MTC Wednesday Letter- July 3, 2013 "That's why they say "damit" all the time!"

Dear Family! 

Thank you to my dear family for my packages and also to the rockstar Harknesses who have sent me two packages! And thanks to the Blacks for their cute package and to the Johnsons for their package. It had notes from some of neighbor kids and a note from my dear friend Ben Barton.

WOW! I leave 3 weeks from yesterday!! Mom thank you so so so much for the package! Ah it was the best package I ever got. Thank you!! I loved the pictures. Thank you, thank you! I've been showing everyone.  You guys are too good. Such cute parents. I loved being the bearer of people's favorite treats. They were so grateful.

Well this emailing about my entire week thing is rough. I don't know what to say! I'm in the MTC. I study, teach, eat, work out (not enough), go to class, go to awesome firesides, go to district meetings, laugh a lot, speak German . . . what else? Sometimes I sleep. So part of the reason I have trouble sleeping is the time when I am in bed is really the only time I have to think and process and reflect. So I get too caught up in my thoughts and I don't fall asleep right away. Sometimes I shower. Ha ha I don't know! 

I've been thinking about how much I'm going to miss the firesides though. We have one every Sunday and Tuesday night. The Sunday ones we still have in the gym and they're broadcast to the west campus. (Except one time it was at the west campus and it was broadcast to us. The was the first time they had ever done that and they acted like it was a major historic event.) The Tuesday ones we have at the Marriott Center with everyone. I like that we have to walk to the Marriott Center because it means I get to walk more. Except it has been hot! Those poor elders in their suits. On Sunday in Relief Society (see FYI below) we heard from Sheri Dew! Obviously a major treat. She blows me away with how well she knows the scriptures. 

On Sunday we heard from President Robert Swenson who does something at the MTC and is going to the president of an MTC in Brazil. On Tuesday we heard from Matthew Richardson, who is the second counselor in the general Sunday School presidency. A cool thing that we do after Tuesday devotionals is meet with our district and talk about the devotional and share our thoughts.

Fun fact. Every week for Sunday we have to write a talk. It only has to be five minutes, but it has to be auf Deustch. So every week you have to have a talk prepared and then when you get to Sacrament Meeting they announce which missionaries will be giving talks that day. And then there's been speakers from the branch presidency after that. And their wives. But halleluia this Sunday is Fast Sunday.

So I love my teachesr. Shout out to Matt Duffy, my bff's fiance. I always think about how awesome of an MTC teacher you must have been. You're perfect for it. My teachers are so good to us and they really care about our success.

The quote of the week is from when we learned da/wo compounds. Don't ask me to explain what those are. But when I was studying them I said, "That's why they say "damit" all the time!" But it's "damit", and in case you didn't know, that's not how you spell the swear word!

Family I love you sooooo much! Thank you to everyone for your love and support. Big shout out to Uncle Randall for making sure I get at least one piece of mail every day! I love being a missionary. Remember: God loves you, and Jesus is coming again! There's another quote for you. Sister Kervinen and I say it all the time.  Love, Sister Lewis

FYI - 

1. Relief Society - Relief Society is the name given to the Women's Organization in the church.  Joseph Smith organized the Relief Society in Nauvoo, Illinois in 1842.  It has approximately 6 million members around the world.  Every woman 18 years and older who is a member of the LDS Church is also a member of the Relief Society.  It is an organization founded on principles of service  and  is one of the oldest and largest women's organizations in the world.  The purpose is to help us prepare for the blessings of eternal life by increasing faith and personal righteousness, strengthening families and homes and helping those in need.  

Relief Society has been a great blessing in my life.  I KNOW that I am a better person through the service I have been able to give, the people I have been able to teach and reach out to that I would never have known through any other way.  I have been the beneficiary of service and prayers on my behalf that have changed my life.  In fact, 22 years ago a woman in RS who I did not know very well at all, but who knew I suffered a series of miscarriages, shyly gave me an article out of a woman's magazine about a little-known  intervention for miscarriages that ended up being THE key to our being able to have Katie.