MTC Pictures

Sister Palmer with her district

Sis. Palmer and Sis. Lytle at the Provo Temple

Sara at the Big Map in the MTC

Welcome to San Jose

I ate a Cricket!

Hello everyone, 

Another week has flown by in San Jose! I'll give you a quick thing about last P-day (I wrote you an actual letter about it) and then I will dive into the rest of the week. *pulls out Missionary Planner*

We had a super busy P-day last week. I had to go to the podiatrist (which went well), bought groceries, did laundry (yay!), ran errands, wrote home, and spent most of our time in the mission office. We had to fill out an accident report for what happened in the accident and it took longer because there was another pair of sisters who got in a car accident who needed to do their paperwork too. I will be so glad when this whole accident is behind us. Someone came to look at the damage to the car today (it is very minimal, scratches on our bumper) and will be working with the mission office. Hopefully, this is almost over! We also taught Jose about The Restoration. He has some concerns, as he was raised Catholic and doesn't believe in prophets. We then had dinner with a member/recent convert named Carmina. We then went and taught a member named Ceydi. Ceydi and I are a lot alike and we are already good friends. I think that we are both good for eachother.

On Tuesday, we did service at a farm called Veggilution. We do our service in the mornings and then we go and teach and contact in the afternoon and evening (well, we don't contact in the evenings unless there is someone else with us). We then had lunch at the Institute Building and showed The Restoration video to an investigator named Michelle. She's not looking to convert, but she is interested in learning about the Church. Maybe we can change her mind? :) She is also studying Farsi! How cool is that?! Sister Bliss then had a meeting (she is a Sister Training Leader) and I contacted with Sister Hill's (the other Sister Training Leader) companion: Sister Lytle! We went contacting on campus and I was able to teach a lesson on the street! :D We then had two more lessons, one with a member and the other with a recent convert.

We then went to dinner with a recent convert, Ali and her boyfriend, Guy (he is a member). We went to this Mexican place and I ate a cricket! You read that right. They had an appetizer where you could eat crickets. The elders and Guy ordered it, and I was brave enough to try one. I have a video of Elder Ball, our District Leader, eating one. They don't really taste like anything. They're really crunchy though...

On Wednesday, we had District Meeting. We reported our numbers for last week and introduced eachother. My district was super excited when they found out that I speak French and I was asked to say the Closing prayer in French! After the meeting, we went to this ice cream place called Cream. You pick two cookies and a type of ice cream and they make it into an ice cream sandwich for you. It is super yummy. I also got to go to a Greek place and get gyros! We then did some training and such before coming back to the Institute for dinner. They have a big dinner at the Institute on Wednesdaynights and we get to go.

We also had an amazing lesson with an investigator named Kyle. According to Sister Bliss, they had been teaching him for a long time and he wouldn't commit to anything. This week, we had a talk and decided to drop him if this lesson didn't go well. Last Sunday, the day after the Elder Bednar devotional, he texted us and said that he had an amazing experience there. So, when we taught him on Wednesday, we tried to focus on that. He said that that was the first time he had really felt the Spirit. We invited him to be baptized, and he agreed, but he was hesitant about the date. Sister Bliss asked him why and he finally opened up. He started to cry and told us what was going on. We are now praying for him that he can resolve this. This was probably the high point of our week!

On Thursday, I went on my first exchange! As an STL (Sister Traning Leader), Sister Bliss has to go on exchanges with sisters about once a week and help them. Sister Bliss and Sister Hill thought long and hard about what to do, since they are both training, and decided to put Sister Lytle and I together anyways! So, I was in Alum Rock (Sister Lytle's area) and we did what they had planned for the day while Sister Bliss was with another Sister in our area. Sister Lytle and I went to lunch and then did some contacting. 

The weather was bad (it has been raining the last couple of days) so we didn't get much contacting done, but we met the Zone daily goal. I even contacted a woman in Spanish! I walked up to her and started talking when she said "No ingles". I told her who we were and invited her to come to Church in my rusty Spanish. I had a hard time understanding her (I accidentally mixed up my pronouns) but I understood her in the end. It was so cool! 

