2nd Letter!

Oi, everbody!

 

AHHH! I love getting all of your letters so much! It makes me feel as if I am home with you all. The outfit from Bohme came and I LOVE it! Thank ou so muh. You guys spoil me too much :) How did I luck out on such ana amazing family??? Oh and I (and my hips) love and appreciate those MTC packages but you must be spending a fortune! Don't worry about sending me packages. The letters are plenty! Oh and Sister Nielson loved the letter and the packages so much and is just dying to meet "the best mother in the world." I definitely agree with that statement! Thank you so much for sending her some things. I think it really made her feel special. Oh! Happy Birthday! I tried getting you a birthday card at the MTC Bookstore but they were sold out! All they had was this hideous pastel sympathy card which is probably not the most adequate substitute (or maybe it is seeing you are well into the 40s ;).

 

We have devotionals every Tuesday nights and they are probably my favorite part of the MTC exeperience. So spiritually uplifting! I really loved the closing paragraph of his talk. "We must batle for the souls of men. We are not holding the line. We are charging forward with all our might, mind, and strength!" I felt like in high school I merely held the line. I followed my beliefs and kept the standards and didn't sway, but I didn't charge forward. I wasn't open about my beliefs and clutched them close. I was scared, you see. I was scared I'd be considered pushy, preachy, arrogant, or accused of having a "holier than thou" attitude. I was scared my beliefs would be mocked. It took a little bravery to hold the line, but a far greater courage is necessary to charge. We are in the battle for souls. My discomofrt and fear seem like insufficient barricades, when there is something so precious at stake. I am glad your ward is participating so much in the missionary efforts! We practiced tracting yesterday and that is so hard! Our pretend investigator was really busy and had an attitude of "ain't nobody got time for that." I think referrals would be so helpful, so I'm glad they are encouraging that!

 

You asked a little bit about what I do here in the MTC, so I'll type up my schedule. Every day is a little different but it basically looks like this:

6:30 Breakfast

7:00-10:00 Classroom Instruction (usually includes us teaching a lesson in Portuguese to an investigator)

10:00-11:00 Personal Study Time

11:00-11:45 Lunch

11:45-1:30 Additional Study time (I don't know if you have noticed but we study A LOT)

1:30-2:30 Language Study

2:30-3:30 Gym

4:00 Dinner

4:45-5:45 TALL (computer language program like Rosetta stone except the vocabulary consists of words like atonement, gospel, and Book of Mormon instead of banana, cell phone, and car)

6:00-9:00 Clasroom Instruction and another lesson with an investigator

9:00-9:30 Planning session

Personal time (for showers and what not) until lights out at 10:30

 

That's my life! But I have been really blessed. I am learning the language  quickly and I think it comes easier for  me than for others (not like that last bit matters at all), but best of all the "confidence and courage" promised in the set apart blessing has totally happened. I don't get nervous or frightened to give lessons or talk to complete strangers about the gospel. I actually thoroughly enjoy it! I like getting to know the investigators and hearing their stories. Many people have difficulty looking the investigator in the eyes, but I don't. I want to connect with them. I am animated and enthusiastic during the lessons. Who is this girl? It's like I'm not even the same person that I was before! I know the Lord has really strengthened me and I feel as if He is really preparing me to be a good and effective missionary. I don't want to let Him down, so I have worked really hard these last few weeks!

 

My district is really amazing. There are four girls (including myself) and ten boys. I'll go into more depth about their personalities next week, but we are all becoming really good friends! I am sending a picture of all of us so at least you get some kind of visual.

 

Oh and I almost forgot to tell you about our first investigator. His name is Rajen and he is from Nepal, but is attending BYU. Anyway, it turns out he was a real investigator! Or at least he represented a real investigator. Our teacher was impersonating his friend, Rajen, who is taking the lessons from our teacher. Our teacher said he used some of the things from our lesson to teach Rajen! So we have practically had our first baptism already :) During our last lesson with the fakey Rajen, I felt the Spirit more strongly than I have probably ever felt when testifying of the Holy Ghost. I know that fakey Rajen felt it too. My companion even thanked me for my testimony and said that it was the strongest she had felt the Spirit during any of our lessons! SO COOL!  

 

Pops! Good luck on your board exam. I have been praying every day that you will do well!

All grown up and heading out to serve.  Whitney is heading to Japan!

Morgan and Whitney in Waco Texas for Thanksgiving!

Thanks so much for sharing your experience at the MTC with me! What a powerful story! I had a story that was kind of similar. While my companion and I prepared our lesson we both felt the need to look up the Portuguese word for 'pride.' It was so ludicrous that we ignored it. We had a lot to do and study before our lesson and this word didn't even apply to the lesson we planned to teach! During the lesson, Rajen asked us to explain "orgulho" and why it was bad. My oompanion and I just stared at him in stunned disbelief. What was that and what did that have to do with our lesson?? After about five minutes of pantonmine and drawing on the board, we discovered that "orgulho" actually means pride! We wasted a quarter of our lesson because we didn't follow a prompting. It taught me an important lesson though and that is to follow promptings no matter how small. Especially if our companion has the same prompting!

 

Caden! Oh my goodness. How does such a little guy have so much sass?? Your letter left me giggling throughout the entire day. So Portuguese. It is a little tricky. For example the word for repentence is "arrependimento". Looks like Spanish? YES. Pronounced like Spanish? NO. The "rr" makes an "h" sound and the "d" makes a "g" sound. So knowing some Spanish doesn't exactly come in handy in most situations. But it isn't too hard and I think I am catching on pretty quickly. Oh and I hate to break it to you, Cay-Cay, but you are only just a temporary replacement in Jack's heart. We all know the second I get home who his favorite will be :)

 

BJ! Congrats on saving so much money! And I am so proud of you for reading your scriptures! I know it will make your life so much better. You will feel peace and confidence in yourself. At least that is how it is for me :) I have a goal to read the Book of Mormon in Portuguese so I guess we will see who finished first :)

 

Sorry this letter was so sporatic! But I want you all to know that love you very very much and pray for you daily.

 

Love, Sister Daniels

 

PS I just saw Whitney Harris and we took a picture. But just know that this is the only day I have left the dorm in a T-Shirt and no makeup. Bad timing is my one weakness it would seem :)

 

( I love her reference to Larkrise to Candleford!)