Week 5!

MTC Week 5:

Familia y amigos! 

At some point, I might write more of my email in Spanish, but not yet. 

As for this week, there are so many good times! And Christmas... Oh man, so good! 

As for a goofy moment this week, the elders in our district after it snowed one day, woke up extra early and made a snowman and put it right outside our apartment door. Doesn't sound like too big of a deal, but it was huge, like Kelsey-life-size, and we live on the third floor! Yeah, they put some effort into it. So right off the bat, that made my day. Love them. 

Also this week, Spanish is coming. It's a lot of work, but I usually understand things we're learning. Now is just the 

practicing to actually get it. We're learning subjunctive. Yep. Subjunctive. 

I also had a moment this week when I realized how close we all are to leaving the MTC. Less than 2 weeks! It does NOT seem like we've been here this long. But it's true. I have to face the facts. Being here at the MTC is kind of like we're all pseudo missionaries. I realized on Tuesday that this is going to all change in 2 weeks and we're going to a whole new place and teaching real people. AH! I can't even believe it. I'm SO excited but also want to hold up and keep learning here. 

Anyways, so what you're all wondering about: Christmas. It was seriously one of the most interesting, best experiences. I was able to sing in the choir for the devotional and there was a Christmas talent show that Hermana Mansfield shared an amazing poem she wrote with the WHOLE MTC, west and main campus. She did so well. It was an interesting Christmas because it was so different than I expected. I still thought it would be a lot about the commercial Christmas stuff. But, for me at least, it wasn't. I really had the chance to reflect on what Christmas means to me and the WHY of Christmas. It was amazing to focus the whole day on Him. To really ponder His life and atonement for us. To get over myself and truly be humbled by His sacrifice for me. That was a really cool experience. It was also an amazing experience because for the devotional, Elder Bednar came and spoke to us. He's one of my favorite apostles. He is always SO based in doctrine that whatever He says always touches me and the Spirit testifies of the truth of what He says. I LOVE THAT. So his talk was really different than anything that had ever been done before. It was a "question and answer," but he wanted to do it anonymously, so they passed out cell phones and gave us all his ipad number so we could text him and he'd receive questions from us randomly. It was really cool because all of the other MTCs who were watching the devotional live, by broadcast, were able to participate as well. He spoke on a lot of different topics, but my favorites were more about the Atonement, and how Christ loves us individually. Something he said that I really liked is that we are blessed with agency through the Atonement of Christ. Because he atoned for us, we can act how we choose and He will always love us. He will accept us back in if we accept Him and turn to Him. We are able to choose our actions and still have the opportunity to return to live with our Father in heaven and Jesus Christ. We are agents to act for ourselves and not to be acted upon. 

That lead into one of my favorite topics of action. We have agency and are able to be proactive about our lives. We must choose to do things for ourselves and seek our own answers. We need to put in the work if we can expect blessings and answers. Another thing Elder Bednar said was that the Atonement has 2 main functions: cleansing and strengthening. We can be clean through Him, but He also gives us strength. The strength part is something that I desperately need throughout my life, but especially now. I think that is SO cool, that we can derive power from Him. In anything we're going through, we can be strengthened through Him. Ah! I love that so much. I feel like that's a perfect Christmas devotional. Learning of Christ and His atonement. It just rings so true to me. 

I love this gospel SO SO much. Jesus Christ gives us power and strength. He blesses us in every thing we need. All the time. I know it's true. It has blessed my life and it will bless yours. 

I love you all and hope you are doing well! 

Con amor, 

Hermana Shirley

Picture 1: Our snowman. 

Picture 2: Our district when we did a secret santa exchange. With our little tree branch that we smuggled for our party. 

It's an MTC Christmas.

Familia y Amigos!

Merrrrrry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Today's the day. The day the Savior was born. A day where we have the special opportunity to celebrate Christ's birth unlike any other day! Isn't that so cool?

I think so.

I've been thinking a lot about Christ and HOW to celebrate His birth and life this season. What I've thought about is what would He want? How would Christ want us to celebrate? The answer is simple.

Service. Giving. Not of big gifts or fancy things, but of ourselves. How can we give of ourselves this Christmas season and throughout the year? For me, this means love and time. Express to others how much you love them and are grateful for them. Love unceasingly. Try to see people how Christ would see them.

