This last week has been great! We've become the old missionaries in the zone this past week. I've loved meeting the new missionaries. I totally know how it is because we were them only last week! Our teaching has been going really well with our progressive investigator and she's really progressing well. We've also been leaning a lot in class. We do a LOT of role play here, which is cool because you can kind of simulate how things will really be in the field. Yesterday we had infield orientation. We learned more about working with members, finding, and how things really go in the field. It's fun to be in the MTC and hear a lot of different languages and accents. We have a lot of people try and say hi to us in Chinese or Spanish or French or something. It's crazy to think we leave in only three days. I've become really attached the MTC and the people here. It'll be hard to leave but going to the field is really exciting. Everyone here has been getting sick so it's only a matter of time before I get it as well :P. 

Our district is really great. We've totally become a family. I'll have to send pictures of all of us. We have four elders and four sisters in our district. Elder Weyland is from Highland, Elder Hustead is from Kaysville, Elder Ashcraft is from American Fork (yeah it's Chris Ashcraft from the band), Elder Frederickson is from Las Vegas, my companion Sister Jarman is from Orem, Sister Bunker is from Provo, and Sister Kempton is from Gilbert Arizona. We all like to hang out a ton. We go to the gym together, we eat all our meals together, and we're constantly in class together. We're even together right now sending emails ;). I'm really going to miss them when we leave on Monday. We're all going to the mission together but we probably won't see each other. 

I'm excited to go to Kentucky on Monday, but I'm really really going to miss the MTC. It's been a great 8 days and I've been learning a lot and meeting a lot of great people! Love you all!

-Sister Brouwer

Friday October 17th, 2014

Well hello everyone!

These past few days have been quite the adventure! There's been a lot of information given to us but they don't really expect us to remember it all so that's good. Everyone's been right about the food, it's really good. My companion is super great! I'll attach some pictures next week. Her name is Sister Jarman and she's from Orem. She's really nice and has a great testimony that's helped strengthen me. We've been in class learning a lot already. We've mostly covered how to teach by the Spirit and how to recognize the Spirit. We've learned a lot about focusing on the investigator as an individual and praying a lot to know their needs, and to see them how Heavenly Father sees them. We're going to be teaching lessons starting tomorrow! Not to real investigators, that starts next week. It's crazy how fast things go here, it already feels like I've been here forever and it's only been two days!

Our district is really great! My roommates are Sister Bunker and Sister Kempton and they're really friendly and we get along really well. We also have two companionships of elders, including Elder Ashcraft from American Fork! He's our district leader. Our whole district is going to the same mission so we'll probably see each other once we get out in the field. It's really cool. Our zone is great, we get to be in a zone with the ASL missionaries, and it's really fun to watch them sign to each other. Our sister training leaders and zone leaders are all ASL missionaries so they've been here a while.

It's funny how quick you get used to calling everyone Elder and Sister. No one has first names anymore, I don't even know the first names of the elders in our district. Everyone here is really friendly, they're always saying hello, and when we first got here people were always saying welcome to the MTC. I arrived with a sister going to Bulgaria! There are a lot of Asian language missionaries as well here. We're lucky because we don't have to learn a language. Learning everything is hard enough without the extra language study added in ;) It's really cool how many missionaries have come here from foreign countries. You hear a lot of different languages and accents here. We heard a testimony from an Australian sister the first day we were here. There was also sisters from Denmark and the Marshall Islands! They keep you busy pretty much all day studying or learning in class or attending workshops. It's hard but it's also really great because there's no time to focus on yourself. 

We're going to check out the bookshop today and see what's there. We only have the morning for preparation we still have class in the afternoon since we just got here. Gym time is pretty great there's lots of different activities to do, but we don't have it every day. I'm learning a lot about Preach my Gospel and how it really is scripture. It's the book we learn from the most because it'll help us become better missionaries more than any of the study materials we have. It's a great book! 

Well, I hope you're all doing good. I sure am! We are heading out to Kentucky on Monday the 27th so we only have ten more days here! I'm really excited to go out into the field and help others come unto Christ! Thank you all for supporting me!

-Sister Brouwer