3. MAY-The Sweet Scent of Tide Fills the Air

How is it possibly my 3rd Pee Day already?! (Heads up this bathroom joke with most likely become a tradition) The MTC works like this the days go by fast, the weeks just ZOOM by, and yet it feels like i have lived here for an eternity. Oh and apologies if i ever repeat myself, i honestly dont know what ive said in emails, letters, or just plain talking to myself. Next week will be my official 1 month mark and i shall celebrate with pictures!

 Gosh i actually dont know what to tell you all about seeing how i swear i just wrote to you a couple days ago and i have the ringing sound of 30 washing machines ringing in my ears. Speaking of which! Funny story, so last week when we were doing laundry (p.s. mom i wish you were here. i didn't know if i should choose tide or bounce) i tried to save on time and space by mixed my laundry with Sister Griffiths and me being my brilliant self put all my underwear into a mesh bag before tossing them in, but then me being my not so brilliant self forgot to zip the bag close.......Sister Griffiths and I spent the night going through a massive pile of underwear trying to decipher who's was who's by the stains. We bonded that night in ways i never thought we could. Oh! and mom you'll be so proud! i was pulling my warm clothes out of the dryer and was thinking of you and how you would always put warm blankets on us, even if it was 98 degrees outside, and i thought...."there's a story in this!" The spirit is like a warm blanket. Yup, that's all i got.

So sad news! An elder from my district was reassigned and left us this week! Tears were spilled even though we only knew him for 2 weeks, but that was no excuse to put off a farewell district photoshoot. He is an amazing Elder! so willing to do the lords will! just knowing him for 2 weeks has been such a blessing and he has definitely set an example for me! Im tellin ya this Elder is gonna be one of the Big Boys some day, cause his words have got some serious power!

The MTC is getting more strict by the day! There is now a no high five rule, and a no tanning rule for all those sisters who go out in the sun to attempt to tan the 11 inches of our leg. When they said that they want us to glow they weren't kidding! Im seriously craving sunshine! We have this overhangs over all of our walkways so a full day will go by and my poor skin has yet to feel the kiss of sunshine! awww well, it will be good training for Ukraine! We have begun teaching TRC lessons which is when every Wednesday evening we go and teach returned missionaries who role play as investigators, and once again i was the cryer! this mission is making me a softy!

3 weeks later and Russian is still ridiculous! Not only do i have to learn to read all the letters, but apparently the Russian language prides themselves in cursive and that's all they write in, so now im having to learn to read and write in Russian cursive, and letters in russian look different in cursive, so now the pyramid looking letter that sounds like a "D" now looks like a "g" and the letter sounds like a "T" but sounds like a "sh" now looks like a "W." Needless to say i go to bed every night and my brain is literally throbbing. I didnt even know that was possible!

Im so grateful for the change of scenery and being able to go to the temple every week (Sage i haven't seen you yet! What's up with that? You're slacking here sis) cause by the end of the week i am so spiritually and emotionally drained. My district always eats breakfast at the temple, by the way they make a superb omelet, and then i just suck in all the good spiritual feelings and leave feeling refreshed!

