One Week Down!

Dear Family and friends,

I'd like to start off by thanking everyone for the letters and advice and prayers and support I've gotten this past week. It definitely helped me get through my first week as a missionary.  I love the MTC! It is such a fun place and a great place to be. To all of my friends who will be coming here soon get excited because it is seriously the best, but only if you make it that way.

I love my companion her name is Sister Davis and we get along so well. She is a huge Disney fan and SYTYCD fan and she not only gets all of my obscure Disney movie quotes but makes them herself. She also is a powerful missionary. She has such a great love for the Gospel and the people she will be teaching. Unfortunately she is going to the Washington Everett Mission and so we will only get to be together for another week but that ok I am grateful for the time I will get to have with her. The rest of my district is Elders all of whom are like over 6 feet tall. They are lots of fun and have strong testimonies of the Gospel. All of them are coming to Arkansas with me so that will be lots of fun. My zone is great we have two other districts in our zone and we all get along really well. We sit together at every meal and play volleyball during our gym time which is just a blast. None of us are very good at volleyball and so we have a lot of fun trying to get the ball over. We have a rule that sisters get two serves, elders get three and Elder Hale, one of the Elders in my district who tries so hard but just is not very athletic, gets four. We have a lot of fun together.

The best part about the MTC is that you are always learning about the Gospel and about how to be a better missionary. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming especially after spending like 9 hours in a classroom but it is good. I've learned a lot about how to love people, more especially the people that I will be teaching. I know that in order for people to want to accept the message that we are trying to share we have to show that we care. As the saying goes "I don't care what you know unless I know that you care."

We got to go to the temple today as a district which was lots of fun. I met a guy there who lived in Tennessee for a little while and was so excited that I was going to serve down there. He told me that if I'm offered squirrel or possum I should just eat and enjoy. I didn't make any promises. He served his mission 30 years ago in Minneapolis Minnesota and was so excited to hear that I was from that area. He was really excited to hear about how many stakes we now have and how much the church has grown over the last few decades. It was cool to see that even after all these year he still has such a love for the people he served. I hope that I can develop the same kind of love for the people I meet.

I'm only in the MTC for another week. I leave for Arkansas on the 17th. I know it will go fast but I'm trying to soak up as much as I can.

Thanks again for all the love and support. Until next Monday

Love Sister Aase