Yahoo!

Yahoo!!! I made it! It's hard to believe that I'm actually on a mission right now! It's seriously like...crazy. Wow....anyway. Life at the MTC is so great! I love it! I really don't know why everyone says it's so hard. Maybe cuz I'm not learning a language. Who knows.... :) But, although the MTC is fun and stuff...I just really want to get to Nashville. I'm so excited. I don't know how people can last 9 weeks (that's the longest people are here now I'm pretty sure).

Okay, the MTC is so spiritual. You feel the Spirit everywhere you go and in everything you do. I mean, not that you can't feel it otherwise but you know what I mean...hopefully. Also, I am learning so much that I think I might explode. Like really. It's like a firehose. They just spray you and spray you and feel like you are drowning but the water is so refreshing that you don't want it to stop. I don't know if that made any sense but yeah.....Also, if you want some kind of analogy of how I feel learning/spirituality wise that makes a little more sense....well take all the spirituality and learning that you get from an entire week at EFY, times that by about 67 and pack it into one day at the MTC. Yup, that sounds about right.

The first couple days were super slow. Super great, but super slow. It's hard to believe that I've already been here over a week. It's felt like 3 years but it also felt like just yesterday. Time is weird here.

My district are so amazing. I think I told you about them but since I have plenty of time I'll tell you a little more. There's my companion Sister Svedin, (pronounced Swuh-deen and her name is from Sweden). She's from Melba, Idaho and she's super awesome! She really knows her stuff and man can she sing!! Elder Hansen jokes that she sounds like birds...by that he means like a princess from a Disney movie because birds should be flocking to her. I don't know if that makes any sense but yeah, he's hilarious. So yeah, Elder Hansen is from Nyssa, Oregon, which he says is pretty much in Idaho. He is super funny and just graduated. All the Elder's in the district just graduated. His comp is Elder Morgan and he is the greatest. He is a super great teacher and he's got a really strong voice. And he loves to learn! Then there's Elder Jensen and he is one of the funniest people I have ever met. He just has the funniest facial expressions and says the funniest things. What a goofy Elder. He's from Hyrum, Utah. His comp is Elder Daines from Centerville and he is so quiet! But he's this huge football player and whenever he talks, the spirit just pours out of him! And he has the greatest smile that just lights up the room! He should smile more. Then there's Sister Halbeisen (Haul-bison) and she's from somewhere near Denver, Colorado and she is so sweet! I love her to death! And she is super smart and loving! Her comp is Sister Laws, also from Colorado and she is so great! She looks sort of like Anne Hathaway and she's so enthusiastic about everything! Yeah, my district is the best in the MTC.

We have the best teachers ever!!!! Brother Mills and Brother Call are our main teachers and they are just so great! They teach everything so well and we all love them! There's also Sister Carson and Sister Paravato and they are so amazing! I love them!!! They are so helpful! They've helped me and Sister Svedin learn how to teach simply and apply our lesson to the investigator!
Also random story about Sister Paravato. After we met her the first time we forgot her name and in class one day one of the Elder's was referring to her and he didn't know what to call her so he just called her Sister Paranoia and it was so funny. Then one of the teachers that was in there just busted up laughing and corrected him. Now it's a running joke in our district.

Okay, if you think that you are just going to come to the MTC and learn the lessons from Preach My Gospel and then teach them to people by applying it to them then you are WRONG! It is so much more than that! We've been focusing on finding the NEED that each investigator has, not their concerns or interests, but their need and we are learning how to make the whole lesson work around that one need! It's a skill that we are working on and is A LOT harder than it sounds!!! But, I'll get there.

So as part of our teachers teaching us they also act as investigators that they know really well from their missions and we teach them. But it is seriously not even like they are acting, they do a really good job. I think of them as 2 separate people. Brother Call is our current "investigator" and his name is Don. And really though, when we go into the lesson, I think of him as Don, and not as Brother Call, they are seriously different people. Don is so great. He is tough though. He refuses to pray because he doesn't really know who God is. Whenever we have gone into lessons he is has just sat there while we prayed. But we've been focusing on his need to know God and so we decided to teach him about the Atonement. Boy we are dumb. I don't know why we didn't think of that at first because after we taught that then BAM! he committed to pray!!! When Sister Svedin and I left we could not stop smiling because the other things that we taught him were just not what he NEEDED...we were focusing on addressing his CONCERN....not his NEED! Anyway, we have one last lesson with him and we haven't decided what we would teach him but it's got to be good!!!

The other person that we are teaching is an actual non member. She gets taught by other people but it's still real. She's from Korea and her name is K-min (it's longer than that but that's what she goes by). She is great but really hard to connect with. We've been struggling with her. We've learned more how to teach her simply but we just can't figure out what she really NEEDS. We'll get there. She wants to be baptized but not until she can keep all the commandments, and she's worried about her husband asking her to do things that she shouldn't do. She just needs to trust in the Lord!!

Okay. Um. I don't have any letters or notes with me so I'll try and answer people's questions and stuff. The 4th of July was fun. Arielle was right, we had a devotional that night and some guy, I don't remember who, talked about freedom and heros of the BOM and stuff. Then we watched 17 Miracles! That was awesome! Then yes, we got to go outside and watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks and have ice cream. I skipped the ice cream but the fireworks were awesome. Except we didn't see all of them because they stopped for like 5 minutes and so we thought they were over but then we could hear them again in our room. Oh well, it was still fun.

Oh yeah and in the devotional they announced some stuff that was put into place this week!
1. Now, all the lessons will be taught before baptism (including the 5th lesson which used to be taught after) and in addition, all the lessons will be retaught after baptism.

2. After baptism, missionaries must work closely with converts for 3-4 months after baptism and keep in contact for up to 1 year. Also, missionaries must make sure that each convert has at least one friend in the ward.

3. Missionaries must participate in ward council! (I know that they already do that sometimes but I guess not everywhere)

So yeah, that might not be much a shock or anything but I know that any return missionaries or might find that interesting. Also, sorry this letter is getting so long. I have a whole hour to write and I don't have like...anyone's email so yeah...I'm spending a lot of time just writing a long letter.

Neil L. Anderson came and spoke to us on Tuesday! Wahoo! That was so great! He talked all about the Spirit and how it works! Not really how we feel it but just how it works...like how we can't force it and sometimes it only gives us a few answers. Anyway, things like that. It was seriously awesome and I think it was super important for us as missionaries since we pretty much rely on the Spirit for EVERYTHING!!!!

Okay, I really can't even think of anything else. Thanks for those who have written me!! It's fun to get letters. Also, mom, the cookies are delicious!!! Thanks for making them in my honor haha. :) Hm...I really can't think of anything else to say. This week has been awesome! I only had a minor breakdown on Monday after ALL our lessons went awful! Sister Svedin sort of did too. The Elder's gave me a blessing and it was super awesome! Every time they have given a blessing to one of us the Spirit has been so strong!!! Our Elder's are so great!

Okay, well, I guess that's it. I probably left a ton out but I'm running out of time. I guess that's the important stuff that I really wanted to say to whatever! :)

Love you all!

Love,

Sister Myers