July 8th, 2017 Week 4 in the MTC

My whole district in our fourth of July get up

July 8^th, 2017

This week has been kinda crazy but also good. The time continues to fly by it feels like I was just sending out my last email yesterday and not a week ago.

Sunday: Was fast Sunday which was good but at the same time it was real rough. We were all low blood sugar and emotional and it was fast and testimony meeting and all the departing missionaries got up and bore their testimonies and it was a really great meeting. Then at the very end of the meeting we sang "God be with you till we meet again" and everyone lost it. There was not a dry eye in the room. It is actually really amazing the strength of the friendships and bonds formed in such a short time. Also, on Sunday we had the strangest devotional... It was the brother of the MTC mission president and he sang the story of Joseph Smith..... it could have potentially been a good experience if he could stay on key and if all the songs didn't sound like twangy-folk music.

Monday: We had service again. Then we went to send off a whole group of elders and sisters from my zone as well as Elder Moote and Elder Brown. That was kinda sad but I'm also really excited for all of them they are going all over the world and they are gonna be awesome. Then my district got to host the new group of senior missionaries that came in this week and that was so fun. We helped them park and find their rooms and go to the bookstore to get there materials. Although they we are not the same age they reminded me of myself on my first day at the MTC... a little scared but mostly excited and a little confused at how the strange utopian society called the MTC works. It was actually really fun but I hope I get to host young missionaries at least once before I go too.

Tuesday: Hermana Hogan and I taught Connie again today. We showed up with a lesson plan but she told us she hadn't read in the LDM at all so we took the whole time and just read in 1 Nephi and asked her questions and then also answered her own questions. It was actually a really great lesson even though we didn't actually teach anything out of PMG.

On a totally not spiritual note... some of the elders in my district/zone decided it would be a fun challenge to eat 10 things of ice cream for dinner and nothing else.... one of them is lactose intolerant and all of them were stupid. None of them could make it to ten and most of them threw up at least once but the picture really captures it all.

Wednesday: We taught Connie again and this time we also went in with a lesson about the commandments planned but neither Hermana Hogan or I felt good about it while we were preparing but we were both praying and couldn't figure out what else we were supposed to teach. We went in feeling so uncertain and honestly kinda crappy cuz I knew I was not supposed to teach that. Then we actually got to the lesson and we were asking our asking follow up questions she finally opened up about some of her struggles about why she was hesitant to join the church (we asked her a few lessons ago to be baptized and she told us no). We were able to answer her questions and calm her doubts and fears and she agreed to be baptized. It was honestly a really good lesson.

We hit our 3 week mark! That means now I am more than half way done with the MTC and sooner than I know I'm gonna find myself in NYC, saying... "that's not the Spanish I learned in the MTC" lol. We also got a whole ton of new missionaries in our Zone! I think it was 24 or something like that and we only had 11 people leave so our zone is huge now!

Thursday: Thursdays are kinda rough cuz we have class from 8:30-11:30 and then again at 1;30-4:30 so they kinda drag on forever. And nothing ever really happens on Thursdays but today in gym time Elder Leonard an elder in my zone sprained his ankle which was pretty rough so he has to extend a week in the MTC before he leaves to Peru. He's kinda mad about that...

Friday: We taught Connie again today, but because it was a Friday we taught with a member. We went to go pick up our member from the TRC office and Lo and behold it's "Smalls" my lacrosse coach from when I was in 5th grade! It’s such a small world! But we went on and taught Connie. The lesson went okay... not one of our greatest lessons but esta bien. Then later at gym time Elder Killpack dislocated his ankle and he has a small fracture. We aren't sure yet but his chances of having to go home and get surgery are pretty high... so please keep him in your prayers.

Thanks to everyone who sent me emails and letters this week they are so fun to read! I hope to hear from you all soon!

Nos quiero mucho!

Hermana Dobson