Week 2- Glad of Heart, His Holy Name Confessing

Letter 2 from the MTC

Hello family and friends!
How are you doing? Family, thank you so much for the package! The shoes fit perfectly and the sweater and belt were exactly what I needed. The shoes are so comfortable- I feel like I am floating on clouds. But I think I will save them for Paraguay based on the look my comp gave me. They are definitely comfortable sister missionary shoes, not the most stylish. Haha =) And the chocolate and letters were perfect. I also got cookies and letters from the candy counter this week and it made me so happy. I miss the counter but I know that serving the Lord is a good alternative to serving candy. Lol.

Thank you for all the love and support I receive from friends and family at home. It means a lot to me and it's so fun hearing from you!

This week was full of one of the things I love the most- music. Last Friday my companions and I couldn't take conjugating another Spanish verb and so we spent an hour singing hymns in Spanish. One of my comps, Hna. Peel is an amazing soprano which works out great since I am an alto and Hna. Van Dusen just follows the soprano. We sang and it was so great. The Spirit was song and all the elders in our district were so calm and really enjoyed it. Saturday night one of the zone leaders asked if we would sing in sacrament because he said that we sound like angels. We agreed and sang "Abide with Me" in Spanish. It was awesome. One of our counselors, who taught Young Ambassadors at BYU for 4 yrs, said it sounded great. I am just happy I still get to sing- even if it isn't with my lovely sister Taylor. =)

On Sunday night, we had a musical fireside and at the end we didn't a little different rendition of Called to Serve. It was breathtaking. We had the piano being played with fanfare and we started out softly and then continued to sing louder. At the end when it says "called to serve our king" on king, all 2000 of the missionaries in the room stood up. It was like singing with the Army of Helaman. Just as there were 2000 stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon, we have also been taught in our youth and we are going forth to all corners of the earth to preach the truth about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I wish you could have been there because there was such a great power and spirit in the room that I can't explain.

I also sang in the MTC choir a song called "Precious Savior, Sweet Reedeemer." It made me think about how throughout my whole life, the Savior has always been there for me. In the hard times and the good times, He has always been by my side to comfort me and help me and I know he will continue to do so throughout my mission. The elders in my district said they did a zoom in on my face (they film it like general conference) haha so I guess I am pretty famous now. Just kidding.

We contacted at the TRC (teaching resource center) where volunteers come in and pretend to be investigators. We did it in Spanish which was scary but fun. Tomorrow and Friday we will be teaching lesson 1 in Spanish. It's scary but it's good. As long as we have the Spirit there we can get our message across even if we don't always use the correct grammar. The Spanish is coming along- it's really easy for me to memorize vocab- it's the verbs that are killing me. You have the conjugate the verb for who is speaking and what tense you are in. A lot different than English. But i love the way Spanish sounds. I am getting more comfortable hearing and speaking it.

My companions are good and the district is fun. We have all grown so much as missionaries. I can't believe it's been 2 weeks. I feel like i have been here for months because of the amount of learning that has taken place and the closeness of relationships that have been formed. I feel like I have inherited 5 little brothers- the elders in my district and it is just a reminder of how different girls are than guys. They are fun, a little immature but loveable. They keep us "hermanas" entertained. I am still glad I have all sisters though =)

So I will confess. I LOVE the MTC. There is no place like it in the whole world and I feel blessed to be able to spend time learning with no distractions and just focus on my relationship with the Savior and Heavenly Father as well as companions and my district. I can't wait for Paraguay though. I can only imagine how many fun adventures and amazing people I will meet. I heard that most sisters get lice at least 2-3 times while they are there. FUN. Haha. But don't cringe mom. I will take the bugs and the dirt because it will be so worth it.

I know that I am where I am supposed to be and when I was walking in the MTC the other day, i thought to myself "there is no place else I would rather be." Because although it's demanding and challenging and tiring, it's still fun and enlightening and great. I've never really been a stranger to hard work and I can tell that that pays off because it's not like this the first time I am really working hard and studying in my life.

Called to know the richness of his blessing-

Sons and daughters, children of a King-

Glad of heart, his holy name confessing,

Praises unto him we bring."

Just so know that you are in my prayers and that I love you all. This is God's true church and if we obey the commandments, we will be blessed.

Te amo,

Hermana Brittner