TUESDAY, May 29, 2012

Hello Family! It is 5:00am and I have been up since 3:00!

My roommates all left for the field today and so literally every few moments I was woken back up to walk one of them to the travel office (3am, 4am, 5am). I am now in the laundry room with all the Elders just hanging out.

You asked about Elder W.  His dad is black, mom is irish with red hair...yeah. He's not very well off and right before the mission things apparently went bad and his ward is paying for everything. He's a very sweet/awkward elder. We had "companionship inventory" one day before he left and he said to me "I just want you to know that talking to a girl all the time is a new experience for me" he has never had ANY girl friends. ... friends that are girls. Yes he was annoying and drove me crazy, but he was a very sweet elder and had the best of intentions. The entire 6 weeks he was here with me he didn't recieve ONE letter from any family. Not even his mother. Not even an email. The only person that ever emailed him was his bishop.

You think there are no problems on the mission but they find you.  I read President Uchdorf's talk on forgiveness and repentance from April 2012 conference.

If you could please please send any photos you would allow me to send to grandma I would LOVE it. Maybe ASAP just in case the visa comes...I don't know if you saw any of the postcards I sent but they are a great way to send a lot of letters to people.

Alright that's all I can think of for now-I'll write later.

Love you!

sister mad



 Hello Family and friends!

 

 I don't have a lot of time to write today, so I'll try typing fast. Please excuse the mistakes.

Today we sent off 7 elders, bringing the mission branch total to ELEVEN! We recieve one from Canada and one from Costa Rica (who speaks no english or portuguese, just spanish) tonight and then 13 tomorrow including ... don don dah A SISTER!!!! She's Sister Payton and she's going to Cabo Verde, Brazil. That's all the information I have on her and the fact that when I leave June 11th, she will be the only Sister portuguese speaking for the rest of her 9 week period here (unless Brazillians don't get visas). So please keep her in your prayers! Also, whoever prayed for Elder Stacy thank you, he was a very great missionary and he received his visa the second day he was here-left this morning. We were all very excited for him to continue on in Brazil with the rest of the elders.

 

Alright I have started a new little "tradition" I will be doing I think. I'm giving out awards of the week so: Award number 1 goes to Sister Noorda, she is from Las Vegas and we are best friends in the MTC. She's going to Singapore and we have the same gym time so we work out on the elipticals together and talk about everything from wanting to climb mountains to the weird food we were served last night (rubber turkey i tell you). She's awesome and truly an angel. Number 2 Angels go to Brother and Sister Bartholomew from my Branch Presidency. If I ever get married, they will be at the sealing. I just loooove them. A little example of how awesome they are: This week Sister Bartholomew came and visted me in my room right before bedtime. She was carrying her purse weird and she's all "let's go in your room" wink wink. So I let her in and she's all "oh my goodness, this just slipped out of my purse!" And she put a cup on my desk as well as a few spoons. She hugged me, and then left. It was an oreo shake FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD. Needless to say it was a great night and the next day Brother Bartholomew interviewed me and the first thing he said was "did you like the surprise?  It was my idea!" They are the cutest little grandparents and I love them.

 

Elder Lake from Burley, Idaho is a farmer. He talks about farming potatoes like it's the Lord's work. Seriously sometimes i just want to be a farmer because he makes it sound that great. Anyways, he's our inspriational talker and he gives us a little speach every few days before curfew. Here's my favorite from the week in his words:

"When I was eight years old I had my mind set that I wanted to be a mountain man. I had seen Jeremiah Johnson and I had dreams of red fox lining my bedroom walls (Sister Sackley insert:eww). I convinced my mom and then researched, bought traps and figured out everything I needed to know about trapping. My dad drove me out into the forest of our land and I went to work assembling those traps. I was so excited and I even put a trap by a fox hole.

The next day I woke up, ate breakfast quickly, put on my winter coat and headed towards the traps. The first trap had nothing. And neither did the second. But the third was the one by the fox hole and to my surprise the trap had gone into the hole. I ran to the trap, peered into the hole and saw two green eyes. Fox eyes. I was so excited i tugged on the trap but nothing happened. I pulled harder, nothing.

