March 28, 2011

I LOVE letters!!  I'll start off by answering questions:

     I get to play volleyball after dinner on Mon & Sat.  THose days aren't as fun cause it's ober crowded and only 1/2 hr. But on Tues, Wed & Fri we play for 50 min & it's less people so I love it.  : ) We play queen of the court.  A lot of hte Elders play in my Zone so it's fun!  : )  My comp doesn't love it so she does her own thing.  And it works out good cause we both get a break to do our own thing.  I'm really grateful for how well gym time works out though. I seem to have a good system. : )

     Dinner/food @ the MTC is... alright. : ) Not homemade that's for sure. : ) But I love mashed potatoes here.  They are pretty good.  We've had some really yummy salads here too!  For the most part the food is good, so I'm  not complaining.  Oh Sun and Wed we have ice cream & it's yummy!  I tried vanilla ice cream w/frosted flakes!  Not too shabby. : ) They also make some yummy curly fries here.  But I try not to have them too often. : ) OH!! How could I forget this?!  : D  Guess what Friday is?!  : ) PIZZA Night! : ) Boo Yeah!  Annnd don't even worry, it's from Papa Johns!!  I was so stoaked when I found that out. : D The Lord sure loves his missionaries! : )
    
     Sundays are wonderful different than the rest of the week. : ) And this last Sunday was fast Sunday for us & I was soooo spiritually fed!  Ahh it was SO good!  All the talks were SO inspirational!! It was wonderful!! For the mission conf. we talked about the Christlike attribultes we need to have & strive for as missionaries.  THis week our district is working on Dilligence.  It's a struggle sometimes when you're in class for 6 plus hours a day. But I'm learning to pray more to have the spirit. : ) Ok the fireside was EXCELLENT holy cow!! : D Steven B. Allen spoke to us on our expectations as missionaries & what they should be.  It was so powerful!  He taught us that our expectations need to meet Heavenly Fathers perfectly & it needs to match our purpose exactly. This isn't my mission, it's the Lords & I'm simply an instrument in his hands. : ) I'm trying really hard to remember that & work better @ not being a "me monster". : )  Oh!! And how could I forget?! On Sunday Pres. (MTC President) Brown gave an OUTSTANDING talk on the Saviors Attonement & went into extreme detail of his last few hours of His life.  Remember Elder Hollands talk on that & how powerful it was?  Yeah... Pres. Browns I'd say was about 2x as powerful.  Both excellent talks, but I've never heard a talk so humbling, so peaceful, & so powerful in my life.  It was beautiful.  We are SO blessed to have a perfect  loving Savior who suffered all for us so we don't have to if we follow Him. : ) My testimony was strengthened so much on Sunday.  I was fed with a feast.  I love fast Sundays.  Any Sunday really. : ) They are so filling & realxing, yet we still work.  : ) After Sacrament we go on a temple walk. : ) I love temple walks!  Something about getting out of MTC grounds I think. : ) Ha ha plus the Temple itself is peaceful.  After the Fireside we have a movie.  That's pretty relaxing too.  Sundays are really good recharging days. : )
    
     Life is good here, I'm trying to work hard to learn Spanish.  I love you all!  : ) I'm soooo STOAKED for conference!! Talk about another feast to be spiritually fed!! I know I'm where I'm supposed to be. : ) Have a wonderful week! The Church is True!!

xoxo, Hermana Stevens

March 23, 2011

Dearest Family & Friends,
  
      The MTC is way awesome still. :)  We had some breakdowns @ night but that's just cause Spanish can really overwhelm me.  BUT the Lord shows me my weakness so I can be humbled, then become stronger. You def learn a lot about yourself here. I've realized how much I truely have to rely on the Lord every single day.  I've never prayed so much in my life but I love prayer!!  Everytime I pray I know God is listening. :)

     I LOVE the Spirit I fell everyday at the MTC. I sand in the Choir yesterday & it was the best choir I've ever been in! : ) So many men's voices!  It was BOMB! We sang Be Still My Soul.  It was beautiful & my love & testimony grew so much from that song. : ) I love to sing the hymns.  The Spirit comes so quickly from chruch music.  We sing every morning together in my district.  : ) Oh ya & we sing them in Spanish. : )

     My District is so fun!  Everyone is so spiritual & hard working, but they can be so funny too! : ) I have a quote book with all the funny things everyone says. : ) It's a crack up!  My District has gotten so close already and it's only been a week. : ) By 9 weeks we will be family no doubt.

     My Branch President is awesome!  He's super nice and spiritual. : ) My teachers are incredible they are so good @ teaching & they  bring the Spirit to class everyday. : ) They know how to be funny & sarcastic, but they know when to bear testimony & testify. : )  They boost our confidence really well too.  They make me feel very accomplished with what I've learned allready. : )

     So ya life is good!  I love you all so much & thank you for your love & prayers.  : ) Hope to hear from you soon!!

xoxo, Hermana Stevens

First letter home. :)

March 18, 2011

Familia!   
My first letter home!! :)  I have so much to say & my hand doesn't move quick enough to write it!  Ah where to start?!  I LOVE THE MTC!! :D  What an incredible place to be with so many happy people! The first day you're there, EVERYONE welcomes you. You wear an orange sticker "dork dot" on your tag so everyone knows you're new. :)  Ha ha I love it because everyone knows I'm lost ALL the time & is so willing to direct me where to go. :)  The first day was really long & crammed full of info.  Kinda hard to soak it all in but I did my best. :)

I LOVE my companion!!  Hermana Y is her name & she is wonderful!  We got along instantly & she is so nice & funny!!  Things get better between us everyday. :)  We are so stoked to go to SD together! I hope we get to be comps there!

I love my District & Zone everyone is super nice & our district gets along so well & its only day 3. :)  We will definitely be family by the time we all leave.  I LOVE it.  We have a goal that by week 4 we wont speak anymore English.  That'll be so sweet to do that! :)

I love learning Spanish.  Hermana Y is so good & learning Spanish & remembers things really well.  She keeps me on my toes wanting to learn more. :)  Yesterday we learned how to bear our testimonies & pray in Spanish.  In one day!!  That boggles my mind!! :)  I truly know the Holy Ghost is guiding me & I really do have the gift of tongues. :)  I pray for that gift everyday & know that the Lord is blessing me. :)

Whew!!  That's a lot to get in 20 min of writing!  But my time is up & I need to study.  But I wanted to let you know life is SO GOOD here !  I LOVE being a missionary!  I love this gospel & my Savior Jesus Christ!

I hope all is well @ home.  No more mourning for my absence. :)  I love you all with all my heart!  Thanks for your love, prayers & support!!

Love always, Hermana Stevens