Ole Familia y Amigos? March 2, 2011
Como le va? Estoy bien. I am officially a three-week old missionary! I feel like I am ancient here at the MTC. I remember the first day I came in and we met the three-week old sisters and we thought they were so experienced. Haha. Now I know better =) But really, I have been at the MTC for almost a month. I can't believe it. I feel like I have been here for months actually.
Thank you for all your letters and packages. I love getting mail! And hearing how you are doing. Even though I can't send pictures out, I can still receive them so feel free to attach some =)
This week was good. We taught the first lesson again in Spanish. We have "pretend investigators" come in each week and we teach them the lesson. This week we taught three girls from Argentina who were friends of my teacher, Hma. Ortega. We taught them about the Restoration of the Gospel and how much God loves them. Hma. Ortega said that even though they knew the Gospel and are members of the church, that one of the girls was having a really hard time and our lesson lifted her spirits and reminded her of what's important in life. We were so glad to hear that- that even with our Spanish that is improperly conjugated and limited vocabulary, that the Spirit can still reach out and touch someone- that through us as missionaries, we can help people feel the love of God.
It's still weird to me that I am "the missionaries." Like I could be one of those sets of missionaries walking on the street and you honk your horn and wave because it's "the missionaries." It's cool though, I like it. It's just amazing to me that I am a missionary now.
My companions and I have made a compromise on the early morning working out. Instead of getting up at 5:45 five days a week, we only go twice a week. For some reason, they don't rejoice in waking up early to go running as I do =) But I am happy because we still get 50 minutes of gym time everyday as well. Mmmm volleyball and weights.
Our district has been getting closer as we study and help each other learn Spanish and the Gospel. It's five elders, my two companions and myself. One of the elders, Elder Bigelow thinks that I look just like Kirsten Dunst. And he thinks of me as the girl from Spiderman and Captain Torrence from Bring it On. So much so, that in class he asked Hermana Ortega, "Como se dice "bring it on" en Espanol? Meaning how do you say bring it on in Spanish? Because he thinks of me as a cheerleader. Haha. Needless to say, the teacher didn't respond. It's pretty entertaining being in a class with elders all day. But, can I just say how excited I am that we are getting three new sisters in our zone today? Right now the only sisters in our district are my two comps and 2 other sisters and like 30 elders.
On Sunday in Relief Society, Sister Ann M. Dibbs, counselor in the General Young Women's Presidency and our prophet Thomas S. Monson's daughter spoke to us. It was so cool to hear from her. She taught us how to be "PROS" at life. Little sisters and mom, I wish you could have been there.
Here's what she said:
P-pray every day morning and night on your knees and thank God for your blessings and ask for the Spirit to guide you in your life.
R- Read from the Book of Mormon for 5 minutes everyday because there is great power in the Book of Mormon.
O- Be obedient to the commandments of God.
S- Smile always because that is how you share the light and happiness of the Gospel of others.
I am striving to do each of these things everyday. I remember, before I was a missionary =), it's so easy to get distracted and forget to do these simple things. But when we do them, it shows God that we are striving to come closer to Him and through that, we are building our faith. It is worth it and I would challenge each of you to do these four things everyday.
After she talked about this, she talked about what it was like growing up with her father- who is now a prophet on the earth today. It was so interesting. Mom, you would have loved it. It's funny because she kept saying "my dad" and talking about the kind things he would do and the quirky things that make him unique. And it made me think about Grandpa and how much I love him and how grateful I am that I can see him again in heaven and live with him through all eternity. I am so grateful for an example of Christ-like love that I know my Grandpa was. I am so grateful to be his granddaughter.
Although I love the MTC, I know it will be only a short time and my time will be up. Then I will be in Paraguay!! Woohoo! I hear that they eat iguanas and crocodiles =) And that the people LOVE to eat =) And that Latinos are very loving and always willing to listen. They will never turn you away. My teacher said that she would knock on doors and then walk into people's homes without being invited in and they wouldn't care. They are always willing to let you in and listen because doing otherwise is disrespectful. Getting them to come to church is a bit more difficult, however.
Leslie and Dano- Congratulations on getting engaged!!! So happy and excited for you! I was jumping up and down when I got the letter =) I wish I could be there to be your bridesmaid but I know that it will be a beautiful wedding and a beautiful marriage. I love you guys =)
Becca Davidson- Happy Birthday to your cute, fat babies this upcoming week! Take some extra pictures for me and smother them with kisses.
Shout out to BYU Basketball and Jimmer- number 3 in the country!! I can't believe I am missing such a good season. Ahhh...but I know I am in the right place. Oh Jimmer. I hope all of you friends of mine who are at BYU cheer extra loud for me =)
What questions do you have for me? I am not really sure what to talk about in these emails but I hope what I am writing will suffice. I love you all and I am so grateful to have you in my life.
Something that you might appreciate is some missionary humor. There is a myth that whenever you drop a Book of Mormon, your future spouse gets uglier. Haha. So whenever someone in class drops a Book of Mormon, everyone cringes and there is an audible "ooooohh." Haha. My teacher relayed an experience on her mission in Chile when she was carrying 50 Book of Mormons home in a box and she tripped on a crack and dropped all of them. Needless to say, she still isn't married so we can't know if this myth is true. Haha. But I can't imagine that it would be. She is the cutest and funniest sister ever. I just love her. She is from Argentina and she is such a good example to me. She is 24 and in the United States learning English at the BYU English Learning Center.
I love you all and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary. =) Hope everything is going well. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Until next week,
Love always and forever,
Te amo,
Hermana Brittner
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