car heater=clothes dryer

My weekly emails will be a lot shorter now because I only have 1 hour to email and there's just so much to email everyone! So I'll send you the highlights!

-It sounds like everyone heard all the struggle of the airport but we finally got to CALIFORNIA!! 

-My new comp is.... SISTER DYE! ahhhhh she's amazing and we get along so well! she makes being a missionary worth it! I don't want to lose her as a companion in a few weeks! (fingers crossed we stay together) my area is ATASCADERO!

-This last Saturday we..... HAD A BAPTISM ALREADY! WOW I'M GOOD AT THIS MISSIONARY STUFF! 

-We also had a trunk or treat, we dressed up as each other..... kinda.... we just switched name tags haha. 

-It rained....like almost everyday this week(am i even in Cali?!) and we got soaking wet so we used the car heater to dry our clothes in-between areas....  

*Just so you know her parents sent her with rain boots which she sent home when she needed to lighten her suitcase for the airplane ride.

-In church this Sunday we gave a discussion on member missionary work.

SORRY IT'S SO SHORT! I'LL FIGURE OUT THIS WHOLE TIMING THING!!!

SEND LETTERS!!!!

9315 Rivera lane #D

Atascadero, California 93422

She made it to Cali!

Just got the email that she made it!  After one cancelled flight, a 4 hour delayed flight and thinking they were going to miss their connection they made it.

Since we were out of town last Friday I was unable to add her pictures to the blog, so here they are.  Plus she sent us some while hanging out at the airport so they are on here too.  

Now go give them heaven

Day 10 continued- well we stayed and emailed for like 2 hours and missed gym time... oops. oh well it was optional haha. Pizza was for dinner again. apparently theirs pizza every friday! yum. then we had class. everyone was so tired and no one could focus on anything. our poor teachers.... 

day 11- today we got up and went to the gym. then breakfast. dont worry people... I FOUND THE BAGEL LINE!!! then class. we learned to teach lesson 3... the Gospel of Jesus Christ. this is so far my favorite lesson because it talks about how much of an example Jesus was and how we can follow him: 1- First we can have faith in him. 2- then we can repent. 3- after we repent we can be Baptized. 4- we can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 5- last, we can endure to the end. i LOVE IT! then lunch and more class on the same topic. dinner was good and then, you guessed it, class again. we did a lot of role playing, which is such good practice!

day 12- today was sunday! wahoo! we made it to another sunday! its crazy to think that i only have one week left at the mtc! we had a branch meeting today and now....... wait for it ...... wait for it.... IM A BRANCH SISTER TRAINING LEADER!!! wahoooooo! then relief society was on priesthood blessings. then sacrament. i had to lead the music so that was fun. #stagefright. then the district meeting. sister sorensen and sister stevenson taught the lesson on obedience. it was amazing. brother and sister jackson (from the branch presidency) got relocated. brother jackson came to us 4 sisters to say goodbye and told us how much he loved us and how amazing we will  be. he then said. in tears. "Now go give them Heaven" what an amazing phrase. i love it! we had another temple walk today which was fun. then took the new sisters to dress and grooming. then dinner. they had peaches again!!! YUMMY. then choir, we sang Be Still My Soul. ugh i love music! we  had a devotional by Vai Sikanema, which was amazing. then for films we watched Dallin H Oaks. again. amazing

Day 13- today we had personal study first. which was awesome. i never thought i would enjoy this part of the day. i read out of Our Search For Happiness by M Russel Ballard. what an amazing read. wow.... never said that before.... like ever. then breakfast.we had bagels. yum. we then worked out which is always a good time. while working out a sister walked into the mens bathroom ..... twice. so that was strange. then we were walking to our rooms, there was a fire drill. always a party. we got dressed and then went to our first appointment with Patricia. She has so many questions and for some reason, we knew all the answers. didnt have to think, we just knew. i just love it when the spirit takes over. i know it wasnt me talking, it was him! then class. we learned about the commandments. then lunch. yes. i went to the potato bar, and yes, it was yummy. then class again. it was on why we go to church. then TRC number two for today. we taught a girl named olivia. she was adorable. then we had study time and we talked to the elders the whole time. i found out that Elder Daines trusts me the most out of everyone, i remind Elder Whitehead of his twin sister. all the elders thing im the most comfortable to be around and they feel like they can tell me anything. so that was a confidence boost! then dinner. and one more section of class.

 day 14- today we had our second trc lesson with patricia. she again had so many questions. i can tell her testimony is growing so strong. then class. we learned how important inspired questions are in lessons. then lunch. i dont remember what we had. so that was fun. then class again, we just role played the whole time on inspired questions. it was hard cuz... arent inspired questions supposed to be.... you know.... inspired? to fit whats going on with your investigators? oh well. then we taught olivia. it went pretty good. we taught her about the book of mormon and repentance. then i went to the doctor to see whats wrong with my stomach and had to get blood work done. hate needles but i was a big girl and stuck it out. then choir and a devotional. we told our elders that it was Holland speaking. but it really was a 70... hahaha oops. it was on the characteristics of christ. then we went back to our room and talked about the devo. and i cried. its fine. then sister may came to our room and told us about her mission in germany and how she had to pee in a hole on the train. it was hilarious. 

