DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!
Oh my goodness I have SO MUCH TO TELL YOU!! Keep in mind as I email, that even if I don't respond to everything each of you has said, I HAVE read everything. I just don't have a lot of time to email.
Know that I love you all and I keep you in my prayers every day. (and I pray a LOT so that is a lot of prayers). Oh and the missionaries here all pray for all of our families and friends so you are getting prayers from a bunch of MTC missionaries too. Your support is so important to us.
Also, we got my paper from Aunt Verena so PLEASE tell her thank you so so so so very much! Without that, my visa would have expired in a week and I would've had to go home, and get a new one and wait to finish serving. So thank you thank you thank you to her.
So the MTC! I am going to try and write a timeline basically of what we do every day, so the kids (and my friends) can see how it is here!
So our regular days pretty much go like this
6:30 - wake up, shower, pray, get ready for the day
7:00 - breakfast
7:30 - personal study/comp study for 15 minutes if we need it
8:30 - teaching investigators (who are actually our teachers, but it makes it more real)
10:10 - exercise
11:30 - lunch
12:20 - companion study/teaching investigators
2:00 - lessons with teachers about various things
3:30 - more lessons or maybe teaching
4:40 - dinner
5:10 - study again
6:00 - more lessons/teaching/study depending on the day
7:00 - study or lessons, or district meetings
8:00 - usually lessons with teachers, lots of practicing teaching
9:00 daily planning
10:30 - bedtime!
So you can get the idea that we are SUPER booked up for time. Some days dinner can go for longer during which me and my companions ALWAYS have like a 10 minute nap or we prepare for a lesson if we are teaching right at 6. Sleep is super important here - making sure you always go to bed on time and waking up on time. We are exhausted all the time but it is a wonderful kind of exhaustion!
To explain teaching, our teachers here in the MTC act as someone they know very well who isn't a member of the church - a family member, best friend, etc - and we teach them as thought they were them. It is really cool actually. We are teaching 4 progressing investigators right now, Paul, Tanya, Falon, and Adam. I think Tanya is the one who is the most open to learning. Paul kind of is - his sister died in a car crash a year ago so he is open to learning about how families can be forever but just isn't sure if God completely cares about him and his family. But wants to believe He does. Falon is a referral from her friend who has been a member her whole life..her lessons was actually really cool cause all the Elders in our district taught her before we did, we were last on the schedule and none of them could get her to want to pray or to know if God existed really. She was kind of interested in what her friend believed but that was it. And when we taught her...idk, we explained prayer in such a way that she actually did pray to God to ask if He had a plan for her and what to do! It was REALLY cool!!! The Spirit acts in such a cool way.
So a bit about my companions. For some reason, I don't think we can send pictures here in the MTC so unless somehow someone figures it out or we find out if we can, then I'll do that. I have some BEAUTIFUL pictures of us by the temple (it is like a 2 minute walk from here) and so if I can I will send those. If not, it'll have to wait till next week when I am in the field.
About my companions. Sister Grand is from New Zealand. She is REALLY splendid. She loves the gospel, but is a bit shy about sharing it..which we are working on! But I love her to death and I love being her companion. Sister Fromgren is from Norway, she speaks English, Swedish and Norwegian (SHE IS AMAZING) and she is probably the most beautiful person I have ever met. EVER. I love her. She is absolutely lovely and kind and sweet and caring.
She has struggled a bit the past week because of feeling frustrated and angry that her English isn't that good (I think she does wonderful though) but we had a talk yesterday with President Preston (the MTC president) and I think it has helped her a lot. And she got a blessing from him as well. So hopefully she feels better. She told Sister Grant and I that she appreciated our love to her to much because in Norway, all the girls were snobby and mean to her when she moved from Sweden and she was worried that ALL girls were like that, but we just loved her and talked with her and she said how much she loved us for it (She and I were both crying as she said this, we are the emotional ones in the trio.