Finally I set my gun down, put a foot on either side of the hole and I yanked with all my might. What happened next however was nothing I was expecting. I pulled with all my might and out flew a black and white creature. And then a cold spray on my face followed quickly by that awful smell.

I had not caught a red fox. I had caught a skunk.

After weeks of tomato juice baths and burning my clothes however, I went back more determined then ever and I caught myself four red foxes."

The moral of the story: sometimes we do everything we can and everything we can possibly do in our power and we still fail. The true test of character however is what you do after you fail. Whether you go back and try again.

Oh I just love the elders I have. They are great.

On another random note: remember the Elder I talked with in portuguese a few weeks ago? Well, he saw me on saturday night while sitting with EVERY PORTUGUESE SPEAKER here at the MTC and was all "ah Sister Sack-e-lee" and now everyone and their dog knows I speak Portuguese. I set up a time every day to meet with Elder S (the Elder i talked to earlier) Sister S and Sister BV. They are learning english, I am learning Portuguese. We all talk in each other's languages and I correct them and they correct me. It's been great so far. I am loving the Portuguese people here, I hope they are a good representation of Brazillians.

 

Funny stories for the week:

 

My zone has a tradition of singing "I'm leaving on a jet plane" to every one of our missionaries that leave. However we only know the chorus, which is why i wanted the song lyrics. Don't worry, we're all now well rehearsed and sing it at the top of our lungs when elders leave us.

 

For some reason Sisters get a lot of cakes. It's totally random but a lot of Sisters get little cakes given to them...and they never want them so they put them on the sharing table. Well there is a district in my zone that not only loves cake, they have a hard time because they're a little district. The past few weeks I have been taking the cakes from the sharing table and putting them in the district's classroom when they aren't there. It's the funniest thing every day they're all "Sister Sackley someone gave us another cake!!  I think one of the Sisters likes us" and then I laugh and I'm all "don't get cocky Elders." hahahah.

Okay I swear there were more funny stories but now I can't remember them..........I met a few sisters this past week that are going to Portland! One is from Brisbane Australia so I gave her our home address and number because I told her if she is ever in our ward, she'll definitely have dinner at my house. I'm forgetting her name right now. Fail.

 

Oh here's a good story: it's just me and my teachers for 6 hours of the day because I'm my own district. My classroom has a camera in the corner that use to be used...probably in the 80s however it isn't anymore.  My teacher Irma O'Brien is a huge fan of the office so whenever one of us does something silly we look at the camera with a "Jim face" on.  If you watch the office, you'll know what I'm talking about. hahaha.

 

Alright that's all for now, love you all!

sister mad

TUESDAY, May 22, 2012

Ola Amigos!

Can you send me the lyrics to "I'm leaving on a jet plane don't know when i'll be back again"?

We're doing laundry in the a.m. - thus I am awake extremely early. Alright you have till 9am to write me something really great...this week has had a lot of stories so I hope you do!

I'll write later, but just so I don't forget: I eat bagels for breakfast. I was in the bagel line the other day and talking to a Sister Turnbow when she says "are you by chance the Sister Sackley that is related to the Richards?" It threw me off way bad so we started talking and realized we were related!  I had no idea any cousins were in the MTC so it was quite funny to just randomly bump into her.  Her classroom is on my floor so i have seen her tons before we made the connection.

Also, Garrett I have fun with my zone, but I am the only one in my district. It's just me and my teachers for 6 hours of my day. Surprisingly enough, it's not horrible. But I am my own zone. okay I'll write in a bit-

Tcao!

(Later that morning)

 

This past Saturday, Elder Laga left for Arizona. (His visa hadn't come and so they reassigned him to AZ). So officially, I am one of three of the "oldest" in the zone. There is no word on the visa, however some elders just got theirs today so who knows. However, the other zone of elders waiting for visas to Brazil have a theory: The Consulate for all of our visas is a Mexican. He hates Brazilians and he hates his job even more. Because of this, he sits at his desk all day long grumbling and right before the day is over, his boss comes over and is all "CARLOS PICK SOME VISAS!" And then he half-heartedly thrusts his hand into the growing stack of visas and picks a few. Sometimes however, he goes on a date or has a good day, and when this occurs he does more than just one visa.

