YOO HOO BIG SUMMER BLOWOUT!!

                                  

Hello,

SO IT IS FINALLY P DAY!!!  I can't believe I have already been in the MTC for a week!  It feels like I just got here yesterday!!  I feel like I have so much to say to cover everything that has happened this past week and won't have enough time!  So here it goes...

 

So the first day here was a blur!  It was definitely overwhelming and there was so many things to learn.  I felt like it was the first day of kindergarten.  After dropping my bags off in my room I had to go straight to class and let me just say... the no English rule is real!!!  I walked in and my teacher Brother Smith (who is literally the best ever) was talking straight Norsk (Norwegian) and was like asking me questions!!  I think the look on my face was pretty priceless because he began to laugh at me.....Everyone here is so nice and helpful though!  I love the environment and the atmosphere here; it is so spiritual and unreal.  So in my district which is the Norwegian missionaries here - there are 11 Sisters and 4 elders.  Our zone consists of Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, and the West Indies.  Our district is the biggest the MTC has ever had and so is our zone. The elders are freshly graduated from high school except one and they are like babies haha.  We all consider them our younger brothers.  My companion is Sister Sydney House and let me tell you she is awesome!!  I absolutely love her and we hit it off right from the start!  We both like similar things, love to work out, and it feels like I've known her for more than 7 days.  We are always laughing and having a good time, but know when to be serious and work.  The other sisters in my district are so great!!  We all get along so well!  We all have the best time and are so great for each other!!  I know that we were all put together as a reason and that it is no accident that me and Sister House are companions.  I saw Sister Christansen (Lauren) right when I got to the MTC and her room was right next to mine!!  She was such a big help and definitely helped me adjust to the MTC.  I am so glad we were able to be her together even if it was for a short time! 

      

We have a very specific schedule that we follow by we wake up at 6:30, have personal study time, have breakfast, workout (30-45 min), have 30 min to get ready than have to be in class by 9:50 and are basically in class till 9:30 at night with the exceptions of meals and meetings or devotionals.  The food here isn't too bad, however I am learning what not to eat hahaha.  So I'm sure you are all wondering about the language.....  Yeah Norwegian is not easy!  It is very difficult, but I am slowly picking it up.  I know how to say some everyday words and we were taught how to pray and bear our testimony but it is still sounds rough haha.  We had our first real life teaching experience the 3rd day we were here and our investigator speaks no English only Norwegian.... You could say my companion and I's first lesson was a disaster!  We had no idea what to say, knew very little, and when we did try to speak the language we sounded so wrong and didn't say half of the words right hahaha.  At one part we were trying to tell our investigator to pray to God like he was a friend and it turns out we were telling him to pray to God like he is wine.....  We have had 3 more lessons with Erik (our investigator) and they have gone pretty decent!  I am starting to piece together what he is saying by picking out the words I know.  He talks very fast and likes to make faces at me and Sister House when he has no idea what we are saying.  On Saturday we had to wake up at 6 to do our service cleaning as well as on Monday morning.  Cleaning with Sister House is always fun because we laugh and try to make it as fun as possible.  Sunday was fast Sunday and that was interesting....  We went from 6:30 am to 5:45 pm without any food or water!  It wasn't too bad if you kept your mind off of how hungry you are and focused on the lessons and talks being given.  The past couple of days here at the MTC have been filled with much laughter with my district Sisters.  It is so fun being here with them!!  I love the constant spirit that is here at the MTC. 

It is just such a wonderful place and I know that I am doing what the Lord wants me to do.  Seriously I don't think you can comprehend how exciting and happy it is to get mail/dear elders!!  I literally do a happy dance and get so excited when Elder Abril brings the mail after dinner.  Thank you for everyone who has sent me mail, dear elders, and packages!!  You have no idea how much I love them, so please keep it up!!  Don't feel like you are overloading me because you’re not!! 

                                     

My district has a joke with me because I have gotten mail every day and they are always like "we know Sister Peterson got mail today, or how much did you get today?"  The Elders like to mess with me and make me flustered by seeing how long they can go without giving me my mail haha.  The MTC is an amazing experience!!  I constantly feel the spirit and just love being here!!  It is hard and I am definitely praying for the gift of tongues, but I am so excited to learn every day.  I look forward to going to class and just love the gospel and this church so much!!  My district is so awesome and we all help each other and are like family!  It amazes me how many missionaries are here and I just love to think that we are all here for the same reason!  I feel like there's so much more to say, but I don't have enough time!  If you have any questions or want to know more details please, please, please write or email me!!

 

Much love,

Sister Peterson

 Things I have learned/funny and random things:

·         Don't drink the orange juice

·         Do not sleep by the door

·         I have never relied on a watch more in my life

·         Your picture you send in with your mission papers is on everything so make it a good one!

·         Don't get discouraged

·         Do not let anyone make you feel or tell you you are unworthy.  If you have repented, taken care of business, and are worthy to get a temple recommend, YOU ARE WORTHY!!

