Hola from Texas- September 2, 2014

Hey guys!!!!

 

Thanks for all the love this week guys!! ive been reading emails for the past like 30min so hopefully I have time to respond to all yall!!! haha

 

OH MY GOSH IM IN TEXAS!!! you guys.... it is awesome here!!! honestly I had a little bit of a hard time adjusting to the schedule at first but I think im good now!! alright well a lot of you probably knew that I had never really known how to ride a bike.... but guess what!! my area is a bike only area!!! so im learning how to ride one really fast! and I LOVE IT!!! biking is the best and I never want to go to a car area EVER!!! haha so my area that im in is called Houston 1, North West! its so great!!! its in the city and its awesome!!! ive been told by some people that this is the sketchiest area... but I think ill be ok!! haha

 

My companion is THE BEST!!! she is the sweetest most beautiful girl ive ever met!!! I couldn't have asked for a better companion! her name is Hermana Allen and I swear she could be a model! haha we have a lot of fun together but we also get a lot done! haha

 

so yeah! life here is awesome! the first day I got to my area we went out and taught some investigators! it was great!! they are so sweet! there is this apartment complex that is called Cancun, its a little bit sketchier than the rest... its pretty much like mexico! haha but while we were there we ran into an investigator who had a little to much to drink I think cause he came up behind me and grabbed my waist... my companion started yelling at him in Spanish while I just stood there in shock! there are a lot of drunk people here actually! haha this passed weekend was labor day weekend! so there were parties everywhere!!! ive been proposed to and yelled at and plenty other things! haha but it was all good! I really feel like I have heavenly fathers protection out here!

 

there is this guy in our ward who got baptized about a year ago and he is the GREATEST GUY EVER!!! his name is kiko! he is an older man who live in the same apartment complex as us and he is just the best!! he brings us food every day and when he doesn't have work he comes with us to appointments! I feel a lot safer riding around when he is there with us!! he acts like our dad!! its the best!!

 

I have soooo much more to say but Ill save it for next week!!! I love all of you guys soooo much!!! this is going to be the best 18 months of my life!! cant wait to talk to you all next week!! have such a great week and have fun at school!! haha bye!!!

p.s. My computer is being dumb and it won't let me send pictures, so you all will have to wait till next week to see me, but i know you can do it. Haha. Love you guys! 

 

-Hermana Ihrke

Picture Overload- August 25, 2014

Here are some pictures from that last few days of the MTC! 

 Selfies for days!

 Oh heyy! 

 These guys came up to me and asked if they could take a pic with me.... then asked for my email... i pretended like i couldnt understand then walked away.... is that rude? my bad

 ​these guys are da best!!! they are in the intermediate spanish class... i try to speak spanish to them then they just laugh at me... haha 

 had to say good bye to my worker freinds;( they are the best!!!!!!!!! one of them called me over and had me try all of this authentic mexican food that his wife made for him... it was unreal... then they though it would be funny to have me try the salsa that she made... lets just say that i sat under the the drinking fountan for like 15 min!!!! my mouth was on fire!!! they couldnt stop laughing!!im gonna miss them alot!!!

Peace out mexico! gonna miss you alot!!! but im excited for TEXAS!!!!!! bye guys!!!!

Last Email in Mexico- August 20, 2014

Hello Friends and Family, 
Im heading out to Texas on the 26th!!! thats in like 6 days!!! so crazy!!! anyway not much has happened sense i emailed you last time... so this will be short with lots of pictures. I am loving it here, but i am really excited to leave for Texas! Enjoy the pictures!  

Saying goodbye to my native friends 

More Friends! 

Pretty much my whole ward from BYU is here! So fun! 

​These girls are my fave and i had to say bye to them this week!!! they have helped me with my spanish sooo much!!! love them like crazy!!

Just hanging out! 

​LIVE TWEET ERRYONE... this is me right now! haha love you all and ill talk to you next week! BYEE

One Month Down, 17 to go!!!!- August 15, 2014

hola erryone! 

This week has been soooo great!!! I dont even know where to start! i have already been out here for a month but it only feels like ive been out here for a week! i cant believe i only have 17 more months to go !!! its going by way to fast!!!!