After contacting, we had an appointment with a man named Raymond. He lives in a home for people with mental illness because he has schizophrenia. He was really nice and we had a good conversation with him. I would love to teach him again. That is, if he doesn't run away again. We then went back to Sister Lytle's apartment for dinner (no appointment) and then left for another lesson. We got lost on our way to the lesson and had problems at the gas station because we didn't know how to use the gas card. Thanks to a very helpful gas station attendant, we were able to fill up and go to our appointment. Sister Lytle was able to talk to him about the Church too. Maybe that is why we had so much trouble! After that, we had a member-present lesson with two Chinese guys. They were so fun to teach. I also saw Alisa's grandpa! I thought it was him and I stopped him to ask if he was Alisa Flaherty's grandpa. He said that he was and I told him to tell everyone "hi". It was so nice to see him, but sad that it had to be while I was on exchanges!

On Friday, I was returned to Sister Bliss (I spent the night with Sister Lytle). Fridays are a fairly slow day for us. We had a lesson with Manny (a less-active) and received a call from the mission office while we were eating lunch. Apparently, President Mella wanted to talk to us. We did some contacting and then left for the mission office. President Mella knew that I was struggling. He wanted to talk to me and then to me and Sister Bliss to help me figure out ways to cope. He really cares and he just wants to help me. 

We were then supposed to have dinner with a member and her fiance, but she has been so stressed with wedding stuff (the wedding is this weekend) that she just asked us what we wanted and brought it to us. It was nice of her. We then helped the YSA set up for their activity that night. They were having a movie night and turned the place into a movie theatre! Sister Bliss and I worked in the concession stand and then went home. It was fun. 

On Saturday, we did service before going to lunch with a member named Alan. He's a really nice guy. We then had training and did contacting. We then did our weekly planning because we didn't have time to on Friday. We then had dinner and visited a recent convert/less active named Chris. He's a really nice guy. We wish he would come to Church though. As forSunday, we had Branch Council, Church, contacting, dinner, and training. When we were out contacting we were able to teach two lessons on the street too! We were going to meet with a referral from the sisters who live with us, but he never showed. His name is Mohammed. He gave the sisters who live with us four copies of the Koran, so we got one too! It is in the original language, so I can't read it, but it is so beautiful. The cool thing about Mohammed, is that he is willing to change religions if he believes that this is what God wants him to do! Wow! 

Picture Day

When Sara arrived in the mission field her Mission President, President Mella, took a couple of pictures and sent them to us.  Since pictures have never been high on Sara's priority list we are excited to get anything.

Here's Sara with her companion Sister Bliss.

And here is Sara with President and Sister Mella

My first P-Day, Elder Bednar in Oakland, and a lot left to learn

Hello!

I have made it to my first P-day. Well, let me back up to how we got there...

[MTC]

My last week at the MTC was fine (not counting the fact that I was sick). Sister Lytle and I taught our investigators and they were making progress. We were really sad to leave them. The other sisters in our zone also came and said goodbye to us. Sister Lytle and I also made a vending machine run and I got ice cream (yes, they have a frozen food vending machine. It is awesome) to celebrate my last night in the MTC. Don't take that the wrong way, please. I loved the MTC! 

[THE TRIP]

According to our travel itinerary, we had to be at the Travel Office at 3h35. So, we got up around 2h30. We then got ready (thankfully we had packed and cleaned the night before) and made sure we had everything before we left. We wheeled our stuff to the Travel Office (of course it has to be the farthest building from us). We then got on the bus and the bus took us to the train station in Provo. We then got on the train (it left at 4h30) and traveled to our stop in Salt Lake City. We then went to the Salt Lake airport. Once we had our boarding passes, and were checked in, we went searching for our gate. The Salt Lake airport is HUGE! (Then again, so is San Jose International). We found our gate and then Sister Lytle and I went to buy some food. We were standing in line to buy some food when a man came up to us and told the woman who was taking our order to add it on to his and that he was paying for it! We thanked him and he told us to have a great mission. They love missionaries in the SLC Airport! :D

The flight was fine. The flight was about an hour and a half and we landed in the San Jose airport around 9h30 (left at 8h30 Utah time). We then wandered through the San Jose airport toward baggage claim, where we were told that someone from the Church would be waiting for us. On our way, we ran into a bunch of San Jose missionaries going home and they almost attacked us! They told us repeatedly that we were going to the best mission ever. We continued on our way and found a huge group of people waiting for us! It was President Mella, Sister Mella, the Assistants, and the couples who work in the mission office. The first one to great me was President Mella. It was amazing. 

