More pictures from MTC Week 2

The Empty Sea

Well... I have survived the four days since I arrived at the MTC! The days have gone by slow but the week has gone by quickly. I was not expecting that at all.

When I was dropped off at the MTC, everything happened so quickly that (as Mom pointed out) I didn't even have time to think about anything else. I picked up my books and took a bus to West Campus where we dropped off my suitcases and headed straight to the classroom.

They don't cut you any slack! Straight to work!

Our teacher is Brother Ashby and he has said maybe 100 words in English since we arrived. 

For someone who knows very little Spanish... this has been muy difficult.

I feel like the phrase I use most is ?Como se dice...? which means "How do you say...." I am so grateful that I am not learning Russian like Kirsten, because Spanish is challenging enough! 

Ahhh! My companion is Hna. Bunderson that I met on Facebook! She is so sweet and we get along really well. Even though she is very young (well... a lot younger than me!), she teaches me so much and is such a good example and companion. Our district (those who meet in our same classroom and we have the same schedule and do all our activities together) consists of 8 elders and 4 hermanas. Hna Bunderson and I are going to Ciudad Juarez, along with 4 other elders. The other two hermanas are going to Tuxtlagutierrez Mexico, along with 2 other elders, and then we have an elder going to El Salvador and an elder who was supposed to go to El Salvador but was reassigned to Chile the day he got here. 

The other two hermanas are in our apartment, and it's just us! Four to a bathroom and two to a room is preeeettttty good considering other apartments have six to a bathroom and the main campus is six to a room and they all have to share a community bathroom. We are truly blessed to be on West campus! 

Our classroom is just in the living room of a former apartment. It's pretty tight and squished but it's a very positive learning environment. On Friday, we had the opportunity to teach a sister in Spanish. Hna Bunderson and I volunteered to go first! I am doing everything that I can in order to qualify for the gift of tongues.... even if it means volunteering to go first teaching an investigator. I also was able to bear my testimony in Spanish that morning, and I have volunteered to say the  closing prayer in Spanish after Sacrament meeting on Sunday. Hna Bunderson and I also gave the message at the zone devotional on Friday night. Oh yeah and I should mention... she and I have been called to be Sister Training Leaders. 

Ah yeah. My second night there and already I've been called to be an STL...

Ha ha... Heavenly Father has a very good sense of humor... 

I won't lie.... it's been hard being here. Wednesday was good because I felt like I was back in Cedar City at school. 

Thursday was the toughest day. I was discouraged by my Spanish progression and it was a long and strenuous day. But Friday was so much better. Prayer truly works. I felt a lot more confident in my Spanish on Friday, enough to bear my testimony and teach the investigator first, at least! It is crazy how much I have learned since coming here. I am using my education to the fullest!! I can tell you that much!

Last night, elders in our zone held a "pre-P-Day" party where they handed out food they had collected over the last six weeks. Their zone leaves on Monday for Argentina. Hna Bunderson and I went over to see all the elders and get some food (we have many elders in our zone but only four hermanas... the elders treat us very well!!) and we were standing there talking to them.

Elder 1: Well... we're just going to give them (gestures to us) all of this food when we're done because we like them better... even though we've only know them for... two days...

Elder 2: You should give them all to me because the hermanas... you know... like to keep their... slim figures...

Ahahaha! We could not stop laughing. That seems like all we do nowadays. Hna Bunderson, Hna Baker y Hna Hansen and I always seem to be laughing! Our district is very lighthearted and we love to make jokes and have fun. You have to in the MTC, or else you can't enjoy it at all!

Ha ha... our branch president President Wilkins specifically told me in my interview that I needed to learn to laugh at myself. Ahhhh yeah. 

My schedule is pretty busy, in case you are wondering. We wake up at 6:30 each day (except for Saturdays (P-Days) and Sundays, where we wake up at about 5:45) and get ready, and then breakfast is at 7:00. Then we are in our classrooms for personal study from about 7:45-10:30. After that, we have gym time until about 11:30 and we have a chance to shower before lunch at 12. We have to be back in our classroom at 12:45 until 4:30, then dinner is at 4:30 until 5:15, and then we are in our classrooms from 5:15 until 9:00. Sundays and Tuesdays we have devotionals, so our schedules are a little different. 