The food is here is gonna be the death of me! The lbs are slowly creeping on, and the all purpose sauce that i swear they put on everything  is not helping! It's good grub though, wanna know what i had yesterday for lunch? Steak, popcorn shrimp, corn chowder, chocolate pudding, apple crisp, and graham canyon BYU creamer ice cream. HELP ME. NO. SELF. CONTROL. Oh, and here's the worst part, they have a chocolate sheet cake that tastes just like moms! With every bite i felt a mile closer to home, dont ask me how many bites i took. I know i say this every time but if you have any questions just ask cause im now gonna get orgainized and start writing them down so i have a list when i sit down to write. I hear mom is already up here in Provo! OH my heart! Poopa and Tenaya drive safe! Parker i want to hear about this senior trip! Erica Matt and Eden, capture and ride a dolphin for me! Logan and T give Bosko a good rub for me. Wendy and Justin give each of my nieces and my nephew a big ol kiss for me! Maegan and Tyler wipe Olivers little man part extra clean on my behalf. Sage, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your package! You're fast! I knew i could count on my second mom. Just one thing....so i pulled out the pants and i was like "perfect" and pulled them on to realize....."oh, i forgot my butt is like two blown up balloons....." yeah the pants are a little tight and you know, wouldn't want those 18 year old elders looking at that eye candy! so i will be sending them back, if you can find any other semi loosish pants that could be worked out in that would be fantastic. doesn't even have to be spandex. Ill send a note with the box will maybe some more specifics so im not giving you such vague requests. McCall, you are seriously an angel. One of your dear elders came at exactly the right moment and made my heart swell in love and gratitude! Tenaya, keep your stories coming! i love to hear about your life! Scary and sad realization! im forgetting movie quotes! so your job is to send me one every time you mail me to keep them fresh. it will be sigificant. Annie if freaking love you and my squeal echoed in the cafeteria at the sight of your letter. Did i leave anything out? Hope not because im about out of time! I love you all! The church is true! Just felt i should say that seeing how i am a sister missionary and all, plus, it's true. Until next time! XoXooOxoxo

-Cectpa Roe

Week 3

2. MAY- Marathon Finger Runner

Gosh writing these emails is like running a freaking marathon with your fingers! There's so much i wanna say and so many questions i want to answer! So YES for all of you out there, the Dear Elders work! Many thanks you's and hugs and kisses to all you who give me the best dessert ever! (I get my dear elders during dinner, not sure if i mentioned that) And Momma, thank you for the novel, my mashed potatoes were cold by the time i finished it, but so worth it. 

So im just gonna start off at the beginning from when i last wrote you. Last Tuesday was not only my first P Day but my first temple walk and also my first Devotional! Both were fabulous! To be honest i never really thought the temple was that pretty, i always thought that it looked more like tiramisu, but walking to the temple, being freed from my cage, it looked like the most beautiful tiramisu i had ever seen!  Im still adjusting to my lack of sleep so it was tough to not doze off during bits, but there is no better place to repent than at the temple! 

Speaking of sleep, i sleep AMAZING! But let me assure you that is not a result of the accommodations. Rather im so exhausted and ready for bed that i can care less that my mattress looks as if the first missionary himself slept on it, or the fact that my gravy brown blanket has 10 girls worth of hair woven in it, or that my lumpy pillow has more drool stains on it than i can count. I actually try to force myself to stay awake just a few minutes to enjoy just laying in bed. #1 thing i miss? NAPS. im so busy on P days that i dont even get my naps. im already dreaming of them when i get home in 18 months. Oh, and my dreams are WEIRD. disturbingly so. For instance the other night i dreamed that on P days the MTC would have "games" All the elders would sit in stands while us sisters had to drink 9 shots and then swim laps drunk and then we had to try to sneak out of the MTC in towels without being seen. So there's just a little bit of what my brain does at night, other than rambling off random Russian words in my head before i go to sleep.

Nothing says "Happy Birthday Elder Moss!" like a mob of post-it notes

So Devotional! You'll never guess who spoke! While i was in choir practice there were men going around with metal detectors so i knew it was one of the big guns, and it was! it was RUSSEL M NELSON! As soon as he walked in i was smacked in the face with his spirit, and we all stood in silence, it was such an amazing sight. It's so amazing to be surrounded by thousands of young adults who are devoting their time to serve the Lord. This is seriously a once in a lifetime opportunity. This week has been hard, a few frustrated tears may have been spilt during the time, but i still wouldn't want to be anywhere else! It was so crazy to be doing my personal study on the bench while watching all the missionaries with the "dork dots" coming in, thinking that that was me just one week ago and yet i feel like ive been here forever!

My teachers are absolutely amazing!! I count my blessings each and every day with them. I have three teachers, two of which are young, and single and dont judge me but not exactly bad looking. I swear they do it on purpose to test us sisters. There is Bro Rutter, and he is one my favorites!! He has such a passion in what he teaches and cracks us all up. Then there is Bro Seitz and Bro Wells (the singles). Funny story with Bro Wells....cant remember if i told you but since being here i have been teaching an "investigator" named Deema. Me and Sister Parish actually got him to commit to baptism! We actually thought we heard him wrong when he said yes and had him repeat himself just to make sure we heard him right. So the next day when we walked into class who do we see but......Deema! Except he's not Deema, he is Bro Wells!! Sitting there having Deema/Bro Wells teaching us in the English....one of the strangest moments of my life.

