Monday, November 30, 2015

First week down....

Hello! I can't believe I've been at the MTC for a week...it feels like a month! Our schedules are so packed- there's not a minute unaccounted for. But I love it. I'm in a trio for my companionship- they're amazing. Sister Heiner and Sister Gotchy are both from Utah, and we're super similar. We have a ton of fun together, but it's hard balancing having a good time and focusing on the work- especially since I've been assigned to be senior companion. Responsibility and I have become great friends...but I really needed it! On my own, I could never get through a 16 hour day being as sleep deprived as I am...but with Christ I'm somehow able to stay away during 10 hours of class time. Through obedience comes blessings, but through EXACT obedience comes MIRACLES. Getting through here will be a miracle! But I'm so happy (even though I miss everyone like crazy). It's so weird to think how much your life can change in just a few days...the most exciting part of my week was watching a conference talk on a projector screen like a movie- I've definitely been transported to another dimension haha. But the funny part was I actually really enjoyed it! David A. Bednar was talking about needing true conversion, not just a testimony. You can know it's true all you want, but if you don't act on it, it means hardly anything. Even in just a week, not only has my testimony grown, but I've started true conversion in this gospel. I'm so blessed to not only have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, but the opportunity to share that with people who really need it (which, hello, is everyone). Please keep me updated on everything going on back home! My "past life" (what we call life before the mission haha) seems like a million miles away. But I think about it every single day. Stay focused, Sister Brett! 

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

"I love ya, tomorrow....you're only a day away!"

I'm sitting in bed at a hotel in Salt Lake City, staring at three suitcases by the door filled with everything I'll own for the next 18 months of my life...and I couldn't be more thrilled! Tomorrow I enter the MTC (Missionary Training Center for those of you not familiar with missionary lingo) and I'm feeling a lot of different emotions: excitement, nervousness, too many butterflies to count...but not once have I felt regret. I feel more solidified in my decision right now than I ever did before. I KNOW this is the best decision I could be making for myself. I KNOW Heavenly Father put things in my path that lead me to make the decision to serve a mission. I also know that a mission will probably (no- definitely) be one of the hardest things I do in my life. But it will be the most rewarding, because through Christ ALL things are possible. I have so much love for the gospel and His church. I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to share that with the people in Minnesota, even though I'll probably come back with a northern accent, donchya know. I know I need to go to sleep, but I'm so anxious I probably won't do much of that! Next time I write I'll have been settled in the MTC for about a week- what a weird thought!

Much love, goodnight!