Second Email!

cannot believe it has been 2 weeks! Well 13 days to be exact but still... It feels like just last week that I was sitting here typing again on a really hard keyboard! These things are ancient or something, or a ton of missionaries wore them out. Either way it's really hard.

I'm really liking it here, I love all my teachers and I love practicing teaching! It's pretty difficult sometimes especially since Hermana Lundburg and I have very different teaching styles. But we communicate well, or she does, she  makes me talk about my feelings :) (I'm learning) I really like my zone too and my district, the zone leaders and sister training leaders work hard to keep us all together, like we all eat together even on P-days and sometimes we study together and have mini devotionals. Its fun they are some cool people. The majority of the district that was here when my district and another got here are leaving next week for Panama and Costa Rica! 

This week was pretty good, last Tuesday in the evening for our Devotional M. Russel Ballard was here and spoke to us!!! It was sooo cool!! And apparently Elder Nelson was here the week  before which is unusual to have 2 apostles in a row! But Elder Ballard talked about reformers in the Dark ages like Martin Luther and some others and how people responded to them and people who brought about the Bible. He said " Be positive, go forward, Be courageous, be exceedingly glad in the work you are called to do You do not have time to be depressed or home sick get that over with in the MTC. If you feel it was harder than you thought or have negative thoughts take your mind to Liberty jail and think of the Prophet Joseph." He said to write a letter to Joseph Smith and cheer him up and you wont feel bad any more. Oh and he said " Be very careful in planning. Set goals dont just be obedient, set goals and call down the power of heaven to help you and that is when you see miracles." It was cool . 

Wednesday was my week mark! woo! We got to "welcome" new people to the MTC. Really we just said welcome to the MTC because I guess that's what everyone did if you have that dot on (Which I kept on the WHOLE day!) Nothing really interesting happened besides that...

Thursday we had a really good morning! We had our first class at 8:15am and went early because last week we had been late for Hermano Thompson's class. (Hna Lundburg struggled with getting ready on time) and it was just nice to be early! or on time even! Then after lunch I was really tired, and we had our personal study block, where we do personal, companion, and then language study for an hour each. Well during personal study I decided to rest my head on my desk on my scriptures, aaaand I sort of fell asleep for a bit! but the funny thing was I had my scarf over my face but somehow I still managed to drool a little in Alma!! Oh it was sad! But funny! Oh! then that night we were teaching our investigator Nelson and we knew he was a teacher at the MTC but he was just an investigator to us. Anyway we taught him and then went back to class, then in walks Nelson to our class! and he kind of evaluated us and our teaching (still as Nelson he never broke character) that was interesting. But helpful, even though he just spoke spanish... Well then...

Friday morning, we walked into our class and we had a new teacher! (we have 3 now) Nelson! Or Hermono Voss! It was so weird but he is such a good teacher! So that was the exciting part of Friday. And Friday was when I started to feel sick :( my throat felt scratchy. Well the next day I didn't feel so hot my throat was sore ish and yeah.

So then Saturday happened not much I just felt suuuuper tired and took a nap...which helped me feel a bit better

I love Sundays!! I love watching music and the spoken word. and Relief society and its just great!! And we go on our temple walk every sunday at 3 ish with a ton of other missionaries, and that's fun to get out! Some elders in my district when they leave the building or go out the gate turn to a teacher or someone and pretend they have hand cuffs on and ask for someone to take them off. :) This sunday before our temple walk while the Elders where in priesthood meeting Bro and Sis monson came in and we got to talk to them for a while. Dad he's only 2 years younger than you! ( he looks a lot older) he's pres monson's nephew remember? ... yeah he talked about recognizing the spirit...which was cool since this was a surprise visit! then we had the Sunday night devotional. and Stephen B Allen spoke, he is head of the mission department or something but he was sooo funny!! he asked for people to stand up if they had gotten dear johned or dear janed haha and he said if you shouldn't be here (like if you're not worthy) go home! he was pretty bold like that through out the whole talk but it was really good. He said to not let Satan push your buttons. Then we watched the "Characteristics of Christ" it was a talk given by Elder Bednar in the MTC on Christmas a few years ago. which was cool, he talked about how the Savior turned out and how the natural man turns in. 

