I love Island Life!:)

Hola amigas y familia!!

Well I made it to Puerto Rico safe and sound!  It is absolutely beautiful here and everything is so green, and the people are so so kind:)

My area is in this small pueblo Cabo Rojo!  It is on the far west side of the island and is just this little town!  the town is split into two areas, one on the coast, and one in the forest, I am in the forest! haha but my area is super big, it covers so so much land!  Anyways also my companion is Hermana Green, she is from California and is the best trainer in the entire world!  I have already learned so much from her!  I also live with two other sisters Hermana Cortes who is from Mexico and Hermana Antonio who is from the Dominican Republic, and they pretty much only speak spanish which is definitely helping me get accustomed to it faster which I am very grateful for, and they are also trying to learn English so it all works out really good!:)  They are also so so funny, and the language barrier makes everything 10x more funny! haha

Anyways but this week I have been able to meet a lot of the recent converts in this area and they are all so so sweet, and then we have also been trying to find more people!  Our ward is very humble and very small and they all love helping the missionaries!  we are going to try to do a lot of reactivation as well as finding new investigators!  But anyways overall this work is so awesome but also just so so hard.  I have definitely had my moments where I ask myself What in the world I am doing.  I am learning to truly rely on the Lord with all of my heart, and just to love the people.  I am so grateful for this ward becuase they remind me of my purpose, and why I am here.  So although it is so hard, everyday I am just going to remember my purpose and know that when I do this and just walk with faith, then my testimony will grow and I will be able to fully love this work and where I am!  I love you all with all mi corazon!:)

Love, Hermana Zimmerman:)

  These are from the first day we got here!  We went here straight from the airport to have lunch, it is a fort called El moror!

 My new companion Hermana Green in front of our chapel

 my area - Cobo Rojo

Squishing in the car to go to church :D

Last week in the DR!!

Hola!!

This week was so awesome!  I can't believe that i leave in 5 days for Puerto Rico! I'm so excited but pretty nervous, and the CCM has been so amazing!!

Okay so I realized I forgot to tell a funny story last week so now I'm making up for it, lols!

okay so first story, this week the International Director for the MTC came here to inspect and teach us this week!  And on friday the day he came we had the teachers and everybody come into our classes and were just like "in 10 min the guy is going to be here and so everybody needs to go clean their rooms and make things spotless!"  so then like 2 min later the whole CCM was just like frantic you just heard vaccuums everywhere and everybody was grabbing cleaning supplies, and the funniest were the teachers who started hanging up the purpose and different posters in all of the classrooms!  it was a funny sight to see! haha and then of course the next day they are repainting everything inside and out of the MTC, hahaa i love this CCM.

Another story, okay so background, allot of time for lunch and dinner a lot of us make grilled cheese and like nutella sandwiches and all of the cooks always laugh at us and say we eat too much, so 2 days ago we go into the kitchen and all of the cabinets are locked! noo so sad haha they just said that we eat too many snacks, and then the next morning we wake up and open our door and there is a treadmill just sitting there!  like what?? it takes up like half of the sisters hallway!  haha we think they are trying to tell us something...! haha lol jk but all of us hermanas just think its hysterical! haha

okay so I'm not sure if these stories even make sense but when they happened we were all just laughing so so hard!

Last Friday we had the opportunity to go on splits! My companion was from Guatamela and she had been out for only around 2 months and she was awesome!  We went on the bus for about 40 min, and the area that we were in was awesome , and just very very humble.  We had the opportunity to teach one lesson and then go contacting!  I realized I'm going to have to work even harder to get this language they speak so so fast but it was such a great experience:)

Also on Tuesday we had the opportunity to hear from Elder Neil L. Anderson!  He came and spoke to the Dominican Republic missions and us and we had the opportunity to go to the devotional! it was so so good and he gave tons of great advice for us, it was incredible!  also we got to all shake his hand!  My heart was so incredibly happy!:)

Anyways so now only 5 more days until I leave!  I have absolutely loved this Dominican Republic MTC so so much!  I have had so many spiritual experiences and have met the most incredible people here! I can't imagine being anywhere else, and I think that everyday I learned something that Christ needed me to learn so that I could go out and preach his Gospel.  