This story is not true, however the way the visas are coming it is definitely a possibility. There is no rhyme or reason to who gets their visa. However, I have finally smartened up and decided to be adopted into a district in the branch. The Elders that adopted me are going to Mozambique and Angola and no matter what, they are here at least a week after my departure date.

 On that note, this past week I was pretty sick. I was coughing and had a really bad sore throat and stuffy nose. I planned on sticking it out all week and then I ran into one of my branch presidency members and he told me I needed to get a blessing. I enlisted our zone leaders (who are in the Mozambique/Angola branch) and the whole district gave me a blessing. Elder M anointed oil and then Elder B gave me a blessing. He had never given a blessing before and as the sweet elders placed their hands on my head I could tell they were nervous (their hands were shaking). They gave me a short heart-felt blessing and the next morning I felt LOADS better. All that is left is a cough, if that.

Because I am the only sister in the zone, I have the privilege of never ever opening doors. I get in trouble if I go for the handle these days and I am starting to worry I'm going to be a snot come 3 weeks from now. I am with the Elders all day every day. They pick me up in the morning, walk me to class, walk me to meals, to lessons, to workshops and then home again. Sometimes one of them even carry my purse!   Because of this, I have totally grown accustomed to being around only Elders.

Sundays are a little harder because they have priesthood and I have to find a group of sisters who I can just hang out with for an hour. I found sisters going to the Baltics and we had a great conversation about all sorts of things. Needless to say, by the end of the hour we were all weeping and in each other's arms. As funny as it sounds, I had forgotten what it was like to be around just sisters! I had a weak moment as I wished desperately for a sister to come to the branch, especially at dinner that night as the Elders all talked about girls and girls from home and what sisters here are cute blah blah....I had "a sister moment" and ran to the bathroom to cry in pity for myself. (a woe is me moment). They noticed instantly and came looking for me. They immediately apologized and had a "coming to Jesus talk" as a zone and repented. Since then, all girl talk has ceased and it's going really well. I would never wish solo sisterhood on ANY sister. I can see why a lot of sisters have problems with it. But if someone had to be a solo, I would wish for them to have elders like mine. They are the best and I am so thankful for them.

(When I refer to "My Elders" I refer to the whole branch of elders. there are 17 of them TOTAL....which is extremely small for a branch....)

We had a guest speaker in Relief Society that talked all about the trials and hardships of life. I thought to myself of how hard a mission is. How much work. How tired I am every single moment. How ugly your clothes get SO FAST. It is indeed the hardest 18 months I have ever loved. Because that's how I feel. I just love it here. Even if the food is sick, nasty...and it is. for real. (on that note i eat a bagel or cereal for breakfast, a salad for lunch and then I put my fear factor face on for dinner...it's not always horrible but a lot of the time it is. The only good thing that comes out of the processed foods is the Rice Krispies treats...and I'm not even sure that counts as processed).

Because I make up my own branch, lately I have been teaching just by myself with the Spirit being my companion. This past Friday we finally found a Sister teacher who could come in and help me during my lessons. Her name is Sister Christensen and she is SO nice to have just to sit next to me while I teach. I totally understand why we teach in two's....I run out of things to say pretty fast in Portuguese!  I was talking to her yesterday and she was Mark Grether's teacher for the week he was here. (p.s. where in Brazil is Mark again? I can't remember.)

Funny things that happen in the MTC lately: My elders think it is the funniest thing to do the whistle from the Hunger Games while at meals. They do it probably three or four times and before you know it, someone on the other side of the cafeteria is doing it back to us. The other day they did it right before devotional and all of a sudden everyone was doing it. 

We also find the smallest things amusing. Someone got the plastic jumping frogs in the mail and left them out and so we all took them and played with them during lunch for a solid 20 minutes without getting bored.

