Esta Siempre Bien

June 30, 2019

Hey everyone!! 

So I know I keep saying this, but it really feels like I'm living the same day over and over again, and also time is so weird here. Like seriously I can't tell if I've been here forever or I just got here hahah but esta bien. We just hit our halfway point a few days ago and I truly can't wait to get to California finally. Mexico is amazing and I'm going to be so sad leaving the people I've met here, but like I'm just excited to feel like I'm really making a difference and being a missionary. Hermana Day and I taught a few lessons to our teachers this week, and in some of them the Spirit was so dang strong! I can't even imagine what it will be like teaching real people. Nothing super exciting happened this week so sorry this email is kind of lame. Here are some cute pictures though to make up for it:) Oh and if any of my return missionary people on here (or just anyone that wants to share) has any words of wisdom, I know a lot of the Hermanas here would really super appreciate it and would love to hear some cool stories!!

Love y'all so much!! 

Hermana Brayton

(1.First pic is us after running through a dang monsoon bc it's like the rainy season here or something and it POURS like every other day.

2.my cutie gals and I in our new little Mexican skirts

3.my two new sweet Latina friends that just left on Monday for their missions

4.just me after getting my haircut hahah

5.my soulmate Hermana Clark and I

6.us as Elders (bc honestly it fits)

June 23, 2019

Hola amigos,

So we are officially ending our third week here at the lovely CCM, and I can't decide if I feel like time is flying or like I've been here for 10 years. Either way, it's still a super good time and I feel like I'm starting to understand some more Spanish:) But yeah there's not a ton of new stuff going on, but every day it seems like there's something new to laugh at. This week we started a new game called find the Latino, so every morning whoever we choose to be the Latino in our district has to speak only Spanish, but to keep our teacher from being able to tell who it is we all have to speak only Spanish and it's a little bit rough but so funny. And also at lunch, we've been trying to only speak Spanish, and the most common phrase is "Inglés POR FAVOR" from our wonderful Elders haha. The other day a few other Hermanas and I played volleyball with the cutest Latina girls. They started singing Justin Bieber and I was like "Oh, ¿te gusta Justin Bieber?" And one of the girls was like "¡Sí, necesito arrepentirme!" (I need to repent hahah).

I love all the people here (missionaries, teachers, and especially the comedor staff) so much. Every day I'm learning new things about them and it's probably my favorite part of this. In our classes, we talk a lot about how important it is to really, truly love those around us. It's seriously the biggest part about this work that we're doing here. I just want people to know how much our Heavenly Father loves every single one of his children and how badly He wants for us to live with Him again. A scripture that really sticks out to me about this is Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 and it just says "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God," y me encanta eso porqué yo sé qué está verdadera!

I love y'all so much and I'm so thankful for all the prayers and support and emails!! The emails keep me entertained because it feels like I'm living the same day over and over again, just in different dresses;) (also pics-> first is just a cute picture of my name tag with my crusty nail polish haha, second is Hermana Day's pollo(?), and third is a gingie pic with my friends Elder Brown and Hermana Merrill)

Todo mi Amor,

Hermana Brayton

Sister Day -  the artist!

MTC Ginjas!

¡Si se podemos!

June 13, 2019  ​

 Holy cow y'all. This week has been seriously the best, but also it's totally been kicking my butt. So I made it to the MTC (which is actually CCM in Spanish, so only a little bit confusing) on Tuesday afternoon and this place is seriously gorgeous. There are so many palm trees and flowers and grass are so green and you can hear music all the time from the city and I love it! 

My companion is from Utah and she's seriously the greatest. Like I really couldn't have been paired with a better person because we're both exactly what we need! Her name is Hermana Day and we're both going to Anaheim and we're both sooo dang excited:) There are 11 people in our district, and we pretty much spend the entire day with them but they're all so awesome so it's all good:) We've gotten so close already though it's crazy, and even though I've been here for just over a week, it feels like it's been an eternity but also like time is flying by. One of the girls in my district is from South Carolina too and it's literally so nice having another southern girl to relate to when we're putting chicken on our waffles in the morning and talking about how much we miss Waffle House. 

My classes and teachers are all super great, but Spanish is so hard (haha) and we have to memorize a bunch of things too but esta bien because I know I'll get the hang of it eventually. Also, we've had some super amazing devotionals with some incredible messages, and one thing that stood out to me the most was when the CCM President said that this isn't our time anymore, we're on the Lord's time. When I first heard that I was seriously terrified, but after have some long talks with my wonderful Hermana Day, she told me "look, it's game time. You have the rest of your life to do whatever it is that you want, but for these next 18 months you chose to be here so you have to be here with your whole heart and mind." I'm seriously so grateful for this opportunity to be here and to be able to grow closer to my Heavenly Father than I ever have before and to be pushed to my limit in ways I never thought possible. 

But on a more lighthearted note, these people I'm here with are the best and they make me laugh so much every day. One Elder in my district has never taken any Spanish and he's so funny about it. He just will say any Spanish word he can think of at the most random times, like el país (country) and sé bautizara (will you be baptized) and honestly it's the comedic relief we all need. 😁

Okay y'all, seriously feel free to email me whenever!! Thursdays (except next week is Friday) are my P-Days so I can read them and get back to everyone then!! Love y'all so much and I can't thank y'all enough for all the support!! 

 Oh and I'll drop some pictures from this week so y'all can check them out:)) (the first one is the gorgeous sunrise from my room, second is cutie Hermana Day and me, third is all the Hermanas is my district~ Hermana Bailey, Hermana Clark (from SC!), Hermana Gordon, Hermana Trythall, Hermana Rice, and then me and Hermana Day~ fourth is my whole district with Elders Hu'akao, Giuliani, Vance, and Danner, fifth is us trying to be cool and run at 6:30 this morning, sixth is our service project in the kitchen yesterday, and the last one was my first day pic. 😉

 So much love, 

Hermana Braytondere