Friday, December 24, 2010

It's REALLY going to be a white Christmas!

Family!!!
> hello from the lovely MTC... WOW is all I have to say... its snowing like
> crazy today! and it snowed all day yesterday.... i cant imagine what it
> looks like outside of the MTC (since we are kinda boxed in) ... so be safe
> driving up on sunday! its going to be really pretty though, Gainer will
> probably love to see the snow and all the kids can have fun playing in it!
>  Well its been really good to get your guys letters! you should send more
> dear elders!! they are easy to send and then i get mail!! But i hope all is
> going well. Mom im glad to hear that the Mini meets went will... i forget
> that its a crazy time of year... around christmas time with everything going
> on.. Dad... are you sad you dont get to go to mexico? hahahah Utah is going
> to be so much better! plus! then at least the whole family is in the same
> state... I wish you guys could just come and stop by and say hello... but i
> probably wouldnt stay here.. haha no no... like ive said before i really do
> Love the mtc... its been so great and i cant believe how much ive learned
> and how much i have changed already...
> So to explain more about the MTC i will tell you a typical day
>   Basically we wake up at 6 and work out till 630 then we have to be ready
> by 7 to go get breakfast and then usually we have to be in class by 730.
> Sometimes we dont have a teacher so thats called MDT (i forget what is
> stands for) but basically everyday(and the time changes depending on when
> our teachers get here ) we have personal study time for about 4 to 5 hours a
> day. In that time we can study Language and our personal scripture study and
> companion study... so my companion and I study the D & C and my personal
> study time is the Book of mormon. Then class time we actually have a teacher
> (who both my teachers go to BYU and arent married and one of them was in my
> ward actually... super weird) but they will come teach us during various
> times in the day and if they are here for like a 4 hour block... i literally
> DIE! its so unfortunate to have ADHD... haha but i survive... Then we have
> lunch and dinner inbetween those times...
> So to describe how the MTC works... we are divided in to Zones... which then
> divide into districts... so there are 5 districts in my zone and we have 8
> people in my district... and to be honest i love my district. The other 2
> sisters are great and the Elders... welll they struggle studying a little
> but we try to help them out. Its kinda cool to see how much we have all
> grown just in 3 weeks. The older districts ((they came 6 weeks ahead of us)
> leave in like 2 weeks.... so they do this thing called SYL which means for
> the last 2 weeks you are here, you can only speak your language... hahaha..
> i cant imaging doing that right now.. i mean i know more than i thought i
> would being here for 3 weeks but i dont know a lot at all... haha but its
> kinda cool to see that in just like 4 weeks we will be where they are...
> oh and today is P-day which means we get to write you guys and then we get
> to do our laundry and we usually get to go to the temple but its closed for
> the hollidays. Then we get to write home (the only day we get to write
> actually letters) and wear REAL clothes! hahaha i miss my real clothes so i
> love putting on jeans.. even if it is only for like 4 hours
> Anyway... other than that CHRISTMAS IS SATURDAY!! i would love to see
> pictures of the kids and stuff on christmas so please send me pictures if
> you can.. and i hope you guys have a fun italian theme.. haha i wish i were
> there for that one. On christmas here, we actually get a sack dinner because
> nobody is here to make the food hahaha but the day of christmas will be so
> fun. We have a talent show planned and i think a memeber of the quorm of the
> 12 is coming. Honestly,  im really excited to be here on christmas, i mean,
> there are 2500 or so missionaries in the MTC right now and we are all in the
> same boat. And they have really pressed the true meaning of christmas... i
> mean, if it werent for christ we wouldnt be here right? Our purpose here as
> missionaries is to "invite others to come unto christ" so its amazing to
> finally grasp the true meaning of christmas... (even if i am 22 :( ) haha
> well Make sure you tell grace happy birthday from me... i will see what i
> can find next week to send her, there isnt much at the MTC or else i would
> have tried to send christmas presents to all of you... so im sorry about
> that.. unless you want like candy/study journals... i have no options haha
> Mom i did get your package though (if you were talking about the one with
> mints and reeses and fiber one bars) excepts dont send reeses with happy
> mints anymore cause its makes them take funny haha. But i couldnt tell what
> gainer drew in his letter its was cute though. And he actually misses me?
> ahaha i knew he would... he loves when i tease him he even said it
> himself... when get my new missionary tags (cause i get ones when i go to
> russia) i will send him my old ones so he can be a missionary... (even
> though it says sister, well actually cectpa... he wont know)...
> Oh and mom... you actually skated??? HAHAHAHAHAHAH what??! did someone get
> videos or pictures or something? i would have loved to see that...
> Well family, i wont get to send another email before christmas so I hope you
> guys have an awesome christmas!! play the dollar game for me!!! and know i
> love you all so much...
> Know how much I love where i am at right now... honestly, the longer i am
> here the longer i realize how important my calling is right now. I am
> privelaged right now to be set apart as a full time missionary... and its an
> amazing thing. The work that we get to perform comes straight from my father
> in heaven as long as i have faith and am willing to do what he wants me to.
> This is his work, not mine and its becoming more aparrent as the days go by.
> I can see his hand in everything i do here. THe lessons and the language
> especially.. sometimes i feel like i dont know any russian, but then a word
> will just pop into my head when i need it and i dont even realize i knew it.
> Thats truly the lord. THe times when i feel like i want to come home (which
> come i promise) i know the lord is there every step of the way with me and
> he helps me through them... Cause no offense, i love you guys so much but i
> get to spend eternity with you... so i dont want to come home. I want to
> give the people in russia what we have and should hold most precious.... SO
> think about me and send me email and pictures! haha i love this work and
> everything i means... and i love and miss you guys a lot. Sorry this email
> is super random my thoughts are always jumbled. Love you hope to hear from
> all of you soon!
>
>
>
> mom i wont have time to send one to everyone else so you can take bits and
> pieces from that one if you want... but a few things
> headbands... I would love lots of different colors and my roomates would
> love some too!! we decided and black and gray and cream like you said but
> also red and teals and purples and that green that i love and the yellow i
> love? remember? you know the colors i love and big ones would be great! and
> then also.... just like a ton of little rossettes (you know what im talking
> about ) maybe like the size of a silver dollar or quarter.. but if you can
> send like tons!!! my roomates would love and and so would i. you can sell
> something of mine to pay for them haah like my snowboard. so send like 20!!!
> i would love that!!
> Pictures- ok i hope they are still there but if now i NEED some for russia..
> so just print some of the last family ones we took.. like a few with me and
> the nephews and then nephews and then the sisters and then with you and dad
> too and then can you print a couple of the session we did with Mary and my
> friends? thanks so much! i love you!!
> Clothes..dont worry about skirts i guess  just sweaters and then a moo moo..
>  OH!! if you can fine like an avacodo
> green scarf that would be great! and i think i have a blue scarf in my
> clothes if you could look for that! i know i am asking for a ton!!! this is
> just stuff that i can take with me.. and then my boss at the MTC said he
> would take boxes for me so i dont have to pay to send stuff home! and jess
> or someone can come pick them up... anyway! thanks so much i really
> appreciate it!!! love you sooooo much!! talk to you soon and keep sending
> dear elders or even letters!!!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Week 2!!