The statue of two elders on bikes that everyone knows about? One is a Spanish speaking missionary and the other is a Portuguese missionary. There is a constant rivalry between the Spanish and the Portuguese speakers going on here. The latest is that the Portuguese biker is more attractive than the Spanish one (which he is...if metal could be attractive)

Random: My bunk bed roommate is Sister Johnson. She is Josh Ellis' cousin. It might be the funniest connection I have made since being here at the MTC.

This week we are expecting one Elder. His name is Elder Stacy and he is going to Brasilia, Brazil. We all feel so incredibly bad for him, because starting out with a district, then losing them is a lot better than starting out alone. He will always be the only one his teacher teaches for the next 9 weeks and I can't imagine how hard it would be to start out that way here. I have come to the realization that when the visa comes, it comes. I am totally game for being reassigned at this point....So stop praying for my visa, start praying for Elder Stacy's. We're hoping either way that he fits right in with us.

Alright that's all for now,

Love you all,

Mad

TUESDAY, May 15, 2012

Ola Famila!

Today marks Sister Sackley as the very last in her district, with the departure of Elder W at 8am. (Yeah can we all PRAY that the visa comes this week because i haven't cried yet saying goodbye to ANYONE...not even the Irma's and I totally cried saying goodbye to Elder W.) Along with Elder W went Elder C, Elder G and Elder M. Let's just say I was very upset. Next week 4 more leave as well...meaning i have NO one left. So everyone pray the visa comes in!!

Please send thank yous to those on the list. I totally forgot to do them. Also thank all those who have sent me letters, I don't have a lot of time to write everyone back-I wish I could! Grandma, Tina Creek, Nancy McNeil, Cathy Grether....thanks so much! I have loved hearing even the littlest bit of info.

Last but not least (for now) I sent my memory card in the mail yesterday. AS SOON AS YOU GET IT can you put the pics on my flash drive and then send me some of them? I would love it if you could do that....if not, either way, just send the card back ASAP.  The photos I want are me and Irma P before she left in our matching outfits, the zone pictures taken before the Irmas left and then a few of the ones you think are cute after those...I've printed all the ones before those ones.

Tell Logan I want an update every week of the Book Of Mormon reading. I'll be getting on around 2 again today. (my time).   Also, how's the blog coming?   Okay I'm off. bye!

Thanks, Eu Amo Voce!!

sister mad

Hi Family!! (2:00 pm)

So this week FLEW by. Before I knew it, it was Sunday...which was a good thing because without the Irma's here, I was quite worried I'd be bored and sad all week. The Elders are all taking turns babysitting me. Yesterday I went somewhere with the sisters and they couldn't find me and I'm pretty sure I gave Elders W and P a heart attack. When they finally found me they were so worried, it was probably comparable to leaving a child at a gas station. Since then, they all call me the "zone kitten" since i am the only sister and they get to take turns being in charge of me. It's kinda funny.

Since I had no one to sleep with in my room on Tuesday night (the Irma's had left) I took my pillow and blanket and walked around to all the rooms in the residence hall asking if they had an extra bed I could sleep in. I felt a little like Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem. I finally found one and it was totally fine.

Wednesday I got new sisters in the room! They are from Utah and Oregon and they're going to stateside missions. I was oh so worried I'd be getting weird girls in the room, but I was very pleased to see they are perfectly normal and fun to be around. Also since this is my 6th week, I feel like the OLDEST PERSON EVER at the MTC. It's a hair flip.

I don't quite remember Thursday or Friday...Saturday night I was so completely tired and out of it that i decided i was not going to be obedient and i went to the Samoan floor of the building (none of them speak English so it's fun to try and get them to speak to you...they're all learning for their missions of course...) anyway, i was down there chatting with them when i heard an elder speaking Portuguese. I invited myself into his conversation and we talked for about 20 minutes about everything from food to America to speaking English. he doesn't know any English so we chatted all in Portuguese AND HE UNDERSTOOD ME. Needless to say, i felt way better about myself and was feeling more accomplished then had i just sat in the room. He's here until July so we talk every day for a few minutes now and he corrects things i say wrong. it's great!

