IMPORTANTE:  The best way to write me is through dearelder.com.  Its free at the MTCs, it used to be free for forgein missions but I heard they charge now but it cost money to send letters anyway.  Its like writing an email but they print it out and it gets to us fast.  In provo they print them at 12 and at 5 so i get it the same day and we love it!  It seems so long till P-day and we only get 30 min on the computer.  Plus if you send me a dearelder letter it shows your address and I can write you back, good idea si?  Don't send me sweets please, I don't really like them.  Well at least not for awhile, because they feed us a ton in the MTC and all we do is sit, but I eat salad and work out and I haven't gained wt so thats good.

 

Okay so this week, so much to say in so little time, the highlights are:

 

DEVOTIONAL:  This weeks devotional we celebrated 50 years of the PROVO MTC.  Elder Nelson and his wife Wendy and Elder Holland and Pat came, along with Elder Jensen of the pres of the 70 and lots of other visitors.  Their talks were so good.  Before the opening song and prayer Pres Brown of the MTC said Elder Nelson requested that he annouce that such-in-such % of the flordia votes were in and Mit had 47% of them, I don't know how it turned it out in the end.  You are free to update me.  Elder Holland just had a short talk but he kept saying we have an obligation to honor the calling in which we stand in.  He kept saying obligation, "I can't think of another work, but you have an obligation."  Which was an interesting word because it pops up a few times in my partriacle blessing.  Elder Nelson gave a history of the MTC and dedicated 5 buildings that had been renovated, I live in one of them it is named after the first sister missionary.  And I got to sing in the choir and everyone said they saw me on the screen, I was about 3 rows up from the conducter dead center! 

 

And then, for the closing song we sang the song that goes Victory Victory, through Him that redeemed us.  I cried and cried because Dad always sings that song and I need victory in my life. 

 

CLASS/ESPANOL:  I am slowly learning espanol, I am learning how i learn so I can study more effectively.  We are suppose to speak it all the time but my comp doesn't a lot so its hard.  And I want to wake up early because we don't wake up till 6:30 lame, so I want to wake up early and read El Libro de Mormon, but they look down on that because it is disobedience to the schedule. But I talked to Heavenly Father about it and said, if He approves this plan then He can be my alarm clock to wake me us so I don't bug the other sisters and I will get up and study.  I say this because today I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5am and couldn't go back to sleep, I might as well read.  I love my teachers, our 1st "investagator" turned into our teacher it was weird, but I really like him.  He did one on one teaching with my comp and I and the Spirit was really stong. 

 

TRAVEL PLANS:  I leave the Provo MTC Feb 14 for the Guatemalan MTC.  We leave at 4:30pm from the mtc, fly to los angelos, then leave Los Angelos at 10:45pm and get to Guatemala at 5:30 am and get to work.  I can call from the airport so stay up late that night.  If Michelle has a shift that night we may be chatting.  I only have some numbers memorized so send me your numbers on dearelder.com.

 

THE GILA VALLEY: I have seen Elder Steven's of the Trina Steven's family, can't remember her husbands name, Elder Mayberry the Skinners know him, Alex mom you were in the temple when he was endowed, and another Gila Valley elder but I can't remember right now and its killing me. 

 

Well the MTC can be stressfull, its definately a roller coaster.  I am learning a lot, and learning to apply the Atonement which has been the best blessing of all.

 

I miss you all more than I can say, it gets worse when the sun goes down I get home sick really bad.  I prayed for each of you individually in the celestial room in the provo temple today.  In RS on sunday we had a general RS board member and she played a song of her grand-daughter singing I love to see the temple off her phone and it sounded like Hannah and I cried, I was like come'on lady you are torchuring me. 

 

Well I gotta run to dinner, and fold laundry, and go to class and get back into spanish mode.  I love P-day, but its hard to get back in the groove.

 

Love,

 

 

Hermana Mary Anne Bryce