Live in Thanksgiving Daily
10 years ago
Monday, August 31, 2009
Albuquerque, NM ... Here she comes!
We had a wonderful phone call this morning:) Kira called us from the airport to say she is alive and well. She talked to each of here at home and then called her dad at work. Luckily it was early enough in the morning so the kids could talk to her before they left for their first day of school. It made for a great beginning of the day. She is also very excited to get to New Mexico and start her mission there. I asked her if she was ready. Her reply was, "Yes, I am, I don't know about my Spanish though." I assured her it would be fine, too. It was great hearing her voice. We were use to talking to each other almost daily before she left, so this has been hard on both of us. She sounds happy. She had a hard time saying good-bye to those she knew from the MTC. There are 18 missionaries going to her mission: 2 were sisters--Sister Good & Sister Lamb. I forgot to ask her how many of those were Spanish speaking. Now we look forward to that first letter from New Mexico. She's going to do awesome! We are so proud of her. Look for the first post from New Mexico, probably next week.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
I'm Leavin' On a Jet Plane ...
Well, here we are. This is the last e-mail I'll send from Provo. Are you all as excited as I am? As Hermana Crook put it, we're 1/10 of the way done with our missions--in other words, we've paid our "tithe" (can you tell what our focus is for the TRC this week?) In fact, I'll say that this has been the best week I've had here. More exciting news on that to come!
Wed: We went to the temple, which always makes for a good day. We did laundry, wrote letters, the usual. We had our TRC as well, which went very well. We both walked out of there feeling like we'd had a very successful lesson.
Thurs: The day started out great! About 6 years ago, Elder Ballard was here at the MTC and said that the Sisters need to wear makeup. Coming from an Apostle, that's pretty big. They started a makeup class here for the sister missionaries. We get to go and have our makeup done and eat chocolate and socialize with other sisters. It was great fun! They also give us the makeup they used, donated by NuSkin. But from there, my day kinda went downhill. Flight plans are generally distributed on Thursday, so we were all excited. Until Elder Shedden checked the mail anyway. Those going to Argentina had their flight plans, but the 3 of us staying in the States had nothing. Elder Evans and Elder Shedden could get away from the celebration, but my companion got hers, so I was stuck. I was kinda upset. We also got our invitation to sing at this week's departure devotional instead of our own.
Fri: FLIGHT PLANS!!! Okay, I know you're all excited about this! I leave the MTC on MONDAY!!! August 31 at 5:00 am. I depart from SLC at 8:40 am and land in Albuquerque at 10:18 am! I am so excited you have no idea! We also taught an amazing lesson to a "recent convert" in the TEC. Oh yeah, and when we were in the RC Thurs. night, I called a lady who had ordered, I think, Finding Faith in Christ. She said she didn't think Christ needed to come to the Americas. Right as I was getting ready to testify (not 2 seconds later) she came out and started asking questions about Proposition 8. We're not supposed to talk about politics, so that was a very interesting conversation to say the least.
Sat: It was a good day, but my brain was starting to feel pretty fried. But I can survive the few days I have left here at the MTC. Then the real fun starts. Oh boy! I'm so excited and nervous and jittery and BAH! For those of you who saw me when I was waiting for my call, this is a similar feeling! We played lightening in gym, which is what we've been doing lately, but, unlike volleyball, my basketball skills aren't improving. We also practiced with the Elders for the song we're singing in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. They complained at first, but by the end, they loved the song! (EFY Medley en espanol)
Sun: It was our best Sunday yet! President Smith (MTC President) spoke in Relief Society about the nature of our calling as sister missionaries, and how we are an example and influence to the Elders. It was a very good talk... though sadly he announced that the Swine Flu is back. They haven't banned hand-shaking or hugging yet, but I won't be surprised if it is by this Sunday. There's several missionaries in quarantine, though we are still using real dishes. Please pray for the health of the missionaries! Sunday afternoon, we were able to participate in the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple Dedication. It was a beautiful ceremony--and I'm not gonna lie--seeing 2200 white handkerchiefs during the Hosanah Shout was about the neatest thing I've ever seen in my life, and the feeling that was in the room as we started singing "The Spirit of God..." I get chills just thinking about it! The fireside was super good too. Brother Stevens (think Come Come Ye Saints fireside 4 weeks ago) spoke again. This time he showed us several of the old Mormon commercials, you know, the ones with the adorable little kids and cheesy tag-lines that you can see in the visitor's centers in SLC? It was an amazing fireside! Not because of the commercials, but because of the Spirit. We watched the Joseph Smith Movie. ONE MORE WEEK!!!
Mon: We had the Departing Missionaries Health and Safety meeting. They have different meetings for those state-side and foreign, so I was a solo Sister with Elder Evans and Elder Shedden. Talk about weird. Our roommates going to Baltimore left early Tuesday morning, so we said goodbye to them as well. I had several letters, which certainly helps the day go better. 6 More days... not that I'm excited or anything ;)
Tuesday: Okay, I know you've all been waiting for this. Tuesday was pretty much a normal day. We had an amazing discussion about Faith in class. We had gym and dinner. Then we went to Choir. We sang a song called "Here Am I" by Alice and Larry Beebe. Mom, if you can find this song, it is an amazing missionary song. I cried clear through rehearsal--which didn't help anything later that night. We always sing 3 prelude hymns. The conductor always says something between the hymns. Well, after the first hymn, he was talking about how we rarely stand for the hymns of Zion, but we always stand when an Apostle of the Lord walks into the room. You should have heard the whispers of speculation that burst out in the room! We haven't had any General Authorities yet, and we've all been getting anxious. Well, we weren't one line into "True to the Faith" when President and Sister Smith walked in followed by ELDER RICHARD G. SCOTT!!! I lost it! The water-works turned on. I was so grateful to be able to hear from an Apostle of the Lord before I leave--and boy was it a good talk. The Spirit was SO strong. I had questions answered, and overall just had a good experience. Mom and Dad, there's more details coming in the letter I'm sending home. And I know you're excited to get that letter. I didn't want the night to end! Yes, what an amazing way to end my MTC experience! This has definitely been the best week yet.
