Hola familia! Como estan?! Did you
get my letter yet? I sent it out on Saturday...but I don't think the mail was
running since it was the 4th of July. I'm snail mailing the letter for Grandma
Anderton to you; can you please type it up when you get it? My handwriting is
absolutely atrocious because I was writing super-fast because I needed to get
all my thoughts down. I will drop that in the mailbox tomorrow morning
probably. Thanks for the letters and packages. I really appreciate them, you
have no idea. Even though I don't have time to write back very much, I really
appreciate receiving letters. I pretty much marched around showing the family
pictures to everyone; I was super excited to see them. We are the cutest family
on the planet...I'm pretty sure. How is the car from the guy in the gas station
on the 4th of July? I started laughing out loud reading that letter Mom. You
are funny even in writing. Dad, your letters make me soooo happy! I love them!
I know my daddy loves me :)
Well, this week my schedule didn't
change much. Dad's right...it's a lot like "Groundhogs Day" here. But
it's a good day every day. However, there are quite a few highlights and
thoughts I will tell you guys about. Once again, please forgive me for my
scatterbrained-ness. There is limited time here! So here we go: On Monday the
other Hermanas and I were going crazy. We had been studying super hard and it
was HOT in our classroom. I mean, we would laugh about everything. So in our
crazy-state, we decided to give everyone in our district "Spirit
Animals" which are basically what you would be if you were an animal. So
here's the list, it's awesome: Elder Lamm is a mountain lion because he is an
outdoorsy guy who knows everything about nature, Elder Pinder is a panda bear
because we just adore him (he's like the baby of the district and we all want
to take care of him), and Elder Smith is a puppy because he's eager to please
people and is very obedient. Hermana Andrews is a sea-otter because she is
attached to her baby blanket (just like sea otters get attached to their
favorite rock). Hermana Gardner is a dove because she is super graceful and
fluttery. Hermana Storms, aka the best companion on the planet, is a
bumbstermel (a bumblebee, hamster, and a camel. she drinks water like crazy and
is super cute so yeah...that's where we got that animal haha), and I'm a
fainting goat because I get really excited about things and stuff. (Go look up
fainting goat on YouTube and you will totally see me as a fainting goat. It's
so realistic it's ridiculous!) SO yeah, that's what we do for fun. To celebrate
the 4th of July, we watched "17 Miracles" which reminded me of trek
and stuff...then "Savior, Redeemer of my Soul" started playing during
the middle of the movie...that's my favorite hymn...and I cried for the first
time since I've been in the MTC. Haha, most people cry for the first time for
other reasons...and I cried because of a movie. But really, the pioneers hold
such a special spot in my heart because of the sacrifices they made and their
legacy of faith they left. So I guess I was just not prepared for my 4th of
July celebration to leave me in tears, and that's why I probably cried harder
than anyone else during the movie. Anyways, after the movie we went outside and
watched the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire and we could hear Carrie
Underwood singing! So that was cool and fun. We got to stay up past our
bedtime, hooray! I really am struggling with this sleeping schedule, I won't
lie. I'm not a morning person. But luckily my companion is, so she just turns
on the light and then I can't sleep anymore so it all works haha. A funny
thought the hermanas and I had this week: We have no idea what everyone is
talking about when they say you will gain weight in the MTC. If anything, I'm
losing some because I can't keep the food in me for more than 20 minutes, none
of us can haha. So we are super excited to see what Mexican food does to us! So
if you want, feel free to send me food! (Hi-Chews, green
apple flavor would be FABULOUS!) On Sunday, Hermana Storms and I were called to
be the Online Coordinators for our zone...we had no idea that those existed,
but said yes anyway. The mystery was solved and now we can do our job. I also
was asked to pray for the beginning of fast and testimony meeting in Spanish, I
cannot tell you how terrified I was to pray in front of people in Spanish. Oh
man, I about peed my skirt. I am super nervous to pray in front of people in
English...let alone a language I'd been learning for only 10 days. But I just
went up there and words came out and it was fine. My Spanish is actually coming
along pretty good. I have to try hard, but my efforts are paying off fast. I
don't feel too stressed about the language at all, so that's been a great
blessing. I seriously struggle for some English words now. Today we went up to
main campus and I seriously can't say "Hello, how are you doing?"
without thinking about it. Down here on West Campus we have our own little
Spanish village, so saying stuff in Spanish or at least Spanglish is just the
way we roll.
That's pretty much my life this week
in a nutshell: Working hard and playing kind of hard. I know I'm where I am
supposed to be! I keep having Deja vu moments like crazy. I can't tell you how
much I love this. I mean, I already loved this gospel so much, but I'm just
growing to love it more. It's crazy. I just want to run around the entire world
and tell everyone! Elder Andersen came and spoke to us for Tuesday evening
devotional and he talked about the Holy Ghost. I was sitting there just
thinking about all the opportunities I've had to feel His influence and His
comfort this week and reflected on how grand of a gift it really is to have a
member of the Godhead with us always. SOOOOO SPECIAL!! Saturday was actually a
little rough for me and the Holy Ghost really just assured me that being myself
was sufficient and that I was going to be okay, it was awesome. I just really
can't explain how excited I am to be on the Lord's errand. I volunteered to be
here, and I'm so happy I answered the call extended to me to come. SO HAPPY!
Well, I hope all is well with you all. Don't worry too much about me, I am
being watched over and my district is my little family here. I love them so
much. The hermanas are my soul-sisters, pretty sure! Well, have a great week!
XOXOXOXOXO I miss you guys! But I will see you every day for the rest of my
life, so we are all good :)
CON MUCHO AMOR,
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