·         Take care of business before you come, if you don't it will eat you alive and you will feel so guilty and will go home

·         It is funny to think that we don't know or use first names

·         Definitely getting used to having my companion with me 24/7, but it feels so weird if I am ever by myself now

·         We are called the Nords for short

·         Magnetic mission tags are genius!

·         Saying "guys" is a no no in the MTC, it's elder or sister

·         Don't eat the rice Krispy treats

·         I walked out of the bathroom with my dress tucked into the back of my undergarments....

·         Be fearless!!

·         Sister Neilson and Sister Hoggard said to their investigator poop instead of pope, so they were calling the pope poop.... hahahaha

·         Flashcards are so helpful

·         They serve BYU creamery ice cream on Sundays and Wednesday!!

·         Baby powder works miracles for sweat on armpits

·         Blueberry Muffin top cereal is heaven!! 

 

 

 

LETTERS ARE THE BEST!!

We received an actual hand written letter from Jordan today!!  WAHOO!!!!  She wrote it last Thursday and much of it was a repeat of the previous email, but she did add some fun information.  Just so I don't repeat the previous email - I included only the "extra's"...

"The language is difficult, but I am so excited to be able to start speaking it!  I have to learn to roll my r's so pray for me!  Haha.  The MTC is different, but very neat.  Everyone is super friendly and nice, however it may be because we have "the dork dot" on our tags.  I'm still getting used to saying elder, sister, and not using first names.  It is definitely all work here though, but you can find time to play.  We are so busy and everyday have a specific plan.  You don't even really have time to think about home, family, or friends because you are so busy!  BUT at night time we do talk to each other about home, family, and friends.  Tomorrow (Friday) my companion and I Søster House teach our first investigator who only knows Norwegian... we are only allowed to speak Norwegian so this will be rough.  Me and Søster House laugh all the time and are very similar, except she is a good foot taller than me.  I love you all!  I miss you guys, but I know this is where I am supposed to be!

Gud elsker og kjenner oss

translation:  God loves and knows us!

Søster Peterson

PS - send Krispy Kreme!!

SARAH BILLS... YOUR AWESOME!

A huge thank you to my sister in law, Sarah Bills!!  She had some senior missionary friends who entered the MTC this week as well.  Sarah asked them to keep an eye out for Jordan and GUESS WHAT..... THEY FOUND HER!!!  Sarah received these pictures from them....

I am guessing this first picture is Jordan and her companion, Sister House!!

It is amazing how pictures can absolutely MAKE YOUR DAY!!

JORDAN'S FIRST EMAIL!!!!

What a wonderful surprise!!  Rick and I were about to go to bed, and an email pops up from Jordan!!  What a blessing to hear from her!  I have a feeling, I will LIVE for these moments!!

 

Hey everyone!!!

So we literally have 10 minutes to write so, I will try to get in as much as I can!!  Sorry if there is any misspelled words I am trying to type as fast as I can!  So the MTC is so awesome!! I love my district!! There are 11 new sisters and 4 new elders.  The sisters are so awesome and funny!  My companion is Sister House and we get along so well!!  We are always laughing and hit it off right away!  So the no English rule is real!!  The language is seriously so overwhelming and the look on my face when my teacher first started speaking was probably priceless!  I saw Lauren and see her every day and that is such a blessing!! I also saw my friend Whitney Wilcox who is going to be serving in Japan!  My companion knows my friend Courtney Watson from school and one of my Sisters knows Q!  Her name is Leah Johannessen.  We are so busy every day and have a specific schedule, but we are slowly getting into the hang of things.  It is definitely different, but so amazing!!  I have already learned so much and it has only been two days!!  The amount of times I have felt the spirit here is unreal!!  Today we had a zone meeting with the new missionaries only and there were probably 30 or so of us.  In our whole zone we have 67 and that is the biggest zone ever at the MTC.  At our zone meeting we all had to get up share some things about us and then share our testimony.... And the most surprising thing is that when it was my turn and I stood up I wasn't even nervous and didn't feel like I was going to faint!!  Well we have to get off now... but just know I love and miss you all!!! The gospel is so true and missionary work is unbelievable!  The work here is so awesome and I can't wait to see how far I progress as the days and weeks go on!!  I'll talk to you on Wednesday (P Day) and I will have more time and be able to share way more details!!  Love you!! 

Sister Peterson

P.S. they haven't given us any mail or dear elders yet... We are supposed to get them tomorrow!

AND SO IT BEGINS.....

We left Tuesday morning (Sept 2) to fly to Utah.  It was a full and busy day, but absolutely awesome!  Our first stop was the Draper Temple.  My Uncle is a sealer in the Draper Temple and arranged for Jordan to be able to do a sealing session.  WOW!!  Sharing that experience with her was awesome!  I can't thank my Uncle enough for arranging that!  We felt like royalty in the Temple! 

