Why Do Missionaries Have Such Big Bladders?

Cause they only have one P-day!! Last one for me here at the MTC! 

Day 7:

A week ago today was my first p-day. It was so nice to finally be able to send some emails and go to the temple. Before dad dropped me off he told me that the MTC is next to the temple in terms of feeling the spirit. When you get to do both in the same day it feels like you are going to explode. It was so nice to go do a session. I miss the St. George temple. The Provo temple is huge! They have 6 endowment rooms and have a session every 20 minutes. It's really convenient for us missionaries.  Having Tuesday p-day is awesome cause after p-day ends we get to go to Tuesday night devotional and don't have to worry about class or TRCs. It's way nice. Sister Bingham is the one who spoke at tonights devotional. It was so amazing. She talked a lot about being diligent. A lot of the firesides here are like a loving slap in the face. 

Day 8:

Sister Goldstein had a doctors appointment this morning so we had to miss class. I just sat and studied my PMG while I waited for her.  After lunch in class none of us could focus. We all had a case of giggles and could not stop laughing at the dumbest things. At this point we had finally made it through a week and were starting to just be exhausted. It was nice to just sit and laugh though. It really helps to relieve stress. They weren't lying when they said laughter is the best medicine. After dinner I got to see the Rogels! For some reason I was under the impression that it was just Abby and Aunt Paula coming but as soon as I saw the young women getting off the bus and I recognized some faces that I realized they were all here. It is so cool to stop and be able to talk to them.  

Day 9:

Today during class we had one-on-one teaching opportunities with the other Elders in our class.  I got paired up with Elder Evans who is super awesome.  It was nice to be able to find scriptures that can help with each others problems.  We all grew closer as a district today. After dinner our district got to help with tours! When we do tours they basically put us at a post and tell people where we are from, where we are going, and where they are supposed to be going.  I was at the end of the tour so it was funny having people try and guess where I was going. I love being able to talk about Florida because it gets me so excited. Random people also ask to take our pictures and I guess you're getting them some how so that's super cool! 

Day 10:

Finally made it to double digits! We had our Friday morning service this morning. We got to clean bathrooms and do a whole lot more vacuuming. We taught our investigator Mary for the last time today. It was so nice. She started crying cause the spirit was so strong. It was a neat experience. We got our travel plans today!!!! Most exciting part of the MTC thus far! We leave next Tuesday morning from the MTC at 2:30am. Our plane leave Salt Lake at 5:55 and lands in Minneapolis at 9:20. We then leave Minneapolis at 10 and get to Fort Lauderdale at 2:37pm. There are 8 of us in our travel group and I am our travel leader. So that'll be interesting. We had personal interviews with our teachers today. I got to meet with Brother Jenkins and he said he has really noticed how I've become more confident in the way I teach and participate in class. It was a real confidence booster.  I think a lot of it has to do with trying to get my companion to talk to me but hey, whatever works, works. I saw Jordan Vane today and his wife during tours! It was such a surprise! I ran over and gave him a hug. I also met some missionaries going to Perth. One of them is from Dixie High School. His name is Alec Vaughan. He said he knows the Wells. He is doing so great here. It was so nice to be able to talk about family, especially the ones in Australia. 

Day 11:

Saturdays are so long. It's weird cause we'll go all week from one thing to the next and then there is a lot of free time on Saturdays so we have to find stuff to do cause you can only do so much studying before you go crazy. We had a come to Jesus today in class and talked about why we are really out here. It was another loving slap in the face. They really know how to do that here. We took a nap after dinner before class cause we wanted to be able to focus. In class we wrote little pump up lessons that we can give ourselves when things start to get hard. I felt pretty sick that night but 8 hours of sleep really does the trick.

Day 12:

I love Sundays. It was fast Sunday so it was cool to listen to testimonies. We didn't get to do a temple walk today but we did have an awesome relief society lesson. We talked about the creation and the fall. So many times when we talk about the fall it is all centered around Adam. When you watch the temple videos, Adam never makes a decision without looking to Eve for help.  As sisters in the church we can't let the Elders and brothers get all the credit. Ever was made as Adam's second half; she completed him. Mrs. Incredible said it best in her interview: "Girls, come on. Leave the saving of the world to the men? I don't think so."  The Elders are awesome but we have just as much power and ability to bring others unto Christ as they do. In the videos when Satan gets in the way Adam and Eve always look at him with a look of "Who are you to get in the way of my Eternal Salvation?" I think a lot of times it's easier to just let Satan get in the way but we have to be strong so we can return to our Father. After our devotional from Dallin H. Oak's daughter we all watched Character of Christ as a whole MTC. It is a devotional that David A. Bednar gave a couple years ago on Christmas here at the MTC. Once it was over we had the nice surprise of him showing up with his wife and answering questions. It was so cool and once again, the spirit grew even stronger that night.

Day 13:

So I've come to find out that if I just talk a whole bunch Sister Goldstein either has to talk back or listen to me talk all day long. It's working. I love p-day eve because I start to get everyone's emails and I get to hear how everyone is doing. In class we worked on asking questions that get people to think, soul search, and commit. It makes lessons a lot different. We ate every meal today as a district. It's gonna be hard to say goodbye to them next week as we leave the  MTC. We had an awesome TRC today and she asked a lot of questions that got us thinking about the things we believe. It was a real testimony builder. In class we talked about how we were all created and it made me think of Veggie Tales when Larry said, "God made everything out of nothing. He just went *raspberry* and there they were." That really is the simplest way to put it. That's not the full truth but it isn't exactly wrong either. 

The MTC is soo amazing. For all of you preparing to serve missions, I have some advice for preparing for the MTC. Read chapters 1, 2, and 10 of PMG. It will help you so much as you start out. You will have time here to read the rest of it. Also, become familiar with the 5 lessons. I know you all know what they say but become familiar with different ways to teach and different scriptures to help invite the Spirit to testify. I absolutely love this gospel. I am so excited to head to Florida next week and teach what I know. I hope you all are doing well!! I feel your prayers and know the Lord is watching over all of us.

All my love,

Sister Beckstrand

I didn't take a lot this week so you'll have to use pictures that you got from people seeing me on tour. 

I will take a district picture later today at the temple and send it to you.  

1: My view everyday. This courtyard is one of the best places to study. It is almost always quite no matter how many people are wandering around. These buildings are 6 stories and hold all of the classrooms.  

 

2: My Pixie Coves! These shoes are so comfy and I have about 5 people ask about them every time I wear them. Thank you so much!

3: My roommates that left last night so we didn't get very much sleep cause they took forever to pack but I will sure miss them! Left to Right: Sister Goldstein, me, Sister Spendlove (D.C.), Sister Recor, Sister Jones, Sister Nelson (all going to South Carolina) 

4: This is the last picture I'll have with this sweet kid for two years.

  5: I finally saw Victoria today! The three of us took a picture cause we're all from the same stake.