Anyway this week has been full of some crazy exciting things:) haha so there was a huge out break of salmonella (i think thats how you spell it) haha but yeah everyone has been getting so sick and there was also this virus going around that made you feel like you were dying... haha i have no idea what it was but man some people looked like they were on their death bed!!! haha GOOD THING I DIDNT GET SICK!!!! it was a freaking miracle! i should probably knock on wood... but i think im pretty safe:) 

This week we also fasted for an elder in our branch who has some pretty serious depression and anxiety, he might have to go home if he doesnt start feeling better soon.. so we fasted that he would have the strength to stay out here! hes a really good kid so im pulling for him:) 

Something that was really embarrassing happened to me this week... i was giving a lesson to my investigator person and i was getting really into it and i was saying how our message is one of hope and love and i was just doing so well! then all of a sudden my investigator starts laughing so hard... i had no idea what i said !!! he didnt tell me untill later that night in front of the whole class. Turns out i didnt say what i thought i said:) so the word in spanish for message is mensaje and the word for massage is masaje. so when i thought i was saying i have a message of love for you... i really said i have a massage of love for you!!!!!!! oh my gosh !!! hahaha so embarrassing!!! but everyone thought it was really funny... i went bright red!!! hahaha it was pretty good.

In other news i made three half court shots in a row the other day and i cleaned the bathroom for my service project! life is GOOD!!!!  i also met a guy from texas who says he has some referrals for me!!! he also said that i need to buy cowboy boots when i get to texas... what did i get my self into???? haha jk im gonna rock those cowboy boots!!! haha but yeah my life is great and it is honestly getting better and better each day!!!! I LOVE MEXICO!!!! but im sooo excited for texas!!! love you all and i hope you are having a great week!!!! still havent gotten any letters so im just assuming all your guys letters just got last in the mail! haha jk love you guys!!! bye! 

-love Hermana Ihrke

this is my friend elder jenks... probably the funniest guy on the planet... he was really sad today cause he had to get his hair cut... i tried to cheer him up but i dont think it worked:) haha

this is my bathroom... it doesnt look too bad in this pic... to bad you cant see the nasty bathtub that doesnt drain ...ever you are literally racing to hurry in the shower so that you dont overflow the bathtub.... its freaking nasty!!! but i love it with all of my heart!!!

on our selfie game!!!!!

me and my crew playing a nice game of vball! love all this crazy kids!!!

Halfway done with the MTC!- August 8, 2014

well hey guys... i just wrote the longest best email ever to yall and then my computer shut down and deleted it all.... i am on the verge of tears!!!! but not really... time is limited to email so that was kind of a bummer!!!! haha anyway 

i just finished playing the best game of vball of my life!!! it was so great!!! i love it here so much!! i know i keep saying that but honestly i cant get over how much i am loving my life here!!!! so much has happened this week its been the  BEST WEEK EVER!!! haha 

but let me start out with the worst thing that happened to me this week and that was that my straighter exploded.... but if thats the worst thing that has happened to me than i think im doing pretty good!!! haha 

so two days ago my teacher was really late to class and he said he was late because he had been robbed... we all thought he was mesing with us!  TURNS OUT HE WASNT!!!  he was robbed at gunpoint and all the guy took was his phone. the best part was that my teacher, hermano sainze, asked the guy if he could keep his simcard!!! haha the guy put his hand on the trigger ready to shoot and then a car came by so the robber ran off!! MEXICO IS CRAZY!!! but i love it sooooo much!!!!! 

there was a devotional on marriage this week but i slept through it.... i dont need to learn about marriage till like 20 years from now anyway:) haha

oh my goah so i keep seeing this one guy everywhere(like he is following me or something) and he knows my name but i keep forgetting his, anyway last time i saw him he was like "hey so im not writing anyone and i was just wondering if i could get your email" i was like WHAT THE FREEK ELDER!!! haha and i walked away! lolol too funny. 

the best thing that happened this week was when i was teaching elder lunt and elder johnson. as investigators they had to make up profiles and pretend that we have somekind of problem in our life that we need help with. so they decided to be brothers and one (elder johnson) was mentally handicapped (not in real life tho)... so we walked in and asked them what there names were and elder lunt said "my name is juan" and elder johnson )the handicapped one) said "NACHO!!!!" oh my gosh i lost it!! i was laughing so hard!!! all throughout the lesson he would randomly yell out even during the prayer he was talking and yelling!!! i was literally peeing my pant laughing soooo hard!!! hahaha we asked if he had any concerns in his life and he said that he was hungry!!! haha and then we asked what the most important thing in his life was and he said FOOD!!! haha too funny it was the best!! 

