A Day in My Life at the MTC

Monday, June 20, 2011

Missionary Training Center

Provo, Utah

Dear Mom, Dad, and everyone else I love!,

These first few days at the MTC have been the best, most humbling, exciting, crazy days of my life! I thought I would kind of let you know how things work here at the MTC, especially for sisters.

A typical day starts out waking up at 5:50 a.m. to get to gym at 6. They do a special gym time for the sisters so we don’t have to do gym time with the Elders if we don’t want to. I just like it because it’s an exercise class and we have an instructor telling us what to do. You know how much I just hate running, so getting up earlier is definitely worth it! I've done Pilates and kick boxing so far. The rest of our day consists of about 6 or so hours of class, 45 minutes to an hour for meals, half an hour of planning for our day.

Companion study times and personal study times, and we get lots and lots of practice teaching the lessons to the investigators.

There is a new pilot program that the English missionaries are finishing up and then the real thing starts in August for the whole MTC. The brethren wanted us to get more practice teaching. They are concerned that the missionaries are teaching whatever they want in whatever order now that Preach My Gospel came out, so they want us to balance between teaching by the spirit and teaching the fundamental doctrines of the gospel in order and what not. Usually missionaries got to teach seven lessons at the MTC. With this new program we teach 22. I already have three investigators, (two are my teacher pretending to be someone he knows, but he never breaks character when we are teaching) and one real investigator. We have taught two lessons to the investigators and probably like 7-10 times each other. It is great. I LOVE it!

We also prepare a talk each Sunday and then they randomly pick who is going to talk on Sunday. They give us no notice, which is good practice I guess! Oh right now, I am learning the first lesson about the Restoration. I have memorized the First Vision, my missionary purpose and how to invite someone to baptism, its SO GREAT!

A little about my district: So my companion's name is Sister Brandley, from Alberta, Canada and she is going to the Oakland Temple Visitors Center. She is the sweetest, most caring girl I know. We get along like peanut butter and jelly!

Seriously though, you know how much I was praying for a great companion before I got here. Once again, Heavenly Father answered my prayers! The other two sisters are amazing too! Sister Murray is from Provo and Sister Humphries is from Enterprise, Utah and they are both going to San Antonio, Texas. It is just us four in our room — they seriously are a blessing to me. I hear that some sisters don’t get along, but we get along so great.

The Elders in our district are awesome as well! Elders Draper, Jones and Reynolds are going to Omaha, Nebraska and Elders Anderson and Hutchings are going to San Antonio, Texas. (They just got made DL's this Sunday. ) They really are stellar missionaries. The only time I remember they are 19 year old boys is when Sister Brandley and I listen to their conversation about girls and football and pretty much any other boy topics you can think of. It is actually very entertaining.

Some Random and Funnies:

· Our Old zone leaders are so funny. They are exactly the same height and even look alike. Our first time we met them they were wearing complimenting ties. They even act the same, I love it. Sister Brandley calls them Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. It’s our District Inside joke:)

· We were fasting for one of the Elders (who actually had to go home to figure some things out), and Sis Brandley and I were talking about how weird it was that we had so much time on our hands that day. We figured it out- If you want time at the MTC just stop eating! (totally joking mom!)

· Ice cream is on Sundays and Wednesdays- SO SO good!

· My P-day is on Monday

· I get to go to the temple once a week and have temple walks on Sunday.

· We had our first fireside on Sunday and we sang Called to Serve. It was amazing to look up at the screen with the words and a picture of Helaman’s Army and look back at a room filled with two thousand missionaries singing that song. The spirit was so strong, and I feel so honored that Heavenly Father trusts me to be his warrior!

Anyway, That is all I can think of right now, let me know if you want to know anything else. Thank you for your love and support, I really appreciate it. Mom, don’t worry about me, I have everything I need. Heavenly Father is taking care of me. All I need is to hear how you and the family are!

I love you all much, I hope you know that! I will write you next Monday! You are all in my prayers.

Love you to the moon and back.