That's what this season is all about.

Jesus Christ is our Savior and perfect example. He died for us so we might live. We can be clean through Him. That is the most liberating feeling. I know this gospel brings so much happiness, and not only that, but true joy and purpose in life. I know this is true with all my heart.

I love you all and hope you have an AMAZING Christmas!

Con amor,

Hermana Shirley

Week 4!

MTC Week 4:

Hola Familia y Amigos! 

The days (and weeks) are starting to blur together here. It seriously seems like we just got here, but it was more than 4 weeks ago! I can't even believe it! Because we do a lot of the same stuff every day, the days go by so fast. 

This has been another good week here at the MTC. I'm still having so much fun with my district and zone as I get to know them more. I love them so much and I'm grateful these are the people I'm sharing this experience with. 

This week, a couple of random things happened. The MTC came out with a rule that we can't have Christmas trees, which is kinda sad, but makes sense because they're a fire hazard and all that. So we got rid of our little tree. :( But it's in a better place. And we took a string of Christmas lights Hermana Jacob got from her family and taped it to our apartment wall in the shape of a tree. It's a decent substitute. So whenever we get Christmas gifts, we still have a tree to stick them under! 

Also, I had an interesting experience of being a solo Hermana missionary for a day. The three other Hermanas (and 2 elders) in my district got their visas approved, but they had to go to the Las Vegas Consolate to get them. They were just gone for a day, but it seemed like forever and it was SO weird and different being by myself. The night before, I actually slept with a different apartment of Hermanas in our zone because my Hermanas had to leave at 4:30 in the morning and I couldn't be alone. I stayed with these other Hermanas for meals and gym and other stuff, but for class and study time, it was just the 4 of us left with our teacher. It was actually a really helpful day in class because the learning was just for our benefit. We had the opportunity to ask the teachers any questions we had about Spanish and get things cleared up. It was really relaxed, which was nice. But the whole time during class and study, us 4 had to stick together because there was no way 1 of us could leave without it breaking the rules. Anyways, it was a random day and I got to know the elders who were here a lot better. They're pretty cool. 

A joke that we came up with this week was about the Spanish. It's super dorky and you'll get it if you know a bit about Spanish. It's called "missionary flirting." Because we're missionaries, we use the "usted" form of verbs to be more formal. One day, us Hermanas were just commenting on how some of the new missionaries say "Como estaS?" instead of "Como esta?" because that's what they may have been taught in school and wherever. Because the "tu" form is more intimate and informal, we joked that as missionaries, if you wanted to flirt while not reaaally flirting, you'd just ask people "Como estas?!" Ooo "Y tuuu?" Anyways. It was a dorky Spanish joke that we laughed super hard about. I'm talkin' tears. Flowing tears. 

On Tuesday, the devotional was by Ronald A. Rasband (I think the president of the 70?). It was seriously amazing. I feel like so many talks, especially the ones I don't expect to be that amazing truly are exactly what I need to hear and uplift me so much! With the Christmas season in our midst, he decided to take a different route and talk about SPIRITUAL gifts. I thought that was really cool. And really special for each of us individually. He told us to meet with our districts and share our spiritual gifts, which we did after the devotional. That was a truly humbling and gratifying experience. To know that Heavenly Father knows each of us so well and loves us enough to bless us each with special gifts is really cool. A supreme being pays attention to us individually. How amazing is that? Ronald A. Rasband also challenged us to turn our gifts outward. Sharing what we have and serving those around us, even in just the littlest ways, makes a world of difference. I hope that we all remember what we've been blessed with and do our best to bless the lives of those we come in contact with. Because that's exactly what Jesus Christ did. His whole life was about others. At exactly the times He was in need, he turned outward. Amazing, huh? 

I know Jesus Christ is our savior and through Him, we can be truly clean. To have all the guilt in our lives erased. Wow. I know He died for us and was sent to this earth because of a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to return to Him. He wants us to BECOME. Become the best we can be and become like Him. That's what this life is about. I know this gospel is absolutely true and I know it with all my heart because of how I have seen it change lives already, including my own. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. With the Bible, men can come closer to Christ. The feeling I get from the Spirit when I read testifies to me of its truth. I know it blesses lives in so many different ways. 

