"i love being a missionary"

Woo-hoo! It's finally p-day! Last week, we thought it would never come but this week has gone by so fast! I feel like there's so much to tell you but I absolutely LOVE the MTC! It has been an amazing experience so far! Thanks so much for the DearElders! They are the best because they are same day delivery. Our district leader checks the mail at lunch and dinner so send a quick one if you ever have time.

 

To answer some of your questions...

Eating has been good. Super similar to the Cannon Center at BYU. Not bad at all! It is kinda weird eating 3 meals a day though. I'm not really used to that haha! And our meal times are super weird. Breakfast is at 6:45...yeah whoever said missionaries wake up at 6:30 was kidding themselves. We've been waking up between 5:40 and 6 E.V.E.R.Y morning! Lunch is at 11:20 and dinner is at 4:20 so right around bedtime we get hungry again haha!

 

I definitely feel like I'm getting enough sleep but that might just be because I'm being blessed. We get so tired throughout the day and then when we're finally in our beds it's hard to fall asleep. But if we finish journal writing or whatnot sometimes we can go to sleep at little before 10:30.

 

It was SO nice of the Hartman's to let us send the picture on Father's Day! We ate dinner by them and it was fun to see them. So my companion is the tallest one, Hermana Torgersen. I absolutely love her! We have so much in common and we get along so well. She is from Gilbert, Arizona and is the oldest of 4 girls. She went to a year at ASU before her mission so she's 19. She's a dancer and took two years of spanish in high school which has helped us out a lot. The Elders say that we'll be able to get into any door because we just stand there and laugh when we don't know what to say. Our teacher said they'll probably just think we're crazy.

The blonde is Hermana Huber from Idaho. She went to 3 years at Utah State and is 3 months older than me. She is the most sweet and friendly person you'll ever meet! She is super motivated and has us do these really intense workouts with her during gym. We have a goal to be able to do 100 pushups by the end of the 6 weeks and then challenge the elders. After one week, we can do about 30.

The one with the short hair is Hermana Page originally from Wyoming but her family lives in Provo now. She also went to BYU and she is an adventurer. She is like the definition of living life to the fullest. Whenever she wants to do something, she just goes and does it! She went to Spain like last month for a week just because she wanted to. She has done everything from skydiving, to having a pet cameleon, to going to the ER 9 times. We love listening to her stories!

 

We get 60 min to email which is super nice and I'm trying to hurry because I just have so much to tell you! So fun that school's almost out! I bet the boys are thrilled! Did the band decide where they want to go next year? I wish I could have been there for the concert! Also look for me at the Broadcast on Sunday! I will be in the choir and I am so excited to sing right in front of the prophet! They have some really intense rules for what we can wear that day so I think I'm gonna wear my pink short sleeve shirt and my black skirt. And I'm gonna curl my hair. It's gonna be awesome!

 

I don't really remember what I told you in my letter from the first day but I'll share a little bit about my first week. So our teacher is Hermana Eyring, President Eyring's granddaughter. We love her so much! She is so kind and patient and loves to laugh with us and is a fabulous teacher. She went to Argentina on her mission and is going to be doing her student teaching internship this next year teaching first grade! We have class every day for like 6 hours so we spend a lot of time with each other. And 90% of it is all in spanish! It's amazing how much Heavenly Father blesses us with learning the language and how we are called to a spanish speaking mission for a reason. On friday, just two days after we got here we taught our first lesson in SPANISH. It was a very humbling experience. There was just a lot of awkward staring and silence but it's all good! We taught the next day too and I thinkSaturday was maybe the hardest day yet. I came back to the classroom after we taught and felt so awful. Our investigator was talking about how he didn't want to be with his family forever because they aren't normal and they aren't happy and how he feels lost and thinks it's too late to change. It was the most frustrating thing to sit in that room and understand everything he was saying and knowing exactly how to help him but not knowing how to say it. But he invited us back and we just think that the only reason is because he must of felt the spirit. So when Sunday came, it was just the thing we needed.

 

Everyone says make it to sunday and I didn't really know why, but it is so true! You don't have to worry about language or teaching or anything. Just about being spiritually uplifted and remembering why you're here as a missionary. And since then time has just flown by! Those first few days were long and really every day is long, but the week goes by so fast!

 

So our branch is pretty much THE BEST! Our branch presidency is absolutely amazing and I am so grateful for them! They run a tight ship but it really does help us to be the best missionaries we can be and to mature and grow while we're here. All the other missionaries in our zone are awesome too! They are so nice and helpful. Probably the best thing about being a new missionary, everyone wants to help you haha! So sacrament meeting is all in spanish. I led the music and I had no clue what I was singing, but I did know how to keep time haah! Sunday school is just with your district and relief society is with every sister in the MTC! It is so awesome! We watch Music and the Spoken Word which was on Father's Day. It really made me think about what an awesome dad I have and how grateful I am for him! Seriously, you are the best and I am so grateful for your example! Then there is a guest speaker. This sunday it was a counselor in the new Young Women's General Presidency. She has a southern accent and she gave a great talk. We went to choir and were so lucky to snatch a spot to sing at the broadcast! Devotional that night was awesome as well and was broadcasted for the first time in history from the west campus. We then went to watch The Character of Christ. It was a devotional given by David A. Bednar at the MTC a couple Christmases ago. I don't know if it is available, but if it is you need to watch it! It is seriously life changing!  This week we have just been learning a lot and teaching and practicing spanish. It is so awesome to be here!

 

It kinda feels like I'm still at BYU but it's wonderful. I have seen SO many people I know. An elder that was in my ward has taken pictures with at least 35 other people from our ward that he's seen since he's been here. I see Kadyn sometimes too which is fun! Provo summers are gorgeous and I am definitely coming back to do another summer term at BYU haha! Sometimes looking at the mountains and the beautiful blue sky, I just want to go play! Hike the Y or go rock climbing and just lay out in the sun.

 

I am doing so well and am just so excited to be here! It is honestly everything I hoped it would be and I know that I'm doing the right thing. I love being a missionary and love sharing my testimony. I have learned so much about my purpose and the worth of souls. We are all children of our loving Heavenly Father and he wants us to return to live with him! I love you all so much and miss you lots!

 

Adios!

Hermana Blackner