Hello!!!! Greetings from the MTC!!
Thanks to everyone who has written me, your letters have helped me so much!!
Well, the MTC is still great, i love my companion, Sis Trottier and I love my Zone and district... We all get slap happy around 7 at night because we are soooooo tired from the day... its kinda funny...
THe food is still horrible.. haha i eat soup and salad and desserts... its really unfortunate...One of the Native Russians that are here called it Plastic haha
THe language is incredibly hard, but i know without the lords hand in all of this i wouldnt be where i am. I can pray and read and testify and meet someone in russian and its pretty amazing to know i didnt do all of it by myself. The Lord is definetly a part of all this.
Funny story! we had a "dress and grooming" class for the sister and a quote from teh Relief society president at the MTC talking about cleavage and covering it up she said "where much is given much is required" haha i about fell off my chair!!! it was hysterical she related a scripture to cleavage!! hahahaha
SO i am finally kinda getting to be a sister missionary.. my companion and i were talking about how awesome it would be to make legit Book of Mormon movies.. hahahaha i sat there and was like "OOOOh NOOOO i didnt just say that... im truly a sister missionary..."  it was hysterical!!
And i actually forgot what kind of phone i used to have and when i remembered i forgot how to use it hahaha its super weird how i have only been here for two weeks and i feel like its been 12954793 years...
Its truly an amamzing thing...
I am ALREADY sick of my clothes... surprise surprise right? haaha i am still worldly even as a sister... oh well!!

Well i am kinda of out of time! we dont get much here but to those who sent me letters i appreciate them more than you know!
and a final sister missionary thought.. Remember Christ during Christmas... honestly, he is the reason I am out here and i know that more now than i ever here.. without him we would not be here...
I love all you guys and i will write next week!!!!! Have a fun time at home for the hollidays!!! LOVE YOU!!!!
Love always, sister west!!!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Yes, I survived

  Hello Family!

