i'm not sure if any of you have realized, but i'm leaving for CHILE in 4 DAYS! kind of a big deal. so i got my travel plans last week, and i need to be at the travel office at FOUR IN THE MORNING, so i can be at the airport for an early flight on monday. i can't believe it. it's so so so weird that it's somehow already been 9 weeks, and already i'm about to leave for some foreign country where i'll be expected to speak spanish and have some idea what i'm doing. i literallty feel like i jut got here! but at the same time, i feel like i've learned so much about myself and become a better person just in these 9 weeks. it's amazing how much the lord can touch your heart when you're open to it. the nice thing is that i think i've finally gotten to the point where i'm more excited to leave here than nervous, so that's been reassuring. going to chile will definitely be quite the adventure, and i'm looking forward to spending about 35 hours traveling across the world so i can teach those chilenos about something that's so close to my heart, and that can bring them the same happiness that i've felt.
other than that big news, pretty much everything else here is the same as usual. OH! except that we had some fun christmas celebrations at the mtc! we got to have a special church meeting with everyone in the mtc (usually we just meet in smaller groups and have a few speakers and take the sacrament, but this time we did it together with all 2,000+ missionaries). it was a really cool experience, and i loved just being able to see how many of us there really are! after that we had a really good lunch with turkey, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots, stuffing, and cheesecake (which i think is super gross, but others seemed pretty excited about it...) then we got to watch a broadcast of the mormon tabernacle choir, which was AMAZING! i love love love christmas (check out the posts on my other blog for evidence) and especially christmas music, so it was a really nice treat. we also had another fireside with a speaker who was pretty much hilarious. he kept cracking all these jokes at us, and was prety sarcastic a lot of the time, but he was so great. he shared a message about how to be a successful missionary, and how to return home a more faithful person than when you left. it really gave me a lot to think about, and helped me become that much more excited to get out there and teach. after that we watched mr. kreuger's christmas (with jimmy stewart), then got to go back to our residence an hour early for some personal time! it was SUCH a great christmas. as for new years, i can't imagine that we'd be doing anything too crazy, considering the fact that we're missionaries, but i imagine that they might do something special on saturday evening, but we still don't know. i'll probably find out tomorrow. i'll let you know next week i guess!
AND (this is completely unrelated to anything i just said, but i just want you to know...), they've kept the christmas lights on outside, which seriously makes my day every time i see them. i definitely would've been a little upset if they'd decided to turn them off after christmas...that's all.
well, this is it. the last time i'll be writing within the united states of america. phew. that's a little scary. but kind of SUPER COOL at the same time! i hope you all had a fun and safe christmas with your family and friends, and i look forward to updating you all again next week (not sure of the day yet) when i'm a real-life (no longer in training) missionary! thank you, sincerely, for your love and support. although i don't always hear from you, i know that i have friends and family back home that love me and that want the best for me. thank you for that. i'm so lucky to have you. '
-hermana wright
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
December 22, 2011
hola mundo,
so, there's still no snow here...i feel totally jipped. but at least we still have christmas lights and are singing christmas hymns every day, or i'd probably be mad....haha.
um, i only have 2 and a half minutes left to write so things are going to have to be quick this time around. here are some hilights of my week:
i auditioned for a vocal solo in front of the wives of the presidency here at the mtc! if they choose my song, i'll sing in front of the whole mtc!! crazy...there's a chance i won't be able to because i leave so soon and they've already scheduled a lot of them, but we'll see
i got to be a host for a new missionary! basically i helped her get her luggage to her room, get her books and everything, and took her to meet her district! it was so fun and helped remind me of how i felt the day i got here! luckily, i feel a lot less overwhelmed now...i love this place!
oh man, those couple minutes went by fast! i'll try and do better next time....
merry christmas everyone! remember that the reason we have this holiday is to celebrate the birth of christ, and live as he did. have fun with your families and enjoy all of your fun traditions! i love you all, seriously!
hermana wright
so, there's still no snow here...i feel totally jipped. but at least we still have christmas lights and are singing christmas hymns every day, or i'd probably be mad....haha.
um, i only have 2 and a half minutes left to write so things are going to have to be quick this time around. here are some hilights of my week:
i auditioned for a vocal solo in front of the wives of the presidency here at the mtc! if they choose my song, i'll sing in front of the whole mtc!! crazy...there's a chance i won't be able to because i leave so soon and they've already scheduled a lot of them, but we'll see
i got to be a host for a new missionary! basically i helped her get her luggage to her room, get her books and everything, and took her to meet her district! it was so fun and helped remind me of how i felt the day i got here! luckily, i feel a lot less overwhelmed now...i love this place!
oh man, those couple minutes went by fast! i'll try and do better next time....
merry christmas everyone! remember that the reason we have this holiday is to celebrate the birth of christ, and live as he did. have fun with your families and enjoy all of your fun traditions! i love you all, seriously!