From left to right: Wells, Seitz, Rutter

It's so fun being here listening to all the different languages! It's the coolest thing when someone opens the door for someone and they say thank you in one language and get a "youre welcome" in another, then accidentally step on someones foot and say "sorry" in Russian and get a "it's all good" in Tai. Food. Still great. Gained 3 lbs. NOT. GOOD. On the bright side me and sister parish have started running and i ran a full lap around the MTC!

Gosh the time just passes by so fast, sometimes i wish it would in class. 3 hour classes at a time can feel kind of long sometimes. My district is getting closer and closer every day, the inside jokes are beginning to form and im already sad about saying goodbye to them in 7 weeks! 
 I love you all! This week has been tough, but i know it's all prepping me for better times! Oh and Parker, i want to hear all about your graduation!! I wish i could be there, ill be thinking of you, have fun and go on tons of rides! Give all my nieces and nephews kisses! Big hug little hug kiss kiss little kiss

-Cectpa Roe

Week 2

1. MAY- The Oh So NOT Familiar Feeling

I'll tell ya, there's no better way to say goodbye to your parents for 18 months than sitting in the back seat of the car, digesting the small cup of hot chocolate you had at Ihop (the only thing i could down with all the nerves) and thinking that we still have an hour together to take pictures at the temple before the last hoorah and kick to the curb, only to then hear your dad say, "Op! Im in the wrong turning lane, guess we're dropping you off now!" It was all i could do to hold my moms hand from the back as she tried to settle my nerves, as my dad chuckled as he watched me through the rear view mirror. Each parent has their own style of moral support, yeah? So what was only moments ago, an hour, was now pulverized as a man in a booth said, "Welcome to the MTC! You got 3 minutes..." Like no kidding, if they had it their way it would be a literal kick to the curb and screech off with tires smoking kind of ordeal. However, there is one minor detail that has to be accounted for here. I'm human. And with that claim, i owned that curb and soaked it in my nervous, excited, sad, and downright scared tears. 

And here i am! At long last i can finally write you and tell you all about my first week in the MTC! The first thing i learned here is that i will no longer experience the glorious feeling of NOT being tired. I go to bed exhausted, i wake up exhausted. But hey,it's not about me, is it? Ok, let me tell you that the spirit is so strong here! It's like this glowing haze that just consumes the entire campus, that or the pollen from the trees, but i say it's spirit powder, and i take a big inhale of it every morning!

Hmmm....so what do you want to know about first? Im pretty sure the #1 question i got was.....HOW IS THE FOOD?? Well, im a lover of food. Good stuff. And MTC food.....great stuff! It's some good cook'n! Of course this is coming from a girl who was raised on casseroles where it really didn't matter if you ate it with a fork or spoon. I gotta be careful though, i mean who in their right mind gives 3,000 missionaries an endless supply of food? Oh, and two words......ice cream bar. Do not worry though, i did something that you would never believe, i ate........a SALAD. Yes. A salad. Hopefully it will make up for all the french fries, fish sticks, pizza, enchiladas, soups, and the strange leftover bar that i swear is all the leftovers of the week, mixed up in a slop, and you can top in on either rice or potatoes. But hey, it's "spork" consistency so it's not too shabby stuff actually, not. too. shabby.