day 15- today the only thing that was super exciting was the fact that we got to welcome the new bees to the MTC! since me and sister christiansen are the new sister training leaders for the branch we got to help the branch leaders with welcoming them with an orientation. i felt super old and important looking at all the fresh meat. we then took them on a tour around the campus and sent them off to bed. good luck little ones. good luck....

day 16- again nothing too exciting today. we had in field orientation since we leave on monday. it went ALL DAY LONG and oh my ....... it was sooooooo boring! glad i dont have to ever do that again! then we had dinner (like i said.... it was all day long) and THEN HAD CLASS. oh it was awful. one of the longest days ever, and not in a good way. hahahaha

day 17- woke up, ate a bagel, and off to the temple! after the temple, we came back and basically started packing everything up. then we did our laundry and emailed a little bit. then we went back into the room to pack some more, but then that turned into showering and taking a 2 hour nap...... i miss naps.... now back to emailing so i could finish my weekly email and then dinner and class!!!

no super funny stories today folks.... so sorry. but im glad to hear that so many of you loved my last one about 3 Nephi. hahahahahaha oh that one still gets me. 

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I love you all! Thanks for all the support!

-Sister Page

day 3......continued- after i finished emailing we went to the gym to play volleyball but the elders were using the court so we couldnt. so instead, we went and used the gym equipment. now all the sisters are motivated to go everyday to lose any pre-mission weight. so... im way pumped to get back in shape. sister needs a 6-pack! we then went to dinner and it was papa johns pizza! now that food i can eat! next was class. we learned how to ask investigators to commit to baptism. ahhhhhhhh ! were already learning how to missionary! then we taught hannah again and this time we stayed to our planned lesson and taught her about prayer and repentance. we read 3 nephi 9:14 and mosiah 36:29. let me tell you. missionary work is some HARD STUFF. but boy do i love it 12x more than i expected to!

day 4- today we went to the gym for an hour and then ate breakfast. nothing new and exciting there. we then had our meeting for TRC so that was cool to learn about how we will have investigators in the MTC. today in class was a lot more of a struggle than its been so far. while we were preparing for a lesson to teach hannah for our last time, nothing was flowing or clicking and i had my first mental breakdown here at the MTC. it so happens that my companion was having the same problem we we both had breakdowns. it really tested my faith and why im here. just gotta remember God wants/needs me here. so this is where ill be. we taught hannah and it went pretty well considering said breakdown before. then lunch and we went outside to read the scriptures for class. then dinner. yum. actually it really wasnt all that good. i cant wait to cook my own food in cali. we had class again and learned how to teach the first lesson in 3 minutes.... it was challenging and frustrating and then down to 1 minute. even worse. and then the most challenging ...... :30 second.s so today was filled with breakdowns and stress and frustration. but in all fairness, you cant win them all.

day 5- today was sunday. everyone is always saying "make it to sunday!" so all is well, i made it to sunday. it was also fast sunday but in all honesty... i totally forgot about food today so it wasnt bad! we had tons of meetings like sacrement, Relief society, district meeting, devotional, films on conference talks, oh and SURPRISE i joined choir. well our whole district did THERE WERE SO MANY MISSIONARIES THERE! but if you go to choir of fast sundays, you get to get dinner 2 hours earlier.... so pretty sure half the elders wont be there next week! today felt so long and never ending but i seriously love being a missionary with all its ups and downs! 

day 6- today was sooooo long. we woke up and went to the gym. ps thats my stress reliever x12. after that we had our first lesson in TRC. it went GREAT! her name was barbara and we taught her on the restoration of the church. i love teaching about that! i never knew i would love teaching any of this. ive always been afraid to voice my opinion on anything church related. i dont think ive prayed this much. like ever. but wow prayer really is so special and important.  we then had a lesson then lunch. i had a few bites of my food and then felt super sick to my stomach. so i have enjoyed fruit for my past few meals! but im not complaining. our second TRC appointment went well as well! again we taught on the restoration. dinner was dinner. well actually it was taco bell. then class. 

day 7- today was basic MTC life. we taught our investigator barbara and she prayed for us!!! it was so amazing. then with paula we taught her about the importance of the book of mormon. she told us that this was exactly what shes been looking for in her life. we then had a tuesday night devotional and ELDER BEDNAR CAME TO SPEAK! we sang in the choir during the devotional a song called Precious Savior. ahhhhhh it was so pretty. and i balled. (apparently being a missionary has broke me and now im an emotional person). the devotional was amazing and he taught us how to better understand conference. i learned soooooo much from that man. hes such an inspirational person. i love when he states at the end of he talks "i witness" while bearing his testimony! CHILLS! afterwords we shared our thoughts on the talk.

day 8- IVE BEEN OUT A WEEK!? its flown yet crawled by. they werent kidding when they say days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days. strange. today we learned how to teach the plan of salvation. its amazing how every lesson revolves and centers around christ. i love it! i feel like i forgot what happened today..... oh! Barbara  knows the book of mormon is true and committed to reading it everyday and praying to feel gods love. paula also knows its true and shes committed to keeping the word of wisdom. oh and she also committed to BAPTISM! oh how i love her! you really do feel the saviors love for all of your investigators!