We then went to baggage claim and President Mella told the elders to grab the luggage off the carousel. He said that if any sisters touched the luggage, the elders would be in huge trouble! We then all took the luggage to the cars waiting for us. We put our luggage in the transfer van and Sister Mella took all of the sisters in a big van. We went to the Institute Building in Downtown San Jose. 

[SAN JOSE]

When we arrived, we had an orientation by President Mella and his Assistants (Elder Fisher and Elder Black). We were then informed that we were going to go out and do some street contacting! Because we don't do tracting here, we do contacting. We talk to everyone we see on the street and invite them to hear a message about Christ, come to Church, or be baptized. I couldn't believe they wanted us to do that on our first day! We hadn't even been in San Jose for an hour! Sister Lytle and I went with Sister Bliss (one of the Sister Training Leaders) and we went out to contact on a nearby University Campus. We were really scared, but Sister Bliss encouraged us, and I was able to open my mouth and contact people! 

We came back and then went to the Mission Office for lunch. We met more of the people who work in the Mission Office and ate. After lunch, we went to President Mella's house and got to take a nap. We all slept on the floor in sleeping bags. It was one of the best naps I had ever had! I woke up about two hours later (around dinner time) and did a recording. Apparently, they record you when you first come in and then again when it is time for you to leave. I am excited to see how much I change. I then had an interview with President Mella. I LOVE President Mella, he was so nice. He's like a Dad to all the missionaries.  I told him everything that I was worried about and we talked a lot about it. It was very comforting. We then had dinner and a devotional before the sisters went to stay the night at some nearby apartments (the elders got to sleep at President Mella's house).

The next morning, we packed up our things again and went to the mission office for breakfast. After breakfast, we had an orientation about vehicle safety and about medical information. We now have a mission nurse: Sister Conner.

After orientation, we went to the chapel where we would be assigned our companion/trainer and our new area. I was really scared and kept praying that I would have a nice, understanding companion. President Mella made some remarks and then had all the greenies line up at the front of the chapel before reading off who their trainers would be. He said, "Sister Palmer, your trainer is Sister Bliss." ! I was so excited. According to Elder Rich, an elder who was helping us out, I lit up. I was so excited to be with someone I knew! After everyone was assigned, there was a quick presentation and then we went to get pictures with our companion and with President and Sister Mella. We then grabbed my stuff and put it in the back of Sister Bliss's car (yes, I am in a car). We then went to lunch with other members of the Zone. Sister Bullcreek and her companion live with us, and Sister Lytle and her companion are in my zone! Sister Pattison isn't in our area though (sad). 

That afternoon, we had a Zone Training Meeting, so I got to meet the other members of the Zone. It took a few hours, so we had to cancel some of the appointments that Sister Bliss had had planned for that day. We did, however, get to teach a recent covert named Samantha (she was baptized on the 10th) and a nonmember named Mark. Later, we took my things to the apartment and Sister Bliss gave me a quick tour of it. We then went to dinner with a man named Isamel. He is a recent convert. It was us, Ismael, Sachin (another recent convert. He's the branch mission leader), the elders (Elder Ball and Elder Methvin. Elder Methvin came to San Jose with the rest of us), and Ismael's friend Jose (a non member). We ate and shared a spiritual thought. After dinner, we were going to visit some people, but all of our plans fell through, so we decided to visit a less active named Manny. According to Sister Bliss, we had a miracle lesson with him! She said that he never participates in the lessons, but he participated this time. When we got home, Sister Bliss and I did some daily planning and I unpacked before going to bed. It was a very busy day!

On Friday, we studied and then went and did service at the park. We need to do ten hours of service a week. So, we served at the park for a while, helping organize things and then came back home for lunch and planning. Oh my goodness, weekly planning takes a long time. It is very useful. I like to know what is going on for the week, but it takes a long time. We then had to go to MCM (Missionary Correlation Meeting). We met with Sachin (the branch mission leader), the Laytons (the elder and sister who are in charge of the Institute Building), and others. We basically prepared for Branch Council by letting Sachin know what we were up to. After that, we  had some training (greenies have a twelve week training program) before it was time to leave for our dinner appointment.  I learned that I am expecting too much of myself. I need to be patient and let the adjustment come naturally. I hate feeling like I don't know what I am doing though. ><

We had dinner with a member family with the elders and with Sister Hill (the other Sister Training Leader) and Sister Lytle. It was fun to talk to them. They are the Merkleys. I asked if they are related to our Merkleys, but it doesn't look like it. The only family they have in Washington is in Bremerton. Also, he grew up in Blackfoot and said that he knew Walt Harper! We were then going to have an appointment with Samantha, but she cancelled on us. 

