Home MTC 9-18-2021
I feel like I need to come up with a catch phrase to start all my emails LOL.
This week started off a bit rocky but I have LOVED my experience with home MTC. For those of you who don't know, I got on zoom Monday morning, was waiting in the waiting room and then after about 5 minutes of waiting I was told that I was not expected to start classes until Wednesday. With that being said, Monday was SO boring!! Until we got Timber <3 He is the cutest pup ever (pictures for proof). Since we got Timber Monday night, Tuesday wasn't as bad because I just spent the day with Him. Then came Wednesday... I got up and was anxiously waiting for my 9am zoom class to start. It was about 8:45 I was logging into zoom and there was a chat room for my district (everyone was waving in the chat to make sure we were all added to the right chat room) I waved and then got a message from the MTC Director and he was like "Hey Sister Fox, we missed you in class today, want to join for the last few minutes?" I was thinking "UM WHAT?! I thought class starts at 9???" Turns out the google calendar that was shared with me was still in LONDON'S time zone which is 7 hours ahead of Utah, yikes! So I went from being in class too early on Monday to missing my first class on Wednesday haha. Luckily it was just the introductions that I missed but my amazing district was super understanding and even stayed later to introduce themselves to me. :)
After we got all the technical things worked out I had 2 classes left on Wednesday and I loved them. Each day we have our morning class, a workshop that follows, and then we finish the day with another class. I have the most amazing MTC teachers, district, and companion. My teachers are Sister Mancebo and Brother Ribiero. Sister Mancebo is from the UK, served a mission in Italy and has been a MTC teacher since May, my district is actually her first district since she became a teacher so that's cool! I really like her. She's only been off her mission for about a year and I think it's nice to have a teacher so close to my own age. Brother Ribeiro is from Spain but has lived in the UK for over 10 years, served in Brazil and has been teaching for just over a year now, We only met him on Yesterday (he has a lot of classes and workshops to teach in the MTC so most of the time Sister Mancebo will be teaching us). I'm still getting to know him but he is very kind and seems excited to teach so I think he'll be great. I am really excited to meet both of them on Thursday!
My district is small. There are only 8 of us and my companion and I are the only Sisters besides Sister Mancebo. There is one Elder from Brazil-Elder Cazorla, one from Germany-Elder Uhlig, one from Austria-Elder Greindl, one from England-Elder Greaves, And 2 from Utah-Elder Gowans and Elder Gruyon. Elder Gruyon lives in Bountiful so I asked him if he knew any of my cousins who live there. Turns out he is a very big fan of my uncle Skee, or as he would refer to him as the "Bountiful Legend." All the Elders are super nice and I think we will all get along well. I also LOVE hearing everyone's accents during our classes.
My companion is Sister Costa, She is from Brazil but she has traveled all over. Her family has lived in Vegas, and Southern Utah, and now her and her mom live in Liverpool England. She is a bit shy but she is also really kind. Her dad actually still lives in Lehi, Utah. She came to visit him before her mission started and got stuck here. Her brother got covid so her 2 week visit turned into a month visit. She's spending her Pday flying home so that she can prepare to arrive at the MTC on Thursday. She also played basketball in high school so we are already planning to show up the boys on our next Pday hahah. I'm excited to work with her as well as learn from her.
Thursday was great, I got to all my classes (on time, thankfully). After class my mom and I went shopping for a bit and found some really cute clothes! Then my aunt took me to dinner at Hook & Reel. I'm not much of a seafood fan but I should get used to it! I got the King Crab and it actually wasn't that bad. It was fun to spend that time with my aunt and cousins. Yesterday's classes were good as well. After classes, my mom and I went and bought my extensions and then to the bank to change my dollars to pounds. After that I just played with Timber mostly, Elli and I made a quick stop at Bath and Body Works, then I just prepared my natural hair for the extensions, and did some more studying before bed.
I had a devotional this morning. I got to hear from Elder and Sister Bednar and I felt that a lot of their messages were meant for me. After watching that devotion, we were asked to meet as a district to discuss what we liked. I really enjoyed The Bednar's talks, specifically how Sister Bednar said that we as missionaries are not a multitude but a one. I took that message as me being a missionary does not make me more than or less than in God's eyes. However it does require all the ones (missionaries) to unite before God in the gathering of Israel. It just spoke to me:) I also liked how Elder Bednar said, "Everything we do in this church is focused upon, helping others learn about, understand, worthily receive, live, and remember, the covenants and ordinances made with God." I liked that because I could relate it to the missionary purpose which is to "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel through; Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the end." Only 5 of us were able to get to the zoom meeting this afternoon. We only briefly discussed the devotional but then we spent about an hour getting to know each other a little bit better which was really good for me because now I feel like I can rely on them as friends when I am in times of need at the England MTC. Both the devotional and our district meeting were absolutely amazing in different ways and the Spirit was definitely present. I plan to use the rest of my Pday to start packing and studying (Sister Costa and I are teaching our first lesson on Monday!) So I need all the studying I can get.
Tomorrow is my cousin's Farewell and I am so excited to be a part of his special day. After Tomorrow I'll have my last two days of home MTC. It's crazy how fast everyday is going by! I think I will be going to dinner with some friends on Monday so that will be super fun. Tuesday is reserved for all the stress and panic of packing and weighing my suitcases and then I am off to England. Wednesday morning I fly from SLC to ATL and from there I will fly to Paris! Then from Paris I will fly to Manchester. I am really excited to finally get there but it'll be interesting to experience Jet lag. I will arrive in England Thursday morning and will attend all my classes before I can finally sleep, wish me luck (please!).
I'm so incredibly thankful for the opportunity I have had to experience home mtc first. It has been so much fun and so good for me. One of the classes was about who we represent as missionaries, Brother Pattenden (MTC director) said something that really stuck with me. He explained that we are representing 3 names. He told us to look at our name tags and he said that we are representing; Jesus Christ, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and our family name. My name tag means SO much more to me now. I love being able to not only represent my Savior and his church but my own family all the way across the world. After hearing that I was reminded of how blessed I am to not only represent my family name but to be sealed to my family for all eternity. Temples are such an amazing gift that God has given us and I'm extremely grateful to have access to them. I'm honestly getting pretty nervous for Wednesday. To leave my family for a year and a half will be difficult, probably one of the most difficult things I will ever do but because my family has been sealed in the Temple I can remind myself that 18 months is nothing compared to eternity with them.
I feel like I have already learned so much in just these few days and I'm excited to see how much growth will come through trusting the Lord. I love this Gospel and all the blessing and knowledge I have gained from it. Serving a mission was never in MY plan but I am forever grateful that a full time mission was in God's plan for me. My uncle Derek told me after being set apart that he felt the spirit so strongly andhe knew that my journey began in Georgia, that has been on my mind all week and I dont think it's a coincidence that my flight to start my mission journey is starting in Georgia. I can never express my gratitude for the Lord and his plan. For the knowledge he gave my birth mother to help her know that I did not belong to her. She knew God's plan was perfect and I have been blessed everyday because she listened and followed his guidance. 20 years later and God's plan is STILL perfect! His perfection is everlasting! I know with all my heart, England is exactly where I am meant to be for the next 18 months and I cannot wait to share all my experiences with you all. God knows the way and he is mindful of you. There's a quote my mom shared with me awhile back that I love, it says "God has already prepared the way, he is now preparing you." I challenged each of you to try and apply that quote in your daily trials this week and watch how much that helps you see things in a different (better) perspective. Email me your experiences with this challenge, I would love to hear from you! Thank you for all the love and support you have given me. I love you guys!
Cheers,
Sister Fox
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