July 30, 2014

Mi Familia,

Hola! Como le va? Estoy muy felic! Do you want to know why?? Because I get a package tonight!! Yay for packages! Do you want to know what else makes me super happy? Papa John's pizza night at the MTC! Me gusta pizza! We weighed in today and sadly I have gained a whole pound since being at the MTC. I blame the pizza. They let us have 5 slices each... And of course the Elders don't listen and they eat like 10-15 each. And then they still have left overs and I got cold pizza for breakfast the next day! Best breakfast ever!

Well, the MTC is still going great! I have not learned as much Spanish this week as previous weeks though.. We hit a wall. But next week we will be on our A game! We have three "investigators" we are currently teaching and two of them are our teachers, so they try to help us out and stuff, but one is a volunteer, and he does not help us out.. So our lessons mostly consist of us asking him to repeat himself and him asking us to rephrase our sentences until they make more sense. But we are getting better! And we understand way more now! It is slowly coming!

Sheri Dew came and taught our Relief Society lesson this week and We listened to a talk by Elder Bednar after Sunday Devotional. Sheri Dew talked about women and the priesthood and it was really good! And Elder Bednar told the missionaries to get over ourselves. So I wrote in my journal, "Get over yourself" like 5 times. Maybe it will help. And then of course he told us to turn outwards and serve others like Christ did, instead of turning inwards like the natural-man does. 

One thing I thought about this week is... Why hasn't anyone tried to bomb the MTC yet? In a not-so-scary way. But seriously. We have over 3000 missionaries in one room at one time for devotionals all the time. You'd think Satan would be working harder to end missionary work, because those 3000 missionaries will go out and touch thousands of lives. Maybe people do try to attack the MTC and we were just protected and we have just never heard about it. I thought about that after I watched a mormon message about the Twin Towers, so it wasn't random I promise.

But really, this is the only religion in the world that could get over 80,000 teenagers and a few 22 year-olds to leave their homes, study for months and months to learn a language and learn the doctrine better, and teach and serve for 1.5-2 years. If the message was not true, this would never happen, I can promise you that. 

It's been a good week and a good 3 weeks! Less than 3 to go before Costa Rica baby!! :) I am still learning and growing and enjoying my time!

Items of buisness...

1. Mom you don't speak French either.

2. My companion's mom sent me a shower cap and a note! She sent her daughter one too, because she heard we both don't wash our hair very often... Hahah but she wants you, mom, to text her sometime or call her and chat. Her number is  . . . . I sent the mom your number and name already as well. 

3. Maddie never wrote me a letter... Or an email... Make her do it before the big wedding day! Or she never will!

4. Do I have a missionary plaque? Can you send me a picture of it? I think he probably messed up on my scripture, because I was confusing about it, but I want to see it!

5. I haven't seen the Wynn boy yet... But I have been looking!

6. Poor Suki. :( Stop teasing her! :( I miss her!

7. Your blog skills are impressive! And I am surprised that name hasn't been taken already! Good job mom! Yes, I peaked at it real quick. But my companion was watching and the site isn't blocked, so that means it is okay.

8. I think that is all.... 

9. Happy late birthday to Kami!!

10. Happy late 24th of July to everyone!

I love you all muchos!! Have a great week and stay happy and safe!! Love you! Adios!

Love,

Hermana Markle. :)

Of course we had to take a classic light-saber picture. It needs work!

I found my long lost cousin, Hermana Markle! She is From Ohio, maybe we are related?

We got to go on campus - Yay! Jamba Juice!

Sis. Levett from my Raintree ward in St. George!

July 23, 2014

Hola mi Familia y mi Amigos!

I have some pretty big news for you! Hermana Fowler and Hermana Markle have been called to be the new Facility Coordinators!!! It's a pretty big deal. We stood up in sacrament meeting and everything. We get to go around and check peoples bedrooms and classrooms and make sure they are clean and stuff. Who knows, they might call us to be STL's next week! But usually the STL's have been here for at least four weeks, so maybe in two weeks, we will see! 

