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Under my Umbrella-ella

Dear Reader,

I love the rain in Summer. Yes, I have been outside partying at 2 AM in the middle of a rainstorm. The warm precipitation feels heavenly after a day of good work. The weather right now in Provo envelopes so many emotions and sensations. The wind pushes through the streets, but not violently. The rain falls hard, but not with roughness. It is a pleasantry to stand out on a balcony or on a street corner listening to the wonders that our Heavenly Father has created. A storm such as this seems to cap off what has been a week of simple wonders.

The week started off with different adventures at work and in the ward. On Sunday I was introduced to two highly amicable young ladies that recently moved into the ward. We have become fast friends. One studies marketing and the other elementary education. They are wonderful to have around and make me smile beyond belief. We talked until 2 or 3 in the morning a couple of days ago. How is that for being fast friends?

I lived a dream while at the Missionary Training Center on Wednesday. I do believe it was for a good reason that I went back to work that day. I spent the night in Salt Lake on Tuesday and was debating whether I actually needed to go into work the next day. Alas, the decision was made to make the trip to Provo and go into work. Not long after arriving, my coworker called me to ask for help in the International Office of the Training Center. I went up expecting some kind of maintenance problem but was thoroughly surprised by what happened. Apparently a sister from Costa Rica had arrived that day, but didn't come through the International office. She spoke very little English and was paired with a Korean Companion who knew only bits of English. Neither could speak well enough to understand much of what was going on in their meetings that day.

Not knowing about this sister, the international office had not planned on having a Spanish interpreter on duty for the meetings. My coworker happened to know that I speak Spanish and called me in to help out, despite not being a professional translator. So, I slipped into the room where the sister was having training and explained to her the situation. We gave her some headphones and I slipped into the back of the room to interpret for her.

I interpret the meetings and all is well, right? That's what I thought. After she decided to participate in the last meeting (Meaning I had to come out of the Tech booth and translate what she said), another Elder approached me. He explained to me (Again, in Spanish) that he arrived that day as well and did not have a companion because his companion did not arrive at the MTC. He said he had some questions, so I helped him back to the International office and we sorted out where he was supposed to be with his district and so forth. Where was this Elder from? You guessed it! He hails from Osorno, Chile! It was nice for both of us to be able to talk about things in Chile and use a little bit of slang from South America.

This and many other experiences this week have helped me appreciate this rain. The feeling is just right. Tonight could not be accompanied by a more peaceful feeling.

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