I have grown in so many ways and learned so much that have made me so grateful for this gospel and so excited to share it!  I love you all so much, thank you for your kind letters!  You are all amazing!

mucho amor, 

Hermana Zimmerman:)

 Picture with my teachers here in the CCM :D

1 Month!!

Hola todos!!

This has been a spectacular week!  Andddd I hit my one month mark yesterday! crazy how fast time has flown by! I am loving every minute in this wonderful MTC!

One of my teachers made Horchata this week and so we used it to celebrate our 1 month out in the field even though it technically wasn't one month yet!  It was the most incredible Horchata I have ever tasted in my entire life, oh man even better than nutella! haha who are we kidding no not quite nutella is the best;) 

So this week I had tons of very spiritual and learning experiences,  on Friday we had the opportunity to go contacting again at the university and to be honest me and my companion were kinda not too excited because last time we went contacting we just didn't know what to say and our Spanish wasn't good enough to really say what we wanted to say but we prayed before that the spirit would guide us to where we needed to go and our prayers were definitely answered!  First we talked to two nice ladies and as we gave them Books of Mormon another guy came by and he was like "wait where can I get one of those?!"  And of course we were more than happy to give him one! and although I'm still not positive what he said it sounded like he has lost his copy and the spirit was just so strong and it was such an incredible experience!  Also at the end of contacting another guy came by wondering how/where he could get a Book of Mormon and ofcourse we were like Here! have this one!  and he was so surprised that we were just giving him one and so it was just so awesome!

One more story, the next day we went to the park contacting and we ended up talking to this guy the whole time who just had tons of questions about our church and we introduced the Book of Mormon to him and it was just a crazy experience being able to talk to him about this gospel and answer all of his questions and my heart the entire time was just so so full!  also he spoke a little bit on English and wanted to practice it so that is really why I was able to talk to him about everything!  It was honestly on this day that I truly realized I guess the importance of missionary work and how there are people who are searching for this Gospel and people being prepared to hear this Gospel.  I truly believe that the man we met has been prepared to listen to our message and it just makes me overjoyed!  It truly is an incredible feeling knowing that we have this beautiful light that can truly change peoples live and bring so much happiness, and that we can share it!  all of us no matter where we are!  I love this gospel, and I love being a missionary:) 

lots and lots of love,

Hermana Zimmerman:)

Hola!

Hola!! I really need to get more creative with my weekly subject lines!

This week was super awesome! I'm starting to think that the CCM stands for Charade Camp for Missionaries, I'm doing charades to communicate alll day!  I thought I knew a little French, nope. and that I was learning spanish pretty well,  until someone is talking to me!  haha its so fun and funny!

This week we lost 30 missionaries:(  all of the haitians, whom I learned so much from and just love so so much all left  and the missionaries going to the Dominican Republic left and so for almost 2 whole days there were only 18 of us!  It was crazy and so much more quite!  We then got about 15 more missionaries so we are still pretty small but its really fun and I feel really old now!  haha even though everbody cannot believe that i am 19.. haha esta bien:)

On Friday we went contacting at the University and it was soo crazy and super scary becuase I do not know spanish well enough!  but it was a really good learning experience:)  There were so many people and it was way harder than the park because there aren't many people at the park! haha but anyways it was still really fun talking to people and we are going again tomorrow.. ahhhh but hopefully I will be able to understand more this time!

Okay anyways all is still well in the CCM! I eat way too much nutella and don't know what's going on half of the time in class porque espanol but I am also learning so so so much here adn I love it so so much:)

Sorry this is so short this time, just know all is well!  I love this CCM so so much, the entire place really is sacred ground and I love feeling the Spirit everyday and learning spanish so that I will be able to teach the Gospel. 

Love you all!!

Love, Hermana Zimmerman:)

I'm all good here in the CCM because I have nutella now!!

Hola!!

