The First Week

Hello All!

I did it! I made it through the first week! It feels like forever since I left home, but it still isn't really real that I'm here at the MTC, and that I'm a missionary. Wow.

The first few days were really not easy, if I'm being honest. I was SOO tired. And I was a little frustrated, because I didn't feel like we were learning anything. The elders in my district seemed pretty immature.

BUT now its is awesome! We are progressing like crazy! I love my companions (it's fun to have a groupie wherever I go, and they are super sweet), and I have learned to love my district. They are like little brothers to me now, which is awesome because they are all going to Willie's mission! It's been so fun to see them learn and mature in one week. I will miss them when they leave us for our Visitor Center Training.

We have already started teaching investigators (well, actors, but you know), and we have shown a great learning curve. The very first lesson we taught bombed. We did horribly. But our most recent went great! And General Conference here was amazing!! I felt like every talk was about missionary work, and was for me. I liked how one guy said that we are learning the foreign language of the spirit. It made me feel better because sometimes I feel out of place speaking English when it feels like everyone else is speaking something else. But, learning the Spirit's language has been soo cool! It's very different here than it has ever been for me in my whole life, but it is so good. It really reminds me of the spirit I feel in the temple. I haven't really cried even though I feel the spirit all the time (you know how unusual that is for me). Chad Lewis came and gave a fireside on Sunday, and it was awesome. SOO good. I'm gonna let my greenie light shine. :)

Overall life, is good! Our roommates are great (not in our zone or anything), and make me laugh super hard. Our elders are goofs. The food is good, but too much, so I'm working on not eating everything they give me. I'm not surprised people get fat here. I'm still drinking a lot of milk. :) (actually, one day I totally dumped milk all over my dress. It was embarrassing. Oh, well. Mom, yes, it was on my flower belt that we wanted to keep clean. Oops.) Also, Sometimes I feel like the Elders think the sisters have a disease. We get ignored a lot. Well, a lot of doors are opened, but besides that and our district, very few guys talk to us. It's actually kinda funny. We are still learning the ropes here, but everything runs like a well oiled machine. It's good.

The other thing is that I LOVE gym time. It is my favorite. I have hated gym my whole life until now, and now it feels like a wonderful release. We have played bocce ball (yep. That's weird) and vollyball. We are making vollyball friends. It's fun. (one of them is 6' 10", so that is less fun unless he is on our team). Running around is amazing! As usual, I did get hit in the face by a ball, but that is normal for me, and I still love Vollyball. I really look forward to it.

This morning we went to the temple and it was soooo good. We were the only sisters, which was crazy, but fun.

I have seen so many people I know here! Amy Beck, Shane Feuz, people from my proofs class, and a bajillion other people. Katie Soh has been my favorite though. She's acted kinda like a big sister to me, giving me tips and advice and optimism. I love her to pieces! She is Sarah's second cousin, a friend from BYU, and is going to Milan Italy (she got me excited about having cod nuggets in the MTC, but that is another story. They are pretty good). Oh, one of the elders in my district is from Vernal and knows all of the Atkin family there, especially Derron and uncle Dennis. his name is Elder Wheeler.

Thank you for the mail! It means a lot. Aunt Laura sent me a package and made my day. :) She will be getting a letter from me soon.

I don't even know how to express everything I'm feeling here! I feel like a new person. I've never prayed so much in my life. Everyone here has gone through something hard and is so strong. I feel so inexperienced and weak sometimes, but I'm growing, so I'm not sad about it. I haven't been homesick yet, but that is not because I don't love you. Letting dad go at the MTC was really hard, but I'm doing the right thing! I know it!! The name tag seems second nature now. I'm lost when it isn't on me. I can't imagine coming home, so I won't worry about that until I have to.

Holy cow, family, the church is true. I can't believe that I've been trusted to be a part of this work! I pray for you, and I hope your missionary experiences are going great - you'll have to tell me about them. I'm praying for you.

I don't have my camera, but next week.

I can't wait to go to Missouri!

I gotta go, but I love you SOOOOO much!! To pieces! More than I can say!

Have an amazing week!

your missionary,

Sister April Atkin