Hello!
Thank you so much for the DearElder! Will you put that on my blog/Facebook? A girl in my district got 6 DearElders yesterday and I got a wedding announcement from my friend. That was a small blow to my heart.
There was NO screaming on the way to or getting to the MTC! It was like walking through a door to be honest. It was seamless and I was totally calm. Totally not like me. The woman who gave me my badge commented on how perky I was when I came up to her. The calmness I've felt here (most times) is eerie, but I'm grateful for it. El Espiritu (The Spirit) is very strong here. It's amazing. One thing I'm having trouble with is exact obedience. Exact obedience is necessary, I can see that, but it's also turning a lot of us into judgmental, self-righteous people. We're all nit picking others about shoe styles, interactions with others of the opposite sex, proximity of companionships, and other rules. For example, the rule about mail is that we're required to wait to open letters until 9:20. The district sitting behind us opened their mail at dinnertime (5:45), and my district made a big fuss about it. I know rules are necessary, especially as missionaries, but like I said, we're so worried about what others are doing.
I'm struggling with the language! It's so hard!! I'm the worst out of everyone in my class. The language is the most difficult and discouraging part. Being with someone all of the time is really hard, too. I'm not picking up the language as well as I thought I would or as well as I'd like, so that's hard. Things are getting better as the days go by, but I'm still behind everyone else. We have been teaching a mock investigator since the third day, and it's been REALLY hard. The experience is good though. Hermana Dodd carries us through the lessons. Last night, we taught the "investigator" about The Restoration and The Book of Mormon, and he asked why God and Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith. We weren't prepared to answer his question in Spanish, so all I could muster was "Jose preparar y listo" (Joseph was prepared and ready). Uugh. It's so hard! I started a gratitude journal with the journal my best friend, Abby, gave me, and last night I wrote about being grateful for prayer and the gift of tongues. Even though I'm not anywhere near where I need to or want to be, I am slowly recognizing more words and being able to use more as well. I'm trying to open my mouth and use what I know, but I know very little that opening my mouth wouldn't get my very far. Uugh.
My companion is Hermana Dodd from guess where? Louisville! So cool, right? She's 20, she's a sweetheart and means well. She hums while she's doing most things, and she has kind of a high squeaky voice. She is very much a rule follower and takes exact obedience VERY seriously.
The other hermanas in our district, Hermana Jackson and Hermana Johnson, are great. Hermana Jackson is hilarious. She's from Delaware and has a slight accent. She's sarcastic and fun-loving. Hermana Johnson is from Idaho and runs into someone she knows or someone who has a mutual friend almost every day. It's nuts. She's personable so I think Elders think she's flirting with them. She eats really clean and only snacks on almonds and craisins. I wish I had her eating habits. :) The Elders in my district are Elder Briggs from Montana, Elder Faber from UT, Elder Winkie from Missouri, and Elder Mongkeya from UT, but originally from Micronesia. We all get along really well. I really enjoy our district. It's weird that even with a huge age gap, we all converse easily and laugh together.
I wish I could write more, but my laundry is finished and we're off to temple! me!
Hermana Boyson
Kentucky Louisville Mission
Here are pictures from the MTC! The picture of the four of us hermanas from our district. L to R Hermana Dodd, me, Hma Johnson, and Hma Jackson.
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