Companion's Log - Stardate: Sept 19-24, 2019

Said goodbye to my family and entered the Provo Missionary Training Center. I lost count of how many times I heard the words "welcome to the mtc!" that day (new arrivals have a sticker on their name tag so everyone knows).

It was a lot to take in that first day and it's all a blur by now but the most memorable thing was the People and Your Purpose workshop. I'd heard about this activity and thought it would be pretty scary, a whole room full of us fresh newbie missionaries and they bring in a real person (playing themselves but as a nonmember if they are a member, as far as I can tell) and we pass the mic around and ask them questions and try to help them. I actually really loved it. I wasn't able to speak because we ran out of time but I had things in mind to share with each of them. It reminded me of a dream I had a while ago, where one of my friends was crying and I cried too and we hugged and made a plan to talk about the Atonement together, it was sad but also really exciting and happy. Then I woke up and couldn't believe that it wasn't real! I was so sad that it hadn't really happened, but that bittersweet joy I felt reminded me that this is what I want to be doing. It reminded me why I'm really here, what really matters: helping real people find real peace and joy through the truth of the gospel. That's what it really comes down to, and all those other stressful things like driving records and clothes shopping, though important, will fall away.

My companion, Sister Sebring, is also going to Pocatello Idaho. She is almost 28 years old and converted to the church 17 months ago. She actually hails from Michigan, but has a lot of miles on her soul, she's lived just about everywhere, most recently in California. For those who don't know, the rule is sight and sound, we must always be able to see and hear our companion (except in the bathroom of course). I actually find it a comfort to never be alone. We are also bunking with another companionship: Sister Heurta from Texas, and Sister Leany from St Joseph, Michigan, they're both going to serve in Mesa Arizona. Sister Leany does robotics and actually knows the Dreadbots (as the Eggs team and the one's whose robot caught on fire that one time)! They're all super awesome and great to get to know. Sister Heurta is a pun master (actually she plans to get a paranomasiaology doctorate) so she appreciates my last name.

I found a stowaway tribble while unpacking my suitcase! My luggage was already overweight as it was, I can't afford an infestation! Sister Huerta named her Sister Liahona, a ball of curious workmanship. She also fed her some Mexican wafer candies but we're yet to find any baby tribbles so I think we're safe.

One of the weirdest things to happen: At dinner Sister Sebring had some odd "meat" as part of her special dietary needs meal. It was soft and squishy, had the texture of hard boiled egg yolks, we could mold it into crumbly clumps, but the outside still looked like normal steak texture. Our leading theory is that this is the Byu food science students experimenting with 3D printing food, collaborating with the animation department who rendered the model. (Byu is right across the street btw and I can totally see my old dorm out the windows so that's weird)

Here's what my typical schedule at the Mtc looks like:
6:30 wake up (top bunk forces me to climb down and shut off the alarm so it's good)
7:15-7:45 Book of Mormon study (I learned these cool comprehension tools that have really enhanced my study it's great, I can spend so much time on just one verse! See the photos below)
7:45-8:15 breakfast
8:30-11:30 class with Brother Skinner (no relation to FBI assistant director Walter Skinner, as far as I can tell)
12:15-12:55 lunch
(sometimes workshops in between)
1:30-4:30 class with Sister Rojas with Trc (teaching resource enter, where we teach two-on-one with someone) in there somewhere
4:30-5:15 dinner (or second lunch as I like to call it)
5:25-6:25 exercise time (we usually go to the field bc the sisters below us came up to check on us after we did jumping jacks in our room)
6:25-6:55 shower and stuff
7-8 personal study
8-9 companion study
10:30 lights out

So as you can see they keep us pretty busy. We keep running out of time to finish assignments and lesson plans and end up staying up past lights out to write in our journals. Yet somehow the Elders in our district find the time to make chair towers and do "hardcore parkour" in the dark. "Hey Sister, wanna see a cool video?" "No" *proceeds to show us a video of him jumping to hit his head through a ceiling tile* Ah the Elders, you gotta love 'em. In the smiles-fondly-while-shaking-head kind of way. It's great, I just wasn't quite expecting a bunch of fresh out of high school boys, aside from Elder Hubbs of course. Poor Elder Hubbs. He's the only Elder who took a year of college first and it shows. Amid the chaos of the others he looks to the sisters like we're the camera on The Office. I've started a quote book mostly of small bits of conversations heard out of context (because Adjusting to Missionary Life says to "rediscover humor").

Saturday definitely doesn't feel like Saturday anymore, and Sunday doesn't feel at all like the day of rest! I guess 2 hour church doesn't apply to missionaries, we still have a ton of other meetings and a devotional, no rest for the weary. My district has church with a Spanish-speaking district so I couldn't understand 4/6 talks and both prayers, so that's kinda weird. But I discovered Doctrine and Covenant 132:50, and it made me cry:

Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and will forgive all your sins; I have seen your sacrifices in obedience to that which I have told you. Go, therefore, and I make a way for your escape, as I accepted the offering of Abraham of his son Isaac.

Heavenly Father knows the sacrifices I'm making. That hit me.

On Tuesday we finally caught a break...to do laundry and cleaning. Yeah P-day is still just as busy. But I finally got to become friends with Sister Mittens (she completely ignored me in the few close encounters we had before but now she loves me)! And I finally finished my painting! I'm learning to use gospel media and stuff for reference pictures, since we can't use the internet and all that. Also low-key sat in the same row as the Kolipoki during the devotional, no big deal.

It was crazy stressful for weeks before coming here but now that I'm here it's all good. Like it's crazy busy but it's good. I know I still have a lot to learn and prepare for but also I'm rearing to go! I'm glad I'm only here for 3 weeks (role playing is kinda the worst, let's just get out there and do it for real)! The first night laying on the top bunk, my companion called me "Sister Dunn" and it took me back a bit. Like Sister Dunn? That's my mom, that's not my name? But now I've finally realized how much I love the name tag. I love putting it on everyday, I love that I'm going to be a representative of Jesus Christ for the next 18 months. It's awesome!



-Sister Dun out


(Okay some matters of business for y'all. P-day (preparation day) is really busy and I ran out of time to send an email so for now they're going to be a week late. These are also going to be posted on that blog thing my dad made so if you'd rather just subscribe to that let me know. To those of you who didn't actually ask to to be added to this email list, sorry to come unannounced but I just felt like maybe you'd like to hear this stuff, I know I'd like you to. If you don't want to receive these just let me know.

You guys can email me at [post comment to request email address] whenever you want. Repeat, whenever you want! I can always see them, but I can only respond on p-day (Tuesdays for now). Send me any questions you have, tell me how life's going. Please, please do! Spoiler alert but this week did not go quite as well and I would love to hear from you guys, send me literally anything, well anything wholesome)