SURPRISE!!

Bonjour!

To answer some of your questions: 1.) yes, I can understand most of your emails, but whatever I don't know I just look up. 2.) Don't worry about me going to Barbados, I will for sure be with other missionaries while I'm in the states and then they will most likely give me an escort to take me the rest of the way. Plus the Lord will be watching over me at all times so I'm not worried. 3.) Send me pictures! It's so much fun to see all you! 4.) French is difficult, but I'm not giving up and I'm just working harder now. And once again the Lord will bless me so I'm not worried.

Also, thanks for the updates on all of my friends, sometimes we just feel so out of the loop here, and it can be kinda hard to just look out the window at the outside world but not be able to go in it. Especially because we just want to go share the gospel with everyone and show them how much God loves them, but soon enough everyone here in the MTC will be all over the world preaching the gospel in more languages than I could even think of and bringing more happiness than is comprehensible to people who didn't even know it was there. I am so grateful for this gospel and especially for our Savior Jesus Christ. My testimony of His atoning sacrifice and the love that He and God have for us is constantly growing, and I am always able to see how much they are helping me and blessing my life even when it may be difficult to recognize.

This week was not super exciting. Almost our entire zone left this week, so by Wednesday it was just my little district of 8 and Soeur Black's district of 11 left, until that afternoon when we got all of our new missionaries. We got 5 new sisters and 36 new elders this week, so now in total there are 9 sisters and 51 elders in our zone...we are highly outnumbered. On Sunday I found out in Sacrament meeting that I was going to be the new music chairman for our Branch, so basically anytime we are together as a branch/zone I will pick the music and the special musical numbers on Sundays. It's pretty much because I'm the only one who knows how to lead music, so I guess all of those music classes really were beneficial! On Tuesday night, M. Russell Ballard came and gave us a great devotional where he talked about how we need to be bold as missionaries and we need to protect, love, support, and teach one another. It was such a great devotional and it was broadcast to all of the MTC's around the world. It was fantastic, and I'm so grateful that I got the opportunity to hear his counsel in person. Also, this week for exercise the gym is closed so my zone has started leaving campus and going to the upper fields to play sand volleyball, and it is so much fun! We pretty much play volleyball everyday, and only like two of us are actually good so the rest of us just play to have fun and it is a blast! We love being at the MTC! 

 

Here's just something kinda funny that happened this week: Soeur Black has a really loud laugh and laughs all the time, and the other night at dinner we were talking to some of the elders and she laughed so hard that her choker necklace popped off and we had to try to look for the pieces of it on the ground. It was hilarious! Also something kinda funny, EFY is going on at BYU pretty much all summer and the field where they have all of their dances and big activities and everything is across from the MTC so we will look out the windows and wave to them and they get SO excited, it's almost like they have never seen a missionary before. It is the cutest thing and it makes the elders feel like superheroes or celebrities so they love it! Also I have a huge surprise for you! It may only seem huge to me, but I cut my hair! My email is open to any questions or comments about it, but all of the Soeurs convinced me it would be a good idea so I did it! And now my hair is 5 inches shorter! Overall, this week wasn't too exciting, but it was another great week at the MTC! I love you and I can't wait to hear from you next week!

Love,

Soeur Connery