hermana wright
Thursday, December 15, 2011
December 15, 2011
i'm back! well, i've been here all along, but i do apologize for being a little mia last week. it's so hard to write everything i want to say in under 30 minutes! but i'll give it my best shot. especially since i have exciting news....i have a NEW COMPANION! again...haha. so if there's one thing i've learned about my stay here at the mtc, it's that things will always be changing. it's really good though because i think i'd probably get too comfortable otherwise. so her name is hermana jensen, and she's from orem utah. she's going to nicaragua for her mission, so she'll be here for 3 weeks, then she goes to the guatemala mtc for the remaining 6 weeks of her training. i'm SO lucky to have her, especially because she's a solo sister too (the only girl in her district/class), so i've been able to help her figure things out and get settled in. i can already tell that we'll get along really well over the next few weeks, and i'm really looking forward to getting to know her better.
and as for the spanish update: puedo hablar mas que antes, pero todavia tengo miedo! it's definitely gotten to the point where i think in spanish more often, and i can usually express myself, it may just take me longer than i'd like. especially when i have to use one of the harder grammar principles (subjunctive anyone? yuck.) but it's getting there. i'm feeling SO much more comfortable than the first couple of weeks, but i still have a long way to go.
things are getting pretty christmasy here, and i'm totally loving it. they have christmas lights like the ones on temple square on campus here, and i make sure to walk back that way to my residence every night so i can see them. DEFinitely a hilight of my day. we also have a homemade paper christmas tree with a tiny yellow star that i absolutely love. it's so cute. one of the elders even drew little colored lights on it. it was great. BUT, the best part is that our teacher, hermano wheeler, brought in ACTUAL colored christmas lights that we hung around the perimeter of the chalkboard! needless to say, i make sure that they're turned on every day when we go in for class. we also get to sing christmas hymns all the time, which helps me remember that it really is the christmas season. now we just need some more snow! it snowed once this week, but because it's provo, it definitely melted like 5 seconds later. but we were quick and made some little snowmen when we had the chance, and i took some pictures to prove it! the best part was that one of the elders, elder FLAKE, put his tag on the snowman. so like, elder flake...snowflake...yeah. i promise it was funny.
another great thing about this past week is that the byu men's chorus came to sing at the mtc on sunday! they did some of the songs from their christmas program and it was amazing. i absolutely LOVE music, but ESPECIALLY men's choirs, so it was pretty much the happiest thing ever.
on tuesday we had a devotional by elaine s. dalton, and she gave a really good talk about different kinds of gifts we give and receive at christmastime that can't be bought or sold. she focused on the birth of christ and what a blessing that is to all of us. one of the things that stood out the most to me was when she said "as a missionary, you set out to change someone's life with the gospel, and when they join the church, the end up changing yours." it was just a reminder to me that i have this great opportunity to go out there and change the world, and i can't wait to get to chile and get started! she also shared her favorite scriptures, which are proverbs 3:5-6, which says to trust in the lord and he will direct your paths. this has been such a helpful scripture to me as i've had different struggles here. as i've trusted in God, however, i've felt at peace knowing that he's directing my path and taking care of me every step of the way.
pues, es el tiempo para salir, pero i love you all! talk to you next week!
hermana wright
and as for the spanish update: puedo hablar mas que antes, pero todavia tengo miedo! it's definitely gotten to the point where i think in spanish more often, and i can usually express myself, it may just take me longer than i'd like. especially when i have to use one of the harder grammar principles (subjunctive anyone? yuck.) but it's getting there. i'm feeling SO much more comfortable than the first couple of weeks, but i still have a long way to go.
things are getting pretty christmasy here, and i'm totally loving it. they have christmas lights like the ones on temple square on campus here, and i make sure to walk back that way to my residence every night so i can see them. DEFinitely a hilight of my day. we also have a homemade paper christmas tree with a tiny yellow star that i absolutely love. it's so cute. one of the elders even drew little colored lights on it. it was great. BUT, the best part is that our teacher, hermano wheeler, brought in ACTUAL colored christmas lights that we hung around the perimeter of the chalkboard! needless to say, i make sure that they're turned on every day when we go in for class. we also get to sing christmas hymns all the time, which helps me remember that it really is the christmas season. now we just need some more snow! it snowed once this week, but because it's provo, it definitely melted like 5 seconds later. but we were quick and made some little snowmen when we had the chance, and i took some pictures to prove it! the best part was that one of the elders, elder FLAKE, put his tag on the snowman. so like, elder flake...snowflake...yeah. i promise it was funny.
another great thing about this past week is that the byu men's chorus came to sing at the mtc on sunday! they did some of the songs from their christmas program and it was amazing. i absolutely LOVE music, but ESPECIALLY men's choirs, so it was pretty much the happiest thing ever.
on tuesday we had a devotional by elaine s. dalton, and she gave a really good talk about different kinds of gifts we give and receive at christmastime that can't be bought or sold. she focused on the birth of christ and what a blessing that is to all of us. one of the things that stood out the most to me was when she said "as a missionary, you set out to change someone's life with the gospel, and when they join the church, the end up changing yours." it was just a reminder to me that i have this great opportunity to go out there and change the world, and i can't wait to get to chile and get started! she also shared her favorite scriptures, which are proverbs 3:5-6, which says to trust in the lord and he will direct your paths. this has been such a helpful scripture to me as i've had different struggles here. as i've trusted in God, however, i've felt at peace knowing that he's directing my path and taking care of me every step of the way.
pues, es el tiempo para salir, pero i love you all! talk to you next week!
hermana wright
Thursday, December 8, 2011
December 8, 2011
Sophia didn't have time to write a letter for her blog this week, but she wanted me (Livia) to let you all know she's continually adjusting and growing in the MTC.
