This week has probably been the longest week of my life. I've never known what hard work was until now. I have literally so much to share, I hope I can remember all the important stuff. I'll start with the language. The Spanish here is just like people said, super-fast and hard to understand. I'm so grateful for my companion, he's the one that translates the Dominican Spanish to normal Spanish for me so I can teach better. Throughout the week, my Spanish is getting better, and I'm slowly starting to understand and pick out some of the words they say, it's awesome. I have felt the Spirit so much when we teach the people, and I know God's hand is in this work.
Miracle moment- I went to the bathroom one day and went to check the toilet for bugs on the inside because you can't blame me for not trusting the toilet here. Then, my watch I had in my chest pocket came sliding out and fell straight into the toilet bowl. That was the watch I got from the MTC, and I really wanted to keep that. I took it out, tried to turn it on, and it was dead. I set it down on the sink with disappointment. Then I remembered what I just read in the Book of Mormon, Alma 15:5-11, talking about according to your faith you can do anything. So, I prayed for, according to God's will, and my faith, my watch to be fixed and I could keep it. About a minute later, I felt prompted to check it, and to my astonishment, it powered back on. I now know for a surety the power of faith in Christ. There have been other moments of being led to go down certain streets so we could meet certain people, and I know I have been led by God to do his work. There were times I got frustrated with the language, and I even lost hope once, but I will continue to have faith as I know this is God's work and his glory, so he will help me accomplish it.
The food is great here, not much variety because it's been either spaghetti or rice and beans, and I was a fan of neither one of them before my mission. Luckily for me, these people have a special Dominican spice or something that makes their food actually really good. There's this lady named Altagracia who makes literally the best food I've ever eaten, no exaggeration. She's been making it for the missionaries since they first got here in this country, so at least since I was born.
I love the people here, they all love God and Jesus, but they're just missing the joy that comes from the true gospel of Christ, that which I know I have felt, and can't deny its truthfulness. One amazing week down, 99 more to go, and I'm excited to see what's in store for the people I serve and for me. Thank you all for your prayers, nos vemos! Elder Copeland
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