After the temple and grabbing a bite to eat, we headed to Temple Square in hopes to see the one and only, Sister Emily Hansen!  Jordan was so excited when she saw her.  It was so adorable!  Sister Hansen sat with Jordan and gave her advice and encouragement.  It was so fun to see the two of them together again.  They were smiling, giggling, laughing, and of course crying!  What a sweet tender moment to see these two beautiful girls together!  Friends in high school and now both Sister Missionaries!  So wonderful! 
The Temple grounds are so beautiful, it was fun to get a few pictures of Paige and Jordan together!   

 That evening we were up pretty late getting everything together, but since Jordan didn't check in on Wednesday until 1:30, we figured it was okay for one last night.  Wednesday morning was busy getting ready.  It was seriously the cutest thing!  I came downstairs to check on the girls and when I walked into the room, Paige was doing Jordan's makeup for her!  My heart melted! 


What a blessing to have daughters who truly love each other.  They are not only sisters, but the best of friends!  Once we loaded up the car to head out, Jordan had one last request.  That was to grab a Jamba Juice.  We also decided to run into Great Harvest first for a sample of bread.  To our surprise we ran into some missionaries from the MTC.  It was their "P-Day" (Preparation Day) and they were out grabbing some food.  Honestly, I didn't even know they could leave the MTC!  Anyway, they were super nice and told Jordan how much she was going to LOVE the MTC.  As we were leaving, we ran into another set of missionaries who again, were so excited about being in the MTC!  I was so happy for this confirmation Jordan was receiving from them.  She seemed excited too.  I think it helped calm her nerves.  Once inside Jamba Juice, a group of missionaries walked in.  I asked them where they were going.  They replied, "Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium".  I pointed to Jordan and said, "She is going to Norway."  Immediately they got excited and said, "You are in our zone in the MTC."  She proceeded to tell them she was from Texas and they all said, "You are the one we have been hearing about!." Jordan has a friend in the MTC heading to the West Indies.  She had emailed Jordan and told her that they were in the same zone together.  So.... her friend had told the zone all about Jordan coming.

They were all so nice to Jordan.  Told her how much she was going to LOVE the MTC and went on and on about how great their zone was.  Again, such a blessing that she was given such support before she was even in the MTC.  Of course I asked to get a picture.  It was so funny, Jordan said she felt a little strange surround by the Elders.  Once we left Jamba Juice, we headed over to the Provo Temple grounds to say our goodbyes.  I have to say.. Jordan was so calm that she helped me not be so emotional.  Don't get me wrong... I was emotional!  BUT... it could have been a lot worse.  It was so precious to see Jordan and Paige together.  Hugging and talking!  They definitely pulled on my heart strings a bit!  It was also so nice to just have time and talk with Jordan.  Some last minute motherly advice!

One thing Jordan decided is that since her favorite color is purple, we would all wear purple on the day she went in.  We would also wear purple every fast Sunday while she is gone.  So we were pretty proud of our matching purple earrings we all had on. 

I was so impressed with Jordan and how ready she was to enter the MTC!  What an amazing experience this has been up to this point and she just barely started her mission!  Saying goodbye was so incredibly hard, but also very sweet as well!

One of the hardest parts was seeing the goodbye Jordan had with her dad and brothers at home.  The boys were so adorable! Next came her goodbye with Paige.  Oh my goodness, I think that made me cry the most!  Before Jordan could leave, we had to get our "group hug" in!!

While saying goodbye was so terribly hard, I am so proud of Jordan and wouldn't want her to be anywhere else.  I am so excited to see her grow closer to her Savior.  We had a wonderful few days in Utah together!  I am so very lucky to have my cousin Alli, who has been my best friend for 39 years!  She is a second mom to my kids and I am so happy that she was able to share this special time with all of us!  Honestly, I couldn't have made it through without her! As hard as they may be, I am looking forward to the next 18 months!

Officially a MISSIONARY!!

Tonight Jordan was set apart as a missionary!  What a wonderful evening!  Words cannot describe the spirit in the room.  She was given a wonderful blessing from the Stake President!  We (her family) are so very proud of her and will miss her like crazy, but we know she is in good hands and will be doing very important work that will bless her throughout the rest of her life!  Norway is waiting sweet girl!  You will be incredible!!

We were all a bit emotional!  Yup, even the boys!  Like I said -

it was an AMAZING NIGHT!!

THIS IS IT!!!

Alright everyone this is it!! I am heading out for my mission tomorrow!! I will be in the Provo MTC (Missionary Training Center) for 6 weeks than I will leave for Norway October 14th! I am so excited to go teach and serve the people of Norway! My only means of communication will be email or letters. My mom and sister will be taking over my Facebook, Instagram, and any other social media and will be posting on it for me till I get back! I would love to hear from people so please write or email me!!

See you in 18 months!!!