Hna Bunderson and I plan on doing choir! 

I am doing it because I love to sing... Hna Bunderson wants to do it because it means less class time! 

This week has been hard BUT I can see the blessings that are coming from it. I miss everyone so much but thanks to being at school for three years, it is easier for me. 

I wish I could send you all the wonderful pictures from this week buuuuuuuut we just found out that there are no computers on West Campus that can upload pictures and only a few computers on Main Campus that can upload pictures. We were there earlier today (actually... Hna Bunderson and I have been to main campus every day this week due to one reason or another) and we have to take a bus to get up there and it is just a whole debacle.

We are more interested in taking a nap. Ha! 

So no pictures this week. We learned our lesson so hopefully there will be some next week. 

Also! I got a notice that I will be traveling up to Salt Lake to go to the Mexican consulate for my visa paperwork on Tuesday. So that's exciting! It will be nice to take a break from classes and ride with some of the other elders in my district up there.

Well.... a nap is calling me. I love you all and can't wait to see you in 18 months minus one week!

Con amor,

Make the Magic

About three weeks ago, I got a phone call from a neighbor looking to see if I would be interested in being a camp counselor for Kesem. I didn't think anything of it-- I was in the process of moving and getting ready for my mission and I didn't think I'd have time to do it. The next week, after a ward trip to Manti to see the pageant, my cute friend Lindsey explained that they were still desperately in need of two female counselors for camp the following week. In a spur of the moment decision-- I told her I would do it, I would go.

I moved out of my house on the 4th of July and drove to Camp Wapiti in Tooele that Sunday. Lucky me, I was rear-ended on the way there and went through camp with a lot of neck soreness. Boo.

For those of you who don't know, Camp Kesem is a camp for children whose parents have cancer. Their goals are to provide children affected by a parent’s cancer with a supportive, lifelong camp community that recognizes and understands their unique needs and to empower college students to make a difference and build invaluable leadership skills by developing and managing every aspect of their Camp Kesem chapter.

 I was able to be a cabin counselor during this amazing week. I had eight girls that I got to supervise in the cabins at night, and talk to them about their lives, what they're going through, what their fears are. I got to play games, throw paint, squish spiders (ew), run through the rain at 11:30 at night. I had one of the younger girls grab my hand after messily going to the bathroom. I have never laughed so hard in my entire life.

One of the fun parts of camp is that no one goes by their real names. You pick a nickname (counselors included!) and that's what you go by all of camp. My nickname was NASA, because of my model rocket stuff. It psyched me out every time someone would say that because a) it was so AWESOME and b) I am not used to being called NASA ahahahaha.

I will tell you one thing. I understand now why I couldn't go earlier than now to the MTC even though I was ready. I'm leaving in August and not June because I needed to be at that camp and have those experiences. It was amazing and I totally understand now why I needed to leave later. I needed to be able to touch those kids' hearts and help them get through things that they're going through, and that's why I had to be here right now at this exact moment. And if I had put my papers in in January, I would have left a lot earlier and I wouldn't have been able to be there for these kids and make friends with the counselors and learn the things I did.

These kids are some of the most inspiring people I have ever met. I can't even imagine the pain, the anguish, the emotional rollercoasters they go through on a daily basis. These kids are so amazing and such an example to me. Somehow, despite all the heartache that goes on in their lives, they can keep smiling. Camp helps them be a kid. It helps them to get away- not to forget, per se, but it puts them in an environment where everyone surrounding them understands what they're going through. It's a friendly reminder that they are not alone. And that they're still kids, and it's okay for them to laugh, to smile and giggle and have fun. Because they're just kids after all.

If you are interested in learning more about what we do at Camp Kesem, or want to donate to help camps happen in the future, please feel free to visit our SUU Camp Kesem website. All donations go towards camp purposes and helping SUU continue these camps. The more we fundraise and the more donations we get, the more kids we can let into camp, and the more funds we have for these kids during camp.

** For privacy reasons, I can't post any photos of camp that contain kids. If you want to see more pictures or our weeklong slideshow, you can visit and "like" our Facebook page.