Week 2 at the MTC

The "Best Zone Ever"

Week 2

June 20, 2013

Hola! How is everyone? This week was awesome!

First, I will tell you about how the MTC puts you on a roller-coaster.

MTC: Hi, little baby missionaries; this is your progressing investigator Maria. Teach her in Spanish!

Us: Um, well, okay, sounds good!

Us: (a  couple days later): Oh my gosh, I love Maria! She is so cool and I love her and I can see how much she's progressing and this is the best!

MTC: Hi, little missionaries, you're not going to teach Maria anymore. She's moving to Salt Lake.

MTC: This is your new teacher, Sister Haycock.

Us: Wait...that looks an awful lot like Maria (it is Maria).

MTC: Hi little missionaries, you have a new investigator. Her name is Carmen.

Okay, this is getting tiring so I will just tell you. Carmen is Maria and Maria is Sister Haycock and Sister Haycock is Maria. It's crazy. All one person but three different personalities and lives and stuff. It's weird but cool! We have two investigators now. Carmen (who acts a little different than Maria but they look exactly the same) and Brian (who bears a striking resemblance to Hermano Bartolomei (our other teacher).

Okay, another cool thing that's happening. On Sunday, the Church is having a worldwide training broadcast to train the new mission presidents. It will be at the Marriott Center and all the missionaries are invited. The cool part is that the Prophet is coming. Yeah, like as in President Thomas S. Monson. It's going to be so cool! (by the way, for the first time in MTC history, we are now having Tuesday devotionals at the Marriott center, because all the missionaries can't fit in one place in the MTC). Also, I've heard that all the apostles are coming. the MTC is going to be a little interesting with some tighter security, and weird things going on in the cafeteria (like some paper plates). Also, 1M (the main building) is going to be closed to missionaries on Sunday so I don't know if that means food will be somewhere else or not. Anyways, cool things are happening. But another cool thing is that I get to sing in the choir for the broadcast. Basically, we get to sing for the prophet. It's going to be really really awesome. So, watch the broadcast on TV and look for me!

The Lord protects missionaries, so that's cool. The other day I was walking in the cafeteria and felt like pausing. I did and an elder dropped his glass and it shattered. The little shards of glass stopped just before my feet. Obviously not like life or death situation or anything, but I thought it was cool. I didn't have to get attacked by little pieces of glass!

We started the TRC this week! It's fun!  A little stressful the first time, but I think it will be awesome!

Um, so okay. Best thing. I SAW HERMANA MERRILL! She called my name and I hardly recognized her at first for some weird reason but I knew it was her and I just pretty much dropped all my stuff and we did that weird girly screamy hug thing. I don't know what came over me but it was really really awesome. And then since then I have seen her many times. It's been awesome. Next, I saw Sister Shelley! and then Sister Clark! And it's just been a blast seeing all of them and getting to talk with each of them a bit. Maybe I will still be in the MTC and get to see Sister Matheson too! That would be cool! :)

 I still haven't heard about the visa. Hermana Coffey had a little scare. She went to immunizations for a shot and they told her that her departure date said June 18th. We were kind of freaking out because we haven't heard anything. But June 18th has come and gone, so the computer must have just been crazy. Speaking of Hermana Coffey, I am really grateful for her. She is awesome and a wonderful example to me. She is going to be the new sister training leader for our zone. If you don't know what a sister training leader it is, it's like a zone leader. Except for sisters to lead. Really really cool. She's awesome. My other Cusco hermanas: Hermana Ostler and Hermana Hanson are also awesome. Fun fact: Hermana Hansen is from Payson, but she doesn't know if she's related to a Maggie Hansen. Probably somehow. The elders in our district can be a little unruly at times, but they are fun. And usually good.

Four square. Quatro quadro. I think square is actually quadrato, but Hna. Ostler said quadro and the teacher had no clue what she was talking about and it was funny and we have called it  that ever since. I fell off my throne one night when I tied with Hermana Coffey (got into the king's square some number of times). We had to have a draw off to settle the dispute. Hermana Ostler declared the theme. Dinosaurs: Sassy and Classy. I drew a picture of of dinosaurs in the 1920s. Picture a dino in a flapper dress playing the bass and a dino in a bow tie playing the piano. Hermana Coffey drew t-rexes having a tea party. She won, but I have since won back the four square crown. But don't worry,  I won't let anymore ties happen.

Here is a picture of our drawings. We hung them on our door and let people vote for them on the sticky notes underneath.

Funny things that have happened (some of these may not be suitable for small children) :

We were running and Hermana Hansen's MTC ID fell off. This wouldn't be funny, except we just happened to be right over a grate. Her ID went down down down. I guess it's not that funny, but it's pretty ironic. I have also lost my ID, but I got another one for a dollar. The little rascals are always falling off and running away and stuff!

There is a Spanish word for fear: miedo. In the TRC Hermana Ostler was teaching and said a word that closely resembles miedo. However, the word she said means a swear word in Spanish. (And kids, if you are reading this, don't look it up!) Hahaha whoops!

I didn't experience this one first hand, but still funny. A hermana was talking in sacrament meeting and was trying to say she was embarrassed to speak or something  The word she used to say embarrassed, however, means pregnant. The worst part of this story is that she said it was the Branch President's fault. Oops!

There is a teacher named Hermano Vargas. He is a native Spanish speaker. He was trying to use the expression, "work my butt off". But instead, he said, "work my butt out". I don't know, maybe these aren't that funny, but they seem funny to me at least, especially when I'm tired and you've been in class for days or whatever.

Another one I just heard about: an elder in our zone was practicing his testimony. He said, "Hola. Soy Dios." Hahahaha the elder that said that is really cool and great, but this is just really funny to me.

Anywhoo, I probably better go do my laundry. I may try to send some pictures if I have some. Love you guys! Be good!

Hermana Beckstead

Also, the pictures of Me and Hermana Merrill and sister Clark I accidentally didn't have my sd card in so it went to internal memory, so I couldn't just put my SD card in. So I couldn't get the pictures on. so I took a picture of the pictures on my Camera with Hermana Coffey's camera (I can just see Megan Matheson master photographer cringing right now) so some pictures are really blurry sorry.

We just came across some Peru missionaries that got re-assigned today. Some sisters are heading to New York city south, one to California Arcadia I think. I think an elder to Texas. The elders it was their 7th week I think they said. It seems like we will eventually be re-assigned as well, but I don't know, we just have to see. It might be kind of fun though, like getting a second mission call, except only temporary I guess. Anyways, love ya!

Yo se que la iglesia de jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias es verdad. Yo se que JesuCristo es mi Salvador y redentor. Yo se que Dios nos ama, y es nos Padre Celestial. Yo se que nosotros puedemos vivir con Dios otra ves. Tenemos un profeta en la tierra hoy. Estoy agrededida por mi familia, la evengelio de JesuCristo, my amigas, y mi companera(~).

Love you lots!