Wed: Well, we had our normal Wednesday morning trip to the temple, which was amazing as always. We also ate breakfast there--so much better than MTC food. I'm so full that I didn't even have room for ice cream at lunch!
Well, I love you all. I don't know when my next e-mail will be sent, but it will be from ALBUQUERQUE!!! Tell Jakob Clark hi for me when you see him. Any other of my friends who are reading this and are recently home from your missions, I want to hear how they went, and any advice you may have for new missionaries. (Aunt Deanna, thanks for sending me the letter Michael sent to Daniel. I appreciated it.)
Have a most fabulous week!
Hermana Good
Wed: We went to the temple, which always makes for a good day. We did laundry, wrote letters, the usual. We had our TRC as well, which went very well. We both walked out of there feeling like we'd had a very successful lesson.
Thurs: The day started out great! About 6 years ago, Elder Ballard was here at the MTC and said that the Sisters need to wear makeup. Coming from an Apostle, that's pretty big. They started a makeup class here for the sister missionaries. We get to go and have our makeup done and eat chocolate and socialize with other sisters. It was great fun! They also give us the makeup they used, donated by NuSkin. But from there, my day kinda went downhill. Flight plans are generally distributed on Thursday, so we were all excited. Until Elder Shedden checked the mail anyway. Those going to Argentina had their flight plans, but the 3 of us staying in the States had nothing. Elder Evans and Elder Shedden could get away from the celebration, but my companion got hers, so I was stuck. I was kinda upset. We also got our invitation to sing at this week's departure devotional instead of our own.
Fri: FLIGHT PLANS!!! Okay, I know you're all excited about this! I leave the MTC on MONDAY!!! August 31 at 5:00 am. I depart from SLC at 8:40 am and land in Albuquerque at 10:18 am! I am so excited you have no idea! We also taught an amazing lesson to a "recent convert" in the TEC. Oh yeah, and when we were in the RC Thurs. night, I called a lady who had ordered, I think, Finding Faith in Christ. She said she didn't think Christ needed to come to the Americas. Right as I was getting ready to testify (not 2 seconds later) she came out and started asking questions about Proposition 8. We're not supposed to talk about politics, so that was a very interesting conversation to say the least.
Sat: It was a good day, but my brain was starting to feel pretty fried. But I can survive the few days I have left here at the MTC. Then the real fun starts. Oh boy! I'm so excited and nervous and jittery and BAH! For those of you who saw me when I was waiting for my call, this is a similar feeling! We played lightening in gym, which is what we've been doing lately, but, unlike volleyball, my basketball skills aren't improving. We also practiced with the Elders for the song we're singing in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. They complained at first, but by the end, they loved the song! (EFY Medley en espanol)
Sun: It was our best Sunday yet! President Smith (MTC President) spoke in Relief Society about the nature of our calling as sister missionaries, and how we are an example and influence to the Elders. It was a very good talk... though sadly he announced that the Swine Flu is back. They haven't banned hand-shaking or hugging yet, but I won't be surprised if it is by this Sunday. There's several missionaries in quarantine, though we are still using real dishes. Please pray for the health of the missionaries! Sunday afternoon, we were able to participate in the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple Dedication. It was a beautiful ceremony--and I'm not gonna lie--seeing 2200 white handkerchiefs during the Hosanah Shout was about the neatest thing I've ever seen in my life, and the feeling that was in the room as we started singing "The Spirit of God..." I get chills just thinking about it! The fireside was super good too. Brother Stevens (think Come Come Ye Saints fireside 4 weeks ago) spoke again. This time he showed us several of the old Mormon commercials, you know, the ones with the adorable little kids and cheesy tag-lines that you can see in the visitor's centers in SLC? It was an amazing fireside! Not because of the commercials, but because of the Spirit. We watched the Joseph Smith Movie. ONE MORE WEEK!!!
Mon: We had the Departing Missionaries Health and Safety meeting. They have different meetings for those state-side and foreign, so I was a solo Sister with Elder Evans and Elder Shedden. Talk about weird. Our roommates going to Baltimore left early Tuesday morning, so we said goodbye to them as well. I had several letters, which certainly helps the day go better. 6 More days... not that I'm excited or anything ;)
Tuesday: Okay, I know you've all been waiting for this. Tuesday was pretty much a normal day. We had an amazing discussion about Faith in class. We had gym and dinner. Then we went to Choir. We sang a song called "Here Am I" by Alice and Larry Beebe. Mom, if you can find this song, it is an amazing missionary song. I cried clear through rehearsal--which didn't help anything later that night. We always sing 3 prelude hymns. The conductor always says something between the hymns. Well, after the first hymn, he was talking about how we rarely stand for the hymns of Zion, but we always stand when an Apostle of the Lord walks into the room. You should have heard the whispers of speculation that burst out in the room! We haven't had any General Authorities yet, and we've all been getting anxious. Well, we weren't one line into "True to the Faith" when President and Sister Smith walked in followed by ELDER RICHARD G. SCOTT!!! I lost it! The water-works turned on. I was so grateful to be able to hear from an Apostle of the Lord before I leave--and boy was it a good talk. The Spirit was SO strong. I had questions answered, and overall just had a good experience. Mom and Dad, there's more details coming in the letter I'm sending home. And I know you're excited to get that letter. I didn't want the night to end! Yes, what an amazing way to end my MTC experience! This has definitely been the best week yet.
