First week in the MTC!!

Hi pamilya!!

At the MTC drop-off

I LOVE the MTC!! It has far exceeded my expectations! Everyday I learn so much and feel the spirit! As soon as I went through the doors of the MTC on Wednesday, I felt like I was in a sacred place. It had the same spirit that you feel in the temple. People are so nice, make eye contact and smile to each other. Only in sacred places are people nice like that. 

Sister Lewis is an awesome companion! We are trying our best to be obedient. The MTC program is...I feel busy, sometimes even too busy to do everything that I need to, yet, I find that there is a lot of time wasted before and after activities. Too much chatting from one place to the next. So I have been trying to chat while we are doing other things, not when we are just sitting. Especially in the cafeteria. When we are done eating, I  get antsy until we leave. There is so much to do! 

I am a little worried that I will become complacent. I want to establish good routines without becoming complacent and stagnant. Is stagnant the right word?

I know that the Lord has blessed me! I feel that my attention span and ability to focus has increased. My righteous desires have become stronger. With God, anything is possible! 

I love learning Hiligaynon (Illonggo)! My teachers have been great! One of my teachers, Brother Waganer, told us that we need 600 to 1000 hours of language experience to be functional in the language. We calculated 1008 hours in the MTC....and I think that is counting sleep. So he said we need to speak the language ALL the time. The acronym at the MTC is SYL: Speak your language. It has turned out to be pretty hard. But Sister Lewis and I are trying our best! I am so glad she is my companion! Today is p-day but Sister Lewis said to me after our language study after the temple (before our official preparation time starts), "Do you want to study again today? Because I want to study." And I was like, "Yes! I want to study again too!" Really, studying the language is fun. Even in just 20 minutes, we learn so much! 

I am surprised how eager I am to try. I love how my district is so accepting of mistakes. We all try to speak, and sound horrible. But we try!! Even playing volleyball, I was surprised how unafraid I was to play with them. Usually, people yell at me for not wanting to play, and then when I do play, yell at me when I play badly. But they aren't like that and I think I played better because of that. 

I am glad that I got my hair cut. Between that and my braces off now, I feel like a new person! I think that has helped me to feel set apart as a missionary because even my appearance has changed. 

I am trying not to eat too much! So far, so good. I just wish that the food was healthier. Salad, yes, but everything else is either meat or bread or pasta or potatoes or rice. Peas and carrots if you're lucky...Maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but not by much!! 

I am so glad that I am here at the MTC! I know this is where I need to be. 

The day before she left in our yard :)

I love you!! 

Tessa

P.S. My MTC address is:

Sister Tessa Marriott
MAR11  PHI-BAC
2007 N 900 E Unit  62
Provo UT 84602