What the MTC Doesn't Tell You.

Conference weekend was amazing!! I love conference as a missionary! I love when investigators come to Conference! We even made them sandwiches to eat between sessions! And mostly I love when you have a Baptism between Saturday sessions! And then when Brother Witcher brings a meal of all meals- meat, baked potatoes, rolls, salad, green beans, brownies, milk- heck it was like a meal at home! It was a perfect conference weekend and I hope you thought so too. I learned so much and can't wait to put it into practice.

So I have officially been out one transfer. Which means I have officially been here longer than the MTC. I love the field. It keeps me busy + on my toes at all times :) Especially this week. While the MTC prepares you for a lot, especially when you are there for 6 weeks, there are definitely some things it does not prepare you for.

Like the drama of being a Spanish Sister here. Our lives are like dang novelas. Last night we got transfer calls, and we thought oh for sure we would stay so Hna. Rocha would finish training me, I even planned my email either in the day and wrote those exact words. Wrong. I am going to New Mexico! To a Spanish branch. We got the call last night and were dying! Hna. Gonzalez was supposed to come here to Pampa and I was supposed to go there. But Hna. Rocha doesn't drive and neither does Hna. Gonzalez so then when Hna. Rocha told President that he said well now I have to do some thinking. So all night we had no idea exactly what was going to go down. Then we text him in the morning and he said he was still giving it serious thought. But we got the call about 10 and I am officially leaving. Which means I have a lot of packing to do! But on the bright side the talk I was supposed to give in Sacrament next week I slipped out of that one. And I am super pumped for Spanish!! My new address is:

1550 Arizona Drive #25

Portales, NM 88130

Illa got baptized! She is Meagen's age and is raising her 11-year old step-son and 1 and a half year old son. Her husband is an inactive, was offended during his divorce in Washington, but I think he's coming around. Yes this is the guy that shook the house with yelling at us the first week I was here. Her baptism was so perfect! Even though both talks the night before + the morning of cancelled. It's all good I picked up one + the Bishop's wife the other. That I can handle. But on the day of the Baptism everyone was there..but her. That made me fret a little. But she came + Brother Fernuik baptize her and she was out of the font when boom it hits us he didn't say her middle name! So we had to call her back into the water. And yeah fun times.

We also had crazy wind + weather on bike day. Of course on bike day. We were told not to go outside for like 3 hours for the dust storm to pass. But we got to go back to work that night, but the wind was not any less. At one time I had to pedal to go downhill. That is not a joke. But I still love the bikes!! We had to ride on this super skinny path with a wall on one side + a guardrail on the other. Yeah one time my handgrip even rubbed against the wall! And because of the wind when we got home that night I cleaned my ears and they were full of dirt! Panhandle weather is cray! Keep things lively. The MTC def doesn't prepare you for that.

The MTC doesn't tell you how the children always flock to missionaries + how when they try to climb on your lap you ever so nicely have to push them away. Breaks my heart. Or that ones with spagehtti-o's all over their hands will come + touch your scripture pages. We're seriously baby whispers without even trying to be.

They fail to tell you to expect a dang door lock that is the most difficult thing ever! We laugh everytime because it's so ridiculous how long it takes. And how even from the inside it takes a good 10 minutes to unlock. So of course we take pictures of each other trying as we watch.

I didn't expect for an investigator to have us meet at McDonalds at 7:30am before they move to give us an anti-mormon DVD from some group in Brigham City, Utah.

They never say anything about how everyone will have an issue with hell. These people want hell + they want it to have literal fire + burning! They don't want 3 Kingdoms of Glory. Go figure? It came up like 5 times this week. And animal resurrection. That too.

Also they don't say much about recent converts + our work with them or the lengths to get to meet with them. We've been worried about Becky so we went to visit her + she wouldn't answer but her door was open so I just started yelling for her. So after 20 minutes of all three of us yelling, offering cookies, threatening we wouldn't leaven until she answered. She did :) Also I learned she has 25 cats. Yep 20 + 5. I leave sneezing everytime.

In the MTC they do prepare you a lot about getting members to lesson and I love it! But what about when you are walking with the member but then 10 steps in front of the investigator's door they walk off + leave with someone else.

And the MTC does not prepare you with what to say after someone tells you they hypnotized their first wife with their ceiling fan + that they can see the future. And they knew the winning lottery numbers from a dream with doors + crystal balls.

But there is definitely a lot the MTC does prepare you for. Like how to study + learn + teach the lessons + most importantly teach by the Spirit + apply the Atonement in your own life. The MTC is great. But nothing compares to bringing a real preson unto Christ through baptism. The Church is true. G.C. is boss! Hna. Rocha was the best trainer + Pampa the best area to start in!

xoxo

con amor,

Hermana Slade

BTW: Elder Jessop in my district. His dad grew up in Colorado City!

Line of the Week:

Hna. Rocha: You grew up Mormon.

Me: Yeah.

Hna. Rocha: Perfect! Then you know how to make us Jello-O!