I am FINALLY here!!

Hola familia y amigos!

I am finally in Nicaragua!! I arrived on monday night around 930 and didn't get to the place we were staying till about 11 because President and Hermana Collado took us to dinner. It was really good! We stayed just one night in the transfer house and then on tuesday morning we had our orientation and assignments at the mission home! I got my new comp and my very first area assignment! I am serving is Matagalpa which is about a 3 hour bus ride outside of Managua...so we are literally living in the jungle! It's great! I'm not gonna lie though...this is DEFINITELY out of my comfort zone! Our ''home'' is one room with 2 beds and then another room with a sink to wash dishes a toilet and a shower. It is pretty small so my comp and I are already getting to know eachother really well! Haha! The roof of our casa is a piece of tin so it gets pretty loud when the wind is blowing or when it's raining! I love it though! Matagalpa is up in the mountains so it is a little cooler than the city especially at night and in the mornings. There is no such thing as hot showers here so...be fast!! My comp Hermana Drollinger is an STL and she is super sweet! she is helping me A LOT with my Spanish and just helping me learn how to be a good missionary in general! Last night we went contacting before dinner and we got a couple to let us come by and teach them. The tricky thing about Matagalpa is that there are no addresses so people just describe where they live by landmarks like gas stations or markets. Like my casas address is poso publico uno norte because we live right across from a big water tank where the people come to wash thier clothes or dishes and we are the first house from the north. That's how we find houses. By memorizing the landmarks they use to describe where they live and then just hoping we find the right house. Even though we are up in the mountains it is still VERY hot during the day! It's actually really nice at night! We have a member here who cooks us lunch everyday. She is called Nuestro Almuerzita. Her food is really good. She made me my very first gallo pinto! I love it! Today we have lots of lesons to teach so hopefully they will go well! My comp says all of our investigators right now are progressing very well! I seriously love it here! It is so poor and a little dirty but the people are so nice and so humble! They would literally give you the clothes off our back if they had to! Matagalpa is awesome and I can't wait to see what amazing miracles happen here! I am doing great and just trying to stay calm and not be to hard on myself. I know a minimal amount of Spanish but thats ok because Heavenly Father will help me! I love this work and I love these people! I can't wait to hear from you and I will write more on monday during my P day! I love you all so much and I miss you! Buenos Suerte!!

Love, Hermana Dickey