I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane!! Last P-Day at the MTC!

Me and Hermana Young

Hi Mom!                                       April 11, 2013

 I just got back from my last temple trip! I can't
 believe I leave on Monday- I'm freaking out!! 

 I'm sorry I will be calling you

 so early- I will get to the airport around 4ish 
here so by the time I get through security and 
everything I will probably have 30 mins to call 
at around 5:20 which is 4:20am California time... 
is that okay? 

I got to host the new missionaries yesterday! I 
got to wait by the curb and help them bring 
their luggage in and find their room and 
classroom! It was so fun and reminded me of 
when you dropped me off. I remember I didn't 
want to get out of the car!  Every girl I hosted 
hopped right out and barely said goodbye and
just  wanted to get inside! Haha I was totally 
opposite. It was fun.

This week was good. The time here is so 
strange. It feels like it drags on but at the same 
time it goes SO fast. And I am freaking out to 
go to Texas. I don't know Spanish yet!!!! Is it 
important that I know all the rules? Like 
subjunctive and stuff? I am so confused with 
it- I am hoping I will just memorize how to say 
things and pick it up that way.. hopefully that 
works!? 

Well, we had to practice teaching about porn-
ography in class yesterday.... IN SPANISH. I 
don't even know how to teach about that in 
English!? I had nooo clue what to say and it 
was awkward because I was practicing on an 
Elder. Um... any tips/advice? I have no clue 
what I'm doing sometimes. 

Also, did you know that there are cafeterias in 
Temples? Are they in all temples? 
We ate breakfast in the temple this week and last week. 
It was REAL food and not rubber fake food! 
It was awesome! haha. Also I saw Ryan 
Grochmal!!! Finally! It was super awesome! 
I so look up to that kid (Literally and not literally 
haha) He is learning Russian! I am SO VERY THANKFUL 
I am not learning a crazy language 
like that. On his name tag... those aren't even 
letters I can recognize. And the people learning Cambodian... 
their name tags are literally just squiggles. 
That takes a lot of faith- that I do not 
have haha. 

OH HEY I sent a letter about this because I was
 so excited! But Guess what guess what!!!!! 
So we have devotional every Tuesday night and 
I wasn't really paying attention in the beginning 
announcements but then all of the sudden I heard
 "Laguna Niguel" and I was like hey! Cool! And 
then he said Elder Tuttle. And I freaked out! I 
looked up and he looked so familiar! I think I 
recognized him from those Christmas cards 
they always send us! I didn't know they had a 
son Tommy's age! How cool Dad!!!!! Your best 
friend/mission companion's son and your daughter 
are in the MTC at the same time! I hope I can find 
him before I leave and take a picture with him!!! 
Also before I leave... what do I do with my extra 
stuff I don't want to take? I'll go ask and see if 
they will let me leave it here for you to pick up or 
for Jane to pick up.  I did see Katie Pope! 
(now Reselle, she got married) She works in the MTC! 
So cool! 

So conference was awesome huh! Wow. My companion was 
telling me to think of any kinds of questions that I 
had and that they would be answered during conference! 
I thought that was cool because I have never done that before. So 
of course I picked a question and Henry B Eyring answered it! 
I loved his talk! And it was also so 
neat because they talked about me and Tommy 
a LOT! The Lord is hastening His work! It was so awesome :)  
And that is so cool that dad invited 
his coworker/friend to watch it!!!! What kinds of 
questions did he have?

You know what has helped me a lot? My mission 
prep class. I learned SO much in those classes. 
I think I've learned a lot here but I learned the most important 
things in my mission prep classes.  

Hm well there is nothing much else to say- but
 that I am super nervous to go to Texas. Like 
really really really, but I am excited to not have 
to eat this food anymore.
Mom! I am so nervous! I heard that that part of 
Texas is pretty ghetto... Umm... I am..... not used 
to the ghetto.... and the swamps.... oh gross and
 there willl be milions of mosquitos... cockroaches! 
and bugs! ew!!!!!!! Anyways, I am just as 
excited as I am nervous... I think. Haha 

 I won't know my new address until Tuesday  
and hopefully they will let me email you and let 
you know, but if not, you can send anything to 
the mission home address which is on my blog! 