Thank you all for your support and love! Remember to be happy and choose to do what's right this week. Love you all!

Con amor, 

Hermana Shirley

PHOTOS

1. Us with our tree! Right before the funeral. 

2. Self explanatory. Things like this show up on our classroom board all the time. 

3. We found an elder that looks just like Cato! So obviously Katniss and Cato had to take a picture. 

Pictures!

1. Me and my companion, Hermana Corbridge. She's the best! 

2. Us Hermanas at main campus on Thanksgiving. They already had lights up. 

*Hermana Corbridge let me use her pictures since my camera died. :( 

Week 3!

MTC Week 3:

Familia y Amigos! 

Thank you so much for all your support! I feel like this is all just a dream or something. There are moments when it's all kind of surreal. It's definitely all people told me it would be and more. There are so many ups and downs. Mostly ups, though. It's getting better each day and I'm learning a CRAZY amount. I definitely would not be able to do this all without the help of the Spirit and the blessings of my calling. I love it so so much! 

As for randomness, I am surprised by the funniest things. We have gym time every day, right? I thought I would for SURE be playing volleyball everyday, but my hermanas and I have discovered 4-square and we are IN LOVE. It's funny because when we first went, people would tell us, "Oh, the elders get really into it and they're crazy good," and things like that, but we went in there and started playing. We're the only hermanas of probably 20+ people who play every day and, not going to lie, we're pretty good. They all respect us now and we've gotten the elders in our district to play with us pretty regularly. It's really cool. Who would've thought I'd be so obsessed with 4-square! hah 

Last P-day, after I had emailed, we went and bought a Christmas tree at the tree farm that is literally just outside the apartments. (still in our area, don't worry) So we have this little tree (that's taller than me) in our apartment and we turn on the lights every time we're home. 

Another funny thing, we started a quote board in our apartment last night. One of the things we've kinda jokingly been doing is when we want to say something snarky is we'll say "Como se dice...?!" So on our quote board, we have this quote that Elder Toala said "Como se dice nobody cares?!" It doesn't sound too funny when I type it, but it cracks me up every time I hear it. Ahh He's very forward but goofy. It was said with love, but kinda real. 

As for Spanish, I'm actually getting it. Mostly. I told my branch president this week that before my mission, I couldn't fathom reaching the point where I'd be able to speak fluently or think in Spanish or any of that, but this week, the idea didn't seem as ridiculous. I could actually see myself being that good in the future. (In the future, KEY WORDS here). So it's coming. And I'm starting to say simple things without really thinking too much. Progress, right? 

This last Tuesday, we finally got to sing in the choir. We went to the very first choir practice on our first week, but they were full to capacity that week and they asked the new people if they could spare giving their spot for missionaries who were leaving. Of course the first time we sing, a general authority comes. I'm not complaining. It was Elder Cook. He said so many good things. He spoke a lot about faith and that if we have more faith, we will have more success and see miracles. I know this is true. When we trust in our Father in heaven and speak to Him sincerely, He WILL answer our prayers. Already since I've been here, I have felt that. It won't always be in ways we expect, but we will feel His love. 

Also, a scripture that has helped me in my life and that came up this week is Moroni 7:12-19. Anything good is of God. Truly. 

I love you all so much and hope all is well! This gospel is true. Jesus Christ atoned for us. 

Con amor, 

Hermana Shirley

Of Tic-Tacs and Thanksgiving

MTC Week 2:

Hola everyone! 

Now that I have my act together and things have settled down a bit, I'm going to tell you a little bit about life here. We only have a little time for emails, so I'll keep it brief. 

In our district, we have 9 missionaries (including me). There are 4 of us Hermanas and 5 elders (one trio). 

My companion is Hermana Corbridge. She is seriously amazing. I feel like already she knows so much about me and we are best friends. I have learned SO much from her and she keeps me on task. In some ways, we are the exact same person. 

There's Hermana Jacob and Hermana Mansfield. Hermana Jacob is tiny and a little firecracker. We get along well. :) Hermana M. is seriously so sweet and innocent. And her voice sounds EXACTLY like Jennifer Lawrence. It's kinda creepy. She kind of looks like her too. (We found a Cato here at West campus and they're going to take a picture together at some point.) 

