Todo Bien!

 Mamasita! Que pasa? Ohhhh how are you? Geez, I always have a hard time deciding what I want to write to you all. We just got back from the temple. Will you PLEASE look up pictures of the Bogota Temple? It is literally the most beautiful thing I have seen. While you are at it, please look up the city of Bogota. I wish I could take my camera out and take pictures of it. It is literally CRAZY. Our bus driver was like 2 hours late picking us up from the temple because of the crazy traffic. There are taxis everywhere, and they look like little minions. It reminds me of Emilee every time. Also, the grafitti here is NUTS. It is everywhere, and it is really cool looking.

We had lunch in the temple today, and it was the best food Ive eaten. So good. They had banana bread and SALAD! Oh man. 

Yesterday was a really bittersweet day. We said goodbye to the group of latinos. They are only here for two weeks. I am still so shocked at how close you can get to people in only two weeks, especially when you barely speak the same language. Four of my favorite hermanas left: Hermanas Zapata, De La O, Bordolli, and Costa. They are so amazing. I cried when they left. I really really want Kyle to marry Hma. Bordolli. She is the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen. She is from Argentina, and we bond over our love of helado. 

Hm.... other favorite foods here... they have the HUGEST avocados that I have ever seen. They are fantastic. Also, I had this crazy popsicle with dinner the other night that was maracua flavored. It is this crazy fruit here. It was good. And the best part? It had sweetened condensed milk in the center! AMAZING.

Mama, I am doing so great. I am reminded of you every day, because you will not believe the number of girls who brought your crazy essential oils with them. Bahahaha Also, I am still finding your notes in by suitcases. I went a whole hour at gym time with one in my shoe hehehe

Speaking of gym! Yesterday, I got to run, and it was the greatest thing ever. I felt so good. There is another Hma in my group who wants to start doing insanity workouts with me. YES. 

Sorry that my emails are always so random. I keep thinking of things that I want to tell you guys. 

Kayla, how did the plan test go? I bet you rocked it! 

Oh, I have to tell you about the spaghetti here. Oh geez. I had a huge bowl on Saturday night, and felt sick for like the next two days. The noodles felt like worms in my mouth, and there was only meat. No sauce. It was horrible. I felt disgusting for days. That is the only thing that I have had to force down here. The rest of the food is good. Although I will say, I have never been more full in my whole entire life than I am right now. SO MUCH DANG FOOD. Wow. 

Oh! They also have these amazing crescent rolls that are like the size of my face. 

Sorry, no more about the food. We finished teaching our first pretend investigator yesterday. Saturday was a really really discouraging day. I get so nervous when I teach, and it is so hard to say what you want to say in a completely different language. I felt horrible on Saturday, because I have literally had over three years of training to become a teacher, and I stink at it. I have a hard time teaching by the spirit when I am freaking out about spanish. Yeah, it sucked. So I was really down on Saturday, because I felt like I could never get better. So I prayed and prayed to become better at teaching by the spirit. Sunday, Heavenly Father answered my prayers like He always does. We watched an Easter devotional by Pres. Uchtdorf on becoming a better missionary. It was AWESOME and just what I needed. If you can find it online, you should read it. It has become my favorite talk. OH! And GUESS WHAT? I saw STEPHANIE in the MTC choir! It was the greatest day. Mom, you did send her my email, didnt you? 

Easter... FELIZ PASCUA! It was a really great day. It was a typical Sunday. I still had to prepare a talk, but didnt have to give it. Thank goodness! We always have deep doctrine talks with Pres. Dyer on Sundays, and they are way cool. That night, Pres and Hma, Dyer surprised us with little cups of easter candy. We were all way excited because we were craving easter candy so bad! The latinos thought we were crazy. Easter is so religious down here. Its way different and cool. 

Im gonna send this one off, and read some of your letters now. I havent gotten to read hardly any of them! Ill try to write again before time is up. 

Con MUCHO AMOR, 

Hermana Routsong

Hola From Colombia!

