Estoy llena, si soy Jenna!

Happy New Year everyone!!

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas, I know I did! Christmas Eve we helped a lady make tomales, I don't think she trusted me with making them though because my job was to wash the leaves.. That's okay, it was still way fun to help out :) A family invited us over for Noche Bueno dinner, that was way fun! But holy smokes, we got so much food, our fridge is packed! On Christmas Eve nobody really had time to listen to us, but if we passed a members house they would run out and give us food. We got tomales up the yin yang, coconuts, popsicles, TorTrix (basically doritos) and hot chocolate. At the end of the day Hermana De Leon kept saying ahh, estoy llena, and the double ll here sounds like a J so I would respond, si Soy Jenna! Maybe it's a 'you have to be there joke' but we are still laughing about it! I got the best Christmas present, being able to hear my favorite people's voices!! Ahhh, that was the best, getting to talk to my loves :) A few days before Christmas, Hermana De Leon and I decided that we were going to work really hard on Christmas so we wouldn't get homesick, and that we did! Christmas afternoon we had a few lessons, invited 7 people to be baptized and set 4 baptism dates :) Mmmhmm, we were flying high on Christmas! And it didn't stop there because on Saturday we had a baptism, so we've been on a high lately :) I love this work! I may get a little frustrated with the language, but I have so much love for the people here it doesn't even matter!

Can you believe I've been out for 2 months today, happy cumplimes to me! haha! We went to the Zoo today as a district which was way fun :) We got to wear jeans.. holy smokes that felt weird! I don't know which is more comfortable honestly, I'm getting used to wearing skirts and dresses everyday!

I hope you all have a wonderful new year! I have a goal for this week and the rest of my mission, I want to remember to throw my toilet paper in the trash can.. I forget sometimes and I don't want to know what we will have to do if the toilet gets clogged.. yikes.. Have a great week! Thank you for everything you do for me and have a wonderful new year! Love you all :)

Love, Hermana Brems

                                           Cleaning the tamale leaves

                                   I wasn't so coo coo for the coconut, but it was fun

                                                   Christmas Eve Dinner

                     Christmas day! My cute outfit bag and slippers! (Thanks momma!!)

                                                      Ashley's baptism!

                            I love this place! Pretty sky and background!

                                                     Today at the zoo!

Tres Tristes Tigres

Hola Family and Friends!

How are ya!? I hope you are all ready for Christmas, I know all of you are on Santa's nice list this year so if should be a good one for all of you :) We celebrated Christmas for our zone conference on Tuesday. It was way fun, President Curtiss and his wife gave a talk and we went over some business. They 'asked' me from the pulpit to say the prayer, so I didn't have a choice haha, that's alright, I don't mind practicing that good good spanish! They made us a delicious meal and then we watched Monsters University. Hermana De Leon and I had the most contacts that week so we got a box of cookies, way sweet of them haha!

This week when we were having language study, Hermana De Leon was having me say tongue twisters, hence tres tristes tigres, I have a hard time saying them in English, let alone spanish! It was a good laugh for her though so that's alright! Spanish is coming along, I'm understanding more and more and I'm talking more in the lessons. I need more confidence though, that's what everyone says! I just don't want to say anything wrong, but I have to learn some how and practice is the best way right?!

This week we contacted a ton and had several lessons. The people here are kinda funny, they seem so interested in our message when we give them a pamphlet and talk to them in the street. When we go back to give a lesson that we've prepared they tell us that they go to a different church, or they're busy, or we saw one guy run around to the back of his house and grab his bike.. he took off! Hermana De Leon was like, alright alright, we won't come back! Silly Pablo.. oh well! Oh and the other day I had a zit on my face.. it happens right? Well, I guy that didn't have teeth asked me what it was.. I was like, dude, you don't even have teeth, why point out my flaws?! That's okay, he has a sweet spirit I'm sure.. Yesterday was such a good day though! One of the ladies we taught, stopped cleaning to listen to us, we invited her to be baptized and she told us she was baptized in a different church, so we asked her to pray, I have hope! Anyway, after we were done teaching, we helped her clean her house because she kinda needed it.. I know she was very thankful and if felt SO good to serve her. Before we begin any lesson we always start with a Hymn. I thought it was a little strange the first 3 times and I felt awkward because I don't necessarily have the best singing voice, but after that, I absolutely love it! Music just brings the spirit into any home and the people usually enjoy it too! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and have a very Merry Christmas :) I'll be thinking about you like always! Thank you for all of your prayers and your examples :) Talk to you next week!

Love always, Hermana Brems

Group pictures from 11/13 and 11/27

Ayi Aya, Aqui, Aqua

Hello hello hello!

All I can say about my first week in the field is.. WOW! Haha! I have seen things that I never thought were possible, in a spiritual sense and in a living condition sense.. hahah! My companion, Hermana De Leon is the best! She has trained 3 other hermanas so she knows what she's doing! She is very patient with me and always tell me that I'm doing so good with my spanish and with teaching. I'm getting used to our house, it's a little bit more cozy and we're adding our personal touches to it. We bought curtains the other day and I went to take old ones down and guess what scurried out of them??? A LIZARD!!! I jumped off the table and ran to the other side of the room. Holy smokes.. I haven't touched them since haha! We don't have a kitchen in our house, just a sink and a portable stove top, but even with that it is so nice to finally cook!! The CCM food was good, but I know those eggs were fake.. and I can finally have yogurt and food that I want! I'm living the dream :)