For the elders, there's Elder Packham from Portland, who I instantly have this Northwestern connection with. Elder Toala is from Samoa and plays football. He has a scholarship with UDub when he gets back. He gives us pep talks a lot. Elder Bonati is seriously so quiet and humble. He knows Portugese fluently, but he wanted to be with us beginners because of how different the languages are. He's also going to Nampa, the rest of the missionaries in our district are going to Mexico Guatalahara East. For the Hermanas, they're KINDA the first group of American Hermanas going to that mission. I think that's SUPER cool. Elder Ball is from California and has helped me realize how different people are and how people grow up are so different. I'm really glad he's here. Elder Ricks is super smart and, let's just say, we go to him whenever we have questions about the language. 

Our district is SOO different, but we get along really, surprisingly well. We are the only district with Hermanas in our apartment where our classes are, so the second day we were here, some of the other Elders came and told us that we make the rooms smell TONS better. I thought that was pretty funny. Our teachers Hermana Valdez and Hermano Bond are seriously so amazing. They are SOOO sensitive to the spirit and what we need to learn. I'm grateful for them. One thing that surprised me is that we all like to sing. H. Corbridge is amazing and has taken lessons for 9 years. E. Ricks is a good bass and E. Toala is really soulful. The rest of us are alright and we have fun singing along with them. We've had a few moments where we all just broke out in song. Knowing me, it's kinda weird. But it must be the spirit here or something. 

As we have gotten to know each other better, we have more and more HILARIOUS experiences. There have been SO many times when I've started crying because I was laughing so hard. Just yesterday, I was getting a tic-tac out for myself and E. Packham asked me for one. Knowing me, I threw it at him like a bullet. I was just going to do it jokingly then give him one for real, but he opened his mouth real quick and SOMEHOW caught it. It was like a bullet and he caught it. It was one of the craziest moments. 

Anywho. You're probably wondering how my Thanksgiving was. IT WAS AMAZING. It was really really fun and relaxing. Elder Nelson came and spoke to us. It was really good and I loved the spirit he brought. We did a service project--putting together meals for hungry kids in Utah. All of us missionaries put together more than 350,000. It was actually really fun. For once, we had some down time. Us Hermanas got started playing this little game of Table Phooseball (no idea how to spell that) with an orange. It was another one of those cry-laughing moments. We had another little fireside thing that day and it was completely different from how I expected. They made it really funny and entertaining. There was an elder who played this amazing rendition of the Harry Potter theme song. And we sang "Over the River and Through the Woods." Can you say random?! But it was so fun. Then there was a little Thanksgiving skit and a speaker. So good. The food was good. They had all the classic Thanksgiving things, so it was really nice and felt like home for a bit. 

I think I might say this every week, but I love it here. I KNOW this gospel is true. I have felt it and seen it change lives, including mine. We had an experience with prayer this week. Hermano Bond was teaching us about prayer and how to better teach it to people so they can truly receive answers RIGHT THERE. We tried it out. One of the most spiritual moments of my life. When we forget all the technicalities and just talk to our Father in Heaven as a friend and ask Him what we need to know, truly desiring to know, He WILL answer. The moments after the prayer, when we just sat there, waiting for an answer were amazing. I suggest trying it out. Heavenly Father loves us all SOO SOOOO much and wants to talk to us. Test it out. 

Yo sé que Jesucrist es mi Salvador y la Evangelio de Crist es perfecto. Yo sé gue José Smith fue un profeta y él tradujo el Libro de Mormon. Yo sé que las familias son eternas. Yo sé este porque hace me feliz y tenía cambiaba me vida. 

(That may not be proper, but I know it's true)

I love you all, family! 

Con amor, 

Hermana Shirley 

In the Beginning...

MTC Week 1:

Familia y amigos! Hola! 

Don't be deceived by my obvious mastery of Spanish here, I'm really not that good. But I'm learning! Every day I feel like I learn so much! In every aspect of my life here. I started out with basically NO knowledge of Spanish, so everything that I learn is good and I can REALLY see my progress. 

My week has been... Interesting. First week craziness mixed with all the things we have to get used to doing every day has been a LOT. And overwhelming at times. But because of that, I've gotten a lot done and learned a lot. 

