January

This letter was sent to Emily (Harris) Brashear on January 26, 2010.

Dear Emily
Thanks for the letters! I totally appreciate them! I can only write on Mondays because that's my P-day. These last few weeks have flown by but the days are seriously so LONG! I have learned so much about the gospel and my Tagalog is coming, slowly but surely!

Thank you for the update on everyone! I hope Sara's little boy is ok. I'll pray for him. I actually got a letter from Melissa a couple days ago as well, so I was excited to hear from her.

Thank you for all of the gospel facts you've learned! I enjoyed them all, especially about the Holy Ghost. That was cool!

You can post any of my letters I send. I mean, edit them and take out the unnecessary parts, but I guess just give a recap of what I'm up to.

I'm in a 3-way companionship. So, I have two companions. I'm not going to lie, it's been hard but I know I'm learning a lot, like patience. haha. One of my companions is from Gilbert, AZ. She's about 1/2 my size, little Latina. Her parents are both from Mexico. She's really sweet. The other one is from Riverton, UT. We get along most of the time, but we've had some disagreements and at times (when Satan is letting it get to me) I'd like to leave while she's in the bathroom or something. haha. It's actually a lot better now. Last week was pretty hard.

The Tagalog is coming only with the Lord's help and my faith, so I'm sure I need more of that. haha. I love reading the scriptures and my own personal study time. I feel like I'm reading something entirely new. Like it all actually makes more sense. The more I study the gospel, the more logical it becomes.

Last night the missionary director from the church spoke to us and told us about how mission calls are issued. He said that when our papers get to SLC a big picture of us comes on their computer screen and they issue the call ONLY after receiving revelation as to where we are supposed to go. Cool, huh? It just makes me that more confident that I'm going exactly where the Lord wants me to be.

I love it here! The days are monotonous, but the weeks have flown by. I get up at 6:30 a.m. everyday. Breakfast at 7, personal study, companionship study, class, lunch, language study, class and either a devotional at night, a teaching evaluation where we have pretend investigators or some other meeting at night time, planning, quiet time at 10:15 and 10:30 lights out. It's a strict schedule, but I don't mind it too much.

The Elders in my district are pretty cool. I've already heard Elaine S. Dalton of the YW General Presidency, Vicki Matsumori of the Primary General Presidency and Elder L. Tom Perry speak to us. I've also heard Elder Holland frequents the MTC so I hope I get to see him before I leave. The Spirit here is so strong. It's like a missionary factory. There are so many people here from all over the world, serving all over the world and speaking a million different languages. It's very humbling and also another testimony builder of how true the church is.

Well, my laundry is about done. I'm sitting on the cold hard floor of the MTC laundry room. Exciting huh! Keep writing! My thoughts and prayers are with you! Love you tons!

Love,

Sister Hales