Hello Family and Friends!
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| Saying Goodbye to My Family in Milwaukee |
First of all, thank you all so much for the support! I've received a package or a letter everyday and it literally means so much!
I survived my first week at the MTC. For those of you that don't know, missionaries have to be trained before they go to their area. Since I'm staying in the States and speaking English, I'm only here in the Provo, Utah MTC (Missionary Training Center) for 2 weeks. Thank heavens. Some missionaries going to places where the language is super difficult like Thailand or Hong Kong have to be here for 9 weeks. Seriously, don't know how they do it.
They say you can either treat the MTC like a prison or a paradise. Ummm I'd say it's both. It's a prison because: helllllloooooo you're in a quarantined area all day all week except for temple trips/devotionals, you have inmates (companions), there's no sunlight because you're inside all day except for gym time, and the cafeteria food is pretty mediocre. Oh and there are so many rules. SO MANY. My favortie stupid rule is that "you should wash your hands for at least 2 sung hymns in your head"....yeah right. The other day we had a 2 hour seminar on rules here at the MTC. I wanted to barf. Two hours completely wasted on stuff we are told over and over again! Like helllloooo, we're missionaries. We get it. HOWEVER, the MTC definitely has it's paradise moments. Everyone is so kind, I LOVE my classes. I learn so much. My teachers are so incredible and they make me want to be not only a better missionary but a better person at the end of every class period. I feel loved all the time and I know what I'm doing is right. A quote that always helps me is that "There's no growth in a comfort zone and there's no comfort in a growth zone". This is so true people. So true!
My companion is named Sister Otteman. She's from Arizona and is the sweetest thing, She's a convert to our church and only joined one year ago! CRAZY! She is so strong to be out here since her family is having a really hard time having her be gone for 18 months. We work really well together! We always know we can open up and vent to each other which is so nice.
One thing I have learned out here is learning to love others. My district consists of 6 Elders and 2 Sisters (me and Otteman) and I have nothing in common with them. All the boys are 18 and from rural areas of Utah! Oh goody. I don't think any of them get sarcasm (found that out the hard way). None of them know were Wisconsin is. I tease them about it all the time. One Elder thought I was foreign. Poor thing. Sometimes when I wanna kill them (we spend every waking moment with each other so naturally we all get kinda sick and tired of each other) I remind myself that we're all out here for the same purpose and I really do grow from them. It's such an incredible experience when you are humbled and taught at the same time with a group of people. We've gone through a lot together. I consider them family. I love them. I really do.
My roomates are also going to the DC South Mission! They're great. We're really close. None of us have similar personalities and it's actually such a blessing because we all compliment each other and we form a really strong unit. We're able to laugh about how different we are and it's so great. The girls next door left today for Phoenix, AZ! Oh how we miss them. They were in our zone and taught us so much. I got so close with them. One of them, Sister Rowland, is from Richmond, VA and is one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. So incredible. She's a convert of 4 years. Her story is so amazing that it needs to be published. I love her so much!
I met missionaries going to Milwaukee! I got so excited when I met them! I talked their ears off about how great Milwaukee is! They're already pumped for Kopp's Custard and Lake Michigan!
I see BYU kids all the time. It makes my day when I see them! S/O to Elder Okazaki, Sister Wallace, Sister Woster, Elder Curtis, Elder Pyron, so much more for keeping the BYU spirit alive!
God speed my friends! Love all of you! Write me and I'll promise I'll write you back...kinda like a "like for like" on instagram.....LOL
Sister Kelly
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