 Oh hey! You know what I just realized?! My friend
 Whitney Wright? Who is from Plesant Grove and 
was my first roomate? She is in the Charlotte mission!!!!
 Cool! Maybe you could look up her address for me so I 
can write her! Also... Has Mattie Warner gotten her mission call yet? Can 
you check on that too? Or Jayna? I have to know! haha Anyways, 
I love you so much!! Thank you 
for always writing me!!!! I love you! 
Email you again in a few hours :)

Love, 
Krista

Oh! Also, another cool thing we did! A lot of the 
elders had never given a blessing before so they decided they were going to 
give everyone a blessing before we leave! So I got mine yesterday! Some of them were super 
awesome- its just cool to see that the Lord entrusts that power in His young men. Its so neat :)

Only At the MTC

Hi Mom,                                                         April 4, 2013
So my companion, Lindsey Lockheart, is AWESOME and she wrote this from our experiences:

Well, it's official. This is my last P-day - I get shipped out on Monday. We leave the MTC at 3am. And then go to TEXAS! Yahoo!!! Am I excited? Absolutely. Nervous? You betcha. But this is going to be spectacular. I can tell. Texas is stupendous. Definitely the cooliest place ever, probably. As was well stated by my companion, "Ev'rythang's biggah en Texas. Encludin' my testimonay." For the record, she doesn't usually talk like that. Just when she is practicing her Texas accent. [Hahaha that was me]

So, with this being my last email from the MTC, I figured it would be appropriate to share with y'all some of the fun little things I have noticed about this fantastic little place:

ONLY AT THE MTC:

- There are 3,000 college students go to bed at 10:30pm.

- You can find teenagers singing the First Vision. In Spanish.

- Sometimes people will walk up to you and say, "I have to bear my testimony to you before I am allowed to use my email." Then they will proceed to do so.

- You might get asked on a date for two years in the future.

- There are backwards peepholes on all the doors that look into the rooms instead of out.

- Some of the boys here like to sniff old envelopes that smell like their girlfriends.

- A shower is a musical experience, during which you will treated to the vocal harmonies of all the girls in the surrounding stalls. And don't be alarmed if it is off-key, or if it is the same hymn over and over again. This is quite normal. At times you may be lucky enough to encounter someone country-fying "Secret Prayer."

- Water bottles in the gym present a fire hazard.

- Backpacks in the cafeteria are also a fire hazard. You are, however, allowed to bring the entire contents of said backpack, as long there is no actual bag around these items. This is entirely safe.

- It is possible you will happen upon the following conversation:

"Where did you serve your mission?"

"Hawaii."

"Oh, that's so cool!"

"Yeah, it was great. I would highly recommend it. Apparently the Lord didn't."

There's nothing quite like the MTC.

A spiritual thought for y'all: we are here fighting a war. A war between good and evil. But we have already fought this same war once before - we all fought together on the same side; we had the same Allies, and the same foe. And we won. We will win again.

Easter at the MTC

Las Hermanas at the Provo temple.

We love going to the temple!

Thank you, King Family!!

	Apr 4, 2013

Wow! Thank you for sending pictures! I always am sad that i miss this time of year when you getto pick all the fruit. Are the peaches almost ready? I am so happy for Tommy that he got his mission call!!! I am so excited for him!  I cant believe how soon he leaves!! I know for a fact, that all who are called- are called for a specific time. Everyone tells me you are called to a certain place for a certain reason, too, but I don't know that for sure yet, 'cause I am still in the MTC. But I know that we are all called at a specific timing and the Lords timing is perfect. Its called sacrifice. The Lord only upgrades. He only takes things away from you because he is going to give you something better. (Like everything I am missing while I am gone, and even missing Tiffany's wedding by a week...) This time to be a missionary and to be in the MTC is such crazy timing for me. I just think- there has to be a reason why I am here at this specific time. And I have learned so many times in the scriptures that (I think DyC 33:3 and DyC 138) He saved his chosen for this specific time, he saved us to gather Zion. It takes the elect to gather the elect. I have been told that within three months of my mission, I will be forced to be a trainer because every mission is doubling. At first I thought, are you kidding?! I am supposed be a pro within 3 months.. hahaha well that should be interesting. How crazy is that to think?! That I will be a senior companion and training brand-new sisters within 3 months... when I am still new myself. BUT I find much peace in these scriptures that tell me, I have been called at this exact, specific time, because The Lord knows that I am strong enough to do it. And it brings tears to my eyes every time I think of that. That He trusts me THAT much. Its crazy. I am one of his chosen ones, and Tommy is too. He will need to be a leader as well. I hope he is ready because ready or not it's happening!  AH it's so insane. The spirit here is so strong. I learn SO much and I don't want to leave. But at the same time, I am so excited to leave. I leave in 12 days.  

Oh, by the way, we got 2 new sisters in our room and they are both going to Tommy's mission, Charlotte, North Carolina!  Ah I am so jealous!! North Carolina ENGLISH speaking. He is going to love it. I am so excited for him, I can't wait to pick him up!!! 

So Easter in the MTC is the greatest thing EVER. I get Easter AND conference here. It's so cool. There is no better place to be (besides with you guys of course) than the MTC for Easter.