Wed: Well, we had our normal Wednesday morning trip to the temple, which was amazing as always. We also ate breakfast there--so much better than MTC food. I'm so full that I didn't even have room for ice cream at lunch!
Well, I love you all. I don't know when my next e-mail will be sent, but it will be from ALBUQUERQUE!!! Tell Jakob Clark hi for me when you see him. Any other of my friends who are reading this and are recently home from your missions, I want to hear how they went, and any advice you may have for new missionaries. (Aunt Deanna, thanks for sending me the letter Michael sent to Daniel. I appreciated it.)
Have a most fabulous week!
Hermana Good
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
MTC Week 7...I Think
Yeah, I think it's week 7. The time here is just all blending together now and I hardly even know what day it is. On the plus side, I'm leaving soon! In fact, when I e-mail you next week it will be the last e-mail I send from Provo. I'll be getting my flight plans tomorrow and will know exactly when I leave. So for all of you who write letters, DON'T send me anything after next Monday, unless you're positive it will be here by Friday or Saturday. And don't send me any dearelders past next Thursday night because they aren't printed on Saturdays. As much as I hate to say no more letters... well, no more letters. At least here in Provo. After next Thursday-ish you can start sending letters to Albuquerque. I don't have the address with me right now, but it should be on my blog. If not, mom would you get that updated por favor?
Okay. On to my week. It wasn't too bad of a week.
Wed: We went to the temple--always a highlight! I'm going to miss being able to go every week. We also ate breakfast up there and consequently ate ice cream for lunch. So much better than MTC food. I'm starting to get sick of it all, and my stomach is really excited to get to New Mexico so I can stop eating mass-produced food. We were on our way to the cafeteria for our ice cream and I couldn't find my blue-card (necessary to get meals). I thought I'd left it in my wallet, so back to the classroom we head to get it. We get almost back to the cafeteria and I open my wallet... No blue card! I think I must have left it on my bed after we went to the temple. Nope. Not there either. I'm really freaking out by this point. We go back to the classroom and I open up my bag, and there it is. Right where I always leave it. Way to go Hermana. Our TRC was horrible... we're not going to talk about it. Let's just say that we could hardly understand a word our "investigator" said and he was "muslim". Recipe for disaster. We sang "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" with our zone, as the last 4 Elders from District A were leaving Thursday morning.
Thurs: Solamente hable en espanol. We were playing a game in our district called "Nativo" where there are 2 "native" speakers and the others had to guess who it was. I wasn't it, but everyone thought I was! Go me! We had the RC that night. I had an inbound call to whom I sent the missionaries, and Hermana Waldrop had an outbound call to a 16 year old boy who had read the BOM and prayed about it and realized that it could change his life. He'd given it to his friend to read and wanted another. Hermana W told him that she'd call his mom and see if she could send the missionaries to visit him (his mom was already in bed--9:30 Alabama time). Our new roommates got their flight plans that day. They leave Tuesday morning. Good grief! We also auditioned again to sing our Song "The Olive Tree." (I mentioned it last week). Sister Beeson told us that she wants us to sing it at our departure devotional next Sunday night. That's a recipe for disaster knowing how much I cry, but I'll make it. I made it through my talk the Sunday before I left without crying, didn't I?
Fri: Much better day. I got a package from my family who had all been in town for a reunion. Thanks for the cookies and candy bars. I did cry when I saw the family picture (though that wasn't anything new for this week because every time I thought about my family being in Utah and not being able to see them I wanted to cry.) We took some language assessments that morning. We'll be taking them another time or two before we leave, but I didn't do too bad. I saw Elder McRae that afternoon and told him goodbye in case I didn't see him again before he flew out this morning (Wednesday). Yep, I'm now here without any family, though I have many friends, and at least one more coming in today! I also got my first volleyball injury. Mom, I can see your face. Don't worry. It was just a bruised knuckle from hitting the ball funny. It didn't even swell up. ;)
Sat: I was so out of it all day long. I don't know why. Actually, our whole district was out of it. Our teachers HATED it. I'm blaming it on the fact that it was overcast and rainy... and I just plain want to leave. I'm really getting sick of MTC food and sitting in the same desk in the same classroom all day, every day. Anyone who knows me well knows how much I hate to sit in desks. Hermana Waldrop and I made the call back to that boy's mother--she's allowing the missionaries to come over! I think we're going to call him back tomorrow night when we're in the RC to make sure they did visit him. I got a letter from my favorite Jamie Moon (I can say that, she's the only Jamie Moon I know!) It made me smile! I loved the quote... and the memories... and the randomness. Yes James, we are still in the same city, for another week and a half before I take off down the road on a bus to the airport. Keep those letters coming! Hermana Waldrop y yo also made our appointments for our final week here! That was exciting!
Sun: I spoke in church, en espanol, about knowledge. It was kinda fun. We took one final temple walk, because this week we'll be at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication and next week we'll be busy saying goodbye and doing a sound check and getting ready to leave. We did our study in el Libro de Mormon at the temple. That made for a nice afternoon. Sister Susan W. Tanner was our speaker in Relief Society. She gave an amazing talk about the Relief Society. She has always been one of my favorite speakers. Our fireside that night was also really good, though I don't remember who spoke. He spoke about "Our Purpose" (See pg. 1 Preach My Gospel). He went 25 minutes over, thus causing the Sunday night movies to be canceled, but we had an extra hour to unwind in our rooms. That was amazing and so needed.