Saturday was one heck of a day! We had personal study and companionship study before doing some training and going contacting. Sister Bliss taught me more about contacting so it was easier this time. We didn't have much time though because we had to go to the Oakland Temple to see Elder Bednar! He had a three hour meeting with us missionaries. He asked us questions about the talks that he had asked us to read before we came and then we got to ask him questions. It was an amazing experience. Elder Bednar is so funny and he is much bolder with us missionaries! It was amazing to see the Oakland Temple and to be able to be in the same room and spend time with an Apostle of the Lord. 

I was considering not telling you this, but I need to with all the blessings that have come from it. On the way home from the temple, we were in a MINOR car accident. We were in stop-and-go traffic when the sister who was driving behind us was rear-ended by a guy going too fast and not paying attention. She then rear-ended us before bouncing back, hitting his car, and rear-ending us again. It scared me really bad, but none of us were seriously hurt! All ten sisters in the Zone and no one is hurt, what a miracle. Sister Bliss called the Zone Leaders and our Zone Leader said "Sisters, I see you" before pulling over and jumping out of the car. We had to fill out an accident report and give all of our information to the police (that was interesting. "No officer, we aren't headed to Prom. Yes, we always dress like this. We're missionaries."). The other two cars had to be towed (the guy who hit the other sister had his air bag go off and couldn't drive and the other sister's car had some damage). Sister Bliss had also called President Mella and he showed up almost at the same time as the tow truck. He made sure we were all okay and we drove to a nearby church building. President Mella made sure we were all okay and told us to text him as soon as we were home. We ended up missing our dinner appointment so the entire Zone went out to eat before we went home. I cried when we got home. It is super scary to be rear-ended when you don't see it coming!

Let me explain my area or this won't make sense. We serve near a university and we serve in a YSA Branch. I am in Downtown San Jose. 

On Sunday, we went to Branch Council before teaching a new investigator! We are teaching Jose (Ismael's friend). Samantha was also confirmed and Ismael and Sachin were endowed on Saturday. Good things are happening in this branch! We had our regular Church meetings and then had lessons with a couple of Branch members who are struggling. We then had lunch an d did some more contacting. We actually ran into a girl who was interested in meeting with us! Her name is Rosie. Can't wait to meet with her this week. We then had dinner and went to a broadcast of the temple fireside with Elder Bednar. It was good. We then went to see Colin. He is preparing to serve a mission and we go through PMG with him. He was ordained that day too! It was great. 

Well, I got to run. My hour is almost up. I have some bad news: I didn't have my camera with me, so I can't attach photos this time. I AM SO SO SO SO SO SORRY. I also found out that we can only use church approved websites, so no DropBox. I will have to attach my photos to emails to you. Although, next week my email shouldn't be so long! I am emailing you about a lot of things! 

Love, Sara

Bre got a letter too.

Dear Bre,

How are you? :D Thanks for the mail. I've been loving it. Things have been great here. I can't believe that by the time you read this I'll be in San Jose! Time is so weird in the MTC. It's like I just got here and like I've been here forever. There's really no place like it. Thanks by the way for the "21 reasons why the MTC is Hogwarts". I shared that with the sisters in our district. They loved it!

You asked me how planning works. Well first, Sister Lytle and I discuss the investigators individually and decide how we want them to feel, what we want them to do (commitments), and what we want them to know (doctrine/lesson). We then have personal study and research what we want to teach. We then have companionship study and share what we learned and practice. I'll have to show you some lesson plans when I come home.

Our investigators are going well. Cyndi wants to be baptized and we were able to teach her the first three lessons and part of the fourth. Kitty (our Buddhist friend) was definitely progressing. We were able to teach her the first lesson. Our third investigator, Don, has been more of a challenge. We were able to teach him the first two lessons though.

Well, it is time for Devotional. I have to run. Sorry you don't get as long a letter as Mom and Dad. But know that I love you and hope you have a day as wonderful as you are. By the way, I hope I have a day that awesome ;)

Love,

Sara

The Last Night in the MTC

We got a letter today too.  Here's what she had to say.

Today is my last night in the MTC.  I'm sitting in my classroom as I write this to you.  We have to be at the Travel Office at 3:35 am, but we still have to stay up until 10:30.  Hopefully they are used to very tired greenies!

