Hey Parents!!

I leave the MTC on Monday Morning at 4:30. I bought a pre-paid calling card and will be able to call you from the airport that morning!! I know you get home from the gym around 6:15 so i'll aim to call around then, i can make more than one call though so dad, if you need to get to work, I will call you after Mom. My flight leaves at 8:50 so it'll be between 6 AM and then. Love you both!! Can't wait to talk to you!! 

I know this isn't much of an update, but i'm only allowed to e mail about this since it's not technically my P-day. I'm not sure if i'll be able to e mail you when i get there (i really really really hope i can) or if i'll have to wait until my next P-day. Lovey love love you!!

Sister Haley Hopper

Sister Haley Stewart Week One

Hello  my beautiful family!!!

You know you're in the MTC if:

After a good shot in four square it's hand shakes all around

You only feel three things: hungry, tired, and the spirit

You are afraid of the word "guys" 

I dont have everyone's e mail address on here so if you want to forward this to the family that would be super great.

Let me just give you a bit of a run down since i last saw you at the curb.

After i left you, i followed that host around through about 10 different building picking up various little nick nacks.

I felt so lost. this campus is fairly large and every building looks exactly the same. 

We dropped my luggage off in my room and went straight to my classroom only to find that my whole class had left. luckily my teacher Sister Bown was there and took my to a computer lab to do a quick orientation, which i finished quickly and was the first back to my class. Sister Bown was gone, but our other teacher Brother Singleton was there. Then my class/district walked in. I met my companion Sister Peeler who is from Southern California and actually has been at SVU for the past two years. The rest of my district consists of Sister Huang who is from mainland China and has been at BYU Hawaii for 2 years and Sister Day who is from Payson and been at Westminster for the past year. We have 3 elders: Elder Porter, Elder Shirk, and Elder Spendlove. Our district is the absolute best. I was a little nervous at first about being stuck in a classroom with a bunch of 18 year old boys, but something about being set apart matured them very quickly. 

We started in class where we just kind of went over business and introduced ourselves. We had dinner early and then went to a workshop called People and our Purpose. It was basically an entire room of missionaries vs. One investigator. We would just kind of chat with them, ask them questions, and share messages. It was really cool, but also a little intimidating. There were 3 and they ranged from very open to very defensive. After that, we had a zone Conference where we met our Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders, did some   get to know you and a quick tour. We went back to the room, unpacked, and then fell asleep pretty quickly. 

Day Two: We were in the classroom for forever. I did the math and on average we are in the classroom for 6 hours a day. Our teachers have assigned us investigators to teach. We are actually teaching our teachers, portraying investigators, but it seems so real. It's amazing what the spirit can do. We are teaching Sister Bown as Ashley. Sister Bown met Ashley through Mormon.org while she was on her mission and has kept in contact with her for 2 years. She's 18 and so ready to join the church. a lot of the time she says things like "you guys have the tightest church". She is so excited. She prayed about the book of mormon and said she  had an emotional overload. We explained that that was the Spirit she was feeling and she was just loving it. The cool thing is, Sister bown calls ashley before our lessons with her and asks her questions, and then calls her after our lesson, and uses our lessons to actually teach her. It's pretty great.

That night, we had a Branch Presidency meeting. We met our Branch Presidency and went over th Mission Handbook. While we did that President Hunsaker took us each one by one in the back and had a quick interview. He called the new  District leaders, Zone Leaders, and Sister Training Leaders. Sister Peeler and I were called as STL. A little crazy. I was so tired I couldn't even really process it. But I am excited. 

Day Three: Sister Huang got to go to Salt Lake Temple with the other international missionaries so we were in a trio for the morning. We had District Study, in which we found taht we all really enjoy singing hymns together, Breakfast, Classroom time, classroom time, and classroom time. THen we went and picked Sister  Huang up. It took about a half hour to find her and so we missed some class which we were pretty sad about. Ashley Committed to baptism and reading the Book of Mormon. 

We also did a distri8ct reading of 1 nephi 1. We just read aloud and stopped when we had thoughts. It was amazing all of the things that we were able to get out of that one chapter. The spirit was absolutely amazing. That night though, the sisters had a bit of trouble focusing on study. we get a little chatty sometimes and it's something we're really trying to work on. the poor elders put up with so much. but later that night, we had an amazing discussion with the elders about what the priesthood means to them. They really are incredible.

And even though we are obnoxious, they are still so sweet to us. 

Saturday started our day off with service. We cleaned showers and mopped bathrooms for the other residence hall. 

After we changed and spent another 6 hours in class. We started a challenge to stop using the word "guys" so whenever one of us says it, we put a tally on the board and we have to recite the missionary purpose. we're switching to the first vision today. i have 5 tally's on the board, but Elder Porter has about 22 so I don't feel too bad. Our lessons with Ashley always go a little long. We have a half hour to teach, and we've definitely taken a full hour before. After class we had gym for the second time. I'm getting pretty good at four square if I do say so myself. It's nice to have a bit of time to relieve some stress and just hit a ball around. During another distracting Study Session,  I got a migraine, which was really fun. I used the oils and let SIster Peeler and SIster Day talk while i just put my head down for a bit. It receded a bit so I was able to plan still, but I was sure glad to see my bed that night. 

