Amanda ...No more! First email recieved 6/6/13

Hello wonderful family!!!! I am soooo sorry that I haven't written back yet! My Pdays at the MTC are on Thursday but since last thursday was our first full day, we didn't get a Pday :( Let me tell you that I'm happy I have one today cause I am EXHAUSTED!!!! The MTC is amazing!!!! It seriously is like heaven on earth! It's so cool to see God's army of missionaries all the time. The coolest part is that we are all doing exactly what our heavenly father wants us to do so he is blessing us with his spirit all the time. It's the coolest. I leave for Atlanta next TuesdayJune 11th. SOOOOO SOON!!!! I still have so much to learn. PS mommy I got my debit card and that code will be just fine! Thanks so much for all of your letters they have really helped!!! Okay let me catch you up on my life! I had lunch in the cafeteria, similar to the cannon center. Gross food. It doesn't sit well with my stomach. Good thing my companion doesn't mind going to the bathroom with me all the time. She is AWESOME. Kinda embarassing but when you gotta go you gotta go ;) She is from Utah and her name is Sister Grimnes(grim-ness). I met my district. There are 10 people in my district and they are all going to my mission, which is rare. I LOVE them. I think one reason I haven't been that homesick is cause they are like my family. They are spiritual giants and they teach me soooo much. They upllift me and there is something about bearing your testimony with them all the time that brings your SOULS closer together. I already love them and the thought of them leaving makes my heart hurt. Good thing we're going to the same mission. As soon as you get to the MTC, they put you to work!!!! I taught my first investigator on Friday (it was really one of my teachers) and he was soooo hard. Sister Grimnes and I would bear our testimonies of Joseph Smith and he would kill the spirit by saying something about Southpark. Ummmmm....like what???? He is sooo tricky to get through to. I have now taught him 4 times and each time is frustrating because he won't open up to us so we don't know what we need to teach him. I've learned a couple of important lessons. PRAY all the time. Seriously we pray like 20 times a day and I've never prayed more. Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday were probably the most discouraging days of my life. Sister Grimnes and I broke down serveral times in those days because our investigators were IMPOSSIBLE and everyone else in our district was having success. NEVER COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO OFFER TO THE LORD. Anyway I learned that sometimes the Lord breaks you down beyond what you think you can handle in order to humble you, force you to turn to him, and shape you into the person he wants you to become. I NEEDED TO BE HUMBLED. I'm grateful I was too. I've also learned that when you are teaching an investigator you are teaching a person not a lesson. Also you should imagine that it is the Savior talking to them instead of you cause that is essentially what is happening. You are the mouthpiece. I've learned to let go and not follow a lesson plan. The minute you start worrying about how to say something, the Spirit leaves. This has been one of the scariest things for me to do, since I'm a perfectionsist and like to plan, but I've leaned the importnace of listening to the Spirit. I have experienced miracles. We didn't know if one investigator was a real investogators or an actor. Talk about pressure. She HATED me. She asked about poligamy, FLDS, why we need BOM if we have bible. AHHHH scariest lesson ever. Well first lesson sucked. 2nd lesson we didn't go in with a lesson but just wanted to get to know her. We talked and as she started to trust us we figured out what issues we had and the spirit told us what we needed to say to help her. The spirit is amazing. I was super busy this week. I am the travel leader for 18 missionaries besides myself when we fly to Georgia. I was also made the Sister Coordinating Leader for my zone which consistst of 36 elders and sisters so sister Grimes and i look out for those sisters. Kinda intimidating cause we're supposed to guide them and tell them everything they need to know. Kinda hard since I've only been at the MTC for a week. Oh well. The Lord qualifies the called. Well the next time you hear from me I'll be in GEORGIA! I leave June 11th. Gotta go. Love you! Love, Sister Adorable