My companions name is Sister Parish, and we clicked right off! It's actually kinda weird how you immediately feel love for strangers here, it's that spirit powder, im tell'n ya! She is 19 and from Frankfurt, Germany, but you could never tell she speaks English so well! She is such a tender spirit though, and when i say that i mean that she really get's grossed out easily. Like i accidentally burped once and she practically ran away from me like i was some kind of disease, and she has a couple pet peeves that i learned real quick. She hate's splitting things. For example, if i were to walk on one side of a railing and she on the other she would freak out and run around so that she could be on the same side with me, or if i ever so much as dare walk and let a pole go between us it's the end of the world. Second, she hates when foods that should not be mixed, mix. You should have seen the death look she gave my plate as i was squirting ketchup on my eggs during breakfast. But i take her as she is! Whether for good or bad Sister Perish will be leaving her mark on me somehow, so i just gotta love her and take em as they come! We already got a good laugh when we got caught by our district leaders sniffing the "Butterscotch" tree (no really,it smells just like it!) and we had no idea that we were late to a very important meeting, so we laughed out of embarrassment all the way there.

There are 10 of us total in our district, 4 elders and 6 sisters. I already love all of them, we always sit together during meals and feels great to have a somewhat weird mismatched family. I am the oldest by the way, figures. i love our elders! They are by no means the awkward kind and they crack me up! And there is also Sister Allred (big time hugger, talks super fast, and sings ALL the time) and Sister Griffiths, they are in the same room with me and Sister Parish, we are all going to Ukraine together, and they are just fantastic. Especially Sister Griffiths, i like her a lot. We have a lot in common and im already praying we get to be companions in the future.

On to spiritual stuff! Go get this, i have already taught 3 lessons in Russian to our investigator Deema! Ok, so more like reading Russian from my cheat sheet, but hey gotta start somewhere right? It's actually pretty awesome thinking that in only a week i am already teaching lessons in Russian. And yesterday i did my best, i was really struggling and stressed out with the lesson and feeling completely unprepared, and my teacher told me how the spirit is a universal language and to just open my heart and let the spirit in. It was tough to let that stress go, but when i got in to teach the lesson with my companion i felt i should bear my testimony, so i pulled out my handy dandy cheat sheet, and bore in Russian one of the most simple heart felt testimonies i ever have. There were tears people. lots of them. Then my companion felt prompted to ask him to be baptized and you know what he said......."what is that?" Ummmmm......good point! So we ran off telling him we will tell him all about it next time. Noted.

First ever lesson plan, complete with accurately proportioned body sketch.

Sometimes breaks are a vital necessity

Im almost completely recovered from my cold! Im now just suffering from the case of the dry peeling nostrils (see, this is something that i could not talk to my companion about). The past nights ive spent with kleenex stuffed up my nose just so it wouldn't drip out when i slept. Also, just to toss this into the mix, last night when everybody was reading their DearElders at the dinner table i was off throwing up in the bathroom! And i can't even give the credit for that one to the slop, so Sage, if you're reading this, thank you for the mojo bars, aka my 10pm dinner.

 I loved Sunday here, everybody said, "just make it to Sunday" and i did! It wasn't a relaxing, getting to lounge around reading scriptures all day (one of the biggest things i miss is lounging, the only time im in sweat pants is the hour i have before bed and then im unconscious for 8 hours, wake up and have to take them off to get in a skirt. Yippee.), but it was like a spiritual boost. It was just one inspirational talk after the other! i thought my heart and eyes would burst they were so full! And i dont know what it is, but music just blasts the spirit up. I went to choir and it was amazing! first off the director is hilarious, and secondly we sang my favorite hymn "come thou fount." Its so great to be surrounded by so many others who welcome the spirit and all have the same goal, it really helps me out when i start feeling down. 

I love you all! thank you for all the support and love and DearElders, they seriously make our day. We get our DearElders each evening during dinner, which is great so i dont have to wait till my P-day to hear from you and i get more time to think about what to tell you when i reply back. Im sorry i probably wont be getting to individual emails since im running short on time, but next week! Tuesdays are my P-days and i go to the temple at 8:30 in the morning! (ahem! Nearby siblings.) Well until next time! Ill talk to you next week! Farewell my loves!

And don't you all go thinking that ive all of a sudden gained the gift of tongues, because well....i haven't. Russian is really hard for me. i swear i sit in class while everybody is nodding their heads listening to the teacher speak in Russian, and meanwhile im in the corner with my mouth agape, a clear sign my brain gave up and shut down a long time ago. So SERIOUSLY pray for me with my Russian, i need all the help i can get!

Week 1