Other big news, I got a package this week! And it was awesome! Everyone in my District also thought it was awesome and they loved the rice crispys too! They are seriously addicting! I taught everyone the recipe. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I even used the doterra "owie spray" on my toe already after I shaved three layers of skin off of it just for fun! I am a little concerned with the package though. I have come up with only two possible conclusions. Mom are you trying to make me fat or are you trying to teach me how to share? Because two giant bags of rice crispy treats and a 1 POUND BAG OF BEEF JERKY!? I can't possibly eat all of that before it goes stale without stuffing my face or sharing! And you know I am not a very good sharer.. I did give one bag or rice crispy treats to my district and teachers, and I ate the second bag by myself... But the beef jerky?? I can't share beef jerky! And I definitely can't eat a whole pound before it goes bad.. That is cruel. But thank you! I really enjoyed all of it! :)

What is up with everyone getting engaged? Brooke, my old roommate, just got engaged too! To someone from Tinder! It really works I guess! Katie, add your Tinder account again and start matching! They are getting married in the temple after knowing each other for 6 weeks! It's a bummer I can't marry Christopher though.. I was really look forward to that. ;)

Oh yeah! Other, other big news! I am apparently a movie star! An Elder came up to me and said, "I have a question for you... You can say no and slap me if you'd like, but... Will you take a picture with me??" HAHAHA! My companion was about to beat him up if he asked anything inappropriate! It was funny! But this is the second time someone has told me I look identical to the girl Lydia for Teen Wolf. I thinks it's just because she has red hair. And why is this Elder so obsessed with Teen Wolf you might ask? It's because he is 18. Enough said.

I have a new nick name, so that's pretty cool. Instead of just calling me mom, they made it official. My entire district now calls me Hermama Markle instead of Hermana. Ha ha. Very funny. You can all laugh. And yes, it's because they are also 18 and 19 as well. 

I got in trouble again this week... They made me get rid of my blue nail polish. But it wasn't nail polish, so I had to rip my nails off. My nails are now super thin and flaky and gross because the majority of my real nails peeled off with the gel. But it's all good! The humidity will fix them when I get to Costa Rica!

Oh yeah, best part of having BYU creamery ice cream at dinner is the milk shakes. I taught everyone how to add a little milk to their ice cream and stir it up in a cup and they were all amazed! Did our family really invent that?? It seemed fairly normal to me... I'm pretty cool now though.

Other news, I officially made it 2 weeks without repeating a single item of clothing. I had to send two skirts to alterations after I wore them though to make them a bit longer.. My bad. And now I need to do a load of laundry today so I have clean garments, but I just thought that was pretty cool. I still have several shirts I haven't worn yet, but no more skirts. So I guess I brought exactly 14 skirts. 

We have awesome devotionals here and really good lessons and meetings. They told me to focus on learning church doctrine and strengthening my testimony, but I can only do that when they teach in English... So it's hard. They told me not to stress about the language, and just worry about the doctrine, but yet they teach the doctrine in Spanish.. Hahah it's okay though, I am still learning! I can understand Spanish much better now! And I even mess up on English now sometimes because of it! That's a good sign I think! Still learning lots and lots and I love it! The MTC is great! My nails don't like it, but I do! We made a goal to only say 250 English words a day. Every word over that equals 5 push ups. Hopefully this email doesn't count because I am not very good at push ups....

Okay here are some items of business.....

1.  DearElders don't come on Saturdays or Sundays, but still feel free to send them whenever, I will get them on Monday.

2. I need you to tell Maddie to send me an email... I got her wedding invite and I need to write her, but I need her to email me first please. :)

3. Yes I am still falling asleep. I hate waking up in the mornings too. I get 8 plus hours every night though.. Maybe I will try the vitamins..

4. I refuse to unpack. I like it better this way. MUCH easier. And no. It does not look like Madi's at all!!!! Holy cow!

5. No mom, your Spanish doesn't make much sense, thank you for trying though.

6. I am cool with the Family trip to Costa Rica. Maybe with a layover in Mississippi? Sounds good to me! But definitely after I have come home and been released.

7. You said something about the next package... I really don't need much.. I have money on my card to use at the bookstore and it's 40% off, so that is cheaper than you could get anything! But I will tell you some random things I am saving up for and you can either send them or I will buy them in a few weeks.... 