Just so you all know, my P-day is usually on Thursday. We didn't get one last Thursday because it was the second day we were here and we won't really get one tomorrow because it's THANKSGIVING! So we got a little time today to email and do laundry and get stuff done. Also, I am on the west campus of the MTC, where, I think, all the Spanish missionaries are. 

So a quick summary of this last week (WOAH! I've been here a whole week!), we all got here and went immediately to learning what it's like being missionaries. We went and (as a group) kinda got to know a few (I think pretend) investigators. It was really cool. It reminded us why we're here and to have the spirit with us always. 

I feel like a lot of what we've learned has been WHY we're here. It's not for ourselves. It's not to learn Spanish (well, kinda). But it's for the LORD. It's so that we can learn to represent Christ and bring people to Christ. Everything we do is FOR HIM. It has been amazing. We watched a recorded devotional Sunday night by Elder Bednar called "The Character of Christ". IT WAS AMAZING. Seriously. I suggest looking it up. It basically defines missionary work and how we should all be in our lives. You probably know I LOVE the topic of conversion and that's what a lot of it is. Basically what he said was that when we are truly converted, we turn outwards in times of need or trial. When we are hurting, looking to help others is truly the example Christ set for us. It's about what we do and who we are rather than what we know. 

Anyways, I love being here! Mostly, I feel super grateful for ALL the AMAZING ways I've been blessed. My amazing family and friends :) and even here! My companion is seriously amazing. She is an example to me. Her name is Hermana Corbridge. She's from Utah. She is super prepared, organized, picking up on Spanish really well, and muy close to the spirit. It's nice when we have to work together to teach, because she talks a lot but I'm trying to contribute more. I'm so proud of myself because I have learned to pray and bear my simple testimony in Spanish. 

Yes, we have taught lessons. Not only one, we've taught 5 already. We had an investigator named Antonio come and meet with us. It was really scary the first time, but it's getting better and better each time. The first time, we planned out exactly what we wanted to say and translated it all and tried to memorize it. That plan didn't work. What we've been doing since that first lesson is make a rough outline of what we would like to teach, study words we don't know, and then pray and trust that the Spirit will guide us to say what Antonio needs to hear. It has been SOOO much better and we can feel the Spirit stronger when we're not struggling to remember what we memorized. 

I know I'm forgetting things I want to tell you, so I'll write things down and be more organized next week. Look forward to it! :) 

I know this gospel is true. It is amazing. I feel so much love. I KNOW God loves us and because He does, He gave us His son, Jesus Christ to atone for our sins so we can return to Him. 

I love you all and hope you're doing SO SO well! 

Hermana Shirley

The Why?

Now that I’m less than 2 weeks away, I’ve been thinking a lot about why I’m going on a mission. It kind of bothers me when people think all sister missionaries who go now do it because of the trend since the age change. The church wouldn’t have made the change if there wasn’t a need. The church needed to enable a lot of younger people who were meant to go on missions before doing other things in their life. That’s how I look at it.

Anyways, so why am I going? Those who know me well know that my religion is really important to me. It is the direct cause of the happiness in my life. The knowledge that I have of my Savior and Heavenly Father gives me so much peace and joy. I can’t even adequately express it to do it justice. Through any hardship or trial in my life—those I personally, or people I know and love, go through—Jesus Christ’s atonement is there to help in exactly the way that is needed. Especially lately, I’ve realized how amazing and perfect the gospel is. In SO many ways. It has the answer to everything! I could probably go off about that, but I’ll just keep it simple. God has a plan. He has a plan for all of us. He is perfect and has everything figured out. Even with imperfect people, He is still able to accomplish His plans. It is seriously humbling to know that even though I’m imperfect everyday, He still loves me. He loves ALL His children—EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THIS EARTH—unconditionally. That’s so much love! Kinda blows my mind.

The love and happiness. THAT’S why I’m going on a mission. I want to share that with others. I want to give people who have troubles hope. If you think about it, we are all really included in that. I want to help those who are in need and tell them about what makes me so happy. Of course there’s a lot more to it than this. There are many many ways in which I’m blessed by the gospel. When it comes down to it, this is what I want to share on my mission. 