This was another great week at the CCM!!  I have to just say a couple more things about this MTC!  So this MTC is only on the 4th floor of this building!  It is where we all live, have all of our classes and meetings! So so so small but so awesome, I atleast recognize everybody here so it is so fun and everybody is so great, fun and funny!  So this MTC also doubles as a place for people and families to stay as they go to the temple!  It has been really fun to talk with them and the little spanish I know!  They are the kindest people I have ever met and they will sometimes come and play volleyball with us, and they are like wayyyy good. Like seriously kids who are like half my size can hit it much farther than me! hahahaha  Also one really sweet lady one day brought us all colorful pens, paper and tons of treats for all the missionaries!  

Alsooo this week my district went contactacting!  ahhh my estro was just like okay guys you have 10 min to prepare and then we are going to go to the park and hand out pamphlets and we were like for real we don't even know espanol!  haha but it ended up being super fun!  we just went across the street to this cute little park and tried our best to communicate our feelings and it was such a cool and impactful experience:)

Alsoooo sorry my ideas are so random.. but this week we got to go to the store!!  BLESS. A lot of people have asked me how the food is and it really is good most of the time!  sometimes i'm just plain skeptical, haha the best days are thursdays and saturdays because we get brownies, and Thursday is lasanga day!  haha also sometimes fo rbreakfast it just like french fries which is just so awesome and hilarious! Anyways so back to the store, I got all the essentials, index cards and chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate!  haha it was super fun!  So random funny store about chocolate!

So I have super awesome, absolutely hilarious teachers.  So one of my teachers is like obsessed with chocolate, and Hma Penrod,(one girl in my district) brought guiridelli chocolate, and so she gave some to him and he almost was in tears, he was like wow this is INCREDIBLE!  It was so funny!  Seriously they are the most hilarious people, and have the most incredible stories too, thats one of the things I've love the most about this MTC.  I've been able to learn so much about people and they just have lived some incredible lives and have gone through so much but have such strong faith,  I  feel so grateful that I have to oppportunity to serve with them in this MTC:)

Okay funny story:  ONe morning for breakfast we have pancakes adn they had nutella out with was so awesome because I love nutella so so so much!  and I have nutelaa pancakes so I felt completely at home again! haha  but anyways so we were all so happy that we had it now!  The next day there was no nutella, so we searched for it (here the kitchen and pantry is everybodys pantry, we are allowed to take anything)  so anyways we went looking and somebody put it in the fridge... But no worries I thought I'll just microwave it!  haha so I did but i forgot that there was aluminum around the rim so the microwave started like sparking!  and one of the cooks just started like busting up laughing!  haha it was really funny and he took it out adn then just put it in again and now just liike laughs at me!  Also I think 2 days ago after dinner, we were all still pretty hungrry so we got plastic spoons and took some nutella for the road, and we think it was one of the cute Latina missionaries first time having nutella and she was just like wide eyed liek this is amazing!!  haha adn then we look at her again and we were like "oh no did you double dip?!" and she just started at us, and then the spoon, and then the nutella!  it was so so so hilarious and all was just fine it was almost gone anyways! 

That was so long. wow sorry there is just so much to stay I could go on an on!  

The MTC has definitely gotten easier becuase I'm surrounded by the most incredible people!  I loove my companion, roomies, and all of the other missionaries (especially the Haitians)  anyways I love you all so so so much!!:)

Love, Hermana Zimmerman

First week in the Dominican Republic MTC !

Hola!!!!

Oh my I cannot believe I have finished my first week in the mission!!!! ahhh seriously it is so crazy, the Dominican Republic MTC is absolutely amazing, seriously I love it so so much!  There are only 44 missionaries here right now, the majority going to Puerto Rico and Haiti, and then there are also some going to the Dominican Republic!  so during every meeting and devotional we have to have things translated into 3 different languages!  haha so most of the time we are in headsets because its spanish but yeah it has been such an incredible experience so far:)  Since it is so small I know most everybody, and everybody is kind and super funny! The MTC is right next to the temple which is such a blessing!  We can go walk around it during PE time and sometimes our teachers even take us to it and it is just so gorgeous!  Also we will be able to do a session every Thursday I think which is just awesome!!  I also love all of my teachers here, they are SO FUNNY, hahah they are very laid back here, most of the teachers teach like 2 classes at a time so they are like running everywhere, and just make us laugh all the time!  The only bad part is, is that  most of the time they will only speak spanish adn most of my district already knows atleast a little spanish so I'm just like "no entiendo!"  Also you know the phrase that people say like " I just get lost in the work"  thats literally how I feel, lost, like I have no idea what anybody is saying... hahaha