Sunday was great! I had no idea it was mother's day until one of our branch presidency's wives said something. I think a lot of the Elders felt quite home sick on Sunday, especially since none of us could call home. I had to play the piano for sacrament meeting which was a JOKE. Elder G and I were in charge of it and every note I missed he would laugh and then I would laugh....lesson to be learned: Logan and Garrett learn your hymns ESPECIALLY sacrament hymns.  None of my Elders can play and so I am in charge of fumbling through it.  Which like I said, is a joke.

Sister Bartholomew talked about standing for your morals during church. She told the story of King Louis son who was kidnapped for a few days. While kidnapped, his kidnappers tried getting him to do all kinds of things. After day of his resistance they asked him why he wouldn't participate.  He replied "I can not do what you ask, for I was born to be King". How cool would it be if we all thought that way! He knew what he was suppose to be in life, and he knew what his standards were.

I watched the clip of President Monson in the marines this past week as well, we loved it! We also really love the Mormon messages videos...especially Brandon Flowers....there is about a 15 second split of him singing in the first minute and we all listen to it all the time. hahahaha. It's weird to think we haven't heard music or ridden in cars or anything for over a month.

Sister J is one of the sisters in my room now. She was incredibly sick all weekend long and Sunday she just slept in her bed. Around 9:30pm she woke back up and said she wanted a blessing. Since the sisters are new they had no idea where their elders lived in the MTC....I knew where mine were so I went and grabbed Elders C and W (the zone leaders). They came as soon as I knocked on the door to the residence and were in their suits stat. They came over and we went down to a classroom as they prepared and gave her a blessing. It was really incredible to see these two elders rise to the occasion just moments before even knowing the sister's name. Monday she was feeling much better and she said it solely had to do with the fact that those Elders gave her a blessing. Oh the power of the priesthood!

Logan wanted to hear a funny story: Elder W (Pleasant Grove) is a football player and he comes off a little stuck on himself. I will definitely admit I miss judged him the first time I met him. Well this past week someone started singing "mail time" (here's the mail it never fails it makes me wanna wag my tail...) and he was like STOP SINGING THAT!!! and was all annoyed and as soon as we stopped he was like "it's not even that good without Steve anymore" and then gave us a whole run down of his favorite parts of blues clues (when magenta is on). It made me laugh pretty hard and I realized how awesome some of the Elders in our zone are. The Elders come from all sorts of backgrounds, all sorts of family lives but they all have the same thing in common: they're here. and that's what matters.

Welp, that's all for now! Eu Amo Voce muito muito!!

Sister mad

p.s. PRAY FOR THE VISA!

p.s.s. Portuguese word of the day : favela. (fa-vel-a). it means ghetto. How did i learn
this? Everytime i tell someone from Brazil I'm going to Belo Horizonte they go "Oh sim muito favelas!!!" You know, like the city is beautiful and very nice and then the rest is FAVELA. look it up on google. I'm sure that'll give you a hint.

HERE IS THE LINK FOR BRANDON FLOWERS MORMON MESSAGES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PF0h7oqUEQ

TUESDAY, May 8, 2012

.............and as of this moment, Sister Sackley is the one and only sister in the Provo MTC going Portuguese speaking. For at least a week....but it's looking like 2 weeks. This week is going to be LONG. I found out yesterday I can keep my residence hall room, new English speaking sisters come tomorrow so they will be moving in with me...at least no Ukrainians! Tonight I have to find a room to sleep in since i can't sleep alone, but tomorrow i get back to my old room and i get a bottom bunk which is a total win win. This was FOR SURE a blessing from above. I was so scared and worried about that. Anyways, I have 22 Elders that are taking care of me and so far, (the last 5 minutes) they've done very well. Right now I am with Elders W and I...and an Elder A. They had already checked emails for the day but they said they'd come with me anyways. I am forgetting everything I was going to say....

There is an Elder here named elder Laga (I'll send pictures this week) and he is the most chivalrous elder i have yet to meet. He stands when a Sister comes in the room, he opens doors, holds your purse, takes trays....the Elders call him "whipped" and the Sisters love him....pretty sure you can figure out who's opinion counts. As of Sunday the Elders started noticing how what he's doing is a good thing, and they all want to be like him now.