  Time here is so strange. It goes by so fast but also Sunday feels like forever ago. So Sunday was fast Sunday. We had a giant combined sacrament meeting with EVERYONE.  There were 3000 missionaries!!! That is the biggest sacrament meeting ever they said. It took 100 elders to pass the sacrament. Craaaazy! The spirit was so strong. Bishop Gerald Causse spoke about missionaries (Thats always the topic) He also spoke about the atonement. He said, as we experience the atonement in our lives, our desire to share it grows. We will be bringing souls unto repentance- we will desire their salvation. How cool! And actually I totally agree. I can't wait to love the people. He said the reason why love is so important in sharing the gospel is because love is a celestial respiration of the air of heaven. Wow! So that means, when we show love to others, it is showing them a taste of how heaven, and like you always say, Mom, it is only a taste of how much our Father in heaven loves them.

Then we had our own ward fast and testimony meeting. This was 4 districts so about 50 missionaries. It was the oldest district's last Sunday and the district just a week older than us' last meeting too because of conference, so it was super sad because I love them so much! But guess what. yep. I bore my testimony. In SPANISH. yep. I did it. It was super cool. I am so glad I did. The spirit was so strong. If I hadn't, I would have been so upset. I will bear it to you right now! I still remember what I said "Wow! El espiritu es muy fuerza aqui. Quiero decir muchas gracias por el ejemplo de nuestro missionarios. Yo se que cuando no puedes hacer muchas cosas, en es la verdadero- yo se que por medio JesuCristo todas cosas es possible. por que yo habla espanol aqui! Yo se que por medio la Expiacion puede limpiar al pecados. En el nombre de JesuCristo, amen." Okay so I think I said more than that but I don't really remember. Also, I can't spell very well haha It sounds much better in person I promise haha. :)  

Anyways then after that we had a devotional with Sheri Dew! She is so awesome!  I had no idea she wasn't married. But her talk has stuck with me and every day i think about it. It was about what I was saying earlier. We are the chosen generation. We have been set apart to gather Israel and are fulfilling King Benjamin's prophecy. We are on a divine errand and we are exactly where the lord wants us to be. We are in the middle of the time when he is hastening his work. If we ask, angels WILL minister to us.  Who could they be more interested in  than us who have been endowed with power to go forth to spread the good news of His gospel. I just thought that was cool. It helps me when I feel inadequate. Everyone we meet has been influenced by different things. I have been influenced by different things which is why I am here right now, but what about those we meet?  We don't know what millions of influences they have had . Also, what kind of influence am I giving?! - I am a rare influencer when I keep my covenants, I access the power of God. I am running out of time so i will wrap it up. She said that there are three things that Satan tries to get us with and that is 

1) He tries to confuse us as to who the Savior is. 

2) He tries to confuse us as to who we are. 

3) He tries to confuse us as to how to hear the Savior's voice. 

I know that now that Tommy has his call, he WILL have many more temptations. The adversary WILL be working on him as hard as he can, because he knows how much greatness he is going to bring about. and as long as he can remember those 3 things, it will be nearly impossible for Satan to have any kind of influence over him.

1.) The Savior has come to rescue us. He is not our last chance, He is our ONLY chance to feel hope, be healed, overcome insecurity and fear, repent, forgive. dissolve temptation, hatred and envy and receive exaltation. He will heal the broken-hearted, and the bruised.  The Savior is the answer and we can access His power by being obedient, by learning of Him, by making and keeping covenants by asking for His help and by leaving our fears and weaknesses on the altar. :)

2.) Know who you are. He is the father of your spirit. You are a child of God. He reserved the noble for the last days, to raise the noble and the FEARLESS to build Zion. He held the best for last. HE WOULD NOT SEND MEN AND WOMEN THAT HE COULD NOT COUNT ON to do this work. He is counting on you :) If we ask the the Lord, through the Spirit, he will tell you what he thinks of you. TRY it. I have. And it is the most incredible thing I have ever experienced in my life. Please do it. Ask the Savior to allow you to see yourself as He sees you. Ask to know what he thinks about you.

3.) The most important language is the language of revelation. Know what invites the Spirit and what drives it away. If you don't know how you personally can feel it, ask the lord to know how you personally can feel of the Spirit. plead for His strength and He will heal you.

So those were my notes from her talk, with some added commentary. (When I said 'I' it was me saying it!) haha so yeah. Dang it i have so much I want to write. This is so hard to only communicate once a week. There is so much I want to share, especially with Tommy. He is going to learn so much while he is here. I'm so excited for him. 

I was studying today and in the temple I learned so much. I love being surrounded by so many good people who I can ask questions when I'm confused, but i have some I want to ask you! Ihat does "the only begotten" really mean? because we are all his children but what is the only "begotten" mean? Also what does transfigured mean? I was reading in Mosiah 14-16 and i was confused haha  It's Isiah again! Anyways, I'll try and respond to your letters now. (sorry this is so long)

Love,

Hermana Dedrick