Monday: It was Hermano Downs' last day. He is getting married on Friday so we'll have subs for the last 2 weeks. We took a district picture with him. We did service that morning. Hermana Waldrop y yo did stocking in the bathrooms and took out the trash. I got letters and pictures from my family. Again, the pictures made me cry... and I really enjoyed reading the novel from Mom. Thanks for sharing the details, as much as it really made me wish I could have been there with you. It didn't make me cry though... I don't think. I also got the dearelder you sent me from Sister Sorensen's blog. What a story! Joy, if you're reading this, and I know you are... well, first off Hi! Tell her hi for me. I'm going to try to write her soon, but can't guarantee when I'll get around to it. Preparation day at the MTC is quite busy with not a lot of time, and like I said, I've got a novel to respond to :) But I like those long letters, so don't start writing less because you think I don't have time. I have plenty of time for reading letters from my family and writing back to them. My friends can wait for a few weeks, but my family can't.
Tues: We taught Lesson 2 twice en espanol. They went pretty good. We weren't able to sing in the choir because too many people showed up to the rehearsal so anyone who wasn't there on Sunday was asked to leave. We were at the temple so didn't go. Whatever. We still got good seats... and were able to sit on the FLOOR in the hallway while we waited. You have no idea how good that felt! I saw Elder McRae--who was able to sing in the choir-- before the devotional. I told him goodbye. That was no fun, but I didn't cry like I did when I said goodbye to Sister Sorensen. No offense to Elder McRae... I can't hug him and I've been used to not seeing him on a regular basis. I still miss him, but he'll be a great missionary, and I'll follow that path to the airport in less than 2 weeks! I got a dearelder from Kayla. I'm going to try to write you back today, but no promises. Mom had actually told me you were engaged, and I tried to send a card but it was returned to me twice, so I threw it away and gave up. I am thinking about you though! I loved hearing from you. Oh yeah. The devotional. Our speaker was Elder Spencer V. Jones from the 2nd quorum of 70. He spoke about Ammon and King Lamoni in Alma 17 and 18. If you have time, go read those chapters. They're amazing!
Well, I'm almost out of time. Mom, sorry you're going to have to wait another whole week to get my flight plans, but I figure that you'd rather wait for those and get my letter. I won't stick it in the mail until tomorrow, so if you get this in the next hour and a half and want me to wait to send my letter until I have my flight plans, let me know in a dear elder.
I love you all!
Hermana Good
Okay. On to my week. It wasn't too bad of a week.
Wed: We went to the temple--always a highlight! I'm going to miss being able to go every week. We also ate breakfast up there and consequently ate ice cream for lunch. So much better than MTC food. I'm starting to get sick of it all, and my stomach is really excited to get to New Mexico so I can stop eating mass-produced food. We were on our way to the cafeteria for our ice cream and I couldn't find my blue-card (necessary to get meals). I thought I'd left it in my wallet, so back to the classroom we head to get it. We get almost back to the cafeteria and I open my wallet... No blue card! I think I must have left it on my bed after we went to the temple. Nope. Not there either. I'm really freaking out by this point. We go back to the classroom and I open up my bag, and there it is. Right where I always leave it. Way to go Hermana. Our TRC was horrible... we're not going to talk about it. Let's just say that we could hardly understand a word our "investigator" said and he was "muslim". Recipe for disaster. We sang "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" with our zone, as the last 4 Elders from District A were leaving Thursday morning.
Thurs: Solamente hable en espanol. We were playing a game in our district called "Nativo" where there are 2 "native" speakers and the others had to guess who it was. I wasn't it, but everyone thought I was! Go me! We had the RC that night. I had an inbound call to whom I sent the missionaries, and Hermana Waldrop had an outbound call to a 16 year old boy who had read the BOM and prayed about it and realized that it could change his life. He'd given it to his friend to read and wanted another. Hermana W told him that she'd call his mom and see if she could send the missionaries to visit him (his mom was already in bed--9:30 Alabama time). Our new roommates got their flight plans that day. They leave Tuesday morning. Good grief! We also auditioned again to sing our Song "The Olive Tree." (I mentioned it last week). Sister Beeson told us that she wants us to sing it at our departure devotional next Sunday night. That's a recipe for disaster knowing how much I cry, but I'll make it. I made it through my talk the Sunday before I left without crying, didn't I?
Fri: Much better day. I got a package from my family who had all been in town for a reunion. Thanks for the cookies and candy bars. I did cry when I saw the family picture (though that wasn't anything new for this week because every time I thought about my family being in Utah and not being able to see them I wanted to cry.) We took some language assessments that morning. We'll be taking them another time or two before we leave, but I didn't do too bad. I saw Elder McRae that afternoon and told him goodbye in case I didn't see him again before he flew out this morning (Wednesday). Yep, I'm now here without any family, though I have many friends, and at least one more coming in today! I also got my first volleyball injury. Mom, I can see your face. Don't worry. It was just a bruised knuckle from hitting the ball funny. It didn't even swell up. ;)
Sat: I was so out of it all day long. I don't know why. Actually, our whole district was out of it. Our teachers HATED it. I'm blaming it on the fact that it was overcast and rainy... and I just plain want to leave. I'm really getting sick of MTC food and sitting in the same desk in the same classroom all day, every day. Anyone who knows me well knows how much I hate to sit in desks. Hermana Waldrop and I made the call back to that boy's mother--she's allowing the missionaries to come over! I think we're going to call him back tomorrow night when we're in the RC to make sure they did visit him. I got a letter from my favorite Jamie Moon (I can say that, she's the only Jamie Moon I know!) It made me smile! I loved the quote... and the memories... and the randomness. Yes James, we are still in the same city, for another week and a half before I take off down the road on a bus to the airport. Keep those letters coming! Hermana Waldrop y yo also made our appointments for our final week here! That was exciting!