An interesting tidbit she shared in a letter with me is that she encountered an Elder from my ward in Ogden. Elder Shafer made a pit-stop in the Provo MTC before heading to Peru for further training. She taught a lesson about time-management and he recognized Sophia from the times she has visited me and Kev in Ogden. The LDS Church always reminds us how small the world is.
Also, please note that her MTC mailbox changed from 285 to 287. So if you send a real letter or a package (Christmas goodies!) make sure you have the updated mailing address.
An interesting tidbit she shared in a letter with me is that she encountered an Elder from my ward in Ogden. Elder Shafer made a pit-stop in the Provo MTC before heading to Peru for further training. She taught a lesson about time-management and he recognized Sophia from the times she has visited me and Kev in Ogden. The LDS Church always reminds us how small the world is.
Also, please note that her MTC mailbox changed from 285 to 287. So if you send a real letter or a package (Christmas goodies!) make sure you have the updated mailing address.
Monday, December 5, 2011
December 1
gracias amigos!
es un milagro...finalmente estoy mejorando con hablando espanol! so it's gotten to the point where i'm speaking spanish so much that i've started to think in spanish...it's the wierdest thing. i think i talked last time about how i feel like i'm living in spanglish - a mysterious place where my spanish isn't all that great, and my english is progressively getting worse too-it's kind of sad. i catch myself every once in a while as i'm talking in english and can't think of a word because the only one that comes to mind is spanish. super wierd. but good i think! although my grammar hasn't gotten all that much better in spanish, i've noticed that it's definitely a lot easier to talk to other people and i'm a lot less scared of making mistakes, which is a huge relief.
so my thanksgiving was VERY different than usual, but sooo good. in the morning we heard from russell m nelson, which was of course an amazing experience. we also had a little thanksgiving program with some music and a dorky little pilgrim/indian skit that was totally hilarious. after that we got to do a service project, where we (all of the missionaries in the mtc) made 8,000 first aid kits that will be sent to the sudan. it was a really great experience to participate in something that would affect so many people.
i've only got a minute left, but i wanted to share a quick thought from our devotional speaker on sunday, elder yamashita of the 70:
-first of all, his wife spoke in VERY broken english, but i still felt so much love and appreciation for her for even trying to speak in a language that she'd only been learning for the last 2 months. it helped me realize that even though i still won't be very good at spanish when i get to chile, i will have god's help, and the people i teach will be able to feel his love through me as long as i'm doing everything i can top be a good missionary.
i also really liked this quote from president hinckley: "yesterday was a good day in my life. every day is a good day in my life. i hope you will make every day a good day in your life." ah! so inspiring! it's MY responsibility to make every day a good one here, in the mission field, and when i get home!
uh oh, time's up.
i love you all. no joke.
hna. wright
es un milagro...finalmente estoy mejorando con hablando espanol! so it's gotten to the point where i'm speaking spanish so much that i've started to think in spanish...it's the wierdest thing. i think i talked last time about how i feel like i'm living in spanglish - a mysterious place where my spanish isn't all that great, and my english is progressively getting worse too-it's kind of sad. i catch myself every once in a while as i'm talking in english and can't think of a word because the only one that comes to mind is spanish. super wierd. but good i think! although my grammar hasn't gotten all that much better in spanish, i've noticed that it's definitely a lot easier to talk to other people and i'm a lot less scared of making mistakes, which is a huge relief.
so my thanksgiving was VERY different than usual, but sooo good. in the morning we heard from russell m nelson, which was of course an amazing experience. we also had a little thanksgiving program with some music and a dorky little pilgrim/indian skit that was totally hilarious. after that we got to do a service project, where we (all of the missionaries in the mtc) made 8,000 first aid kits that will be sent to the sudan. it was a really great experience to participate in something that would affect so many people.
i've only got a minute left, but i wanted to share a quick thought from our devotional speaker on sunday, elder yamashita of the 70:
-first of all, his wife spoke in VERY broken english, but i still felt so much love and appreciation for her for even trying to speak in a language that she'd only been learning for the last 2 months. it helped me realize that even though i still won't be very good at spanish when i get to chile, i will have god's help, and the people i teach will be able to feel his love through me as long as i'm doing everything i can top be a good missionary.
i also really liked this quote from president hinckley: "yesterday was a good day in my life. every day is a good day in my life. i hope you will make every day a good day in your life." ah! so inspiring! it's MY responsibility to make every day a good one here, in the mission field, and when i get home!
uh oh, time's up.
i love you all. no joke.
hna. wright
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