I had a solo Sister who was somewhat my companion, Irma D, but she wasn't a completely normal companion, we didn't do a lot together. We got four new elders this past week and I love them. they're going to Brazil and they look fresh from the womb. Babies I tell you. Babies.

Answers:  I got my Patriarchal Blessing at 16 because I wanted it. There was no real reason other than that, I just wanted to know what the Lord had in store for my life. It has been a HUGE blessing and I am so glad I got it when I did. It helped me through most of high school and then onto college and now, it's been such a help in my life.  The funny thing about the MTC is that you know these people for just a few weeks or months, and yet you are SO connected to them. Go out of your comfort zone, ask people to hang out with you. Sit by them at events. 

My clothes are great! A note for any future sister missionaries: things to buy: Tom's. and lots of skirts. Also, there are boxes on every floor of the residence hall called "give away" and it's anything sisters don't want. I have found some awesome comfy shoes i can wear to class, a blazer that fits me perfectly, and a skirt and blouse. Trust me when i say you DON'T need to pack hangers either. you will be up to your ears in hangers around here. My shoes are fabulous, the Elders think it's funny my stone colored ones are the same color as the cement...and the carpet in our room. hahahaha.

I got the cupcakes you sent! THANK YOU SO MUCH. My Elders loved two of them, and then I saved the rest for that night...turns out Sister Barthalomew, one of the counselors wives sent us cupcakes as well so we had a huge cupcake party, all of us Irma's. It was a happy night and we all ate way too much. None the less, totally worth it. on the food note, the food here is rank. I have been eating salads mostly. I am so not a fan of the food. blagh.

My Elders have been fabulous lately, the picking on was done by just a few and it would be comparable to how boys treat each other...I just was NOT feeling strong last week so i was quite upset when they tried teasing me. The language is slowing down for whatever reason...or so it feels. I don't feel like I've progressed a whole lot this past week but everyone says it comes in waves, so I'm not too worried. we watched a film this morning about the saints in Cabo Verde. IT'S SO AWESOME. We watched it with the subtitles covered up and not only did it make me cry, I UNDERSTOOD EVERYTHING THEY WERE SAYING. So I guess I'm not doing too horribly with the language.

On Sunday we had a devotional with a man who's name I have forgotten. He talked about one night where his children wanted to go to Olive Garden. He's Italian so he was a little frustrated his kids would go for food so not real. However they went and before their waitress took their orders, she picked up the menus. When they reminded her they hadn't ordered, she told them she would order for them. She then proceded to bring out a salad, just like olive garden salad and put it on each of their plates for them. She then said "it's beautiful salad, no?" (she's a 72 year old Italian woman). They agreed and ate salad. She then brought out the bread sticks and taught them how to eat them. Then more salad, and then the main course. Which he can't remember, but he can remember how she made them feel. And how passionate she was about her work. He then told us that since that night some years ago, they have gone back again and again to have a meal with this waitress. She makes them feel so special and they have realized she is a true friend. He even played us a voicemail he got from her after his daughter had died. It was a very thick Italian accent and very inaudible, however she offered her support and told the family she loved them with her whole heart. He then relayed how loving those you serve with your whole heart is so important to understanding them and the work. It was such a great story, I totally cried. and they Elders cried too.

Alright I have to go for now, I'll check my email around 5 tonight again so if you have anything write back fast!

Eu Amo Voçe com minha coração! (I love you with my whole heart,)
mad

MONDAY - May 7, 2012

Hey Family!

The Irma's are leaving so I decided I'd use this time to my advantage (I've been hanging with Irma Davis all day so I am allowed to be on for a few minutes while she writes her family).

This week has been HARD. I had a little break down on Friday and it carried on to Saturday. Good thing the Toms shoes arrived Friday night because that seriously made me feel a little better. The Elders just started picking on me on Friday and I was NOT feeling the love, and I realized the Irma's would be leaving Tuesday and had a little freak out realizing i would be stuck with the elders BY MYSELF!!!