Sun: I spoke in church, en espanol, about knowledge. It was kinda fun. We took one final temple walk, because this week we'll be at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication and next week we'll be busy saying goodbye and doing a sound check and getting ready to leave. We did our study in el Libro de Mormon at the temple. That made for a nice afternoon. Sister Susan W. Tanner was our speaker in Relief Society. She gave an amazing talk about the Relief Society. She has always been one of my favorite speakers. Our fireside that night was also really good, though I don't remember who spoke. He spoke about "Our Purpose" (See pg. 1 Preach My Gospel). He went 25 minutes over, thus causing the Sunday night movies to be canceled, but we had an extra hour to unwind in our rooms. That was amazing and so needed.
Monday: It was Hermano Downs' last day. He is getting married on Friday so we'll have subs for the last 2 weeks. We took a district picture with him. We did service that morning. Hermana Waldrop y yo did stocking in the bathrooms and took out the trash. I got letters and pictures from my family. Again, the pictures made me cry... and I really enjoyed reading the novel from Mom. Thanks for sharing the details, as much as it really made me wish I could have been there with you. It didn't make me cry though... I don't think. I also got the dearelder you sent me from Sister Sorensen's blog. What a story! Joy, if you're reading this, and I know you are... well, first off Hi! Tell her hi for me. I'm going to try to write her soon, but can't guarantee when I'll get around to it. Preparation day at the MTC is quite busy with not a lot of time, and like I said, I've got a novel to respond to :) But I like those long letters, so don't start writing less because you think I don't have time. I have plenty of time for reading letters from my family and writing back to them. My friends can wait for a few weeks, but my family can't.
Tues: We taught Lesson 2 twice en espanol. They went pretty good. We weren't able to sing in the choir because too many people showed up to the rehearsal so anyone who wasn't there on Sunday was asked to leave. We were at the temple so didn't go. Whatever. We still got good seats... and were able to sit on the FLOOR in the hallway while we waited. You have no idea how good that felt! I saw Elder McRae--who was able to sing in the choir-- before the devotional. I told him goodbye. That was no fun, but I didn't cry like I did when I said goodbye to Sister Sorensen. No offense to Elder McRae... I can't hug him and I've been used to not seeing him on a regular basis. I still miss him, but he'll be a great missionary, and I'll follow that path to the airport in less than 2 weeks! I got a dearelder from Kayla. I'm going to try to write you back today, but no promises. Mom had actually told me you were engaged, and I tried to send a card but it was returned to me twice, so I threw it away and gave up. I am thinking about you though! I loved hearing from you. Oh yeah. The devotional. Our speaker was Elder Spencer V. Jones from the 2nd quorum of 70. He spoke about Ammon and King Lamoni in Alma 17 and 18. If you have time, go read those chapters. They're amazing!
Well, I'm almost out of time. Mom, sorry you're going to have to wait another whole week to get my flight plans, but I figure that you'd rather wait for those and get my letter. I won't stick it in the mail until tomorrow, so if you get this in the next hour and a half and want me to wait to send my letter until I have my flight plans, let me know in a dear elder.
I love you all!
Hermana Good
Saturday, August 15, 2009
MTC Happenings
We were on vacation, so sorry this blog posting is late. Hope you enjoy!
Wow! Can you believe that I've already been here for 6 weeks? 3 weeks from now I'll be down in New Mexico starting on the work that I'll be doing for the rest of my mission. How exciting! My flight plans should be coming next week, but I don't know if I'll have them before Wednesday to let you all know next week what day I'm leaving or if you're going to have to wait until the week after.
Well Good Family, you're all here in Utah. I hope you're having a great time. I've been thinking about all of you wishing I was there with you, but at the same time there isn't anywhere else that I'd rather be. I am loving it here at the MTC. The language is coming well. My teachers are amazing. The food... well, it's starting to get old. But I do enjoy the ice cream bar every Wednesday and Sunday! I hope to receive lots of pictures of everyone, so dad you'd better have your camera handy to fulfill that request. You should have gotten several pictures from me that I sent to grandma's house... last Friday I believe. There will be some more coming before I head to New Mexico.
Okay, now for my weekly run-down.
Wed: Went to the temple. I love Wednesday mornings. There's nothing better than waking up and going to the temple first thing. We got 2 new roommates, one from Sandy and one from St. George going to the Maryland Baltimore mission--English speaking. Yeah, they'll be gone before we are. The English speaking missionaries who arrive today will be leaving at the same time we do. I also had 2 friends come in--Elder Rice (choir in high school) and Sister Todd (neighbor from school). It's always nice to see familiar faces. We had the TRC that night and I'm going to brag for a minute. It was the first time we'd taught in Spanish and it was the best lesson we've taught. We met all of our goals, our Spanish wasn't too horrible (yeah there's some words we struggle with, but we'd only been here for 5 weeks!). It was pretty exciting. After the TRC we had our new teacher who I think I mentioned last week, teach for the first time. Hermano Jarman has only been home from his mission to Spain for 4 weeks now. He is an amazing teacher! I loved Hno. Erickson, but he's been home from his mission for going on 5 years and has lost that "new missionary" fire. Not gonna lie, it's making me wish I could see all of my friends who are getting home from their missions in the next few weeks. If you are home already, welcome home! Send me a letter so I can hear all about your missions!
