Bienvenidos al CCM!
Hola a todos!
It has been a crazy week. No one tells you what it's really like in the MTC, so I'll take one for the team. It's an adjustment. The best way I can describe it is by saying it's a rollercoaster. One minute you're great, learning fast, feeling the spirit and connecting with people, and the next you're overwhelmed and anxious and frustrated. And it's been like that for everyone I've talked to here. I think once you make it to your week mark, everything gets better and I feel more comfortable with the schedule already, so it's only going up from here.
So I have an awesome room. My companion, Hermana Corgiat is great. She's from Ogden, she's a soccer player and she's also going to Madrid! Que Bueno! The other companionship in our room consists of Hermana Wade, who is from Salt Lake, is majoring in linguistics and is going to Lima, Peru, and Hermana Stowell, who's from Murray, is going into elementary education and is going to Piura, Peru. The four of us have bonded and we always have a great time.
The Elders in our district are kind of crazy. Yesterday we were having a heated argument about if bananas are berries, and one of them, named elder Ward, yelled into the cafeteria, "Does anyone know anything about bananas?!" And another elder walking past immediately stopped and exclaimed, "Oh, I know a tOn about bananas. Do you know the wonders they do for your skin?"
In class one of the Elders had a thought to share and said "ok, this is for the elders, I don't know if it'll help the sisters as much. When I'm talking to like an uber driver or someone I'm having a conversation with, I suggest that you just imagine that whoever you're talking to is a beautiful woman. Then you'll be interested in their lives and seem genuinely engaged." When he said that, I made eye contact with the hermanas across the room and we silently communicated that we would discuss this later. Is that the only way he can talk to people or have a conversation? I guess I'll never know the inner workings of the mind of an Elder, but I'm not sure if I want to anyway.
I think one of the coolest things happened on Sunday/Monday, and it's kind of a long story. So my companion has been really struggling with the language and feeling overwhelmed. She also just realized that she really does love her boyfriend at home, who is an RM. She was talking to a random girl at a devotional, and the girl said both she and her boyfriend are on missions. When my companion explained to her that her boyfriend is an RM, the girl said to her "oh. Well why are you here then?" It was very discouraging and made her rethink the prompting she received to serve. She was really down, which is unlike her personality, and I tried to talk her through it and explain the options but she still didn't know what to do. The next day, we asked the elders in our district (there are 6 elders and 4 sisters) for blessings of comfort for all of us. The boys, as I've told you all, are crazy and pretty immature. But when they each put their hands on our heads and gave us blessings, we each knew that the priesthood was real. The elder that gave Hermana Stowell her blessing usually struggles a lot with Spanish in class, but he pronounced her area of Piura with perfect fluency. They each blessed us with things they would never have known about us, and we were all so grateful that they agreed to help us. My companion is now sure of her decision again and is motivated to make it through the MTC. One of the things it said in my blessing was that I would know throughout my mission that I am here for a reason, in the exact right place, at the exact right time. That was very comforting to me.
It has been a crazy week. No one tells you what it's really like in the MTC, so I'll take one for the team. It's an adjustment. The best way I can describe it is by saying it's a rollercoaster. One minute you're great, learning fast, feeling the spirit and connecting with people, and the next you're overwhelmed and anxious and frustrated. And it's been like that for everyone I've talked to here. I think once you make it to your week mark, everything gets better and I feel more comfortable with the schedule already, so it's only going up from here.
All I've eaten this week has been salad, soup & fruit. The cafeteria isn't exactly bad, but those are the things I've gravitated towards.
So I have an awesome room. My companion, Hermana Corgiat is great. She's from Ogden, she's a soccer player and she's also going to Madrid! Que Bueno! The other companionship in our room consists of Hermana Wade, who is from Salt Lake, is majoring in linguistics and is going to Lima, Peru, and Hermana Stowell, who's from Murray, is going into elementary education and is going to Piura, Peru. The four of us have bonded and we always have a great time.
The Elders in our district are kind of crazy. Yesterday we were having a heated argument about if bananas are berries, and one of them, named elder Ward, yelled into the cafeteria, "Does anyone know anything about bananas?!" And another elder walking past immediately stopped and exclaimed, "Oh, I know a tOn about bananas. Do you know the wonders they do for your skin?" 
In class one of the Elders had a thought to share and said "ok, this is for the elders, I don't know if it'll help the sisters as much. When I'm talking to like an uber driver or someone I'm having a conversation with, I suggest that you just imagine that whoever you're talking to is a beautiful woman. Then you'll be interested in their lives and seem genuinely engaged." When he said that, I made eye contact with the hermanas across the room and we silently communicated that we would discuss this later. Is that the only way he can talk to people or have a conversation? I guess I'll never know the inner workings of the mind of an Elder, but I'm not sure if I want to anyway.
Also, one of the Elders leaned over to me during a workshop and said "hey, Hermana Carlson. Did you know that you're among less than 1% of the population? Because you have red hair and blue eyes" and his companion said, "way to make a girl feel special Elder". So it's been interesting.
I think one of the coolest things happened on Sunday/Monday, and it's kind of a long story. So my companion has been really struggling with the language and feeling overwhelmed. She also just realized that she really does love her boyfriend at home, who is an RM. She was talking to a random girl at a devotional, and the girl said both she and her boyfriend are on missions. When my companion explained to her that her boyfriend is an RM, the girl said to her "oh. Well why are you here then?" It was very discouraging and made her rethink the prompting she received to serve. She was really down, which is unlike her personality, and I tried to talk her through it and explain the options but she still didn't know what to do. The next day, we asked the elders in our district (there are 6 elders and 4 sisters) for blessings of comfort for all of us. The boys, as I've told you all, are crazy and pretty immature. But when they each put their hands on our heads and gave us blessings, we each knew that the priesthood was real. The elder that gave Hermana Stowell her blessing usually struggles a lot with Spanish in class, but he pronounced her area of Piura with perfect fluency. They each blessed us with things they would never have known about us, and we were all so grateful that they agreed to help us. My companion is now sure of her decision again and is motivated to make it through the MTC. One of the things it said in my blessing was that I would know throughout my mission that I am here for a reason, in the exact right place, at the exact right time. That was very comforting to me.
I know that it's been a lot harder than I ever expected in the MTC so far, but I don't doubt why I'm here or if it's the right decision. I know that even though I'm the only 20-year-old in my district, my papers took 14 months for a reason and this is the right time for me to be here and find the people I need to meet. I've already been so blessed to know my hermanas and my district and zone, and I know there is so much more once I get to the field.
One more blessing I received was that I would always have the knowledge that I'm a daughter of God. A scripture I've loved this week is Roman's 12:2, which says "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." We aren't from here, this isn't our home. The people here on Earth all chose God's plan and I have the opportunity to find and meet these sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father and help them to remember how to come back home to Him.
That's about all I have time for but I love you all so much! hope you have a great day and week!
Hermana Carlson
Comments
Post a Comment