Change

Change is weird. Sometimes it’s good. Sometimes it’s bad. Sometimes it’s easy. Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes I resist it, sometimes I welcome it. When I don’t quite know how I feel about it, I can at least agree that it’s weird. That’s how it’s been for me the past few weeks, for a few different reasons.

First of all, for those who don’t already know, I have Crohn’s disease. I was diagnosed in 2009. Luckily for me, I’ve gotten it under control. It’s different for each person who has it, and it is managed differently. My understanding is that it is a chronic disease where my immune system attacks my digestive system. Fun stuff. To sum up what Crohn’s disease means for me, I have to get an expensive IV infused medicine called Remicade every 2 months. It helps with the inflammation, but suppresses my immune system. How does all this relate to change and my mission? Well, my mission call letter has me going to the Mexico MTC, right? When I started making some calls of how I could get my medical treatment while there, it raised concerns. Concerns that, according to the referring doctor, couldn’t be resolved in Mexico. Not only would getting my Remicade be complicated, but I guess I’m more susceptible to diseases and parasites and such because of my suppressed immunity. That’s what the docs say. I just see this situation through the lens of my own strength and what I think I can handle. They see other dangers that I may overlook. I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel on Mexico, so I made phone calls. Many many phone calls. I was the very first situation of a missionary called to do their training in Mexico with this condition. In the end, “the brethren” were notified and consulted, and my mission call was changed. I’m still going to Nampa, Idaho, but I’m going to the Provo MTC and reporting a week earlier. I can’t say I was completely peachy with the idea at first. I was disappointed. Straight up. But, I’ve become okay with it. It’s a situation where I have to have faith that no matter where I go, I will learn and grow. I’ll be effective if I rely on my Savior. Whether in Mexico or Provo. If I resist, I’ll struggle. There will be some reason that I was meant to go to Provo instead of Mexico. It’ll be alright.

The next change I want to address is more general. Coming home from Provo has been a splash in the face of cold, cold reality. Provo has been my home for the last two and a half years. I haven’t come home for more than two weeks at a time since I moved out. I was lying in my bed last night and realized that this is going to be my life for the next few weeks. No school work. No going to work. No paying rent. No doing things with college friends. None of what used to be my daily life. It all just got SO REAL last night. After my few weeks of preparation and spending time with my parents and little sister here, I will be jumping with both feet into a new life. Missionary life. Yet another change.

This is what life is about. Change. And adapting to it. Flourishing in it. Making the best of what is thrown at you. In the end, I know that Heavenly Father lets happen only what He wants to happen. He knows me and what I need and where I need to be. He knows who I can have the greatest impact on. He has a plan for me. I am still learning how I can discern that plan and let Him work through me. If He wants me to go to Provo, so be it. If He thinks I can learn something from being at home for the time I’m given, I’ll do my best. I love my Heavenly Father and Savior with all my heart and want, more than anything, to live up to their expectations. I want to be the best and most obedient that I can, so I’m worthy to represent them. 

My 3/4th Birthday

Exactly 9 months after my 20th birthday, I received probably the most important mail of my life. My roommate texted me: "Kelsey Kelsey Kelsey!!!!! It's here it's here it's here!!!!!!!" I had been expecting my mission call letter to arrive in the mail for a few days and had started to get impatient. Finally, Friday morning, it came while I was at work. After receiving that text, work seemed to go by so slowly. I started telling everyone about it and making plans to open it with my family and friends around. When I got home, I got my family on Skype and opened the letter to find out where I was going. 

I was completely caught off-guard. I could be asked to serve anywhere around the world and I knew if I started hoping for a certain place or telling people where I didn't want to go, I would jinx myself and that's exactly where I would go. All I knew was that I had been born in Idaho (Nampa, to be exact), grown up in Washington, and was currently living in Utah. So surely I wouldn't be called to any of those states. Me going to an Idaho mission wasn't even a possibility in my mind. How wrong I was. 

So here I am, starting the preparations for my mission to Nampa, Idaho. I will be teaching the gospel in Spanish, so I get to go to the Missionary Training Center in Mexico City. That's pretty exciting. I don't leave til November 27th, so I have a solid 4+ months to prepare. 
I'd say that's a pretty great 3/4th birthday gift.