I finally made it to the MTC last Wednesday and oh boy has it been a long week. when i first got dropped off i was really sad to be leaving everyone and everything, but they give you no time to be sad so i had to adjust real quick. After i put all of my stuff in my room i was taken to a room on the fifth floor of the building across from the dorm rooms. Note that we are never allowed to take the elevator, so every time i go to class is a workout. When i got to the room where my District was meeting. The Missionary who was showing me around left and i met my companion. Sister Rhees. She is really cool and so nice. She is also really smart and reminds me a lot of Hailey because she writes and wants to become writer. She already has some novels that she wrote so that is super cool. She is from California and is 24 and a graduate from BYU. She helps me so much to stay focused because it gets so hard to do that sometimes.
So the first day was a little weird because no one knew each other so we had our class time and we had to introduce ourselves which is always a blast... I found out that all of the Sisters in my District are going to Serve in Eugene, Oregon too! The Elders are all going to Washington, so it's a little sad we won't all be together. There are two sets of Elders and three sets of Sisters and i found out on Sunday that there are more Sister Missionaries here at the MTC right now than Elders and that is a rare thing, so it is pretty cool to be a part of that. We all get along and contribute different things to the lesson which is great because we are learning a lot from each other. We got to meet the rest of our zone which is another district of about 10 missionaries and the two of us combined are called a zone. Okay now this is really cool because the Sisters in that district are going to Philly on their missions! They are all so sweet and I'm so pumped for them to go to Philly! I know they are gonna love it. They left today so they should be there by now!
Now let me tell you all about the food. It is definitely not moms home cooked meals. I think i am afraid to eat anything with meat after one experience i had the other day, but i'll spare you the details. Ami has already asked me twice about the ice cream and i can say it is the best i've ever had. We only get the BYU creamery ice cream on Sundays and Wednesdays when the new missionaries come in. So i am looking forward to tomorrow! for that and then i also won't be the new kid anymore. The classes here are so helpful, and are always full of the spirit which also helps me to stay awake. Getting up at 6:30 gives me no time to get ready so i am always up long before that. Surprisingly i'm not that tired... yet. The classes really help me because before i had no clue how to go in to a lesson and start teaching. And now i have already taught Two investigators, and taught three of my teachers when they were acting as investigators they have taught on their missions. At first it was really nerve racking going in and teaching to someone you don't really know much about, but when you get to know them and they open up to you and you realize you aren't that different is when the spirit comes in and takes over the lesson. I can honestly say i am so grateful for the spirit because without it i would be so lost knowing what to say to an investigator. Also knowing what exactly to prepare to teach someone. I know i have said about 500 prayers already knowing what to do and to be inspired to know what to say. Sister Rhees and i have had so many good planning lessons when preparing to teach because we prayed to have the spirit guide us. And he sure guided us well!
So back to the classes that we have they are about 3 hours long and twice a day except for Sundays and Tuesdays and they are so good! There was one class in particular that was so good. It was called "How to begin Teaching." In this class I learned that I am not there to teach a lesson and leave. I am there to find the needs of the investigator and then help them fill that need. It was so awesome because the spirit was so strong and we also got to role play with each other on figuring out the needs of our investigators. It is so important to focus on other people rather than yourself. Sunday night we watched a talk given by the One and Only Elder David A. Bednar and he was speaking to the missionaries on a Christmas night a couple years ago. His devotional was called " Character of Christ" and he talked about how we need to look outward like Christ does rather than Inward like the natural man. And when we do that we not only will be better missionaries, but we will also be better people. I took so much out of it because he showed me that this life isn't about me. It is about other people and i can take a step back and focus on the needs and wants of others rather than myself. Just like what we learned in class. To focus and help others. that is the only way i want to live. Also focusing so much on other people really help me to not get sad or distracted by missing everyone too much. I found that is is so important to put all of my energy in this mission because that is the only way that i will be able to get through each day. I will not lie at times it gets hard, but i just say a prayer and dive in to the work and i am okay.
Since today is our preparation day also known as Pday we got to go to the Temple and Sister Rhees and i did an endowment session with the rest of our district. It was so nice outside today, so we walked around the temple and then we had to walk back to the MTC across the street. Well i am loving it here in Utah being able to look outside and see the mountains every day, but i am also so ready to get to Oregon and teach the people, well help them as i have learned while I've been here. We are teaching two investigators this week who are young and want to know more about the church. i can tell you more about how that goes next week after we have taught them a little more. I hope everyone is doing well! I love and Miss you all, but i know this is where i am supposed to be and that God has a plan for me. He prepared everything in my life and all i have to do to know what he wants for me is to listen to the spirit. I can't wait to talk to you all next week!
I forgot my camera today so Sister Simmons let me borrow her picture which is just of the Sisters in the district, and Elder Bouck in the background I will send more next week, but i will send more next week. Sister Rhees is the one in blue standing next to me!
Love, Jenna
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