About the Empty Sea (MTC)

There are 5 girls in our room, and it's pretty tiny. We each get a closet barely big enough to hang the few clothes I brought, and it's bunk beds. I'll send a pic next week.

Everything indoors is air-conditioned and FREEZING!! It's lovely outside though we only get to be outdoors during gym time for 45 mins and walking to and from residence halls, meals and class. I'll tell you about a typical day next week. So yeah I just wear jackets and sweaters all day because I'm indoors most the time. Then I just look a little silly walking from class to lunch in a sweater when it's 90 degrees outside. But who cares anyway?
We have gym in the middle of the day usually - it varies. I's kinda strange, we just come to our residence halls, change into gym clothes and go to the field at our scheduled time. I mean, I prefer to work out either in the morning or at night, but whatevs. Wedon't really work out, we just throw a frisbee or play ladder golf. They have bocce ball and croquet too! It felt super weird that first time leaving the MTC confines and crossing the street to the fields. I felt like an escapee!

Also we have dinner at 4:30. That's been pretty different getting used to as well, but I'm adjusting. Other zones go later; maybe we'll switch in a while? I think the food is mostly pretty masarap (delicious). There are lots of choices, and I don't feel like I have been overeating either! I have really enjoyed the soups and salads. They have donuts every morning tempting me so badly, but I usually resist. Donuts = death.

We can't listen to music at all here. At least not our own, so take your time sending that CD to me mom. The elders were out of control today. Sometimes I just want to wring their little necks! But they are usually so good to the sisters. Except at meal time. They are supposed to have sisters go in front of them, but they never do :-) Oh, Elders.

My companins and I decided that our first names are like our secret identity. I didn't even know my companions' first names til yesterday, and it felt weird asking. Honestly, at the rate things are going I'm pretty sure we'll be ready for the field in 4 weeks instead of nine. I can't believe how much we have already learned. It's amazing! I love it. D & C 82:10 - test the Lord! Study His words and pray to Him, Test the Lord. Magnify your callings! Test the Lord!!! Love you lots. Time to sleep. Maganda umaga (beautiful night) Yours, Sister Webre

First Week Goin Strong!

When my host took me to my room in the residence hall I met ONE of my companions, Sister Purser. She is about 5'1" and has short brown hair. Cutest thing EVER!   She is a spiritual giant. And later I met Sister Tillmann who is 5'10" has a freckled face and is sortof a tom boy. She uses all these funny voices like kip and brian reagan and is always making us laugh..  So I am in a trio which is sometimes challenging but overall just super fun. I love them both SO much. I have absolutely no complaints and they seem totally normal so far.  :)

I can't remember anything we did that first day, everything just kinda runs together. All I know is that I miss my naps terribly. We aren't allowed to nap, not even on Sunday or    P-day isn't that just wretched??  Well I understand the reasons but honestly sometimes I think if I just had a short little power nap I would learn a lot better.  Every minute of every day is planned for us. It is good but so exhausting. Even P-day so far has just felt like every other day because we got up, went to breakfast, and had personal and companionship study.  It's weird how the time goes here. I've heard lots of people say that a day is a week and a week is a day and it's totally true!  I honestly have felt pretty good so far. There have been some feelings of inadequacy especially the first two days when they overload you with so much information and everything is so new, but honestly the language is coming really good for me, I have been learning fast. When I said my memorized prayer in tagalog it was pretty funny. The district didn't say much at the time and the teacher did say anything like she was impressed or anything but the next day somehow it got brought up while the teacher was out of the room and everyone was saying things like "let's have sister webre say the prayer again" and "Yeah, I've never experienced the gift of tongues like that in person before" or other ridiculous comments like "we're not worthy!"  I told them I never studied the language before I came, the spirit is just so strong at the MTC, miracles happen every day! Okay not really I told them I worked on it before I came. My teacher probably wasn't impressed becasue she was the only one that could tell all the mistakes I was making.

So a couple funny stories..   Sister Tillmann is very talented and she can beat box like nobody's business. So we were just walking outside to lunch or something and some elders were coming toward us and one of them was beatboxing just a little. So sister Tillmann says "Should I?" and we're like "YES!" So she just busts out this awesome beatboxing for about 5 seconds and the elders pretty much freaked out.  They thought she was so cool. It was so great..

I pretty much love the MTC and feel like a beached whale that is finally in water. I BELONG HERE.  And it really is such a spiritual feast. I think being so tired all the time doesn't help the fact that I am emotional anyway so I am laughing and crying constantly it seems like.  My district is really cool, there are 11 of us. My companionship are the only girls. I feel really close to my district all ready. We have had some really tender moments and testimony building experiences. Some of the elders look older than others and some are more mature than others. There is an elder in my district who doesn't look older than 15 but I love him, he is hilarious.   One of the rules I dislike most is that we can't hug our elders.. :(

The prophet was here on Sunday. We didn't get to see him, but the whole first presidency and ten of the apostles came for sacrament meeting for the mission presidents. There was a choir who got to sing for them and I was sad I missed that opportunity.. If I had been here just two weeks earlier I would have maybe had the chance to participate in that incredible meeting!

I have so much more to say but I am out of time.. I love you all and thanks for your prayers and support!  I will try to get more questions answered next time! LOVE YOU!       Sister Webre

Goodbye Jenny