Loving the MTC

Hello Lovelies!

Just another great week in the MTC. What more can I say. Life is great, life of a missionary is even better.

Just a quick update (for my mother's sake). I am supposed to report to the mission field in Spain on Monday! My time here at the lovely MTC is coming to a close...HOWEVER, I still have not received my Visa. And no, I'm not the only one in my entire district who hasn't gotten their Visa...or maybe I am. So, what does that mean for me? Well, it means my district, companions included, will be leaving on an airplane early Monday morning and I'll be waving goodbye 10,000 feet below with giant tears streaming down my face. It also, most likely will mean I will become a  "solo sister" (tender subject) This means I will be assigned to two Elders who get the wonderful opportunity of escorting me  everywhere I go. Don't worry, it will be super fun for everyone involved and I am not even a little but worried about it. Not even a little... OH, andddd I will be the only sister left in our entire zone. Translation=I'll be the only sister with 25 Elders aka 18--19 yr old brothers. Please pray for me. This will be great! 

I'll let you know more as I know more, of course. I might get to even call you next week!!! But in all seriousness, it's all good. I am actually not even worried a little bit about what will happen to me. All I know is I've promised the Lord the next 18 months of my life. When He needs me in Spain, I'll be in Spain. Until then I'm just happy knowing that He has a temporary plan set aside specifically for me and I'll love spending the next x amount of time figuring it out. Couldn't be happier.

So, life is great here and I'm obviously loving the ups and downs of being a Sister missionary, but I still have my moments. I still have moments when my heart aches for things that I miss the most.

Things I Miss:

1) Home cooked meals. Oh my goodness it's like college eating on a whole new level. All I want is some yummy oaty brown rice and some homemade honey chicken. Just sayin'.

2) Coming home late at night and finding a sleeping little monster in my bed all snuggled up. I'm sure she always had good intentions of waiting up for me.

3) Bubble Baths and country music. Duh.

4) Showering without shoes...think about it...gross.

5) Shopping...wait, what? (mom?)

6) Jeans. Enough said.

7) Family trips to the "fish store" Pick out some good coral for meeee! And, Allie May, I need pictures. Por Favor. 

8) Trips to the beach. All by myself. Soak it in for me, Ali.

Things That Make It All Worth It:

1) My district. Dream team right here! They honestly rock. We are truly blessed.

2) My awesome teachers! Honestly, best. ever. Trust me, I've talked to other missionaries...(we have the best ones.)

3) My wonderful companions. Again, how did I get so lucky?! They're perfectly perfect for me. Angels, I tell ya.

4) The soccer field opened yesterday. They sun came out. My life is complete.

5) LETTERS AND PACKAGES! Seriously though. Those wonderful pieces of heaven just top off each day with happiness. p.s. I am doing my best to write back, so don't ever think I forgot about you!

6) Learning how to grow closer to the spirit and listen to his promptings. This is by far the greatest gift we can ever receive. I can't think of anything more satisfying in this life.

7) Constantly seeing the changes in me. You better believe I'm changing here. For the better. It's slow, but it's sure.

8) Knowing that it's only going to get better!!!

I love you ALL! Can't wait to talk to you next week! Have a wonderful day and remember that God loves you. The Church is true. I can't imagine anything bringing more happiness than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

xoxo 

April Fools

Guess who is in Spain?! NOT ME. But I almost was...

Here's the story:

First of all, we finally met our teacher last week. His name is Hermano Boyack from San Diego and I'm older than him. So, that's neat. It's all good though because he is an amazing teaching and EXACTLY what I need (I'll go into detail about that in my letters).

Anywho. So, Hermano Boyack walked into class on Monday morning and set a sheet of paper upside down on mine and my companion's desk. He told us that he had just received them from the front office but he didn't want us to be distracted  in class so we should wait to look at them. Later, he asked us what they were and guess what, THEY WERE OUR FLIGHT ITINERARIES! To put it calmly, we freaked out. I started crying and I was convinced it was an answer to my prayers and the other sisters in our district started crying because we were leaving. It was honestly the most exciting thing of our lives.

So, there were tears and hugs and a crazy sense of urgency because our itineraries said our flight was at 4:52 that next morning. We had to go pack!!!

 AND THEN there was laughter from our teacher when as he cried April FOOLS.

NOT COOL.

Talk about an insane emotional roller coaster!!! His roommate helped him research flights and travel times and addresses in Spain and all kinds of things that made the letters look real. They even had the church's official logo...Anyway, you could say it took a little while for me to forgive him and see the humor in the situation. It was actually the best April Fools joke everrrr.

Hermano Boyack 1   Hermanas 0

So no worries. I am still in the United States and loving every minute of being here. It really is theeee best. I can't tell you how many times I've been sitting in Devotional or a meeting with my Branch President when I've thought, "If only my family could be here. If only they could feel the spirit here. If only they could hear these words, THEN they would never be able to deny the truth of this Gospel." It's so amazing! I wish I could share every spiritual confirmation or feeling with you all, but I cant. For one, I would never have enough time, and secondly, most things I would never be able to put into words.

So, when I say that I love being a missionary and I have never experienced anything like this, know that I speak from the heart. I could never deny what I know. The Church is true and our Heavenly Father knows each and every one of us. He's waiting to bless us. He's waiting to send each of us the confirmations that we need to come unto Christ. He's waiting for us to ask.

This week Hermana Hansen and I are teach a guy name Brennan. Brennan is 28 and he recently just moved here to Provo to live with his parents again after losing his job in Southern California. His parents are members and he agreed to meet with us because they wanted him to.

Brennan is having a reallly hard time. He has no true friends, no job, no purpose, and no light in his eyes. He hates living with his parents and he feels like everyone (especially them) is looking down on him. We all know that is NOT the case, but as of now his heart is locked. He doesn't really want to talk to us, but don't worry, we'll win him over. Our goal is to just get to know him and understand what exactly he needs.

During companionship study, Hermana Hansen and I had a wonderful experience as we were praying and studying for what we should teach Brennan. He needs to know that he is loved and he does have a purpose. We're teaching him again tomorrow and I cannot wait!

Pray for Brennan. We hope that he will pray with us after his lesson. Once he prays and feels for the first time that God is there, I have a feeling it will change everything.

Okay, I am out of time! I have so much more I would love to share, but that's what letters are for!!!! 

Love you all dearly

dearelder.com

Hey all, Alison here. We have gotten word from Hermana Scheu and she is absolutely LOVING the MTC (Missionary Training Center). She has asked me to inform everyone about this great little website called DearElder. If you go to the website, you can register for your own account and send Yo letters or care packages that will be sent to her the same day while she's at the MTC. This is definitely the easiest way to contact Yo.

      Instructions:

• Click here for the webpage...DearElder
• Top left, "Open A New Account"
• Fill out all your information
• Check the box for "Provo MTC"
• Send to "Hermana Ariel Scheu"
• Write your little note
• And send away