1/2 inch 3 ring binder. (one of the cute colors)

Mints!! I love mints. Since we can't have gum. (winter green is my fav) (like winter green tic tacs or livesavers or anything)

A small/medium note pad

A laundry basket (like a mesh bag one or foldy one)

Baby sized PMG in spanish and english

The missionary library

And my MTC sweat pants

And other random stuff. But I will let you know if I ever really need anything. Most of that stuff I can buy on my own with my free MTC money and nice discount. Thanks though!

The First Vision in Spanish, and my badge

Thank you for everything! I love you all! Have a safe and happy week!!!!!! Adios!

Love,

Hermana Markle! :)

July 16, 2014

Hello!

It is me! Your daughter/sister who really did go on a mission! And is currently at the MTC West Campus! I sent you a letter on Thursday morning and one on Monday morning. But it sounds like you did not get them when I read your emails and DearElders.... Have you gotten them now?? Hopefully! 

Yes I am at the West Campus! And no, it does not suck. I like this campus a whole lot better than the other one! The classrooms inside of the apartments is actually really cool! We have our own private Hermana bathroom and an Elder bathroom and three bedrooms to use for studying and practice home visits with fake investigators. And we have a fridge for our food and drinks. And we use the living room for class and stuff. It feels homey. And our real apartments are WAY nicer. I love only living with 4 Hermanas and having our own bathroom and fridge and couches and only two per room! We have two big closets and lots of room. We do workouts in our living room sometimes! And we have these big bubble things with more gym equipment and volleyball and basketball quarts and everything! We have our own bookstore and hair salon and laundry services and everything! So we never have to go to main campus if we don't want to! The cafeteria is really really small tho... They give us BYU ice cream in little personal tubs though, so that makes up for it. But today we went to the temple and stopped by main campus for lunch and their cafeteria is HUGE!!! And has sooo many more options. But no BYU ice cream. So it will be okay. We still have plenty of food, so it's all good. We went and explored the main campus today and I am happy I am here. It's all good! 

We do have to go to main campus for devotionals still though. But currently they are having their floors redone, so we have walked to the Marriott center for devotional in the mean time. Sunday and Tuesday. It feels like we are in a parade while walking through Provo. Everyone honks and waves at us because there are hundreds of missionaries walking to BYU and they love us. I haven't seen anyone I know driving past yet though... And we really do cross the road between Wyview and Raintree like 6 times a day, so people honk and wave at us there too! We are famous! Hahaha not really. But still. I haven't heard any whistles from that road yet though...

I love my district so far! Even if they are all 18 and 19. They started calling me mom.. So that's fun. But it reminds me of when McKell became my roommate. And I love my companion! She is awesome! She is fairly tall though. She makes fun of me for that. And we are constantly laughing. She is pretty sassy and sarcastic and it is hilarious. And normally the laughing is all good and it helps us stay happy, until she started laughing hysterically in the middle of our lessen yesterday.. We offended the person we were teaching.. And we did not know how to apologize to him in Spanish so we just pretended like it didn't happen and it was awkward. Luckily he is already a member and works for the MTC, so he wasn't really offended, he just wasn't happy with us. So we have to work on laughing less. But our lack of Spanish knowledge is just so funny! We say the funniest things and sound so funny trying to speak Spanish, we can't help it!

That's all I can remember that I wanted to write about for now... But now I will answer some of your other questions...

1. The retainers you found are my old soft trays for bleaching my teeth. I do not need them. Thank you though!

2. My favorite treats are Carmel Popcorn and Cinnamon Bear Rice Crispy Treats. I like other stuff too, but generally don't need brownies, cookies, or cake. They have lots of that here. I actually don't need many treats at all. They feed us pretty well.

3. I haven't made my shuttle appointment yet for my nose check up, but I will soon. I forgot to do it today, so maybe next week. I have to be on main campus to do it. And are we sure my mole is okay??

4. The branch president talked to the person in charge of mission nurses and told me to make sure I tell my mission president that I am a nurse, because he will probably need to use me. They do not have a mission nurse right now. But one of the senior couples in charge of the area is a nurse and they are using her as the mission nurse right now. So they might use me, they might not. We will see.