Hola my mamasita! Okay. I have been waiting for this hour for TEN FREAKING DAYS. Holy schnikeys. I apologize in advance if I spell things wrong... I have so much to say,and only an hour to write. I am just going to write one big email, and mama could you send it out to everyone? I got 18 EMAILS from you guys. Dang... I feel loved. First of all, HOW ARE YOU GUYS???? I heard that mom is doing really well.
Mama, I want you to do that I am doing AWESOME. Okay, the CCM is so great. I love it here. Don't get me wrong, it is really hard. Yesterday was a really tough day. I didn't realize just how hard my patience would be tested here.
A little about the CCM. Okay, it is like a big, giant family. Wow, there are about 20 Nortes and 40 latinos. Everyone here is so kind and nice.
Wow, I am having a hard time focusing because everyone in the computer lab is talking so loud and crying. It is hard for me to focus on what I want to write first because I literally have hours and hours of things to tell all of you.
Mama, I am not crying. I have not cried since I have been here. In fact, I have been doing really really well.
Back to the CCM... One big, giant spanish family. They immersed us real quick. We were the first group of Nortes to be immersed fully in the language. There are 4 elders in my district (District Moroni) that are going to Cali, Colombia. The rest of my district, 9 hermanas, are ALL going to Cochabamba. It is really fun.
Okay, I''m going to vent for a bit. One of the reasons for my patience being tested is working with only 18 and 19 year olds. I love them all to DEATH, but they do not know how to study or to focus or anything. Esta bien. Paciencia es buy bueno.
I know you are all DYING to hear about the FOOD-
Desayuno (breakfast) - today we had cereal! Wow, I as so excited. Normally, we have like these crazy sausages, juevos, or this crazy good porridge stuff that I love.
Almuerzo (lunch) - THE MOST FOOD THAT I HAVE EVER EATEN IN MY WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE. Holy hannah...it's loco! They normally have two big pieces of meat, a heaping of arroz, soup, a dessert, and some sort of bread or potato. The food actually all tastes way way good. I havent eaten anything yet that I havent liked.
Keith, Kyle, Kayla, Rhiannon, and Dad - you better be proud of me, because I dominate all that meat. Yeah... even the one time that we ate gross bloody kind.
Oh! I have a funny story. One day, they served this really tasty meat that no one knew what it was. It had this delicious bbq sauce on it. We found out the next day what it was... COW STOMACH. I actually liked cow stomach! The first crazy food that I've eaten! BOOYAH! So yeah... mucho mucho comida.... And there are signs EVERYWHERE that say - finish ALL of your food. Yeah, you have to eat it all.
One day, Hma. Webb and I were talking with the other latinas about icecream and pizza, and that night they served it for dinner. It was the most excited I had ever been in my entire life. Yeah.
Dinner is smaller, but it is still a lot of food. It is usually rice, some fruit, some lettuce, and maybe some soup.
DAD! Guess what I tried last night? A COLOMBIAN TWINKIE! Bahahahaha yup. They treat us like ninos here, and give us snack time at night, and last night I had a twinkie with strawberry filling. It was tasty. I thought of you, dad.
Okay, my first companion is absolutely AMAZING. Her name is Hma. Webb, and she is from Utah. Oh my goodness. I cannot believe it. We are already such good friends. She balances me out. She helps me to remember to teach by the Spirit.
My maestros (teachers) are my favorite people ever. They are both these tiny Colombia guys about my age, and they are so hilarious. They are the beeesssssttttttt. We have an inside joke with Hm. Barragan about "Pero Claro". In english it means - but of course! We do a lot of repetition to work on our accents, and afterwards we always say PERO CLARO! It has become our favorite thing to say in spanish. So yeah, now you get one of our inside jokes...and I probably explained it so wrong. Lo siento. It's fine.