We have such a good branch here in Santa Elena, the people are so willing to help us out, give referrals, and go tractcing with us! We've had a member with us everyday, and the mission leader is awesome! We were walking down a street with a member and we were totally lost so we called him and he came to our rescue with a bottle of Gatorade for all of us! He's great! Our area is huge, I swear we walked 8 miles yesterday and it was raining most of the day too! Living the true missionary experience. When they people give directions, they just say, Ayi or aya or aqui or aqua. I'm already awful with directions and still get lost with a GPS, so I am so grateful Hermana De Leon knows what she's doing! haha! We had a lesson with some new Investigators the other day, Gerardo and Carolina, they were a referral from a member. We met with them and they had heard a little about the church, mostly about the Word of Wisdom so we talked about that. We went back the next day to give a real lesson and at the end he told us that he had had a dream the night before, that I was giving him a basket of fruit. He said he knew the fruit was the word of God. Ummm chilerro verdad?! They went to church yesterday and I have great hope for them :) In another lesson we were talking about families and the importance of them. I opened up my photo album and shared some pics of my awesome family and just told them how grateful I am for you guys and how much you mean to me! Yesterday we went tracting with a member, while we were waiting for her, her daughter was rolling out tortillas so we helped out. I'm basically a native, I can get those things in a perfect circle haha :)

I received a different address for you to send mail and packages, I guess this one is better! It is:

Mision Guatemala Coban

3ra Calle 2-20 Zona 3

Coban AV 16001

Guatemala CA

Mision Coban

Thank you for all of your love, support, and prayers! I really do feel them and I hope you all feel my love for you! I love you all and I love this work :)

Love, your hard working Guatemalan

Hermana Brems

Where in the world is Hermana Brems?????

With very limited information, this is where we believe Jenna is calling home now.

Santa Elena!

Hola de Santa Elena!!

I made it safe and sound to my area, it's in Peten Santa Elena, where all the ruins are! Needless to say I'm super excited, pdays will be awesome! It's been so long since I've been able to write, lo siento! I got a new companion, her name is Hermana De Leon, she is from Guatemala, but she speaks pretty good English. I'm her first Norte to train so hopefully I represent the US well :)

The trip up here was interesting! So we had a 4 hour bus ride to Coban where we met the President and his wife, they are the BEST! I might have cried with Hermana Curtiss when she bore her testimony and I talked about my fam :) I miss you guys so much! Then she fed us tortilla soup with lots of rice, ahhh it was delicious! Then we stayed with some hermanas overnight because my area is abotu 7 hours away from Coban and we left yesterday morning. That trip was very interesting. We crossed a river on a 'ferry` had some luggage fall out of the van, but we recovered it and yeah.. it was just a long day! When we got to the house we were pretty disgusted.. the Elders that lived in it previously obviously didn't know houw to clean, Hermana De Leon said that that's the worst place she's lived in, so at least it can only get better from here, right?! After seeing some of the houses of members today I can't even begin to complain about the cold shower, bugs, or anything else because at least we have a floor and we don't have pigs and chickens pooping at our feet! Last night the mission leader took us around to some of the members houses, it was so fun! I couldn't understand everything, but they were very excited to have us in their home! One lady fed us, we were starving so it tasted really really good!
Today we went shopping for food because we had nothing and then went contacting. Ahh it's kinda surreal, but it's way fun! I wish I knew more spanish, but I keep telling  myself to be patient! The president told me he sent me to this area because he thinks that my energy is needed up here! Haha I'll bring all the energy and positivity I have! They only have a branch here, but the members seem to be very helpful!

I love you all so much and I will talk to you more on my P-day which is Monday. I got a call today and they told me that I had a very worried momma and I needed to write home :) Love you all, thank you for all of your support and prayers!

Love, Hermana Brems

Down in the Paint!

Why hello everyone! This week was literally one of the best weeks of
my life!! I absolutely love my companion, Hermana To'a, we get along
so great and we teach so well together! Our spanish has imporved so
much because we talk more and we aren't afraid of messing up because
we realized we're both still learning and we've only been learning for
a few weeks! Since 4 of the 11 people in my district left, we've all
gotten super close. We do sports together so it's really fun! The
other day we were playing hand ball and I was getting ready to catch
the ball when all of a sudden one of the Elders tackled me to the
ground.. Needless to say I went down in the paint and he had to sit
out for a little bit. I felt bad because it was an accident, but I was
mostly just super embarrassed! I didn't get hurt, don't worry, I'm a
tough little Hermana! Thanksgiving here was so fun! They brought out
the table cloths and we got to use real plates instead of plastic
ones! We had the traditional Turkey day meal complete with my very
first piece of pecan pie (sorry dad, it was delicious!!) I ate for
this Thanksgiving and the next one.. :) heehee! After dinner we
watched a devo by Elder Nelson and his wife, it was so good! They told
us to find those people who's ancestors are praying for us to find
their posterity so they can get their temple work done. I had never
looked at it like that! So great! I was asked to be the music
coordinator for my branch so I get to pick the music for Sacrament
Meeting, devotionals and Relief Society! It's been so fun, I love
being able to serve and help out in any way I can! Last week they made
us put a little piece of paper on our plaquas that say 'No Hablo
Ingles' they Latinos have fun messing with all of us.. punks! They're
way nice though, they love to help us out. I can't believe I leave the
CCM in a week from today! I am so excited to get out to the field, I'm
a little nervous though! We watched Errand of Angels on Sunday, haha
that definitely didn't calm my nerves at all, but I know the Lord will
help me through all things if I am exactly obedient. I love this work
and I love being a missionary :) I'm not sure when I'll be able to
write you next, I'm hoping next Wednesday I'll be able to shoot out a
quick email, but I'm not 100% sure! lo siento! I love you all and I am
so thankful that I have this opportunity to serve a mission,
especially here in Guatemala! thank you for all of your prayers and
support! I am one happy gal! :) Love, your favorite hermana, Hermana
Brems