Hermana Larson – Letter #1, December 31, 2011

Dear Family and Friends!

So good to hear from you guys! I miss you already, but things are actually going seriously great at the MTC. My sisters, Kelli and Julie dropped me off Wednesday afternoon. I was really sad, but they throw you into things so quickly that I didn't have much time to reminisce on it. They took me to my dorm, got me signed in and I got my name tags, Hermana Larson! Then they took me to meet my district. Most everyone was there already, including my companion, Hermana Cottrell. She's from Kaysville, Utah, and graduated from Davis High School in 2009, the same year as my cousin, but she said she doesn't know Amy. Maybe she would if she saw her! She is going to the Arizona Mesa Mission as well, so we are in this the whole way together. She is fantastic and we get along great. Which is good because we will be together until March 6th, which is our leave date! A really long time. REALLY. But we'll be okay!

Also, when I checked into the MTC they gave us a notecard that had all sorts of information. It had my end date for the mission, June 11, 2013. A couple weeks earlier than I thought it would be. But they just said that with my mission's transfer schedule that is what it would be. I'm lucky though, because most of the elders in my district are serving for over 2 years, and will miss Christmas 2013. The rest of my district is fantastic. There are eight elders and four hermanas, although one hermana leaves for the Peru MTC in 3 weeks. Then we will become a three-some, which I think may be very difficult, but we still have 3 weeks to get used to the idea! Three of the eight elders are going to the Texas Houston East Mission! I thought you'd be excited to hear that mom :] As soon as they told me I got really excited and told them to look out for you! It's been fun because I've been able to tell them some fun things about their mission. Their names are Elder Kener, Mallard and Erickson. So watch out for them mom. They're fun elders, and will be a fun addition to THE mission.

Walking around the MTC I have seen so many Elders I know. It is so much fun! I've seen Elder Cody Gunnels, Elder Alex Cummock, Elder Kyle Nabors, and a friend that was in one my chemistry classes, and my friend Brendan's little brother. Maybe some others, but they aren't coming to mind!

The rest of the day we went to classes and orientation. We had our first Spanish class that afternoon and our teacher pretty much only spoke Sanish, which is kind of what I expected from what people have told me. It is just so amazing how fast we are learning. I have been here less than 72 hours, but I have learned so much. It's just immersing yourself in it and studying with the spirit. We have between 3-6 hours of language study everyday. It's so interesting how some English words are already becoming weird to me. We try to speak as much Spanish as we can, but usually it turns into some sort of Spanglish. But we will get there. Wednesday night we had a class where we taught investigators (in English), most of which were actors, but it was still fun to really be able to feel the spirit and bear our testimonies. Thursday morning, Hermana Cottrell and I went to a yoga class at 6 a.m. I'm so lucky to have a “compenada” who really loves to work out and be healthy in the cafeteria with me! The class was pretty fun! We're going to try and get up and go a couple times a week.

When we got to class Thursday morning, our teacher informed us that each of us had an investigator who was coming to hear a lesson from us Friday night... IN SPANISH! We worked the entire day to get ready for him. His name is Jose Sanchez. I'm sure he is a volunteer or teacher or something. But to us, he speaks no English. By that time we already knew how to pray and how to bear our testimony in Spanish but we didn't know how to do anything else! So we spend a lot of time getting ready. We have since taught Jose two lessons. The first one was awful. We were stumbling on words, couldn't remember a lot. It was just so bad. We couldn't even say enough to feel the spirit. But this morning we taught him again about the Restoration and it was so much better. So much. It was great. We are going to be teaching him two or three times a week the entire time we are in the MTC.

Thursday night our branch Presidency came to meet all of us. They don't seem like lovey-dovey... more like intense. But I'm sure they will grow on us. We had a meeting about rules, etc. It was good though. We then all introduced ourselves and told why we have decided to go on a mission. It really was so incredible, because we hadn't really heard the stories from each other yet. An elder, one of the ones that is going to T.H.E. (Texas Houston East) Mission, had gotten in a serious accident last February doing M.M.A (Mixed Martial Arts). He was bleeding internally and his brain was swelling as they were taking him to the hospital. His Bishop was waiting for him at the hospital, because he just had a feeling he should be there. As soon as the Elder received a Priesthood Blessing the swelling and bleeding stopped. He was still paralyzed from the neck down, and they told him that he would never walk or talk again. But he slowly healed, and now, you would have no idea that there was ever something wrong with him. Incredible story. The Priesthood really does work. God's power is on earth.

I'm so grateful to be here. The days are incredibly long. But I'm learning so much. I never thought I could learn this much Spanish so quickly. I love Hermana Cottrell. She's fantastic. My preparation days are going to generally be Thursdays, but this week is a little different.

I've got to get going. Love you all!

Hermana Larson