Friday, July 13, 2018

Stop, Drop and Roll

Bonjour!

This week started off very loud. Saturday night after class, we went back to our residence halls and started getting ready for bed. So I went and started to take my shower and halfway through my shower, the fire alarm went off. So I quickly had to pat myself dry and throw on a dress because that was the easiest thing for me to put on, and I had to walk calmly outside with everyone else in my building. We ended standing outside for 45 minutes at 9:30 at night, with 98% of the girls in pajamas or towels/bathrobes. It was quite an adventure to start off the week. The next morning, we woke up at 6:30 like always and it only takes me 10 minutes to get ready, so by 6:40 I was ready to go and was just waiting for my companion to finish getting ready before we went to breakfast. I kid you not, the fire alarm starts going off again and it was pretty much the same exact situation as the night before, except more girls were actually dressed this time and it was daylight so people were walking around headed to meetings, church, and various other things around campus. Needless to say, my companion and I were ready to go so we just went to breakfast and started our day 20 minutes earlier than usual. Then we went to church, where I did not have to give a talk; however I had to go to three meetings besides Sacrament meeting on Sunday and I had to pray at every single one of them, so karma got me after all. 
 
The rest of the week was just normal; we studied, went to exercise, taught some lessons, learned some French, and overall just had a good time living it up at the MTC. It's super weird though, because we just realized that everyone in our zone besides my district and the district that got here last week are leaving next week. So my district will be the oldest ones in our zone, and we still have no idea what's going on half of the time. A few funny things happened this week. Elder Huckstep was really full after dinner one night because he seriously eats SO much food, but he came into class and he said, "Look! I have a noriture (food) baby!" and he was so proud of it! Also, Sister Beal, one of my new roommates, is possibly getting reassigned while she waits for her visa to France and she got reassigned to the Spokane, Washington Mission! So I've been giving her little tricks and tips! I know it's kinda bad, but I'm hoping her visa doesn't come through right away so that she can spend some time in one of the greatest missions in the world! Also, Drake left this week for the Philippines, so we took some pictures before he left. Side note: missionary appropriate pictures with the opposite gender are SO awkward! At Tuesday's devotional, Elder Christensen and his wife came and spoke to us about how as missionaries and members of the church, people are always watching us to see what we are doing and how we are living our lives, so we need to constantly be showing our religion in our body language and actions. It was really great! Also, fun thing that happened today! I had to get my second Hepatitis A shot, so now I have a cool spider-man band-aid on my arm and they gave a lollipop because I was better at taking the shot then the Elder next me who was getting the same shot before he goes to India. Overall, not a super exciting week, but always something to write about!
 
I don't know our new branch president very well, but his wife seems really nice so far! Also, because everyone in our zone is leaving next week except for a few of the chosen ones (aka my district and the one that came in right after us) we will get new STL's again on Sunday and new Zone Leaders. Sister Begay and Sister Southwick are going to be the new STL's and Elder Danielson and Elder Huckstep are going to be the new Zone Leaders. Everything is constantly changing around here. Oh, and the reason that I'm not going to be an STL with the other Soeurs is because I'm now companions with Hermana Black technically. She is fantastic! I absolutely love her!! We get along so well and she is just so much fun to be around. She is from the Bay Area and went to BYU for a year. She is only 18, but will turn 19 next week so they let her come in early because she is speaking French and Spanish in her mission... she also speaks German. She is pretty much amazing when it comes to languages.
 
French is so overwhelming sometimes, but I just have to remind myself that I have progressed so much from where I was when I first came in. I'm pretty much just praying for the gift of tongues and then trying my hardest to study because there is nothing else that I can do, and I really want to be able to speak this language. Also, yesterday my teacher informed me that I have just about 3 weeks left in the MTC, so I'm almost halfway done learning everything I'm supposed to and that pretty much just freaked me out, but I'm fine, it's fine, we are all fine! 
 
To answer your questions, we have the same schedule every Monday-Thursday and then on Saturday. Friday and Sunday are our only days that are different because Friday is P-Day and Sunday is church. On Tuesdays we have devotional in the evenings instead of class, and on occasion they will throw in a workshop to mess with our schedule, but it's all for our benefit! We are not allowed to leave the MTC, unless we have been authorized to go to temple grounds or to the upper fields during exercise time. Other than that we stay in the gates of the MTC and don't leave until our departure day. There is a store on campus, where you can pretty much buy anything you need, and it's really useful. The meals are constantly changing, but it's all pretty good food. It's not super high quality, but it still tastes good, and on Mondays and Wednesdays they have ice cream bars, which is delicious! At the MTC store, they have snacks you can buy or the residence halls all have vending machines that are filled with all sorts of different snack and treats (including BYU Creamery ice cream). Basically, they treat us well but sometimes you do feel a little trapped by the same schedule everyday and not being able to leave campus. It's still wonderful here though! I love the spirit that is here, and that everyone here has pretty much the same purpose and desire that I do to serve the Lord and the people in our missions. 
 
A few miscellaneous things: 
-My departure date from the MTC is August 6th!
-My release date from my mission is December 23rd, 2019
-You should see if I can get released over skype, and if I can't then we should wait until I come back and then go together.
-I love all of the fun things you have been sending me! They are so cute! And the donuts were delicious!! I'm so proud that you figured out how to send all of the stuff to me!

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

Love,
Soeur Connery
 
Elder Green from Post Falls, Idaho. It's a small world after all!
 

No comments:

Post a Comment