Then Monday yesterday! Yesterday was so funny!! there were several times where Jade and I laughed sooo hard it was great!!! The first time was when we went in our class before lunch and our teacher was in there preparing for the lesson. So we have these  desks that are a chair that folds at the seat and a desk that you kind of fold up and down, well I put my knee on the chair to grab something and I got stuck in it folding in half!! A few times I went back and forth kind of rocking. I can't explain it very well, I'm glad my teacher was just looking at her computer haha but Jade and I laughed soo hard it was pretty funny! And then the other thing, after dinner we have this zone devotional I mentioned, where someone gives a spiritual thought. Well this one was on companion unity. So the elders teaching had a trio of elders in my district come up and two of them linked their arms to make a square, one of the elders is a bit bigger, and the other elder was supposed to sit on their arms and they would lift him up. Well the one elder said don't pass gas ya know, and then as soon as they stand up a bit more you hear this loud RIIIIIPPPPTTTFFFFF. at first we thought it was gas. No. then the bigger elder was holding his arm so we thought he broke it. No. his pants ripped right down the seam!!! He was soo good about it though, We all busted out laughing and he laughed with us! OH it was THE  funniest thing ever!!! That never happens!! Only on TV or something. But man that was so funny!! 

Any way that was my week, we went to the temple again early this morning so we could get other things done and it was nice. I'm feeling much better today too, I just have a stuffy/runny nose.  I miss you guys! It's still weird to think I'm a missionary!! But I'm here so hopefully it sinks in soon! :) 

 On Sunday in Relief Society one of the speakers said this: " Character: to keep the commitment once the emotion of the moment is gone. Will you stay when the staying is hard? " I thought that was really good! After the excitement and the emotional stuff will you stick to the commitment? I know this will be hard, and is kind of already but I'm learning so much Spanish and teaching and gospel! I know the Lord will help me and I know I can do it!! yeah. :)

Love you !!! 

Love Sarah

Sarah's First Email!!!

 Thank you for the emails!! I'm so glad you sent them! And the letters I got 2! I will write back to them. So I ran into Thomas young on wednesday at dinner, he told me that his first P-day he had no emails so he sent one to his mom saying thanks for the email he didnt get... it was funny but good to see a familiar face! I've seen a lot of familiar faces, well not a lot but some. Like Jade! She's my companion, I guess you figured from the picture that lady sent you. That day she had to get a lot of shots (yellow fever, typhoid, tetnes, and flu she got pretty sick, but i'm good) But after her shots this lady volunteering knew her family and asked if she could send a picture to our families. I'm glad she did because now you know when my P-day is! its good. 

So let me tell you about my week. I have been here 7 days if you count Wednesday but it feels like months!!! Its good but it drags!! So Wednesday #1, Leaving was hard but Lola was right ( I think she said this) they keep you so busy you don't have time to think or react, which was.....nice. And remember that really sweet nice sister who helped me when I first got there, (her name's sister Pierson) she really helped, she was so excited and positive and hugging me it was so nice! It made me feel better. So she took me and I went in and got my badge and other stuff, schedule... I felt bad all these nice volunteers were so smiley and saying "welcome sister" I tried to smile but It just didn't come out right, hopefully I didnt scare them. :) Anyway then she took me to my room, and we put my bags in there, I was the first one (out of 5 sisters) so I got to pick my bed! then she took me to my class where I met one of my 2 teachers, Hermana Larson, she is suuuuper awesome, so nice and a really good teacher, I haven't heard her speak any English at all yet! Which really helps. Then I waited for the rest of my district to come and that's when I found out me and Jade were companions. And Elder Llewelyn who was in the YSA stake and went to Bingham is in my district too. Which is cool, but I never knew him..I think Karris did. The rest of the day was kind of a blur. 

Day 2, Was really busy, we had lessons in class and we met our Branch presidency, and their wives, they are really nice  the Branch president looks like Pres. Hinckley. And pres. Monson's nephew is in it too! he acts like him and looks like him a little.I learned a lot of Spanish.And this day I felt pretty good, emotionally. And so this is just the second day (never mind that was the 3rd day not the 2nd)  we had been here but they had us teaching investigators in SPANISH!!! It was kind of scary but it went okay. He is really a teacher, but for us he is Nelson from Honduras and doesn't talk much but he does everything we ask... Good practice. And we got to have gym time today which was really nice! Its funny there is me and Jade in our room and then a trio (they are in advanced spanish class) and one of them Hermana Noorda she looks a lot like Maggie :) 

Day 3 this was when we taught for the first time.not the 2nd day sorry and we had a lot of class and studing and we did a lot with our zone which is really awesome!! I love it. There was just one district before and then now they have 2 more so three districts in this zone. the Older missionaries are going to Panama mostley and the rest of us are either going to my mission, Argentina or a few other random places. But they are so nice and we all get along great, we all eat lunch together and breakfast and dinner. Sometimes we study together because our classes are all right next to each other. This day we met our other teacher hermano Thompson he's pretty cool he used a little more english but he still teaches well. I really like the teachers you can tell that they really care and want to help us learn the language. So far it has been a lot of Language study and meetings with the teachers so the know how we best learn and get to know us a little more. We are still adjusting to the schedule and everything really. Its funny now I say "we" for everything because I never leave my companion, its not me now it is we. 