To answer some of your questions (sorry, most of your letters are in my residence, so I have to do this from memory.)  No I was not a host.  The hosts welcome you as soon as you arrive at the MTC.  The Zone leaders and Sister Training Leaders come later that night and take the new district on a tour.  That's what we did.  As for your question about Elder Ramirez, yes I know him!  He is in my district.  Since you're talking with all these moms here is a list of our district (except for the missionary who left us) Elder Twitchell, Elder Ramirez, Elder Chamberlain, Sister Pattison, Sister Bullcreek, Sister Lytle, and me.

I need to tell you about our investigators.  Two of them were our teachers and one was through the TRC.  I won't tell you which is which of if the TRC person was a member or not because when we were teaching we didn't think of that.  Plus the investigators portrayed are based on people our teachers met on their missions.  Our first investigator is Cyndi.  We taught her the first three lessons and part of the fourth.  She really wants to be baptized!  We are sad to not be teaching her anymore.  Our second investigator is Kitty.  She's our Buddhist friend who I told you about.  We were able to teach her about the Restoration and she was so receptive!  We had to go slower with her considering her back ground.  Our third investigator is Don.  He's from a part member family so he's very interesting.  We were able to teach him the first two lessons.  I'm sad to leave all three of them.

This last week at the MTC, I had a cold.  It was pretty bad, and got to the point where Sister Lytle dragged me to the clinic.  They had a "cold clinic" where they give you a sheet of paper with a list of medications and suggestions to keep you healthy.  The best part?  It's free!  Sister Lytle and I bought me some better medications and I'm finally feeling better.  I've seen some people I know at the MTC.  I've seen Elder Stallings, Elder Bouche, and Sister Kline.  I also saw a girl who took Mission Prep with me at BYU Idaho.

Being here at the MTC has been an amazing experience.  I have only been here for two weeks and yet my confidence has grown.  I am definitely nervous to  go to San Jose and sad to say goodbye to Sister Lytle, but I know that I am supposed to be here and I want to do the Lord's work!

Love , Sara

A call from the President

Sara's P-Day in the MTC was on Wednesday's so we were concerned about how long it might take before we heard from her again since she was flying to San Jose on Wednesday the 12th.  That evening we got an email from her at the mission office saying that her mission president, President Mella, had given them all a little time to write a quick "I'm alive" email. Today President Mella called us to let us know where she is and how she is doing.  It was so good to hear from him and to learn a little more about her experience.

Sara's trainer is Sister Bliss and they are working together in the Washington Square Young Single Adult Branch.  They meet at the institute building on the campus of San Jose State University.  Her Preparation Day is on Monday so we should be getting an email from her soon with more details and information.

We were so thrilled to hear from President Mella and to know that Sara is adjusting to a new situation and so many changes.  She was part of a group of 29 missionaries to arrive in the mission this week.  Her mission has 300 missionaries in it now and about 120 of them are sisters.  Most of the big wave of missionaries are going home now and they are not all being replaced so the mission should shrink to about 220 in the next 6 months.

Brian

First P-Day Letter - Off to a great start as a Sister Training Leader

First P-Day letter

When Kathy dropped me off at the MTC, a host was there waiting for me. She took me to the bookstore to get my supplies (white handbook, planner, etc.) and to another building for my nametag, room key, and card. She then took me to my residence to drop off my suitcases and then to my class room. I did start to cry during all of that, but some of the older staff members helped me out. When I got to class, I met my companion. Her name is Sister Lytle (pronounced Lie-tull). She is from New Hampshire. I really really like her. She is 19 and went to BYU for a semester (studying chemistry) before leaving on her mission.

On Thursday, we met the Branch Presidency and their wives. They are all very nice to us. We then had interviews with the Branch Presidency and one of the counselors called me to be a Sister Training Leader with Sister Lytle! I couldn't believe it! So, on Sunday Sister Lytle and I had to go to Branch Council and then various leadership meetings during the week. Tonight, we are going to welcome in the new missionaries in our zone (Zone 36) and show them around the MTC. 