  So I made it through my first week here at the MTC... and its been way better than i thought it would be. Honestly, i thought that I would be really homesick and missing life, but to be honest, and (no offense) im not
 really. We dont really have time to think about much.. like... no time AT ALL. When we arent eating... we are sitting in a classroom or teaching the first lesson or my mind is going off on russian words that may or may not be real words.... sometimes, i will be thinking of a word in russian, and i  will combine two words, or combine spanish words with russian words which seems weird right? Since i have never even taken a spanish class... haha. ya you never know what to expect here... but heres the jist of what has happened this past week THe first day i got here i met my companion,(who by the way I love, i couldnt get along better and i feel extremely blessed... and she didnt judge me for all the clothes i brought) her names sister trottier and shes from bountiful... i think she is the sister that jess actually told me about... anyway shes super cute and i love her. But we got to the mtc and had a couple meetings with the presidency and then got to unpack. THen the next couple of days were seriously... the LONGEST days of my life. Im not used to sitting for so many hours in a day and when we arent sitting in class.. we are sitting doing companion study or personal study. Sometimes i just have to walk around... that part is kind of bad but Ive really tried to not be so ADHD. Then sunday came and it being fast sunday, we had mission conference then church which was fast and testimony meeting and EVERYBODY bore their testimony in russian... i amlmost started crying. haha But it was one of the most spiritual meetings i have been in. But after sunday we have been on our regular schedule which has been really nice... we actually somewhat knows whats coming next and planning for our day helps a ton.
   Its funny though, i had only been here for 2 days, and on sat.. i saw the street for the first time since i had been here and i was like "what!! CARS!!!" haha its kinda crazy how easily you get sucked up into the MTC. But we got to actually leave campus on sunday for temple walks and then today on our P-days to go to the temple... So living... hmm i live with 5 other girls who are honestly amazing. i couldnt have asked for better roommates. we all get along really well and we are all going to russia so its really fun! Then my district, we have 4 elders and 4 sisters. Our district is pretty solid. Sometimes the Elders come into our study time in our classroom cause they dont know what to do so me and sister trottier have to kind of guide them. I just have to keep telling myself.. they are 19 year old boys. haha But They are all pretty strong and seeing as how we have only been here a week, we know our district really well...They have helped me strengthen my testimony in more ways than i would have thought.
so the food... hahahahaha thats all i can say... honestly, i havent really touched anything except soup and salad... every... single... day....  Its not that the food is bad, im just a little scared of it... its like HUGE
 meals every single meal... and remember, i promised myself my skirts had to fit me when i left here... haha. But its actually been really nice too cause we do have an hour of gym dedicated specifically to our zone.. but here in the MTC they also have Classes for JUST the sisters at 6 am... and they are like legit classes! we have had step, and kick boxing and power tone and something else i cant remember... but every morning at 6 am, monday through sat... we get a half and hour of what seems like actuall life... and classes where I feel like im actually getting a workout. Cause the gym here...theres like a carpeted track upstairs that you have to run around 10 times for it to be a mile... it struggles and i struggle doing that so the classes
 save my life. So lets talk about russian.... HARD.... is all i have to say... even though i can pray now and bear my testimony and meet someone in russian already... honestly its one of the hardest things ive had to do... But you can really see how much the lord has blessed me since ive been here. Whenever im stressed or feel like its literally impossible.. i just pray to have patience and strength and it somehow happens... one of my favorite
 scriptures right now its "Patience with suffering" its in alma somewhere and isnt it the truth... I am suffering but all you can do is patiently wait,and trust in the lord and i know, without a doubt, hes there...
On a more missionary note... honestly, this is better than i could have asked for. in the past week, i have found out more about myself, about my Savior,and about my Father in heaven then i have in 22 years. its not easy by any means, but wow, its already worth it. what i have and will learn here will continue with me forever and i feel extremely blessed to be able to have this experience... I love where i am right now and wouldnt ask for anythingelse.. I miss you guys of course but i know this is where im supposed to
 be...

 well... theres not much more to say... i love you guys so much and just a few side notes

  and seriously... real letters help a ton too!!! reading emails is too hard and takes too much time we can only do it on tuesdays so real letters and packages would be nice hahaha and i can only write real letters on p days too so those might not come very often but to those who right me... thank you! letters are fun to get...
 (haha i never thought i would be speaking like a true missionary but it
 sounds like i am..)

 well... again... i love you all and i will write next week!!! i will probably have more to write next week... (sorry for the errors.. i wrote this fast) oh!! and i will send pictures soooon!!! i have to print them off
 then you can see my district and companion and i will write some russian for you... love you

Friday, December 3, 2010

MTC address

Here is Sister West MTC address! 
 
MTC mailbox #171
RUS-NOV 0215
2005 N 900 E
Provo Utah 84604-179