Just a little blurp about the Haitian missionaries.. they are the most incredible and most hilarious people ever,  and I'm so glad that I have the opportunity to meet them!  Also I get to use some of my French to talk with them!  Even though most of them know English pretty well!  They have also taught us some creole which is so funny!  The best part of any meeting here are singing the hymns, becuase everybody is singing it in a different language but you wouldn't know there were 3 languages because the Haitians sing with such CONVITION!  Its seriously the best thing ever!  also random cute story, one of the Haitian sisters knocked on our door one morning to go down to breakfast and my hair was just like a mess per usual after the shower and she was so cute and sat me down and brushed out my entire hair and pulled it back for me, they are just the kindest people ever:)

Funny story:  okay so as I mentioned I have been able to speak a little bit of French to the haitians, and on like the 2nd day I was talking to some of them and telling them about the song I learned in French called "Je suis ananas" meaning I am a pineapple and sung to the tune of Feliz Navidad, so I started singing it to them and they just started busting up and singing I am an apple in English!  haha believe me it was funny I not even sure if it makes sense though but hahaha in my  mind I was like oh my gosh they are gonna think I'm so good at French!  hahahaha

Okay now my companion, my companion is Hermana Vincent and she is the BEST!  I love her so much and we are practically the same person!  haha she's already started calling me dory becuase I am just so forgetful and its gotten even worse!  I also love the girls in my room!  In just one week we have all laughed and cried together and I love them so much!  My district is so so funny, theere are 6 hermanas and 3 elders and we just have such a great and fun time together!! I love it so so much:)

Another random tangent... lo siento!  haha my mind is a million places right now and I feel like I have so much to say!  So it has already rained a lot here!  During PE we usually play Volleyball or just run around haha but sometimes it will just start pouring rain!!  seriously pouring, its crazy and so so so much fun, we still keep playing volleyball usually and I love the rain so much so it is a blast!  Except the rain is super salty! lols

Okay, but honestly this has still been super hard, and much harder than I expected, but through it all I have also never felt closer to my savior and never felt with more assuredy that this church is true, that christ lives, loves and answers our prayers.  He has given me so much strength and I felt his love every single day, and that is why I love it here so much!  I miss you all, so so so so much, and I hope that you all have an amazing week:)

love, Hermana Zimmerman:)

 flying into Dominican Republic!

 My Companion Hermana Vincent :D I love her!!

She was able to write us a quick note from the Dominican Republic :D

Hey Guys!!  I made it here safe and sound and it is BEAUTIFUL!!  It is right next to the temple and the grounds are beautiful!!  The plane was so long and it took awhile for us to get here but now we are here and the rooms are also so nice! I am also with 3 other girls who are so cute but I do not know my companion yet!  Also I am running on 2 hrs of sleep but I still feel fine!  haha but really I am just full of so many emotions, I can't even describe the love that I have for all of you and I know that this is just going to be so hard to be away and I've already felt like culture shock on the drive to the MTC, but now that I am here I feel a lot better and it was the most amazing feeling to see my nametag and put it on and I am so excited to be here:D  Also my P-day is on Thursday so I won't be able to email until next Thursday... ahh but that's okay just know how much I love you guys!!

Also kinda funny story, on the plane there was just a lot turbulence it seemed like and I just kept on thinking back to when I was young and on the plane and used to say a prayer and say something to the sort of    If you help the turbulence to stop and help us arrive safely than I will go on a mission, and then when I got off I was like dang liza you can't say that!  And then I would do it again... haha so I thought of that when it was kind of scary and I just thought well I am on a mission so I guess I'll be okay:)  haha but anyways love you guys more than you will ever know:)

Love, Hermana Zimmerman 

Some sweet person sent me this pic. of the group of missionaries who hand just landed in the Dominican Republic airport, She's safe :D