I was sitting in the class Saturday morning (after finding out I'd be moving in with the Ukrainian sisters on Tuesday...they don't speak English...and it was Wissa's wedding and I hadn't gotten mail in a while and the elders were picking on me and the Irma's were leaving....I was EMOTIONAL to say the least!) Then my teacher Irmao Groesbeck pulled me aside and I started totally weeping....completely out of character and I told him the whole thing and he started crying with me when he was cheering me up...sounds weird, but his being emotional made me feel a lot better. Things were figured out, Elders apologized and things have been going a lot better.

Sunday morning I got called to the Coordinating Sisters position in my branch...basically RS president but for the branch, and since the sisters in the branch is just me.....I am "coordinating myself" as the elders call it. hahahaha. Although I am in charge of a lot of them and watching out to see how things are going. I had training meetings all day and we got new zone leaders-Cook and Wing (his 25 year old companion) are our new zone leaders-they will do great, I totally called it. They crack me up and they're very responsible so it'll be fun working with them.

Okay I'm getting off the computer-  I'll write tomorrow-PS send just one big email thanks!

Eu amo voces come minha coraçao! (i love you with my whole heart)
mad

Why You Should Go On A Mission

I never expected to be the girl to say "Go on a Mission!"  But here I am, and it's what I'm telling you.

1.  The MTC is EFY on steroids.  For real all you do is weep and bond with others and feel the spirit.  The whole time.  The bond between Sister and Elders is not AT ALL what I expected.  Elders are expected to open doors, take your meal trays, carry your things and depending on the branch president, stand when you enter a room.  And honestly you can tell, for the most part, THEY LOVE IT.  And we love them for it.  If you fell like your are not "spiritual" enough for a mission, trust me, some of these Elders are coming straight from the womb and no matter who you are, the MTC will change your life for the better.

2.  Sister missionaries are so cool.  My worst nightmare is having an insane companheira ... and although this definitely WILL happen, I've realized for the most part that Sisters are AWESOME.  Nights are filled with nail polish and secrets and crying.  Days are filled with singing Disney songs, especially "Tangled" and Adele.  The just same as normal, typical girl behavior.

3.  You will learn an entirely new way to look at the world, yourself, and others.  And you'll never want to go back.  I promise.  Your life will change and you will experience things you never thought possible.

Sister Sack.

TUESDAY, May 1, 2012

Hi Family,

Sorry for not writing until now (mid afternoon), this past week has been crazy! A little update: One of the Sisters went home this past weekend due to anxiety and stress issues. It was such an incredible experience to get to know her over the past few week. On Saturday afternoon she and I walked to the upper fields to "work out" instead, we ended up chatting about how she was doing and what was going on with her, she wasn't sure if she would be going home yet and so I was able to talk to her a bit. I was glad to show her that any problems she might have, she can and will get over.  Both her and her companion are FOR REAL the two most gracious girls I've met here yet.  Because she left, I now have a "solo" sister to be companions with! She is a solo as well, but Irma D and I hang out a lot and as such, we haven't had time to write until now. She's fabulous and it's been fun to have a half companion. All the Irma's leave for Portugal this next Tuesday however, and I will be the lone Sister of the zone. (We're getting 4 elders this week, no sisters) which means for AT LEAST one day I will be in the Ukrainian Sister's room (they don't speak English I don't think). Pray I get my visa! hahaha.

All in all however, this week has been fabulous. We had a great day last Wednesday- our teacher Irma O'Brien dared us to go the entire day speaking Portuguese. Eu fala portuguese muito muito mal, mas muito muito animada por todas dias! I didn't speak one word of English all day! Since then, my love for Elder W has grown and we are getting along much better. It wasn't ever his fault I've realized, the poor elder is just so shy and so not me that i was trying to make him me instead of loving him and all of his insecurities. On that note, Elder Larsen got his visa this past week and left with Elder Willets. So now it is officially just me and Elder W in our district, then my favorite elder, Elder L...he's like a younger Taoete, and then an Elder from Rigby that just talks about his girlfriend. The five of us are bound together because without us all we can't go anywhere. They're Hawaiian, Black and Hispanic and then I'm the token white person. We get along just great. Also, Elder W and I now officially just teach together....but I am not allowed to call him my companion, instead he is "my elder" and I am "his sister" and we teach together like an old couple. We've gotten use to each other now and we're finally getting down Portuguese enough that we understand each other, it's going great!!