Okay, so I have come to realize that Heavenly Father must really really really love me, because He sent me here to study at the CCM with all the latinos. Latinos are the greatest people on the planet. They are the nicest, most patient, most hilarious people every. Hma. Webb and I LOVE spending time with them.
Let me give you a quick example of how much I love these people. You all know how much I love exercising and running, right? You havent entirely forgotten about me, huh? And you all know how much I TOTALLY STINK at playing volleyball, right? Well we have about an hour of gym time, and guess what I do with that hour? Nope, not run. I play volleyball with all the latinos. Yes, loco, si? And I have so much more fun. I love getting to know them, and spending time with them. They are literally the greatest people I have ever met.
So yeah, I'm changing. And I can thank my Heavenly Father for that.
Hma. Webb and I are so so sad because our group of latinos are leaving this next Tuesday. We have become so close with all of them, and I will miss them so much. They are s sweet. They helo us learn spanish, and we help them learn english.
MY SPANISH.... Okay, so I can understand 100 percent of what my teachers say...and what my presidente says. However, my brain has this crazy way of forgetting EVERYTHING that I know when I try to speak...especially when I talk to the latinas. They speak muy rapido. Wow. But it's good. PRACTICAR, PERO CLARO!
Man, is this all making sense? I am typing so fast...and I feel like I am going to forget something.
Dad asked me which bunk I was in...top...naturally...because I am like the 3rd tallest missionary here. Haha... There is one samoan elder who is as tall as me. Dad would like him. He wants to play for BYU.
Yeah, so I am doing really really good. I get sad when I think about leaving here, because it is so awesome. But I am also excited to go to Bolivia. There is a hermana who is one of my favorite people ever named Hermana Zapata, and she is from Bolivia, so she tells me all about it. She let me try on her poncho last night, which apparently are very popular in Bolivia.
OH! I'm gonna send this letter and start a new one, becuase I'm sure mama is just sitting by the computer waiting, thinking I'm dead or something because I didnt write right at 1. Our time was at 4... they like to torture the noobs
Wow, sometimes I forget that I am in Colombia, and then I look out the window and see palm trees, tiny cars. I live in BOGOTA! I can only think about that stupid speaker at the Moa that said - Our family lived in Bogota, Colombia! And now I'm here! Wow... Today, during class, right outside our window was this Catholic procession with TONS of people walking down the street with crosses and stuff. Today is Good Friday.
We actually were able to leave the CCM on Wednesday! It was amazing. The city of Bogota is so crazy. They have no lines on their street, so its total chaos. We went to the Bogota Temple, and it was the most beautiful experience that I have ever had. They let me listen in English, which was awesome. However, try saying some of those things in Spanish. Woah. It was hard. But being in the celestial room with 50 or so missionaries was amazing. Okay, I have never before felt that kind of joy in my whole entire life! The spirit hit me like a brick wall, and I could not hold the tears back. Family. This church is true. Nothing else could make me feel that happy. Nothing else could bring me more joy. Heavenly Father confirmed to me that I was in the right place. I am supposed to be here. He has filled my heart with a love for these people. It is truly truly amazing. I am tearing up just thinking about it. I am here to invite others to Christ, and I am having so much fun doing it. So dont worry about me. I am having the time of my life. I love all of my roommates. I love everyone here.
Okay, so before I go...Mamasita... I want you to post this link on my wall and send it to everyone in the family

