Guten Morgen meine Freunden!
I don't really know what I was expecting at the MTC, but
nothing can prepare you for what goes on as soon as you put on your
nametag! I checked in, dropped my luggage off, and then went to the
classroom and started learning German. My teachers hardly ever speak
English, which can be really frustrating at times, but also really cool because
then we are forced to learn super fast! I thought I was good at German in
8th grade, but everything that I learned in one year I have learned just in the
first day. I have only been here 6 days, but it feels like I have been
here for weeks! Being here in the MTC is physically, mentally, and
emotionally exhausting. We wake up at 6:30 (or earlier), go to the
classroom (our only breaks are gym time and meal times) and then go to
bed. I think I added it up, and I spend anywhere between 10-12 hours in
the classroom every day! It may seem like a lot, but we are so busy every
single minute. We are studying our scriptures, studying the gospel, and
most of all studying GERMAN. I am nowhere near fluent yet, but it is
crazy what I have learned in these first 6 days, I am excited to see what the
rest of the 6 weeks will hold! We are strongly encouraged to speak as
little English as we can, pray in German, and bear our testimonies in
German. Even sacrament meeting is all in German! On Friday, we
started teaching our first "investigator", Stefan. One of the
most discouraging things is being able to understand what Stefan is saying,
knowing exactly what to say, but not being able to communicate it to him.
My companion and I have taught Stefan 3 times now in German, and we get better
each time, but we are still nowhere near perfect!
I am loving my district! There are four Sisters and
four Elders, and we are all going to the Alpine Mission except one
companionship is going to Frankfurt, Germany. At first, things were
awkward between the Sisters and Elders (I guess this new age change has created
some problems with romances between Sisters and Elders...) but after a few days
we got used to each other, and now we are super close! We have an Elder
from England, and an Elder from Finland, which is super fun. I kind of
feel bad for the missionary from Finland, because he is learning German through
English, which isn't his first language. But we are all doing well and
helping each other when we get discouraged (which is a lot!) and pressing
forward with faith!
Fun news! I guess my mission does include a small area
in France as well. Our mission and the France mission are the only
missions that overlap, which is cool. So I have the potential to visit 6
countries while I'm out in the field!
One thing that me and my companion, Sister Regnier, were
kinda upset about is that our nametags say "Sister Peterson", not
"Schwester." But I guess that in Germany, when people hear
"Schwester Peterson" they would assume that I was a nun. So the
church has our nametags read Sister instead! (But Sister Regnier and I
still call each other Schwester ;)
Well almost one week down and 5 more to go! Everyone
says that once you hit Sunday and your first P-day, then time goes by a lot
faster. So I guess I will see after today! Today we get to go
to the temple, which I am super excited for since I haven't been since I took
out my endowments. Sister Regnier is a big temple buff, she's been to
pretty much every temple in Utah and a lot in California. Which is good,
because I will still need her help figuring things out!
Ich weiss dass das Kirche wahr ist, und ich weiss dass unser
Himmlischer Vater liebt unser. Ich been sehr glucklich seinen ein
Missionarie fur das Kirche Jesus Christus der Heiligen der Letzen Tage.
Tschuss!
-Sister Peterson
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