Mikkia on a Mission: 1st Week in the MTC

Hey everyone!

This week has been.....life changing. I can't explain what an amazing experience it is to be here, at the Missionary Training Center, with about 700 other elders and sisters my age all with the same purpose. It is such a cool experience. The hard thing about being here is that I am having so many experiences that I want to share, but would be impossible to explain in words. You just have to be here, and experience them for yourself. The MTC is....it's my favorite place in the world. Everyone is always saying how hard it is, and how much work it is, but to be honest, I'm way less stressed here than I was at BYU during finals, and that wasn't even that bad. I love it here. The gospel isn't work. Even though we get up at 6:30 sharp every morning and study the entire day until 9:30 at night, with breaks that added together only equal 2 and a half hours, I love it. It doesn't feel like work. These people here have become my best friends, and being in one room with them ALL day, be constantly with them, and studying with them and practicing with them and sharing these experiences that I'm having here with them is so much fun!!! Who ever said that you can't have fun at the MTC? We laugh so much and have already had so many great times, and felt the spirit so strong. Last night after dinner, we still had 3 and a half hours of studying to do. So we all went back to the class room and got started. At first, one of my companions named Sister Jentzsch and I were practicing teaching 3 investigators, but it was so hard and we didn't know what we were doing so I ended up pretty much teaching the lesson by myself. At first I was so frustrated, but I just kept trying and by the end the spirit was so strong. After the lesson we all talked about what we could have done better, and we just ended up sharing our conversion stories for the next 2 hours. By the time it was time to go home for the night, we were all in tears and had grown so much closer. It sounds corny maybe, but I've truly come to love the 3 elders and 3 sisters that make up my district. They know me in a way that no one else ever will, and have taught me in a way that no one else ever can, and have given me so much strength. Saying goodbye to them will be so incredibly difficult when I fly out on Monday to go to Canada. I can't wait though! The MTC has gotten me so excited. I have learned so many things here that I will use for the rest of my life.

So, I'm sure everyone is wondering who my companions are. I have two. :) We are in a trio, because one of the other sisters in my district never showed up, so I got her companion. Their names are Sister Jentzsch (pronounced like bench but with a J) and Sister Anthony. Sister Anthony is a tall black girl from England, so she talks just like one of my best friends from back home, but with a bunch of black girl sass. She is very....not shy, but she only speaks when she feels something needs to be said. I love her, and I have already learned so much from her. Sister Jentzsch is from Idaho and Texas, and is soooo shorrttt!!! Hahahah I LOVE HER. She is 20, and I seriously don't know what I would do without her. Us three work very well together. Then there are 3 elders in my district who are also companions in a trio. Their names are Elder Skinner, Elder Burch, and Elder Hewlett. I adore these guys. Hahah they are my favorite. Elder Skinner is 26, so he barely made the age cut. He is so funny and has a very unique sense of humor that I've come to love. He's a weirdo. :) Elder Burch is just the biggest teddy bear. Seriously, I've never met a guy who is less afraid of long and awkward silences, and who can listen to the spirit better. And then there is Elder Hewlett. He's probably my favorite person in the world. Jk, but you get what I'm saying. He is SO SO FUNNYYYYY and we laugh so hard. He knows all about good music, and plays the drums. He reminds me of all of my close friends back home or out on missions, who I miss very much. You would all love these elders. Us 6 spend about 12 hours every day in the same room together. You can imagine, I know them very well by now. We are seriously best friends. I hope I'll see them again some day after we all part ways to leave on our missions. Elder Hewlett is from Orem and Elder Burch is from West Valley City, so I should see them again at least. :)

Wow, this week has been nutttssss. So many great experiences! We had one investigator named Ruth, that we got to teach and committed her to baptism. All of our other investigators are awesome, but still a work in progress. My teach is named Brother Kezele (kezlee) and is probably the most intelligent and knowledgeable man I've ever met. He teaches with such authority. Man, I wish you all could hear this guy. He is only 23, but he knows the gospel backwards and forwards and has taught me so much about my Heavenly Father.

Anyway, I'm almost out of time. But, you guys, I can't even explain how much I love Jesus Christ and have come to know him in this amount of time. I don't care what anybody says, I know that He lives. And I know that the message I plan on sharing with everyone is not only true, but very important. Read your scriptures. They will bring you closer to him than any other book. I promise you that. I promise that if you really want to know that He's there, and you pray about it, you'll know. You'll know. :)

Everyone listen to Promise by Ben Howard for me this week, and a whole bunch of Coldplay. Gosh, I miss the music people. But the happiness that music gives me is nothing compared to the happiness I feel here. I say that with all of the sincerity of my heart. I would give up music for the rest of my life to feel like this every day. I'm so lucky to be here for the next 18 months. Couldn't be happier where I'm at.

Also, my new favorite scripture is 2 Nephi 4: 16-35. Read it.

Love,

Sister Mikkia Osman