Hello world! So much to write, so little time, um dois tres, JA!
Firstly--I LOVE letters! I love getting DearElders and I love getting real letters too. Thank you so much to everyone who has written me in any way--I really do get them, and I treasure them so much. Your DearElders truly keep me going through each day. So thanks again to all who have written or who may write. Sorry that I can't respond to each and every one.
I have had so many fun and funny experiences this week. Here are a few short descriptions of some of them:
~ At lunch the other day, some elders in my zone leaned over to me and urgently asked, "Quick, what are the words to the second verse of Taylor Swift's 'Love Story'? We NEED the words for our shower choir numbers!" The worst part of this was that they were totally serious.
~ (okay, this was last week): We got to sit and eat lunch with MTC president Gordon D. Brown our second week here--he came and sat with us, along with his secretary. It was very neat.
~ MTC bathrooms are fun because there can be like 20 girls showering in one bathroom at the same time. Sometimes people sing. One time, someone was whistling the alto part to a hymn, and I started whistling the melody. It was fantastic.
~ a few days ago, all 7 elders in my district came to breakfast with gelled comb-overs. Some looked okay, some looked hilariously goofy. The best part was when we went to class, and our teacher smiled knowingly. "Every district I've had has done this during their MTC stay," he said. "It's a mid-MTC crisis."
~ after a companionship prayer, one of my companions randomly said, "I just had a really weird urge to be in a sauna." RANDOM.
~ when I found out that the Portuguese word for "tie" is "cravata," I loudly quoted Scarlet Pimpernel. My district just looked at me.
The MTC is a funny place. ;-)
I don't remember how much I said about my progressing investigators last time, but I want to talk about them now, briefly. I love them! They're actually my teachers, acting as people they used to teach, but they're so real to me! This week, we started teaching Carlos's son, who's sister has leukemia. It was hard, but I think it went really well. I think he felt the Spirit, and although I sounded a lot like a caveman, we got the message across. I'm so grateful to be learning the language! Teaching people the Gospel is such an exciting thing. If I get this happy and excited about teaching people who aren't even actual investigators (what we call people we are teaching about the church), imagine how exciting and wonderful it will be to teach real live Brazilians (or North Dakotans, whichever it may be). I love the Gospel! I know it's true!
Okay, I have 7 minutes left to talk about the ER.
About five days ago, our sweet, happy, incredible little roommate mentioned that she was feeling some weird pain in only one side of her body. My first reaction was, "That sounds like something in your brain." The next few days, things got worse, especially at night. Wednesday? night, around midnight, she was shaking uncontrollably and hurting so bad that we made her go call the doctor, who sent her to the Emergency Room. The four of us (my two comps, me, and Sis. Ratigan), in our PJs, got in a van and left the world of the MTC.
Utah is such a weird place. Every single person we interacted with--the van driver, the ER receptionist, the first nurse guy, and the doctor--had been on missions for the Church themselves. At least half of them joked, "It's probably the MTC food."
Unfortunately, the ER wasn't the right place to diagnose her, and the next three nights were a stuggle for all of us. I got about 4 hours of sleep each night, and to those of you who know me, that's not good. But thanks to the Lord's help, a true miracle, I've been happier the last three days than all the time I've been here. I'm learning so much about service and selfless love and patience and the Atonement of Christ.
Life is wonderful. I'm so excited to be alive. Each day, I'm becoming better. "Don't let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." This quote changed my attitude about the MTC. I'm so grateful for all I'm learning. Thank you all for your support.
Lots of love,
Sister Petty
P.S. I've seen so many people I know here! Justin Borden, Andrea Lopez, Marco Vasquez, Jen Scherbel's cousin, Clark Pixton, and a few more. Small Mormon world!
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