Sunday: We had Branch Council first thing in the morning.  It was all about Christlike Leadership.

OH also, they're having a new mission president seminar here for about 5 days. this means that every single member of the 12 has been here. I have been trying to see them  to no avail. The Elders say President Monson on their way to Temple walk, he rolled his car window down and said: Hello! God Bless you! Adios!

I'm only a little insanely jealous.

But I did wave to Neal A. Anderson and his wife. 

back to sunday: We did DIstrict council after Branch Council and Brother Hill who is in our branch presidency came and helped with that. 

After that the sisters went and watched Music and the Spoken Word and then Relief society. We started Relief Society by singing  As Sisters in Zion, but the words were different! Apparently Janice Kapp Perry wrote lyrics especially for Sister Missionaries. I absolutely loved it!! 

After Relief Society we had a New Sisters meeting which was mostly about modesty and appropriate missionary clothing. 

After that we had lunch, and then Sacrament. Then the elders had priesthood and we had companion inventory and temple walk!! I really love temple walk. it's my favorite. we went with our zone sisters and took pictures (which apparently I'll send you next week because I forgot my camera cord...) After Temple walk Sister Peeler and I had a new STL meeting with was so great. It was just about how to make the new sister feel welcome and how to handle some situations. and again, Christlike leadership.It reminds me of your Christlike teachings non. very cool.

We went straight to dinner after seeing as we were starving and somehow found our District. after dinner we went to do our online study which our district had done while we were in our meeting.

I finished mine way before sister peeler finished hers, so I went on LDS.org to find those new sister s in zion lyrics. I didn't find them which was very upsetting but i did find out just how cool Janice Kapp Perry was! After that we were talking as a district about maybe auditioning for a special musical number. We decided we should do a childrens song and were trying to decide between a childs prayer and love is spoken here. as we were walking down the hall sister peeler pointed out that they were both written by Janice Kapp Perry. 

We walked into devotional and were a little disappointed that we didn't see a general authority on the stand. we were chatting and they they announced the speaker. It was: Janice Kapp Perry.

We all kind of froze and just stared at each other. How cool is that??? She had been in my thoughts all day and there she was sitting on the stand with her Husband. Her Husband spoke first and he's pretty darn hilarious. He talked about his mission and to never give up because he started an area with no members and he went back 5 years ago and now there's 700 members.

THen Sister Perry got up and spoke. She had us sing a medly of 6 of her childrens songs. SHe used every single on we had talked about. Then she told us about how her husband had been in one of her classes at BYU and they were passing off playing the clarinet when he nudged her, and said "I can think of a much better use of your lips than playing the clarinet." We all cheered after she said that, he stood up pumping his fist in the air, grabbed her and kissed her right there. Yep, they're in their 70's. we were dying it was the cutest funniest thing. 

Then she talked some more, and had us sing the EFY medly but with you guess it, the new Sisters in Zion lyrics. I was seriously dying. THen the sisters in my district and I stood up. We just felt the spirit so strongly that we had to. within 10 seconds the entire gym was standing. THe spirit was so insanely strong and I couldn't even sing anymore because I was bawling. As soon as they ended, we ran down and got to shake their hands and give Sister Perry a hug. it was incredible. 

We finished the night off with the Restoration movie and then jumped into bed.

Yesterday SIster Peeler and I spent some time in an office. Sister Peelers wallet was stolen including her ID so we were trying to figure that out so she'll be able to fly with us to Washington. We were there for over an hour. At one point someone mentioned that President Eyring was in teh office next door. I wanted him to come in SO bad. after we were finished I told sister Peeler how much I was wishing i had seen him and she goes "Oh... he walked right behind you." WHAT?!?! i was a little (okay a lot) upset. We had Classroom time again, but during gym, sister peeler and I both felt pretty nauseous. We wondered if it was something we had eaten, but decided to push through and that we would be fine. at dinner niether of us could eat. It was sad because we had a TRC planned that night which is a real investigator we would be teaching. We both felt to sick so we decided to cancel. When we went to cancel the lady  said it was a skype visit and asked if we could meet with her for just 5 minutes. We said we would talk about it, said a prayer, foudn a scripture to share, and went in. We ended up teaching the entire Restoration and I felt so much better after about 10 mintues. It was still a pretty rough lesson though.

SIster Peeler was still pretty sick though so she got a blessing from the Elders which was pretty cool. 

Today, we have P day. We'll do laundry, and then a session at the temple. I fly out Monday morning at 4:30 in the morning with my whole district. I'm not sure when I'll be able to e mail next (hopefully when I get there)  but I still love getting letters!! Thank you so much for the letters you've sent. 

I'm exhuasted,  I'm drained, and usually hungry. But those don't come up a lot, because I'm also so filled with love, and so filled with the spirit.  

I love you all so much!!!

Love,

Sister Haley Stewart