Letter 1:

Hey,

I hope everyone is doing well at home.

The MTC is so different than I imagined. The first day was just like Bonnie said it would be; once I hugged mom and dad goodbye and walked away with the kind elders pulling my bags for me, I wasn't sad anymore. (I have so much going on in my head right now and I'm trying not to waste any of my precious computer time, that it's kinda hard to think about what to write right now!!! Please forgive me if this email is lame!)

It was so neat to put on my badge for the first time! Putting my tag on in the morning is my favorite part of the day! It makes me excited for the day and the things I get to do as a set apart servant of the Lord. It is truly humbling to be here as a missionary and I am trying my best to work hard and not waste any of the Lord's precious time. Just today, my companion (I'll tell you about her in a second) was telling me that I worry too much about things in general, but also about getting things done and effectively planning. How well she knows me after only a few days.

My companion is Hermana Richins. She is from Logan UT and very sweet. She isn't a big talker, but I make up for that in our companionship as I am more enthusiastic than the average person. :) When I first got here, I had another companion (Hermana Batty), but she moved to the intermediate Spanish class since she took something like 5 semesters worth of Spanish while at BYU. She was such a wonderful resource for the first few days while I was still getting my feet wet with Spanish. Hma. Richins and I see her every once in a while though, which is nice.

Ok...sorry for being a scatter brain! Back to Day 1: They kept us completely busy the entire day, which made me happy because I literally had no time to think about home. (I only shed a few tears when I read my parting notes from mom, dad, and andy). That night I didn't sleep a wink!!!! Luckily, I was still on a high from the day before, so I made it through Thursday alright. I have 2 wonderful teachers! Brother Aldrich and Sister Capps. Sister Capps actually just left and we are getting another teacher starting tomorrow. Hma. Richins and I were just talking about how differently we are treated when we are taught by sister capps compared to when bro. Aldrich. Sister Capps pays a lot more attention to us than Bro. Aldrich, not that he doesn't pay attention to us, we think he just finds it easier to relate to and help the elders. Speaking of elders, there are 7 elders in our district with Hma. Richins and I. 2 elders are going to Mendoza with Hma. Richins and I, 2 are headed to Paraguay, and then the last 3 are heading to the MTC in the Dominican Republic in about 2 weeks. We are all a little envious of them and the fact that they get to head to their areas soon!

My Spanish is coming along pretty well. Some days I feel like I'm doing much better than others. We try to speak in as much Spanish as possible, but I just don't quite know enough to really speak anything of substance. It's okay, I know it will come in time, line upon line. We have already learned to pray and testify in spanish, both are still a little rough, but I'm getting better as I practice with the Spanish speaking elders and sisters standing in line around us while we wait for our food in the cafeteria.

What else to tell you all...the MTC is wonderful. It is hard, but I have seen the Lord bless me for my diligent effort even just after a few days. The spirit is so strong here! I absolutely love it! I'm a little overwhelmed by the idea of being here for 7/8 more weeks, but I know that it will be wonderful! Just yesterday, while sitting in the gym surrounded by the hundreds of sisters and elders here in the MTC, listening to the weekly Sunday night fireside, I felt this overwhelming joy! I am so happy that I am a missionary...it means so much more to me than I could have ever dreamed. I can't wait for Andrew to get here!! He will love it. It is definitely not easy, and the Lord is continuing to show me my weaknesses, but I am learning and growing so fast that I can hardly keep up. It is so inspiring to be around such wonderful people who are trying their hardest and striving to serve the Lord with complete diligence and love. I can't wait to learn more and improve my Spanish. Learning Spanish is so great! I love going to class, even when we have to sit in the same seats in the same small classroom for about 6 hours everyday. Thank goodness my teachers are so fun and so uplifting!

Okay, I think that's about all I have time for right now.

Love to you all! I', sending warm hugs and happy thoughts your way!

Hermana Pelton