Hey Family and Friends!
Hola from the mtc! I love this place already so much! And am so excited for the amazing opportunity! I miss you guys but I feel like I have been able to keep it together thankfully. The first night I woke up at 2am and couldn't get back to sleep for ages and just kept thinking of how long I really was going to be gone and all that good stuff...luckily I fell asleep after awhile and in the morning was as good as new! I still think its gonna hit me in like two weeks but until then I am just trying to keep the right perspective and keep working hard!:)
I guess I should start and just tell you about the whole 2 and a half days I have been here! woot woot! It feels like its been forever but already we are all feeling more confident and more like missionaries!
After I left you I went and checked in...it was pretty straight forward...told them my name, they pinned my name tag on my left shoulder, picked up my materials and dragged my luggage to my room. I was only the second girl in there so I promptly claimed a bottom bunk! wahoo! Then the lovely sister showed me my classroom and left me in there with my district. We hadn't all arrived yet so we waited awhile longer until everyone showed up. The last girl to arrive was this adorable blonde, She was crying as she walked in and I just wanted to jump up and hug her! Later as we went around the room introducing ourselves I found out she was my companion! It is just perfect! I love her so much already and we get along famously. We have alot in common too, she loves to sing, took voice lessons for 7 years and yet is very humble about it. She loves running too, yesterday during our gym time we went running around the mtc. It felt so good! Anyways love her, and the rest of my district, we are all getting to know eachother better and learning to love eachother and it is so amazing! There are two other sisters with us in our district and we all are in the same room, just us four which is awesome because the room is meant for 6 so we have some extra space. We get along so good, they are all darling girls and we are all going to the same mission so its possible I could be companions later on with anyone of them, which I would love! I am the oldest in my district. All the girls are 19 and the boys 18 or 19...I deffinatly can tell how young they are sometimes but it really evens out pretty good. Sis Smith my comp actually just got called to be the sister training leader, my calling is music coordinator with Sis. Pugh. Haha, I think I never will be able to escape that calling!
We have really had some amazing experiences already, Besides all the orientation classes and what not we have had a significant amount of classroom time with our incredible teacher Brother Morris. He returned about a year ago from his mission to South Africa and is so cool! We have learned so much from him. Mostly because he is such a humble, sincere teacher and the spirit is able to just get straight through to us. Yesterday we learned about having a vision to drive us forward in missionary work which blew our minds, then we had a lesson on "The Doctrine of Christ" which left us all with such a sweet spirit, It was the most amazing lesson I have ever had and all I could think was "EVERY MEMBER OF THE CHURCH SHOULD HAVE THIS LESSON!" I realize though, its really just being here, this amazing place is so inspiring and the distractions of the world are cut down to almost nothing, That really does make all the difference and then add in the amazing motivation that is everywhere shouting at us to be better and raise the bar and listen, listen, listen more and work hard and stay focused! It really has had such a profound effect on me. I have never enjoyed reading the scriptures so much before! One of my favorite Elders in our district, he actually just got called to be a zone leader is Elder Harris, it was so cool, we had all just had an awesome lesson and we look over and he is grinning to himself, then he tells us, "That was so enjoyable! No seriously I have never enjoyed something so much as reading that passage of scripture!" It was awesome when he said that because I had just been thinking the exact same thing! He is actually a convert from arizona, and it has been so cool to hear his perspective of the gospel. All of the other Elders in our District are awesome as well, They have a hard time staying focused sometimes but it all works out and in the end we always feel the spirit and learn so much when we are all together.
So the here has actually been pretty good, Of course the normal stuff all the elders eat looks nasty and so so fake. But when you are looking for the healthy stuff you really can find it. They have Oatmeal and Cracked Wheat hot cereal for breakfast which I usually have with raisins and honey and then some melon too. Somtimes they have hard boiled eggs around which I can grab too! Lunch and dinner they have a decent wrap bar or I can grab a salad. So hopefully I will be able to stay pretty healthy! I am feeling pretty great! Sometimes already I feel really tired. The beds are not the most comfortable things so I think its gonna take a few days to get a really good nights sleep on them...or else I will be too dead tired to even care!
So as far as my mtc stay, I will actually be here for three weeks. Unlike our elders who we have to say good bye to on the 14th, they are all going to either Fresno, California or Salt Lake City South Missions. Us Sisters will probably fly out on Aug 20th. So hopefully I will get to call you then.
(sigh) The first two days were really kinda a daze. I walk around and see all the other sisters just like me wearing nametags and I seriously keep forgetting that I am wearing one too. But yesterday when we had our first real classroom experience and were so focused on Learning about Christ and feeling the spirit it finally hit me! I feel like a missionary!!!! It still rocks my world when I remember that this isnt some amazing education week experience or mini 4 week mission or something but the REAL DEAL, But I know now that I really would never come home early, How could I? Not when there are people waiting to here the gospel in Ohio. They are people I love and will cherish for the rest of my life...I JUST HAVEN'T MET THEM YET! Isn't that crazy! It kinda killed all us Sisters when we found out we had to stay for an extra week, we just can't wait to get out there, but really we need the extra training!
I love love love this place and have been so incredibly blessed. Really, I can feel so impressed already that this is one of the most important things I have begun in my life, I know there is so much ahead of me still and I know I will just keep growing leaps and bounds but I can't even tell you how amazing it feels to have such purpose, To know, without a doubt that this is Gods Work and we are ANXIOUSLY ENGAGED in it! Its Incredible! And I know you all can be too! I love you all so much! Keep praying for me! I am doing my best but am realizing so clearly how I really know nothing, I am praying for you as well, always! Love you!
P.s. My pday is friday so I better have alot of letters waiting for me either in my inbox or mailbox k!!! I wanna hear from you guys!
Love,
Sister Newren!
If you want to write Hannah her email is hannah.newren@myldsmail.net
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