One of our "investigators" (really our teacher, Brock Groesbeck) wasn't getting a lot of what we were saying and I taught him how to pray and he did it!!! As dumb as this sounds, it was a great moment that i could actually communicate using just Portuguese for an entire 10 minutes and he understood the jest of what i was saying.

On Thursday we started teaching with NO NOTES. I am loving it, and it's super hard but I feel like I can speak enough that it's okay I have no notes! Since the sister left Sunday afternoon, we had a Sister sleepover and put all the mattresses on the floor telling embarrassing stories and we of course, all ended up crying about how much we love each other....just like any other normal sleepover. hahaha.

Sunday was a special day, all of us are expected to write talks every week in Portuguese and then as they're on the stand they just announce your name and call you up. One of the zone leaders Sunday morning (Elder T from Melbourne) was like Sister Sackley you're going to talk! (in reality he has no idea who is going to talk and who isn't, he just likes teasing me) and I did get called to talk!!! I was so nervous and the minute they called me I was first, so I walked up and was like uh....ola......uh....and then I talked and it wasn't perfeito, but I did okay! Elder C had to speak after me and he did fairly well as well. After the meeting we were all shaking hands and Elder C accidentally put his arm out to give me a side hug. I jumped back a good foot and stuck my shaking hand out. In that moment I realized oh dear, I have become the awkward sister missionary. It was a fearsome moment to behold (name the movie).

Relief society is SO EMOTIONAL. It's like we're all not use to being around so much estrogen and then they put us all together and we WEEP! We had a testimony meeting and I bore my testimony very first (p.s. still waiting for Logan's response on both Book Of Mormon and his testimony).... I talked about how one of my very favorite people in the past three years has gone from being a non member, to member, to married in the temple. And how each of us is called of God to find people just like them. I also talked about how I was a solo sister and how thankful I was for the promise in my Patriarchal Blessing that i would "never feel alone" because I haven't and I am so fortunate for that.

After all of that, later at night we have movies we can go to last thing at night. I chose "the character of Christ" by David A. Bednar. He gave it Christmas this past year at the MTC. I don't think you can find it anywhere however, IT IS AWESOME. And it most definitely has changed my life. It was all about the natural man and how to put off the natural man, I thought of how it was Grandpa's favorite scripture...anyways, it was a great great devotional and I loved every moment.

On Monday we have "workshop" in which we learn about a characteristic we should be striving to achieve. This week was faith in Christ. Just a small clip of what i learned, from Elder Holland's talk:

"come to the edge" he said

"no we'll fall"
"come to the edge!" he said
"no, we'll fall"
"COME TO THE EDGE"
so we came to the edge
and he pushed us
and we flew.

How much in my life I have not wanted to go to the edge when in reality, it is precisely what and where I should be. I promise that the Lord will push you to your limits and that you really will fly when you go to the edge. Mission life is so unexpected and ever changing and so great. Harrah for Israel!!

This week on Wednesday the new Elders have what's called "first lessons" in which they all go to a room with an "investigator" in the room, some investigators are real, some aren't but they all are going off their real lives. More experienced elders and sisters come and start the lesson off and then they stop and all the new elders try to teach. Because the Sister left, I get to go with Sister D and be an experienced sister! Normally you can't and don't get this honor until you've been here 8 weeks....and they pick a very small number of people in the MTC...like 8....(shows how great those two Irma's are) so I'm excited I get to go do it!

Alright I better go, I'm sending letters tonight or tomorrow morning with a few more things... also yes I would love Tom's if that's okay. You can order them online and they will ship here....and I loved all the packages you keep sending! Thanks for them all, I love the dress, I'll try sending photos soon.

eu amo voce!!

Sister Mad