Tuesday, August 18, 2015

First Week! From the MTC in Utah

Hello friends and family! 

Wow, I cannot believe that it's only been 5 days since I hopped on a plane to fly out to the MTC (Missionary Training Centre)! It seems like that was a lifetime ago!

I have no idea where to even start, soo much has happened! I have learned so much and have had such an increase in testimony during my time here! I got here a little late on Wednesday because of the flight issues but it gave me the opportunity to meet up with a group of missionaries coming home from Peru while I was in the LAX airport. I had the opportunity to talk to them about their missions and we were all seated together on this tiny plane to Utah.  The sister I had the opportunity to sit beside was incredibly sweet and she loved her family so much.  I walked into the baggage area with her before any other missionaries.  Her family, as well as a ton of others were there to greet the missionaries. It was loud and slightly awkward, since the applause was meant for them!  Hahaha... but they were all so happy and there was sooo much love!! 

My MTC companion, Sister Schatmeier is so amazing! I'm incredibly lucky to have her! She is super outgoing and though we are both pretty headstrong, and sometimes we talk over each other, we complement each other well. She knows exactly what to teach and receives amazing revelation all the time. We have been pretty good about eating, which is hard here (the corn chowder is amazing!), and we run/workout just about everyday, hopefully my weight isn't too threatened! :)  Her and I were made Sister training leaders the second day we got here which was super fun.  The girls in our zone are great and we are very excited for the newbies to come on Wednesday

Our district is amazing! All 4 of us sisters are headed to Edmonton, while 4 of the Elders are going to Sydney, Australia, and 2 Elders are going to Micronesia, Guam! We all get along really well and we act like a little family. Saturday night we all went outside after a day of sitting in the classroom and we all goofed around a bit but then we shared our favourite scripture and a bit about why and the Spirit was so so strong! They make fun of me for the way I say "bag" and they've just started saying "they have that in Canada" every time I talk about something, such as babies and Reese's and watches. I guess it's pretty entertaining. 

IT HAS BEEN SO HOT!!! 30 degrees or more EVERY DAY!! It doesn't help that our classroom building doesn't get a/c. Sunday we got to go on a temple walk and took some pictures, which I included.  The Provo Temple wasn't just made to resemble a bunch of Twix bars!  I learned yesterday that it's supposed to represent a cloud and a pillar of fire! There are a bunch of fountains around it too which is awesome! This morning we got to do a session there and it was really, really nice, the inside is gorgeous too! I forgot my temple recommend though, so we missed our session walking all the way back to get it... Oops! 

I decided to sing in the choir yesterday with my comp (she has a very nice voice) and we got stranded in a sea of Elders, so we ended up singing the tenor part... it's all good though because we had the opportunity to sing a few songs with the Nashville Tribute Band, who came to perform for everyone. They created a beautiful atmosphere where the Spirit was so strong... I may or may not have cried... shhh!  Last night we also had the opportunity to see some videos. We watched "The Character of Christ" which is an address Elder Bednar gave in the MTC at Christmas a few years ago.  To my understanding, it's exclusive to the MTC, but if you ever find yourself here... WATCH IT!

They liken the first week here to drinking from a fire hose and I can totally testify of the truth of that! There is so much to absorb and so much to do.  It's almost impossible to get it all done! I'm trying my very best though and I'm super excited for this next week! 

Well, I don't have any time left but just know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect. There are absolutely no flaws! As we follow the steps therein to have faith, repent, be baptized and confirmed, and endure to the end I know that our lives will be blessed so much! 

The "dearelders" messages I received warmed my heart. Feel free to send more! I love you all so much and I'll write again soon!



Sister Baker

Pictures are of me and my comp, us and our house, us and our STL's (sister training leaders),  the temple, our district, and a large part of our zone.













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