First Week at MTC

The first week has been kind of hectic for sure. Lots and
lots and lots of studying! We literally go from 6:30 in the morning till
9:30 at night with breaks for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and GYM!! I love gym!
It's fun. I get to run around in circles and play volleyball. The outdoor
fields are closed though so I don't get to play soccer and they outlawed
Frisbee because some poor soul (elder) lost two of his front teeth playing
it. Maybe someday it will come back  =)

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the letters and love everyone has
shown me. I have awesome friends and family =) I really appreciate all the
Dearelders, like a lot. You guys are the best!

I'm super happy! I have loved the MTC from day one, so everyone who guessed I'd love it was completely right. I love learning and I love the atmosphere. I love all the cool experiences we get to have like the firesides, devotionals, and mission conference. I think one of my favorite experiences was actually on the first day. They took all of us "dork dot" newbies into an activity with investigators, allowed us to watch more experienced missionaries start the lesson and then we were told to finish it. We could ask the investigator any questions we wanted, teach them any principle we thought was right. The Spirit was so strong during that activity. I learned so much from all the other new missionaries by the questions they asked, the Spirit they followed, and the testimonies they bore. It really inspired me and got me excited for the the service that I've started =). My favorite "investigator" that night was a man named Daniel from Mexico. I could see when he finally started to feel the Spirit because we were finally asking the right questions and relying on the Spirit to give testimony.

My district is awesome! We have six elders and four sisters. All four of us are going to the same mission, San Diego Mormon Battalion historic site. Names - Sister Kearsley from Portland Oregon (my companion) and Sister Smith and Sister Nelson from some part of Utah. I would ask them but I just don't have very much time. We are all in the same room too =). It's super fun! I'm lucky that I get to spend the rest of my mission with them in near vicinity because they are truly amazing people. The elders are going to Houston, Texas and Raleigh, North Carolina.  Elder Lewis is the district leader, then we have Elder Wade, Elder Gardner, Elder Brewer, Elder Simmons, and Elder Stringham. They're all awesome! I think I have the best district in the MTC. Challenge me if you wish =) The second day we heard a story from Elder Stringham that Elder Lewis woke up in the middle of the night and  thought he was stuck on an elevator, so he woke up yelling "HELP, HELP!" and banging on the doors =). We still laugh about that. We've really become really good friends. Sometimes I get frustrated because we aren't being productive and wasting time goofing off when we should be focusing on studying;  because after all we are on the Lord's time, but they are a really good support.

Another funny story;  On Saturday we taught Elder Jenson, who's going to Denver, Colorado. He was pretending to be an investigator who didn't believe in God. My companion and I were both really frustrated because we didn't know how to deal with it. However, when we got into the room (after saying a prayer) we actually managed to pull off a pretty good lesson, even though the only thing we taught was about faith, God's love, and prayer. Afterward, Elder Jenson gave me really good advice that will probably affect the rest of my mission. Anyway - that wasn't funny was it? The funny part is that afterward my companion was talking to me (because this Elder is a brainiac- he knows TONS) and told me that when we were talking about orthopedics and feet (his "investigator" was the owner of a footwear company) she didn't know if the bone he was talking about was in his butt or in his face or what! That made me laugh for a good minute or so. I guess having a bunch of knee surgeries is good for something =).

The hardest day for me was yesterday. We got into a lesson and I just felt like I had absolutely nothing to say, and when I said it, I was saying it wrong, or didn't have any time to say it and wasn't contributing at all. Fortunately my companion was on the ball, but afterward I got upset, frustrated, etc. Sister Kearsley and I had a good conversation about it and I learned two really important things from it. One, it doesn't matter who does the converting as long as we bring a soul to Christ. Two, I have SO much pride. It's ridiculous. One thing the MTC has really done has shown me my weaknesses, but I was warned  about that. Change is good. =)

I really do feel like my testimony has grown a lot. This is a place where you can constantly feel the Spirit because there are no outside distractions.  For the first couple of days I was really sad that I wasn't learning a language and it was definitely holding me back. I walked around and saw all of these missionaries going to Brazil, Cambodia, Spanish speaking Texas and I was so jealous. It made me sad every day. But the more I'm here the more I'm realizing that the Lord is preparing me for this work. He has people waiting for me in San Diego, and that this mission is NOT about me, it's about the Lord, His children, and His work. I need to make HIS work, my work. I need to be excited to preach the gospel no matter where I'm going, and I hear San Diego is really pretty =). It's improving every day.

In one of the work shops we had it was about finding those who you can teach and he sent us on a treasure hunt for four candy bars. I found one by asking him. This lesson was really the one where it hit me that this was God's work, not mine, and I was called for a reason to an English speaking visitors center. Hurray for the small and simple blessings found everywhere, and for the learning curve.

Life is good! I'm happy and growing!