It's been such a great week so far. So much has happened. My companion is awesome- her name is Sister Carter, and she's a redhead! We've had so much fun. The MTC is wonderful- the Spirit is everywhere. We have about 6 hours in class each day, and I feel like I've learned a lot. It feels like everything I thought I knew about missionary work just got tossed out a window!
But it really is wonderful. Sister Carter and I share our room with another pair of sisters from our neighboring district- Sister Shutt and Sister Robinson. They are so wonderful, and we have so much fun! (They're the ones in the picture where we're all jumping).
And I was in the same hallway as Sister Haire! So she was one of the first people I saw at the MTC. It was good to talk to her, and get some advice. And Elder Ludlow comes into the MTC today, so I'll have to get a picture.
The MTC has a 6am exercise class for sisters, and Sister Carter and I went almost every day last week! We haven't gone the past couple days, though, partly because we were tired, and partly because I've got a little bit of a head cold. It's really fun- they do something different each day. And we also have gym time in the afternoons, so I like to ride the bikes or do the ellipticals while Sister Carter does weights and whatnot.
Oh! Sister Carter knows ASL! She actually wants to be an ASL interpreter, which is awesome. So sometimes we just sign at each other. Elder Bradford, in our district likes to make fun of us for it. We think he's just jealous though.
My district is so great. It's weird to think that the elders are all younger than I am, especially in our district, because they're so mature. It's really cool to see them speak and bring the Spirit. Our class actually has a one-way window. We do roleplays with our teacher acting as a progressing investigator, and so we've gotten to watch them teach discussions through that window, which is so helpful. Roleplaying is amazingly helpful. As for our district, they're great. There's ten of us, four sets of elders, and Sister Carter and me. Six of us are going to Vancouver, and the other four are off to the Tacoma mission. Our sister trainer leaders actually told us that they think our districts were together in the premortal existence, and the longer I'm here, the more I believe it!
We've taught quite a few discussions now. Bill (the one our teacher role-plays as) just committed to baptism! But he's living with his girlfriend who's got cancer, and he's her full-time caretaker, and if they get married, they'll lose her healthcare. That will be the biggest obstacle, but we've just got to trust in the Spirit! And we've just started teaching Alex- our second lesson is this evening. They have a volunteer system for this one, and we don't know whether they're members or not, but they are role-playing. Last time we were nervous, so it didn't go as well as we'd have liked. This time, we're hoping to better invite the Spirit and let that do the talking instead of us just dumping information. As our teachers like to say, it's about the picture of Christ, not the frame that it's placed in.
I had the most amazing experience Sunday! I'd just been feeling overwhelmed and had been praying to feel God's love. Sister Carter and I went to choir practice, and the choir was singing A Child's Prayer. And then the director, Brother Egget (?) talked about just that- how God loves us so much, even though the universe is so huge and he takes care of all of it- he has time for us as well. And then we went straight to the Sunday devotional and the speaker had everyone who was nervous or had doubts about having come on a mission stand up- and just about everyone in the room did. That's about 2000 missionaries, all of them feeling as overwhelmed as I was. It was a huge comfort. Afterwards, we saw The Character of Christ- a talk Elder Bednar gave at the MTC sometime before the age change. They only show it at the MTC, nowhere else. It was so good. I got exactly the counsel I needed- to turn outwards to others rather than inwards towards myself.
It's been so great. I hope I'm not forgetting anything! There will be a sequel email to this with more pictures. And thanks for the package and the letters from my family and friends! My roomates and I loved the Oreos so much- there's a picture of how sad we were when they were gone (it took us maybe 24 hours to eat them all....). But don't worry that we're short on treats! Sister Carter just got a 4.05lb package of fudge brownies from her boyfriend (don't ask me how he did it, he's in the Mexico MTC right now- but we're glad he did) and we've got vending machines!
The MTC store has a great discount, so I went ahead and bought myself new scriptures, which I highly recommend. Trying to have investigators read out of the scriptures I've had since I was 8 just didn't feel professional. So- for my family- send the kids with a little money, it's a 40% discount! I just got a soft cover set, like they have in chapel libraries, but they have the really nice leather ones here too. I kind of wish I'd just got really nice ones.
Anyway, to make sure I don't run out of time, I'm going to stop here. The next time you hear from me, I'll be in Vancouver!!
Love you all!
Sister Jacobs
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