5. And will you send me like a little photo album? Or those sheet protectors you were talking about? But if they are small, I will need small pictures to go in them. I need something to take around to the houses with me to show them my family when they ask. Thanks!

6. There are a few things I might need before I leave for Costa Rica, but for now I am good! I was packed fairly well before I left. And they give me $8 to spend every week at the bookstore where we get 40% everything, even make-up, food, office supplies, and church stuff. 

7. I like DearElders more than I like emails. Because then I can read them the day you send them instead of only on Wednesdays. But I still like emails, don't worry! Or hand written letters! ;)

Thank you for everything!!!! The MTC is great so far and I am learning lots! Have a excellent week!! Keep me posted and updated and such! Love you!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Hermana Markle. :)

July 10 -14, 2014

Mi Familia!                                                                                                     

July 10, 2014   -   Today I have learned a lot! A little bit of Spanish and a lot of bit of how to teach with the Spirit and love those I am teaching. I said my first prayer in Spanish and even shared my testimony in Spanish! But I cheated and used a book the whole time. Still counts. :)

Hermana Fowler was chosen as the Senior Companion because her picture was on the left, and I will be the Senior companion in three weeks, because my picture was on the right. :) We met the Branch Presidency over our District today and they were very interested to learn that I am an RN, and one of them is going to call my Mission President soon to let him know. So we will see what that means later. I am sure he already knows though.

July 11, 2014   -   We taught our first lesson today. In Spanish. It went OK. We just could not answer any of his questions . . . we just read our note cards and smiled at him when he was talking. We got our mail today for the first time! Two from Kami, one from Mom, and a cute package from McKell. There are 9 people in our District, plus me, makes 10. 6 are 18 year old Elders, 3 are 19 year old Hermana's . . . . plus one 22 year old me. Its OK though, everyone thinks I am 19 anyway! The Elders don't believe me when I tell them.

July 12, 2014   -   The girls in the gym today got busted. After volleyball they had the Elders leave and the Hermana's stay, and then they told us some of us were not following the dress code and it needed to change. I am glad I did not bring my yoga pants! Oh, and since we live at Wyview, our classes/gym/cafeteria are all at Raintree, so we cross a busy road like 10 times a day and people always honk and wave at us. so that would be the appropriate road to whistle on. Just sayin'.

July 13, 2014   -   Today I fell asleep during Sacrament and choir. I don't sleep enough here. I made may companion go outside with me to do jumping jacks during class yesterday because I kept falling asleep. Maybe I am anemic, or my mono is acting up again, because I sleep for 8 hours every night here . . . . it's okay, my companion thinks it's funny. :)

July 14, 2014 -   My P-Day is Wesnesday, so I will try to email some more "proof" of my MTC stay then! And we don't do the TRC until week 4, so no pretending you know Spanish and volunteering now!

Love you ALL!!! Adios mi Familia! I Love You!
Love, Hermana Markle :)

July 9, 2014

Hello! Day one is over and I still don't know any Spanish! Which means I do not understand a word my teacher is saying to me! Yay! But it was a good day and I am still alive. They told me we are required to write home tonight to tell you we are alive, so here you go!

Not much to report yet. BUT! I really am staying off the main campus at Wyview. The rooms are way better here, only two girls per room, and four per bathroom, and we have our own fridge and living room, and I have my own giant closet as well! But the food is worse, because we don't have many options like the main campus. But everyone here is learning Spanish, so that is super nice because the whole campus tries to speak to each other and I think it will help me learn faster! Hopefully!

My companion's name is Anna Fowler from Bountiful. She is way nice and happy so far and I think we will get along just fine! I did see those two cousins that Trish knows, and Noah is in my district. Good news - my companion only washes her hair twice a week as well! So it's not weird. But it is weird to be in Provo off the main campus. We drive past BYU several times a day on a bus to get to places and I even saw EFY kids. Super weird. And I gave a fist bump to an Elder on accident and that is against the rules. My bad.

Well, that's it for today! Goodnight! I Love you all!

Love,
Hermana Markle