Day 4, This day was okay... we did service at 7:30 which was nice actually because we didn't have to get dressed really! Usually we get up between 6-6:30 to shower or get ready or whatever to be to class by 7 for additional study and then breakfast at 7:45 (I'm so glad i brought snacks mom! they help so much!!) But we just cleaned our residence building with other sisters for 45 min. then we had to teach our investigador Nelson, but this one we were not prepared very well, which is still not bad but it wasn't as fun. We could have taught better. ... then we had more classes and got ready for Sunday! 

Day 5 Sunday! Sunday was soooooo nice! We didn't have to worry about classes or investigadores (en espanol) or anything really we just got to go to church! Ant 8:15 in the morning! Who has sacrament meeting that early! But in sacrament meeting it is just our zone which is our branch. And because I can play the piano (no I didnt have to play for the meeting but) I played for a musical number, some hermanas wanted to sing so I played Be Still My Soul, and I did pretty good for not really playing that song much. But after that, guess what!!! we (just the sisters, all the sisters in the MTC) got to watch Music and the Spoken Word!!! I was so happy!! and it was all Spirituals and stuff, yeah it made me happy :D Then we had relief society right after. And because we JUST got a brand new MTC presidency on Friday their wives spoke, and they are the relief society presidency. It was cool first Sister Burgess spoke her husband is the new president and then sister somebody I dont remember but then Sister Trost spoke her husband is the 2nd councelor. I really liked her, she talked about how she was really nervous for her new calling and kind of afraid but she talked about how to not be afraid and how she was going to take steps of faith and over come her fear. Oh and in sacrament meeting this guy I don't remember who he was but his name was Brother Lindahl he served in Paraguay and in Argentina as a mission president, but he said that when they( he and his wife) went to Argentina she threw up 18 times and he was pretty scared too, but he said that when he stepped off the plain it didn't matter if he got shot or something he had done what the Lord asked him  to do. And that's kind of what I'm doing, I just did what the Lord asked me to do and nothing else really matters, well it does but ya know. it was good. Then after all that we had a temple walk, every sunday with our zone we go walk around the Provo temple, but really we all just take pictures :) Hopefully I can upload mine. It was funny on the way back we were walking and I heard someone running, and then they hugged me from behind and it scared me!! but it was sister Pierson, the girl who helped me on wednesday! She is so nice! she remembered me. Then we had an mtc devotional with the new mtc presidency and then we watched meet the mormons, it was nice. 

Then yesterday we had more class and more teaching people and language studying and did some zone stuff. Its funny 2 elders in my zone are from washington only one from tri cities knows where Ephrata is, I thought that was cool.

And today, P-day! We woke up at 4:55 to go to the 6:00 session at the temple with our zone. It was really nice they helped me with everything and we were pretty much the only ones there. Then we had Breakfast at the temple it was SO good! I had a waffle with strawberries and whipped cream oh it was good!! and only $2.50 :) yum! then we printed off emails so we knew what to say so not to take up more time, then we did laundry which actually wasnt that bad, I did pretty good! nothing is a different color!! Yes!! and we've just been relaxing and personal studying and now I'm writing. so sorry that was really long but I just wanted you to know everything!! I am having a good time, I think the 'homesickness is not really there any more, well I can think of you guys with out feeling really sad now!!

Oh I forgot , so yes I did see the girl I met in the temple! And so I saw this girl here from the YSA ward and from elementary school she was friends with Cambrey Bean, her name is Taylor Harmon, and I had no idea she was going on a mission! so I didnt really know it was her but she has red hair and is going to New Hampshire but she's not from Mesa, well another girl who was sitting by her at lunch had red hair so i asked and she is the girl who Lola told us about!! she loves Lola and Olivia and she emailed her mom and told her! I thought that was cool.

Well that is all I have time for, I love you guys and miss you but this is good! I know it :) I'll get better and condensing things later! 

Love you!

Love Hermana Sarah

PS I couldn't get the pictures to upload i'll try again but i just wanted to send this so ... I'll try pictures later.

Here I go!

This is how I feel about now...

Look at the world so close
And I'm halfway to it
Look at it all so big
Do I even dare?
Look at me, there at last
I just have to do it
Should I?
No
Here I go