oh my gosh you guys i love it here so much!!!!! i have ran into so may people i know here!!! everyone from my byu ward is here!! like joel, ryan smith, rod green, and one of the otto twins also sierra kinkade and cadden cluff, ali smoot and some other people that im forgetting about right now:) haha but life is soooo great !!! i miss you all so much but i wouldnt want to be anywhere but here!!! i hope to hear from you all next week!! love you all sooooo much!!! bye!!!

love Hermana Briana haha jk Hermana Ihrke :)

 Favorite cookies! They taste like chips ahoy but 1000000 x better! 

Mexico City Baby!!- August 1, 2014

Hola Everyone!!!! 

oh my gosh i would just like to start by saying that i am having the absolute best itme of my life here at the mexico missionary training center!!!!! this place is beyond beautiful and everyone here is so sweet and kind!!! everyone is asking about the food so im just going to tell you all that the food here in the mexico mtc is UNREAL!!!!! i havent gotten sick from it once so whoever told me that was a liar:) haha but this week has been great! ive been really busy trying to learn spanish and im doing pretty good at it but i still struggle. (honestly i just quote nacho libre alot and call that spanish) haha but yeah this sunday i gave a talk in church on repentance and i gave it all in spanish:) everyone said i did a great job but i dont think they understood anything i said. the word repentance in spanish is the hardest word to pronounce ever!!! haha but yeah today me and a bunch of other people went to the temple today and we got a tour of the visitor center and it was amaizing!!! it was nice to be outside the walls of the mtc for a bit! the city is soo colorful and so full of life. i LOVE IT HERE!!!! haha oh and almost everyone from lone peak is here and everyone i knew from byu is here too so its like a huge party!!!!! my companion is still awsome and i love her to death!!! weve been practicing teaching investigators in spanish and it is so cool that even though i cant speak the lanuage really well,they can still feel the spirit:) But yeah life is great and i dont really know what else to write about:) ask me questions cause i would love to write yall back:) miss you all! but i love it out here and im going great! write me and send me pics!!!!! love you all!!!!! 

Mtc Life- July 25, 2014

Hi Family and Friends, 

Oh my gosh I got so many emails from friends and family. Its crazy! Thanks so much for sending your love:) I’m having the most fun I have ever had before!! Honestly this is the most beautiful place. This computer is hard to type on cause the space bar rarely works... Ok where to start? First off I love and miss you all so much but I know I'm helping you more being out here than I would be if i were home with you:) So this week was amazing! My p-day is really late because we were the biggest amount of missionaries that has ever come to the Mexico MTC before!! It was really crazy but so much fun!!! Ok so I talked to this amazing woman on the plane to Mexico and she was telling me all about her trails but she was so positive about it it was unreal! She has cancer and a lot of other health issues but she is an addiction counselor because her brother dies of an over dose and she wants to help families with their problems! Seriously the sweetest woman ever! She has heard a little about the church but not much and I told her a little bit about the church and she pretty much agrees with everything that we believe in;) She is the sweetest. So i have a funny story, so my room was really hot and i have a window next to my bed so i decided to open it and it felt great. so i left it open all day while i went to class and when i came back my room smelled to bad i thought something strait up died in my room!!!! it was freaking awfull.and this smell was there for like three days finaly i decided to look and see where the smell was coming from and it was coming from my window so i went outside to check it out and there was this huge rotting pidgon that was being eaten by bugs maggots and im pretty sure rats had eaten out his eyes!!! So i had some of the elders in my district come and clean it up for me:) it was funny but nasty! but life here is amazing even though theres not hot water and the tub fills up while you take a shower so you have to hurry or it will over flow:) the food here is great and the people here are even better!!! we play vball all the time and my district is absolutlely amazing i love them all so much!  My companion is sooooooooo great we are so similar we love talking and joking around!!!! Honestly I got sooo lucky to get her! Well i miss all of you!!! Talk to you soon! 

 My district.... studying 

 This guy is 6'7!!! 

Matching!!