We Committed a Table to Baptism (MTC Week 1)

One week down and Emily had her first P-day so we got our first emails from her! Here's some excerpts from her email to the family followed by her general email she sent to the rest of the world. 

MOM!!!! ( and dad because I think he would like to hear this too),

I'm glad that you're liking the google photos link and I'm glad that you were able to spend so much time at the temple, that is so exciting. We get to go to the temple today and I've been so so excited to go. I am a little nervous to go through the veil because I know that it'll probably take me forever and I'll mess up a bunch but oh well because most of these people have only gone once so everyone will be that way. It looks like Abby got the best of both worlds for the temple. I'm glad that they made the YW like an actual thing so it feels official and important like the YM. I'm also glad she's more humble than me and isn't crazy about equality because it's driving me crazy here with our district leader being kind of not very smart (like seriously he just can't spell or read very well) and just crazy and idiotic. BUT he is nice in general and tells us all that if we ever need anything to come to him because "I don't know how but I seriously love every single one of you guys"

YAY for dad. I'm glad he is liking the new job and that even though he'll be busy you can see him at lunchtime! He is going to kill it, I know he will. Finally his leadership is taking notice and care of him. It really is the hand of the Lord I think. Something we learned a lot about is trials of faith. We taught our two people (because we are teaching real life people here) about how we need to have faith and that it will be hard but eventually the Lord will bless us in some way because of our faith soooooo #blessings. 

I forgive you for going somewhere warm for spring break. I will admit though that I was super bummed out because Portugal is on my list of countries to visit so lame. I guess that serving a mission is slightly more important;) And don't bother sending pictures of the place, just send pics of when you guys are there.... maybe not even that. We'll see how I feel about it hahahahaha. 

My companion is Sister Greenall and she's from Cali and is super nice! On like the second or third day she was seriously about to go home. Like go to the Provo MTC mission president and ask to send her back she couldn't do it anymore (so did another sister in my district). I will admit that night was rough. I was exhausted and discouraged and it was just like the worst. And that's when I started feeling homesick too which is ironic because the night before I wrote in my journal (and I quote) "they keep us too busy to be homesick". That was incorrect. Anyways, I just encouraged her and told her to stick to it and she's still here!! Plus she said that's she's never read the Book of Mormon like this before and felt this way about it and she's starting to actually develop a testimony about it which is great!! I feel like I already had a testimony of it but I've never been so excited to read it and I've been learning so much from my reading everyday and it is just wild. 

ALSO Sister Greenall and I received the assignment to be technology specialists (go ahead, laugh to your heart's content). Sister Greenall is super duper good at the tech stuff and the phones and samsung parameters and I don't know any of that. I think this will really be a learning experience for me so thank you Heavenly Father because I can't figure anything tech out so this will be really good. 

I've learned so much this week it's insane, I feel like I've been here forever and I've honestly changed a lot. My old life seems like a different person and like 50 years ago. Anyways, I'll put more in the group email I just don't want to repeat it here. I love you!! I miss you! Remember to email throughout the week so I can read and not feel so lonely and I promise I'll email back on pday. 

Love, 

Sister Moran

Hey Everyone!!

I have officially been in the MTC for a week and it has been wild from start to finish and it all started in the Paris airport. So there I was, in Paris (this sounds way more cool and exciting than it actually is) and I was looking at the board of flights when lo and behold the one and only, world famous chef, GORDON RAMSEY stops right by me and then keeps on walking toward his gate. I was in shock. And then I saw him AGAIN like ten minutes later which shocked me even more. My poor missionary brain was thinking about how I would be able to present the Book of Mormon to him in a way that he would understand and that's when I realized that my life (in the words of Fresh Prince) got flipped AND turned upside down because I would never have thought that before.

Anyway, the MTC is great (if you think that getting no sleep and being beyond stressed is great that is). Totally kidding. The spirit here is crazy, I am constantly feeling the Holy Ghost and the love of God for everyone around me and it is wild. They had us teaching people on our third day and they could be a member or a nonmember and we have no way of knowing because regardless, they are just all pretending to be nonmembers which is slightly stressful. We're teaching two girls, one named Madeline and another named Britney. They're both going to BYU and were taking the missionary lessons because they have member boyfriends and just want to know about the church and what the big deal is. It is so cool to teach them! Half the time I don't even know what I'm going to say when I start talking but the spirit is just putting words in my mouth like no ones business which is awesome. So, even though teaching people is terrifying, especially when you've only been learning for a week, knowing that Heavenly Father has got your back is really comforting. 

My district is WILD. The Elders are all going to Ogden Utah and at first I thought they were weird, but now I just know that they are insane. We get soooooo off topic so fast which makes class stressful (and funny, just don't tell my teachers that). The sisters in my district are awesome though they are all so sweet and four of the five of us are going to temple square which is awesome because I'll know some people when I get there!! I'm pretty sure that all of us sisters are going to have some weird mannerisms when we get there though, because they Elders are rubbing off on us haha.

My companion's name is Sister Greenall and she's from Cali (which means she is super tan and that means I look even more like a ghost next to her than I usually do but it's all good). She is the sweetest person ever and is so fun and I'm so grateful that I could have a companion like her to start my mission off with because she is awesome. Something that is funny about her is that she's lactose intolerant but she loves dairy (like seriously loves it) so she is always drinking milk and eating ice cream which I wouldn't mind except because I'm her companion, I HAVE to be with her during those long bathroom sessions... oh the joy. 

I know, you're probably all DYING to know the story behind the subject line so here it is. Sister Greenall and I were role playing during companionship study and we didn't have anyone to be the person we were teaching so we just used a table and the lesson went so well that we extended an invitation to be baptized and the TABLE SAID YES! We're pretty sure that we're the best missionaries around because if we could get an inanimate object to be baptized, then we can definitely get some people to be baptized ;) There are so many funny stories that I have but I can't type them all so just imagine a bunch of sister missionaries doing dumb things around the MTC haha.

I am loving the missionary life so far and I'm so happy that I decided to serve! It is easily the best decision that I've made. The biggest thing I've taken away from this week at the MTC is how urgent and important the work is. We need more missionaries out in the field and we need more member missionaries working alongside them! So get out there and get to work! The blessings that you will receive will be unbelievable.I love and miss you all! 

Love,

Sister Moran 

p.s. the food is here is nasty and I'm going to lose ten pounds because I'm only eating a peanut butter and jelly once a day and then pizza when they have it 

p.p.s. please send snacks