easter.mormon.org

 The video on here is the greatest church video that I have ever seen in my life. Please, for me...watch it.

I'm gonna read some of the billions of emails that I got with my 20 minutes left, and I may be able to send one more letter. Shoot.. I know I forgot to say something. I cant fall asleep at night because I have a running list in my head of all the things that I want to tell you guys.
Also, I am SO sorry that I couldnt respond to everyone, but you have absolutely NO IDEA how much I love your emails. Thank you so much.
Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana Routsong

Made it to Columbia!

Mamasita!

I AM ALIVE!!!!

I only have a few minutes to write. I tried to call you like a million times from the payphone, but I could not for the life of me get it to work. There were 14 missionaries on the flight to Bogota! I sat next to two elders. We landed and my bags were there! Hallelujah! I thought they were going to get lost. We took big vans to the CCM. We arrived at like 1130. Guess what? There were only 10 missionaries here! Today there will be lots more latin missionaries coming. We didnt get to sleep until like 1 am, and then woke up at 6 am! The CCM is so small! But everyone here is so friendly. It feels like a little family This morning, we had an hour of scripture study, and then breakfast. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, hot chocolate, pineapple, and these weird green cutie things. It was good! We had orientation this morning, and I received my first companion! Her name is Hermana Webb. She is from Utah. I knew we would get along when she told me that she was sick of the Let It Go song. Haha! They took away our cameras and candy. They only give them to us on PDays. 

Sorry that my writing is sloppy. The keyboards here are crazy! I cannot find the colon button! 

Thank you for all the nice letters and notes. I havent had time to read them all. They dont have a sd card reader, so you will have to send me a cord so I can send pictures back. 

Bad news... my next PDay is not until NEXT FRIDAY! I know... Im so sad about that. But they said that I will be writing around 1 to 3 pm, so keep an eye out for my email! I think I am only an hour ahead of you, because it is 950 here. 

Good news... the PDay after next Friday will be on Tuesday. Does that make sense? They happen every 10 days and then 4 days after... I have not idea why... 

Im so glad that you guys are having fun. The aquarium is awesome. 

I wont have time to write everyone else, so please let them all know that I love them so much. 

I forgot to change my name on facebook to Hermana Kari Routsong, so you should do that for me.

How are things there?

I am still very nervous, but everyone here is so supportive. I will admit, I woke up this morning, and was like "What the freak am I doing?" hahaha But Im not the only one... Hermana Webb asked me at breakfast, "Is it just me, or do you kinda want to go home, too?" Hahaha

Its all good. They say it takes about two weeks to adjust. I hope it comes that fast! 

The flight was good. They had this cool flight tracker that I watched the whole time. We flew over Cuba and Jamaica! 

The weirdest food Ive eaten? Airplane food. Ive never eaten airplane food before! It wasnt too bad. They had water in a jello cup! Hahahha

Customs was a little crazy considering I dont speak spanish very well. The guy looked at me like I was a total weirdo. 

I am finding that my spanish is decently good compared to others. Thanks to dad, of course! 

I hope you are all doing good. I dont know how much time I have left...they only gave us 15 minutes... 

Oh! I saw bishop at the airport! That was pretty cool. And there was another Hermana on the way to Peru on my first flight. That was nice. 

So much has happened, and I feel like Im forgetting to tell you stuff! 

Saying goodbye was so hard, but I felt the love of the Savior the entire day. Dont get me wrong, I am still way freaked out, but that should go away soon enough. I hope... 

I was going to tell you that I kind of hate my camera. All of the pictures come out blurry. But I dont know how easy it would be for you to send me a new one... Ill test it out some more next PDay and let you know... Maybe the settings are off or something. 

Now I know why missionary emails are so crazy, because Im trying to type fast on a totally weird keyboard that I cannot find half the buttons on. Esta bien! 

Hmm.... Yeah, my cold is okay. I had a hard time falling asleep last night, but it feels better today. 

There are 9 hermanas going to Cochabamba here! And there are about 4 elders going to Colombia in my district, too. 

My CCM president is so nice. And his wife is amazing, too.

They gave me all of my books today. Yes, dad, there are a lot. I will probably have to get rid of some stuff. And they gave me another one of those waterbottles that filter, so I have 4 filters now! And filters last a whole year! Hahaha

I miss you guys so much, and it is really hard still, but I know that I am supposed to be here. 

Oh, the showers here are nice! They are tall, so I dont have to bend over or anything.

They are telling me to "vamanos" now. So I better end this. Ill write next Friday! I know...super super lame. But we can do hard things, mama! I love you SO SO SO SO much! Tell everyone that I miss them and love them!

Love,

Hermana Routsong