day 9- today we went and worked out and ate. while going back to our room we sang songs from wicked so that was way fun and i LOVED IT! then when we tried to open our door NONE of our keys would work! we were locked out for 10 minutes at least. stressful i know. k the story gets better. we tried again and again and nothing. we all said a prayer. and tried one more time AND IT WORKED!!!!! (little miracles people) after we went in we tried it again to see if it was just jammed and it didnt work..... god is good! and he answers your prayers!!! nothing exciting happened today but at the end of the day we were all slap happy cuz we are all so tired! i found a way cool scripture in D&C. its D&C 19:15-20

day 10- THATS TODAY! we went to the temple again and did endowments. I LOVE THE TEMPLE!!!! i wish i could be there 24/7. after that we did our laundry and now we are emailing! whoot whoot! after this i bet youll never guess where we're going.... THATS RIGHT! THE GYM! yay!

 in case yall are confused about page 33..... in the missionary handbook or "white bible" page 33 talks about elders and sisters arent aloud to be alone together or flirt. long story short our district always makes jokes about page 33. 

oh and i have a super funny story that i you will ALL laugh about!!! kkkkkkkkk here goes......

one of the investigators was getting ready to be baptized but he still wasnt sure if he was ready. the missionaries told him to read 1 Nephi 3:7. BUT INSTEAD TOLD HIM TO LOOK UP 3 NEPHI 3:7-8!!! (seriously..... look them both up and you will know how funny this story is... im about to fall out of my chair laughing while typing this.) he read it after the missionaries left and got super confused. hahaha but dont worry. this story has a happy ending. after the missionaries fixed their mistake, he agreed to be baptized! 

im telling you people. this is hilarious! hahhaha

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I love you all! Thanks for all the support! 

-Sister Page

Free Captain Crunch!
Chapter 1- Mtc day 1: Today was my first day at the mtc! i havent really grasped the fact that im actually a missionary. its so chaotic here! i literally felt like i was being herded (is that a word!? well it is now) like cattle. then they showed me to my first class. my companion is Sister Christiansen from Orem Utah! she is sooooo nice and we get along so well! thankgoodness. while waiting for everyone, a kid i knew from Jr High came in! Elder Haywood is in my district! we basically got to know everyone then had orientation, after that we had dinner. boy do i miss my moms cooking! on the bright side, we had ice cream and chocolate milk so all is forgiven. then class with 3 investigators. it was so strange to just jump in. after that we toured the mtc and went and unpacked. hopefully it all will fit when i leave!

Day 2: we woke up at 6:15 am. it wasnt oo bad! we all got up and got dressed then headed to breakfast. dad was right! ALL YOU CAN EAT CAPTAIN CRUNCH!!! my tummy was happy! after breakfast we went to our classroom where we were supposed to meet. our whole district was there and no teacher. so instead of just sitting around, me and my companion suggested that we all study lesson 3 in preach my gospel, so we divided up in companionships and taught each other as a district. it was AMAZING!! we taught on the spirit of the Holy Ghost and how we feel the spirit. you could feel the spirit so strong during that "class time". most of us were getting teary eyed (hear that mom?! im NOT heartless!) then some elders came in and told us that during that time we were supposed to be doing something out of a different book.... we all didnt really care because we were happy with what we did. its so amazing how much i already love my district. i dont want to say goodbye. look out world, theres some powerhouse missionaries at the mtc right now! then we had a real class. like with a real teacher. we learned about an investigator named Hannah. we prepared a lesson for her and seconds before we went in to teach, my companion and i decided we didnt want to teach that topic anymore. we walked in and basically winged it. (do not try this at home) we didnt know where to begin.... great start i know. it was rough at first and i seriously almost stood up and walked out because i couldnt do it! but right before that. i swear (.....i know thats not aloud as a missionary.) the spirit took over. after our lesson our teacher told our class that hes never seen a class do so well their first round (see, i told you. powerhouse missionaries). we went to lunch and i maybe ate 4 bites before i decided that cereal was the better option. i honestly dont remember anything in between lunch and dinner. #foodalwayswins! after dinner we met our branch president. hes soooo nice, just like everyone else here. then found our that im the SENIOR COMPANION! (i did it dad!) okay, not gonna lie, the only reason im the senior companion is because my companion is the sister training leader.... but ILL TAKE IT! after that meeting we had his wife over and she told us stories of her 5 (thats right i said 5) missions! i hope to be like her one day! i cant believe im a missionary! i look at my badge and it doesnt feel real.

Day 3 (today): we woke up at 6:15 again. big surprise. and went to the temple with our district. i got go do sealings with my companion (as sisters, not wives) and it was so amazing. then we went back and did personal study. oh and i got cookies and cream milk. strange i know but now im addicted! ITS GOOD! were getting ready to go play volleyball! PUMPED! i miss you all and GO UTES!!!