I've only been here 4 days........
4 extremely long days. Everyone here says that your duration of the mtc is the fastest eternity ever. Haha get it? At the end when you look back it seems like such a blur but when you are going through it the days are endless and tiresome.
In the best way possible of course ;)
Soooo seriously this week has been crazy and its all jumbled into one big mess and so this email is going to be probably very confusing and not orderly at all and so ahead of time, i apologize. When i actually get the hang of this mission thing I'm sure my emails will be more fun and easier to read haha.
Ok so lets start out.
Where I'm staying:
In the west wing at the wyview apartments. All of the spanish speakers are located in a whole different set of building and apartments about 5 minutes from the real mtc. Its actually kind of nice because they are way more relaxed here and we have so many more privileges.
Haha actually people tell me we have more privileges than the main mtc but I have yet to find out exactly what those privileges are.....
My companion:
Hannah Ramirez. I thought she would be way hispanic because of the last name but she is the whitest chica ever! Haha blonde hair, blue eyes. Her dad is from Venezuela but somehow she got all of the white genes from her mom. She actually lived in Venezuela for a couple of years so she understands Spanish way better than I do. Shes from SLC and is the exact opposite of me. She grew up with a maid, has more shoes than I have clothes and talks ALLOT but hey I've already decided I'm going to love her. I pray about that every night and so far it is really helping. Its amazing to see how you really can begin to love a person who you initially dont like them at first. Hopefully that love will only grow and continue.....even though at times oh my goodness my patience is tested.
My district:
All girls. 6 of us. First impression: There was a girl who had sewn CTR patches all over her suitcase. There was another girl who had a quilted bed spread she made at home.
Yikes. I DO NOT BELONG HERE.
OR FIT IN.
Theres definitely a reason they dont let you write home the first couple of days because I honestly did not have to many good things to say.
I felt out of place.
My teachers only spoke in Spanish. And they still only speak in spanish. It was soooo confusing and I just sat there staring at them. Its also really frustrating because they will give us instruction and then leave....but.....we don't know what they said so we end up just sitting there.
Like for example yesterday. I guess one of our privileges is not having a completely structured day?? But its hard because I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT A MISSIONARY IS SUPPOSSED TO DO from hours 12:00- 4:30.....
But I'm figuring it out.
Seriously the days get better and better as the week goes on.
What my days looks like:
6:30 wake up
7:00 eat (yes I get ready in 30 minutes. Yes I am soooo proud of myself)
8:00-12:00 class
12:00 lunch
12:15-4:30 class
4:30 dinner
5:15-9:30 class
10:15 personal time
10:30 bed
except on P-day. Because its our day off instead of waking up at 6:30 we get to wake up at...
drum roll
5:30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yup so thats my day. A LOT of class time. A LOT of sitting in one stuffy room.
But let me explain about the really good stuff.
So 2 days ago I was really feeling down. Most of the sisters in my district have alot more previous spanish experience than i do....which leaves me feeling dumb. And I already told you at first I didn't feel like I fit in exactly. Well that night the branch president came to our classroom because we were doing a get to know you and he had to interview us. So heres how it went
Every girl: Hi I'm so and so. I'm from Utah. I'm 19 years old. I've only been to 1 semester of school. I've ALWAYS wanted to be a missionary. Then they bear a testiony.
Seriously EVERY GIRL said that,
Then it was my turn. Ummmmmmm yeah ok
Me: I'm Laurel Wells. From Seattle. Went to BYU Hawaii for 1.5 years. I DID NOT always want to be a missionary and it took me a long time to figure out that I did. Then i bore my testimony about the power of the atonement.
That was it. Yup black sheep right here. Holla.
So then we had interviews. The branch President is so cute and old but so so nice. He asked me allot of questions about my family and when he asked about Bethany I started to tear up a bit as I told him about her having cancer. It was embarrassing but he said 'Hermana Wells I'm so glad you told me." Then he had me read some scriptures about how Joseph Smith left his family and God promised that he would watch over them and bless them with miracles. So then I cried even more. And then he said
Hermana Wells, Me and my counselors have talked and the spirit has confirmed that you are to be our DISTRICT LEADER.
speechless.
I can't even take care of myself yet but now I have to take care of other people??
BUT that showed me something. For some reason God doesn't care that I can't sew or that I didn't always want to be a missionary. He needs all different types of missionaries for specific purposes so I guess he sees something in me that I don't even see in myself yet. Kinda cool hu? Definitely a tiny miracle that picked up my spirits tremendously.
So there ya have it. DL.
I was so stressed that night but I've calmed down and I know that I will be able to figure everything out in time haha.
Also with time I am coming to love the mtc. My teachers are fantastic. So fantastic. I have 3 of them. And wanna know what?
In high school my desire to learn Spanish was that of Laman and Lemuels desire to be righteous.
Yeah it just wasn't there.
BUT I LOVE learning spanish. Everyone talks about a how missionaries experience a certain power and spirit and it is so true.
I don't know how to describe it but I feel happy all the time and at peace. Spanish is coming and I am learning it SO fast. Whenever my teacher asks me a question and I don't know how to respond suddenly the sentence will appear in my mind and I'll say it without even realizing that I know the answer. I just have to not be afraid to speak.
Its incredible. I wish everyone could feel what I feel right now. I feel different. And I like that difference. I seriously feel that miracles are happening in my life. And I am striving to be EXACTLY obedient so you guys can have miracles in your life as well.
Obedience brings blessings. Strict obedience brings miracles.
Amazing right?!
Classes are becoming easier as well. I understand Spanish way more than I can speak it. We also taught our first investigator yesterday! I was terrified but it went well. Through charades and guessing, I could understand her and she could understand me. I LOVE teaching investigators. I can't wait to do it in Mexico.
Speaking of Mexico...
I GOT MY VISA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I go to SLC next week to show up in some place to get pictures taken.
Also, my district has bonded and we are so close now which is awesome. I love the girls even though they are so different than me.
Ok well I'm on a time limit, (seriously time here stresses ME OUT because we are timed on EVERYTHING) but I want to include some pictures. So I'm going to wrap things up.
Line of the week:
Elder: Hermana, have you ever seen a deer with 20 heads?
Me: ......................... (crickets chirping...)
Elder: If you chop one off, 2 more will grow!
Me:....................... no I have not seen one but if I do I'll letcha know....
Elders. Love them but they are so weird.
Funny things:
I'm on the top bunk so so far I've slammed my head on the ceiling and almost fallen off and killed myself while trying to climb down.
I also almost fell off our couch because I leaned back thinking there was a back rest but there wasn't. Everything under neath my skirt was TOTALLY exposed but thats ok cause it was in my apartment.
I lost this important name tag on the FIRST DAY and it because a scene and after everyone was searching for it.... lo and behold it had fallen in the pages of my scriptures. Yeah...blackening the Wells name my bad my bad.
I miss you all SO SO much. Seriously I love each and everyone of you. But don't worry about me. I am truly happy. And I love the Lord so much. I'm already seeing miracles. La iglesia de JesuCrsito de los santos de los ultimos es verdad. ITS TRUE.
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hermana Wells
P.S. pictures will be in the NEXT email right after this one
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this pic was taken right after our first lesson with an investigator. we felt we did pretty good haha
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