OI!!!!I thought last P-Day that it would be a good idea and a time-saving sort of thing to hand wash my laundry in the bathroom sink, like a pioneer of old. Getting down with my roots, you know? Well who knew it takes like 5 days for t-shirts to drip dry. My clothes were strung all around the room; it was hysterical. Needless to say, I'm actually in the laundry room with modern machines right now, writing this letter.
My favorite part of everyday is right when I walk out of my residency hall and it's 6:55 AM. The mountains are just glorious and the sun is coming up and everyday I say to Sister H: Oh, today is the best day of my life!!!!! I love the mornings. Literally, if I see no others miracles in my mission, I have become a morning person, which is proof enough to anyone who knows me that God lives and is involved in our lives.
I have 25 new best friends, although my favorite and best and grandest companion will ALWAYS be you Britty:) I do love my companion, as well as ALL the women I am surrounded by. Sometimes I just wake up in the morning with a lump in my throat because I am so very grateful to know these people!!! So many Sisters gave up really hard things to come here, and they are so strong. Modern day Stripling-Warrior Mothers:) AND I GET TO HANG OUT WITH THEM!!!!! Sister L. is just the dearest little thing; I run with her almost every day, and she is the biggest tom-boy I have ever met. SO down-to-earth and SO funny. She wrote me a note this morning about how she felt like I immediately replaced the best friends she left at home, which helped her so much at the MTC. I already have about 10 girls I'm living at BYU with when I get home.
I am the exercise coordinator of the nation. I get up at 5:45 with girls in our floor and do P90X plyometrics. It's good bonding time, but everyone else thinks I'm crazy.
Portuguese is such a BEAUTIFUL language, but it is SO hard to explain the things I want to explain! I had an impression this week that if I focus on testifying in Portuguese, I would get the language without too much trouble. So everyday, I wake up and work all day on learning a principle to teach and testify about. The people I'm teaching always end up asking me about the things I haven't studied.
"Uhhhh..........The Church is True----------Name of Jesus Christ AMEN."
I have been working really hard. When it's study time, it's study time. I feel so much better asking for the Lords help when I've been obedient, because I know He wants to help me.
I took the Sacrament on Easter with 3000 missionaries, and 100 Elders passing it. I sat there in my cutsie little choir in my cutsie little Easter outfit and was hit with the knowledge that Jesus Christ's Atonement was personal to me. It was the most amazing experience. Then, a member of the Presiding Bishopric came and chatted with us. He looked like Mr. Bean, so the whole experience was thrilling to me on a number of levels. We got to hear from Sheri Dew as well!!! WHAT A WOMAN!!! It was a good Easter, but it was really hard to be away from home!! I hope everyone enjoyed candy for me:):) My companion had a really hard night, so I climbed in bed with her, opened all the candy I had, and made her tell me stories and eat chocolate. PROBLEM SOLVED!
I DO love Dove chocolate, probabbblyyy more than anything. But I open the wrapper and it says: "Take a Vacation for a day." "Slow down for this moment." "Treat Yourself." "Take a Bubble Bath." It's slightly depressing for about 2 seconds, and then I start reading the Book of Mormon and WAA-LAAA!! Everything solved. I look at that book and feel peace. I'm almost done with it; I just can't get enough. My goodness, my gracious. The Lord is involved in this work. The Lord looks out for and sustains His missionaries:)
I wear my ugly old lady dresses on special occasions, and those are probably my favorite days.
I had a really cool experience earlier this week. One night, I had the strongest impression that I should study a specific topic, one that I already felt confident in. But I read and studied and prayed. The next morning, I was in personal study when I was hit with how much one of the girls in the district needed me. I grabbed her hand and dragged her outside and said: "Darling, what's going on?" Lo and behold, she was struggling with the topic I had been studying. I was completely prepared to tell her of Heavenly Father's love for her and read specific scriptures. That was probably the happiest moment of the week for me; just knowing that Heavenly Father had trusted me with something like that,even though it was small. It made me want so badly to always be trust-worthy. It's hard not to be impatient with myself; I want to be a great missionary NOW and I want to love my mission NOW. Some moments I love it, but more moments than that it's really hard. I STILL cry every night!!! I scheduled myself in crying everyday for an hour between 5 and 6:)
Regardless, I have a testimony of the MTC! I have learned so much! The days here are hard and long; 16 hours of studying. But little moments make it worth it:)
I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!! Keep being happy and keep letting me know that things are going well. I honestly have the best friends and family in the NATION.
Love, love love love love love love,
Sister Brooks:):)
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