Thurs: We played lightning and volleyball for gym. I really enjoy gym here, and I guess it doesn't hurt that I've gotten over my fear of balls :) Hermana Waldrop y yo were setting up appointments for the TEC and realized that when we set up appointments tomorrow they will be for the last week that we are here! Holy cow has time flown by! The hermanas in our zone wanted to audition to sing "The Olive Tree" for Relief Society or one of the firesides. We practiced it Tuesday night and auditioned last Thursday morning. There were a few places that were a little rough, but the sister conducting the auditions said that she would like to use us so practice throughout the week and come back this week. We'll be doing that again in the morning. I also got a letter from the ward. That was nice.
Fri: We taught 4 lessons. I know, right? We were teaching machines! One of the lessons was a total flop, but the rest weren't too bad. Hno. Jarman handled the class for the first time himself. Coming from an educator's standpoint, I am very impressed by his teaching skills. He communicates what he wants to teach in a very powerful way, and really brings the Spirit into the class. He made all of us hermanas cry. We sang as a zone for the last time with District A that night. We also had the Large Group Meeting on how the Book of Mormon is everything. If someone doesn't gain a testimony of the BOM, they're not going to gain a testimony of anything else. It was a really good discussion. I really enjoy going to those.
Sat: We played volleyball during gym. Have I mentioned that it's one of my favorite sports to play... okay, my only favorite since I have absolutely no skills? We taught the first 3 principles of lesson 2 to some of our newest elders. We have been focusing so much on lesson 1 that we haven't really taken time to learn the vocab. for lesson 2 yet so it was a little rocky, but we did okay. We'll start hitting that vocab. hard tomorrow. Hermana Crook's mom sent us all some address labels that she printed up with our mission addresses on them. (I guess she went on the internet to find my address since the other 3 have the same address). That was really thoughtful of her. Note to self: send her a Thank You card.
Sun: We had to say goodbye to District A, or half of them heading to Paraguay. The rest of them were delayed because of visas, but are leaving tomorrow for Argentina. Don't ask which mission because I can't remember. We had them give our musical number in Sacrament Meeting. Thanks to them, all of the hermanas and branch presidency wives were in tears. They sang God Be With You Til We Meet Again en Espanol. After Sacrament, we went back up to the class and took pictures with them. It will be fun to find them all on facebook and get in contact with them when they get home, since I'll be back before they do. Oh, and my district and District B are now the oldest districts in our zone. How weird is that? Probably more so for me than for anyone reading this. Our Relief Society speaker was Sis. Pamela Norby from the Relief Society General Board. We had a fireside on charity and missionary work then watched the Joseph Smith movie. Hermana Waldrop y yo went back to our classroom to get our bags after the movie and found a bunch of compliments for each of us hermanas on the board. We'd set a new district goal to give each other compliments every day because some of our elders tend to be a little sarcastic in not such a good way at times. We were quite impressed. Yes, I took pictures. We wrote them thank you’s that night that we left on their desks Monday Morning.
Mon: I got quite a few letters. I got the weekly letter from my family which always makes me smile and a dearelder from Mom with Aunt Linda's letter. It made me smile to see that she'd mentioned Sister Meyer, who I also got a letter from. I also got a letter from Aunt Marion. Also, thanks for the pictures of my puppy. Do you like how I call him "mine"? I miss that little furball, though it doesn't look like he's such a little furball now. Where is he this week while you're all down here in Utah?
Tues: We had a couple of teaching appointments that went pretty good. We were preparing for our TRC that we have tonight, teaching the first lesson again in Spanish. Tomorrow the focus turns to the second lesson for the rest of the time we have here. While we were on our way to one of those appointments I saw Elder Jenkins who informed me that he was leaving the MTC at 5:30 for the airport. He will be a great missionary and do wonderful things in the Philippines!
I also saw Elder McRae as we were on our way back from one of those teaching appointments. I guess he leaves next Wednesday. We practiced our song for our audition tomorrow. President Peters heard us practicing and told us that we need to sing it in sacrament meeting. Okay, not a hymn so not one I'd choose to sing, but I also know better than to go against the wishes of the branch president. Our devotional speaker was Elder Lowell Snow from the 2nd quorum of 70. He gave a really good talk as well. I'd love to tell you about it, but I am out of time.
I love you all and look forward to hearing from you and seeing pictures from the reunion. Have a wonderful time!
Love, Hermana Good
Wow! Can you believe that I've already been here for 6 weeks? 3 weeks from now I'll be down in New Mexico starting on the work that I'll be doing for the rest of my mission. How exciting! My flight plans should be coming next week, but I don't know if I'll have them before Wednesday to let you all know next week what day I'm leaving or if you're going to have to wait until the week after.
Well Good Family, you're all here in Utah. I hope you're having a great time. I've been thinking about all of you wishing I was there with you, but at the same time there isn't anywhere else that I'd rather be. I am loving it here at the MTC. The language is coming well. My teachers are amazing. The food... well, it's starting to get old. But I do enjoy the ice cream bar every Wednesday and Sunday! I hope to receive lots of pictures of everyone, so dad you'd better have your camera handy to fulfill that request. You should have gotten several pictures from me that I sent to grandma's house... last Friday I believe. There will be some more coming before I head to New Mexico.
Okay, now for my weekly run-down.
