week 1

MTC week #1

We're one week in to our 9 week jouney of the MTC. While everyday seem to last as long as 3 did before, time really does go by fast. And it is true that missionaries are always busy. there is never enough time in the day to get everything done. and free time.. even when we have "personal time" we are translating lessons or practicing dutch or planning something. its like finals week. all of the time. some how though i have been able to stay awake through the hours of classes, devotionals and firesides. I do fall asleep in choir practice. every time. at least im awake during the important things though :)  i have already learned so much and am loving the amazing spirit that is felt here. we taught our first lesson in dutch the 3rd day we were here and had 3 follow up lessons since then. it is overwhelming and scary but we have made it through and are impressed with how much we can already speak. but were still very frustrated that we cannot express ourselves or the gospel while we are teaching.  i really do love it here though and am excited for the progress i will see in the next 8 week!

The "we" I have been referring to is my district. we have 5 sisters (zusters) and 4 elders. its rare to have this many girls (im still unsure if this is a positive or not) but i LOVE my district. my companions name is Sister Davies and she is from orem utah. shes loves to test my patience but we're learning together and i love to see the growth we have already made together. she laughs ALL the time so at least she keeps things light hearted :) and i seriously LOVE the elders in my district. they keep me sane. they are all 19 and adorable and keep me laughing and in line most of the time. we have a perfect mix of laughter, sprititualness and responsibility so we get things accomplished and have so much fun together.

so so far so good here. i can see why people get sick of this place but im loving the morning workout classes the have for the girls (pilates, yoga, step, kickboxing), the gluten free section in the cafeteria, the workshops and all the devotional and firesides. its amazing to feel the spirit all day long and to be able to learn in such a fun and loving environment.

on a light note, tuesday was something we call "magic tues" for the belgium elders and sisters. the older elders talked it up like we were going on a field trip and told us to dress nice and take our cameras. but.. we had to get blood drawn and do a stool test for our visas. I wont go into detail but it was pretty hilarious.  dont worry, we took pictures with our "poop" bag. the elders loved it. 

sorry for all the typos and the lack of capitalization, i only have a few mins and this keyboard is stiff!

 

Ik houvan jullie!

-zuster jen jones