amazing family and numero tress shout out to my amazing friends! Before this story disclaimer to my mom, don´t worry it turns out ok! So once upon a time I got to go to the Prado! The Prado is an amazing art gallery that holds amazing art from people such as Goya, Vasquez, Rueben, Rembrandt and Carvaggio. It was huge and I probably could have stayed there for a couple of days they were all so breathetaking. I might have been a tiny bit disappointed becauseI could see one of my favorrite pieces because of renovations so i´ll definetly have to go back one day! So, after this we went down a couple of streets looking at shops when I realized I didn´t have my wallet naturally I began to freak out a little bit (a lot bit) I didn´t know what to do because it held a lot of important things. After a few minutes a man taps me on the shoulder and asks me if I´m from Florida. Turns out he was a police officer that had been looking for me up and down the streets for about an hour because someone had found my wallet and given it to him! What a miracle that out of all the people around us in Madrid he managed to find me! So if your my mother breathe in breathe out it´s ok! In other intresting news we got to have American pizza on tuesday because the Ukranines left which is a huge treat here! On wednesday our district had a 20 minute long battle with a bee and to really show how crazy our district is this week Elder Blasi bought a sword and before bed Elder Rodriguez spends his time lassoing people as they pass by because he brought a lasso from home and one day all the guys jumped out of the class rroom and scared us to death so mayve the real moral of this story is that the guys in our district are crrazy! Awesome side note there are christmas decorations everywhere that make me super happy! Hope everyone has an amazing week!

 

Love Hermana Evelo

 

 

Real Madrid Stadium

Hey Everyone!

So in case you didn´t already know soccer is a huge thing here! I´m pretty sure that kids are taught to play before they can even walk so last week we got to go to the Real Madrid Stadium which was actually super awesome and made me want to actually follow soccer when I come home! One of the Elders looks like one of the Real Madrid players so he went in a Real Madrid jersery and actually convinced 4 or 5 tourists to the point that they wanted to take pictures with him. So this week me and my companion set a goal to only talk in spanish and it worked out great for about one day but hey that´s something! So one of the many beautiful things about spain is the chocolate it is actually wonderful and I don´t think American chocolate will ever be the same. So nothing to crazy happened this week other the usual studying and what not but this week I´ve really felt like im progressing! I´ve probably said this before but I love everyone here! They are amazing and I feel like I´m basically on top of the world everyday no matter what because I´m in Spain! Sorry these are always a bit short but they should get better once i´m out of the Mtc which is in a couple of weeks!!!! I love all of you so much!

 

Hermana Evelo

 

Gaby and her Comp contacting in the park

 

 

 

Yum that was good!

Dear Family and friends,

 Hola!!! It´s crazy how fast this week went by! So I thought this week was going to be the challenge week just because you start to realize that you´re actually going to be living in Spain for 18 months but it was actually pretty great! I´ve was so worried about being homesick but I´m kicking homesickness´s butt! I miss everyone so much but I love it here! So in case you were curious I tried Fuet! For those of you that don´t know fuet is raw pig intestines and it was... gross everyone said it tasted like salomi but that is a lie! This Saturday we went to the park again and man people were exactly like the weather...cold! Holy rejection but I will say it is surprising helpful to get the attitude of not letting people get you down! So speaking of chilly Spain is not as sunny as I thought it would be and a bit more dry than florida but really anywhere is more dry than Florida! Anywho cold=colds and it seems like evryone is getting sick but shout out to mom for giving me a steller immune system! Hopefully it will pass quickly because I don´t like to see my poor companion sick! So I dont remember if I mentioned that here we also have French and Russian learners but they left tuesday to go to their missions and now we have a new batch of Russians and Ukraninians that don´t speak english very well so im trying to learn a couple of Russian phrases but I think there is a reason that Im going spaninsh speaking and not Russian! This week some of us went to play soccer at the pit( a soccer field surrounded by concrete benches) but since it was a holiday there are a bunch of spaninards playing and so we played against them and it was probably the most intense game i´ve ever played! It doesn´t sound as cool in writing but I played soccer with soccer with Spaniards in Spain how cool is that! This was our last week with our¨investigators¨¨ and we committed one of them to baptism and holy cow it was such an awesome experience! It is so difficult but so worth it to be here and I can already feel my spanish improving like crazy!

 

I love and miss all of you! Until next week!

Hermana Evelo

 

Gaby and her MTC companion.

 

Gaby and her MTC district.

 

First Real Post from Madrid MTC

Hola famila y amigos,

This past week and a half has been amazing and I still can´t believe that I´m here! We arrived
Tuesday afternoon and went straight into meetings. The Jet lag wasn´t too bad after a couple of nights but the first night was killer! In my first meeting with my MTC president I was told that me and my companion were going to be Sister Training Leaders which is basically the same as Zone leaders but for the girls. I was so excited about my name tag because lets be serious you don´t feel quite like a real missionary until you have it. My companion is the best she is from Utah and I feel like we´ve known each other forever! She is the best!

The food here is pretty good. Basically the Spanish version of cafeteria food. I´ve become super addicted to fruit. My district eats about 30 clementine's a day! There are 45 missionaries here. A mixture of people learning French, Russian and Spanish. We have about 9 hours of class which is exhausting but I know that I definitely need it! So here we have "investigators" which are our teachers acting as people that taught on their missions to give us a realistic idea of teaching.
Our investigators are Umesh and Carmen and let me say that I´m so grateful that I´m not teaching real people right now! On Saturdays we go to this huge park that goes on for miles and miles with lakes, fountains, statues, manicured hedges and policemen that patrol on horses. On almost every corner there are musicians that play everything from the harp to the trumpet. We go there to find
people to talk to and it was terrifying but it was amazing to see how kind the people here are and to see how words just come to you as you speak with them! I miss everyone so much but I know this is where I´m supposed to be!

 Love Hermana Evelo

Preparation Day

Gaby's Preparation Day, or her day to write emails, is on Thursdays. They will skip this Thursday. So the next time we will get an email and post it here to her blog is on the following Thursday.

Email Address

Here is Gaby's email address: gabriela.evelo@myldsmail.net

I have arrived in Spain!

My P-day is going to be on Thursdays but not this Thursday because it´s our first week. All my flights went smoothly they were just really long and I´m super exhausted. They said that today is going to be pretty chill because it´s our first day and they really just want us to stay awake so we can start to get over our jet lag. I´ve taken a couple of pictures already but I'll send them next week because I don´t have too much time. I was sitting next to a lady on the plane that I thought was speaking German but it turns out it was Spanish and ughhh I hope not all Spain people talk like that. I also found that airplane food isn´t as bad as everyone says it is. For breakfast we even had a tiny bottle of Nutella. I´m in the district of Nefi with about 6 other people I think some bound for Malaga and others Madrid.
Tell everyone I love them.

On her way to Spain!

Gaby left yesterday at 5:57pm headed to Atlanta, then to Amsterdam, and finally to the MTC in Madrid. She called this morning from Amsterdam saying she was okay and she was with other Missionaries headed to the Madrid MTC. She should arrive in Madrid around 10:10am our time. She will be 6 hours ahead of us.

GrandPa, Carlos, Mom, Gaby, Dad, GrandMa