Wed: Went to the temple. I love Wednesday mornings. There's nothing better than waking up and going to the temple first thing. We got 2 new roommates, one from Sandy and one from St. George going to the Maryland Baltimore mission--English speaking. Yeah, they'll be gone before we are. The English speaking missionaries who arrive today will be leaving at the same time we do. I also had 2 friends come in--Elder Rice (choir in high school) and Sister Todd (neighbor from school). It's always nice to see familiar faces. We had the TRC that night and I'm going to brag for a minute. It was the first time we'd taught in Spanish and it was the best lesson we've taught. We met all of our goals, our Spanish wasn't too horrible (yeah there's some words we struggle with, but we'd only been here for 5 weeks!). It was pretty exciting. After the TRC we had our new teacher who I think I mentioned last week, teach for the first time. Hermano Jarman has only been home from his mission to Spain for 4 weeks now. He is an amazing teacher! I loved Hno. Erickson, but he's been home from his mission for going on 5 years and has lost that "new missionary" fire. Not gonna lie, it's making me wish I could see all of my friends who are getting home from their missions in the next few weeks. If you are home already, welcome home! Send me a letter so I can hear all about your missions!
Thurs: We played lightning and volleyball for gym. I really enjoy gym here, and I guess it doesn't hurt that I've gotten over my fear of balls :) Hermana Waldrop y yo were setting up appointments for the TEC and realized that when we set up appointments tomorrow they will be for the last week that we are here! Holy cow has time flown by! The hermanas in our zone wanted to audition to sing "The Olive Tree" for Relief Society or one of the firesides. We practiced it Tuesday night and auditioned last Thursday morning. There were a few places that were a little rough, but the sister conducting the auditions said that she would like to use us so practice throughout the week and come back this week. We'll be doing that again in the morning. I also got a letter from the ward. That was nice.
Fri: We taught 4 lessons. I know, right? We were teaching machines! One of the lessons was a total flop, but the rest weren't too bad. Hno. Jarman handled the class for the first time himself. Coming from an educator's standpoint, I am very impressed by his teaching skills. He communicates what he wants to teach in a very powerful way, and really brings the Spirit into the class. He made all of us hermanas cry. We sang as a zone for the last time with District A that night. We also had the Large Group Meeting on how the Book of Mormon is everything. If someone doesn't gain a testimony of the BOM, they're not going to gain a testimony of anything else. It was a really good discussion. I really enjoy going to those.
Sat: We played volleyball during gym. Have I mentioned that it's one of my favorite sports to play... okay, my only favorite since I have absolutely no skills? We taught the first 3 principles of lesson 2 to some of our newest elders. We have been focusing so much on lesson 1 that we haven't really taken time to learn the vocab. for lesson 2 yet so it was a little rocky, but we did okay. We'll start hitting that vocab. hard tomorrow. Hermana Crook's mom sent us all some address labels that she printed up with our mission addresses on them. (I guess she went on the internet to find my address since the other 3 have the same address). That was really thoughtful of her. Note to self: send her a Thank You card.
Sun: We had to say goodbye to District A, or half of them heading to Paraguay. The rest of them were delayed because of visas, but are leaving tomorrow for Argentina. Don't ask which mission because I can't remember. We had them give our musical number in Sacrament Meeting. Thanks to them, all of the hermanas and branch presidency wives were in tears. They sang God Be With You Til We Meet Again en Espanol. After Sacrament, we went back up to the class and took pictures with them. It will be fun to find them all on facebook and get in contact with them when they get home, since I'll be back before they do. Oh, and my district and District B are now the oldest districts in our zone. How weird is that? Probably more so for me than for anyone reading this. Our Relief Society speaker was Sis. Pamela Norby from the Relief Society General Board. We had a fireside on charity and missionary work then watched the Joseph Smith movie. Hermana Waldrop y yo went back to our classroom to get our bags after the movie and found a bunch of compliments for each of us hermanas on the board. We'd set a new district goal to give each other compliments every day because some of our elders tend to be a little sarcastic in not such a good way at times. We were quite impressed. Yes, I took pictures. We wrote them thank you’s that night that we left on their desks Monday Morning.
Mon: I got quite a few letters. I got the weekly letter from my family which always makes me smile and a dearelder from Mom with Aunt Linda's letter. It made me smile to see that she'd mentioned Sister Meyer, who I also got a letter from. I also got a letter from Aunt Marion. Also, thanks for the pictures of my puppy. Do you like how I call him "mine"? I miss that little furball, though it doesn't look like he's such a little furball now. Where is he this week while you're all down here in Utah?
Tues: We had a couple of teaching appointments that went pretty good. We were preparing for our TRC that we have tonight, teaching the first lesson again in Spanish. Tomorrow the focus turns to the second lesson for the rest of the time we have here. While we were on our way to one of those appointments I saw Elder Jenkins who informed me that he was leaving the MTC at 5:30 for the airport. He will be a great missionary and do wonderful things in the Philippines!
I also saw Elder McRae as we were on our way back from one of those teaching appointments. I guess he leaves next Wednesday. We practiced our song for our audition tomorrow. President Peters heard us practicing and told us that we need to sing it in sacrament meeting. Okay, not a hymn so not one I'd choose to sing, but I also know better than to go against the wishes of the branch president. Our devotional speaker was Elder Lowell Snow from the 2nd quorum of 70. He gave a really good talk as well. I'd love to tell you about it, but I am out of time. I love you all and look forward to hearing from you and seeing pictures from the reunion. Have a wonderful time!
Love, Hermana Good
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Lovin' the MTC
Holy cow! Yet another week at the MTC has come and gone. Time is just flying by! I can hardly believe that it has been 5 weeks already, it certainly doesn't seem like it has been that long!