Sister Grant is like solid rock of New Zealand amazingness).. But they are both absolutely wonderful and I love them so much! I didn't realize how much love I could have for people till being here in the MTC. It can be hard though...I struggled a bit this week cause I just want everyone to be doing well and feeling great all the time and I cant help everyone and be perfect (which is unfortunate) but I had a talk with President Preston as well and he just told me that as long as I'm doing my best the Lord helps. And its when people are pushed to their limits that God can really help us.
Other things about the MTC. We are learning proper English hear, as the english call it...so you can tell Kate that yes, I am learning English at the MTC. We aren't supposed to say 'awesome' or 'cool' or anything like that. So we say lovely, splendid, marvelous, wonderful, amazing, etc. It has definitely made me sound more intelligent. And I have started to pick up various accents. I can imitate the typical British accent we think of in Canada very well now, and a Norweigan accent (thanks to Sister Fromgren) AND even a bit of a New Zealand one. Its like and Austrailian accent but much prettier I think. I don't know how else to explain it.
They feed us VERY VERY well here at the MTC. I think they are trying to make us fat actually. The gluten free food is splendid over here, I've never tasted anything like it. I don't know how I am going to come home and eat any of the food there now...but I shall have to try I guess.
The temple....so we are going this afternoon, I was hoping to email after so I could tell you about it but that will have to wait till next week I suppose. But I have been outside the temple and on the grounds so I will tell you about that! I wish pictures would work on these laptops but....they don't, everything is locked up really tight so all we can access is the missionary portal and nothing that is plugged in or anything. so I shall just explain about it. The temple here along with the gardens is the most lovely place I have ever been to in my entire life. Including Waterton I think. I cant even explain it!! I love it SO SO SO very much. On Sundays we get a bit of personal time, during which my companions and I just walked through the temple gardens and on the temple grounds and just enjoyed the peace that is there. Pictures don't even do it justice but it is just so perfect and beautiful here. I love it. If it would be possible for me to get married in this temple, I think it is the temple I would choose. It is amazing.
I am so grateful that I went to mission prep for as long as I did and that I studied the scriptures so much. It has helped me SO SO much here at the MTC. Many missionaries don't read or study preach my gospel hardly at all before they come and it makes it so much harder. But I am so blessed.
Oh also just some random things I guess. So my district is the three sisters (me, sister Fromgren and Sister Grant), and then Elder Parkinson is our district leader, he is from Kaysville (I don't know how to spell it) which is kind of cool. He knows some people I know from EFY. He is a spectacular district leader. He shows all of us how much he loves us and helps us learn so much so I am really grateful for that. His companion is Elder Tolk, also from Utah. Then there is Elder Palfrey and Elder Brosnahan (From Canada (bc) and then New Zealand, I'll let you guess who is from where). Then there is Elder Williams and Elder Clayton, also from Utah. Our district is fabulous. We sing all the time even though some of the Elders are tone deaf but it is still fun. I love them all to death and we learn so much together.
Speaking of singing, I had to sing in a sisters quartet on Sunday, and this next Sunday I was asked to sing so Sister Berrett and I (I am sitting by her in the photo the MTC put up I think, she has brown wavy hair and might is super tiny) are going to sing a duet I think. I brought some sheet music so we might sing Peace Be Still or the Olive Tree. Who knows! Whatever the Spirit tells us to sing. I have had to play the piano multiple times here, and also accompany someone who was doing a musical number so THANK YOU for forcing me to take piano lessons because it can help others so much.
I haven't really gotten homesick, which I think is a blessing from God but do know that I do miss you all and love you! I hope your trip is still going wonderfully! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD for your birthday since you wont hear from me again till after it :) We have got 6 more days here in the MTC including today (we leave next Wednesday) so hopefully it goes by fast but I can still learn a lot! I am so excited for this!! I love the MTC but cant wait to see how the real mission field is and to learn and grow and cry and laugh and everything! It will be hard and amazing. Also, since we are leaving next Wednesday
I am not really sure when we will email next exactly so just know that I love you and will write to you when I can :)
LOVE YOU!!
Sister Beazer :)
She figured out how to send some pictures - YAY!
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