Here is what a typical day at the MTC looks like: We wake up at 6:30 and do what we need to do before going to breakfast at 7:15. The food is pretty good, but I would stay away from the cookies and the grapes. The cookies taste like they have been cooked too long and I found a grape with holes in it. Anyways, we then have daily planning before we head to class for personal study and then companionship study. This is usually when Sister Lytle and I make our lesson plans. We then have more study time before lunch. After lunch we have class and usually teach an investigator (more about that later). After class, we have gym. I found out that Four Square is a big deal in the MTC! I also found that I am having a better time at gym than I thought I would. Yesterday, Sister Lytle and I found some jump ropes and had fun playing with those. Another sister in our district also taught me how to properly shoot a basketball! After gym, we have some free time and then we go to dinner. After dinner, we go back for more class and then go home. Quiet time is at 10:15 and then lights out at 10:30. It is a very busy day!

There are eight of us in our district (District 36-A). Sister Lytle and I live with the other two sisters in our district: Sister Pattison and Sister Bullcreek. They are great and the four of us have so much fun together (Sister Pattison is from Utah and Sister Bullcreek is from Idaho). As for the elders, I am not sure what I think of them. I mean, I like them, but our district leader's personality confuses me. I think that maybe I see the elders as a little immature too. My teachers are really nice too. I am with Sister Gwynn and Brother Call (I actually know his wife, Sarah, from when we did Savior of the World). We also have help from Sister Avery and Brother Weekes. They are so nice. 

We've had some great devotionals here. On Sunday night, Sister Wendy Nelson (Russel M Nelson's wife) came and spoke to us. She brought Sherri Dew with her as her companion, because Elder Nelson was elsewhere (North Carolina?) organizing a stake. On Tuesday, we had two devotionals. We went to the BYU devotional where Elder David F Evans spoke about tenacity. That night, we heard from Elder Golden of the seventy. It was great. 

We currently have two investigators: Cyndi and Kitty. Cyndi is our investigator that we teach during part of class time. Sister Lytle and I have taught her a few lessons and it is going well. So far, she has committed to prayer, reading the Book of Mormon, coming to Church with us, and baptism! Kitty is our investigator through the TRC (Teaching Resource Center). She has been hard to teach because she doesn't have a Christian background (she is Buddhist). We have to start with the very basics. In fact, we teach her tonight. I hope that that goes well. Sister Lytle and I are desperately trying to figure out what to teach her. We also practice working with members through the TRC. They just started teaching missionaries how to work with members, so we are some of the first ones to do member visits in the MTC. I think it is a great idea to teach the missionaries how to work with members!

Some fun things have happened as well. One, when Sister Lytle and I were in line waiting to get our food, two elders in front of us were wondering if they should order their food in French! So, I tapped the elder nearest me on the shoulder and struck up a conversation! Thankfully, this elder has french parentage, so I didn't completely scare him. He also said that I speak really well. I have met quite a few missionaries going French speaking, but that elder is the only one I have really talked to. Another time, when we were headed to dinner, some elders stopped us and asked if they could practice bearing their testimonies in Fijian. So, we let them. It was great. They then invited us to share our testimonies, and I bore mine in French. Only Sister Lytle knew that I spoke French so that was a fun surprise!

We also have service once a week (Fridays). We have to clean the building that we are staying in. As a former custodian, I love it! Sister Lytle knows that I was a custodian and sometimes she laughs when I notice things that other people wouldn't notice (lights that are out, smudges, etc.). While we were doing service last week, I ran into a girl who had been in my Mission Prep class at BYU-Idaho. That was fun! 

On Sundays, we get to leave the MTC to walk up to the temple and spend time on the grounds. The Provo temple grounds are beautiful!

All in all, I am having a great time here at the MTC. Things are busy, and there are times when I am stressed, but I think of how I feel when I am teaching. The Spirit that Sister Lytle and I are able to feel when we teach Cyndi makes it all worth it! We feel so amazing when a lesson goes well. I can't believe that I will only be here for another week. Apparently, we're the "old ones" now because there are more missionaries coming in today. 

Today, as it is P-day, we went to the temple. I have missed going. Although, the Provo temple is much bigger than the Columbia River Temple! That, or it is just taller. I was so excited to go (I had been looking forward to it all week!). Later today, we are going to do laundry and work on our lesson for Kitty. 

Unfortunately, I will not have another P-day at the MTC. We leave on Wednesday, 12 November for the field. In fact, we have to get up at 3:30 a.m. to catch the shuttle. So, I don't know when I will email you again. Hopefully it will be soon. When I know when P-day is in San Jose, I will tell you.

Hope you are all doing well. I love you.