Wed: We went to the temple (go figure, that's how I've started every e-mail.) I love going to the temple and the Spirit that is felt there! Wed. night we had our TRC, and taught in English for the last time. We had a family come in to be our investigator. The oldest was 7, and the other kids were 4, 2, and 2 months. So adorable! After the lesson, the dad had the 7 year old give the prayer and he asked that the missionaries would be safe and that they would find people to baptize into this good church. I miss kids so much! It was way good to spend that 45 minutes with them, even if they were really rowdy. I Loved it! We had another missionary leave us--this time from my district--to go home for double shoulder surgery, so our zone got together and sang again. How depressing. We were all in tears again. Oh! And CONGRATULATIONS BRITNEY! I'm way excited for you... and am still waiting for the pictures of you with Jeff and your ring!
Thurs: Elder Kinney left, which was a sad day for all of us. I haven't heard how he's doing yet, but I would assume that he's had his surgery by now so he can have PT and get to the Dominican Republic ASAP. I had some really good calls in the RC again. I love going to the RC and talking to people. I really felt the Spirit during one of my calls. I got the package from Leeann and Jes. Thanks for the letters, and I absolutely loved the testimonies from the YW. It was so amazing to read their simple testimonies. Thanks for thinking of me! Love you girls!
Fri: We had our weekly LGM (Large Group Meeting) on having the faith to find investigators. It was a really good meeting, and I plan on implementing the things we talked about when I get to New Mexico IN LESS THAN 4 WEEKS!!! Hermana Waldrop y yo also taught the first lesson in Espanol for the first time in the TEC. It went pretty good, especially considering the fact that our Spanish still isn't all that great. To be completely honest, I prefer teaching in Spanish. We played volleyball and lightening in gym, which was fun. And guess what! Friday was my one month mark! Time has just flown by! I can hardly believe that I'm already done with the first month. It really hasn't seemed that long.
Sat: We taught the 1st lesson en Espanol to some of the elders in our district. Again, it went really well. Each time we teach we implement new things. And each time we feel that the lesson goes better. For my personal scripture study I read Jacob 5--which was amazing. I actually understood and was able to apply it for the first time! it was really cool! I highly recommend reading that chapter--with a missionary mindset. We are using more Spanish all the time. Half of the time things in my journal come out in Spanish, you know, a line or two. And random words come out of my mouth in English when I'm talking too. I don't know how to pray in English any more. Okay, I do, but I have to really think about it.
Sun: I LOVE Sunday! We had mission conference since it was fast Sunday. The conference was so good, like most meetings--okay, all meetings--here at the MTC. After Sacrament Meeting, Hermana Waldrop y yo walked up to the temple to study for a while. I'd arranged to meet Elder McRae (my cousin for those who don't know) so we could get a picture together before he leaves in a couple of weeks. I sat and wrote in my journal while looking at the temple. It was so nice to feel the Spirit of the temple as I recorded my thoughts about my commitment to the Lord while I am a missionary. We also took some pictures by the map. We're wanting to get our district over there one of these days to get a picture together. Our fireside was so great too. I sat by Sorella Jenkins. It was nice to be able to visit with her before it started. I see her frequently, but never really get the chance to visit. For one of the prelude hymns, we sang "Army of Helaman" but they changed the lyrics for us so the song was in present tense "We are now the Lord's missionaries" I bawled. The Spirit in the room as we sang that was so amazing. Have I mentioned that I love the MTC? Hermana Waldrop y yo watched a replay of a devotional Pres. Uchtdorf gave in April 2006 about missionary work. It was a way good talk as well. Sunday was just an all around amazing day. I also saw Jori Nef, who I went to high school with. We talked for about 15 minutes while Hermana Waldrop y yo were supposed to be planning, but don't worry. We were still in our room by our 10:00 curfew (so we have 1/2 hour for companion prayer and journal writing etc). Hna. Nef is going to Daniel's mission (her cousin). Sunday was my halfway point here at the MTC. That was a crazy thought! Oh and guess what mom. I'm still being plagued by spilly-itis. On Friday I spilled my breakfast on the skirt that I'd just washed. It's in the washing machine now. And at dinner on Sunday I spilled hot fudge on my dry clean only jacket. I just dropped it off at the cleaners when I came down here to do laundry.
Mon: We taught the 1st lesson 3 times. One time we taught it to our Zone leaders, one of whom has only been a member of the church for 3 years. He was able to ask some good questions, but it was a way neat experience. The gift of tongues is amazing! I didn't sleep very well Sunday night. And by not very well I mean that I was still awake at 1:30 am. And I couldn't turn on a light to read my scriptures or anything either. I had to just lay there in the dark. Now that we're just reviewing I don’t get as exhausted and it has been harder for me to fall asleep the past week or so. I got a paqueta y cartas from mi familia! I laughed so hard when I saw bear's tooth. He is getting so big? i also got a card from maryellen. it was good to hear from her. oh, and during gym i got nailed in the face with a volleyball. don't worry, my glasses are ok... and so is my nose.
tues: so i realized that i wrote in my journal monday night--completely in spanish. that was kinda cool, 'cause i didn't even have to think about what i was writing. we taught the first lesson again in spanish in preparation for our trc tonight. our devotional was president merril j bateman. he gave a really good talk about the temple and gave me some neat things to think about up there this morning. we got back to our room and cleaned in preparation for the new sisters who arrived today. we briefly met them. they're going to baltimore maryland--english speaking, which means they'll be gone before we will be. hno erickson told us that he's leaving us next week for his new job, so we'll be getting a new teacher. he's only been home from his mission to spain for 3 weeks. that will be cool.
well, i am almost out of time, so i better run. sorry for the typos. the computers here in the laundry room are no bueno. and the shift key hasn't been working for the past 10 minutes. oh well. i love you all and hope you have a most fantabulous week :)
love, hermana good
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