We received our first email from Sister Judd yesterday! She is LOVING the MTC and everything about it. Here is the email:
Kamusta Pamilya!!
Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike... guess what day it is?!?!?!?!?
Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike... guess what day it is?!?!?!?!?
P-DAAAAAYYYYYY!!
Oh my goodness I've been so excited to type out this email to you!! I had to start writing things down in my notebook to remember all of the things that I want to tell you! I feel like it's been a month since I entered the MTC. For reals though. I am going to attempt to give you the low-down but imagine Charlie trying to explain everything in full detail after he came out of the Chocolate Factory (not easy). Let me start out by saying I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!! I feel so much excitement to be training to go to the Philippines and while this is by far the hardest thing I've ever done, it already feels so rewarding. I can't imagine how I will feel after my first real investigator agrees to follow the example of the Savior and be baptized by someone with proper authority (I will explain the "real" part in a second).
SO DID YOU GET MY LETTER!?!?! Not gonna lie I thought for sure I'd hear back from youz (I'm starting to talk like the Polys in my zone haha.) before today but please don't forget about DearElder! Shout out to Lavonne Norris for being the FIRST person to write me since I've been hear! That's the beauty of DearElder, if you send it in the morning I will get it at lunch time that day! It's like Christmas every lunch time here when the district leaders go and get the mail and pretend to be Santa handing out the letters and package slips. Even if it's a couple sentences I could use the pick-me-up peeps. For reals though. Another shout out to my main gurl Sydni Prince for being the second person to write me!! Let me just say, Heavenly Father is so aware of us. Your DearElder letter could not have come at a better time! I thought for sure after the first 2-3 days of being here that I was 100% made to be a missionary. I felt so comfortable and loved everything about this place. But I forgot that even as a missionary (even especially in some ways) Satan is a jerk. I was so overwhelmed the other day and the lesson my companions and I taught that day tipped me over the scale and I sorta broke down for like point2 minutes. But I'm okay! I just needed to let it out. The MTC can be such an overwhelming place. I don't want anyone (mom) to worry too much because I really am emotionally and physically sound haha but wow I'm rambling my whole point in embarrassing myself just now with that story was to tell Syd thank you! Not 10 minutes after coming out of the bathroom with a puffy red face the mail came and it was such a tender mercy to me to hear from you! Love ya Squid.
Now back to the lovely stuff. I love it here! I honestly can't remember a bit of what I wrote you in my letter so I'm just gonna empty out my brain right now. By the way, about 11ish every Thursday until the week of January 15th you will get an email from me! I can read any emails you send to myldsmail.net email then too. So my mga kaupod (comanions) and I are really close and things are finally flowing. Sister Snow and I were companions from Wednesday to Friday evening and then Sister Tiroba joined us! We are the only 3 Ilonggo speaking sisters here so we really have to rely on each other! Sister Snow is from Provo and is the perfect companion in so many ways. She is so patient, kind and funny. I just love her! It's one of those things where we will walk by the classrooms in the hallway of our zone and people yell "Sistah Snow!!" out of their classrooms. haha Most of the time people just call me Sister Snow too because I'm her companion. And Sister Tiroba. Man where to begin. haha She is from Kitibas (I still don't know if that spelling is right) but it's pronounced (kid-eh-pess). She doesn't know a ton of English but understands most of it.. well for the most part. haha She was in the hospital with pneumonia when she first got the the MTC the Saturday before I arrived and the found serious lung infection and damaging in her lungs. She is still not at a safe oxygen capacity and we've been to the doctor with her like 3 times now but she has to be on life time medicine to prevent another infection. She isn't contageous or anything so no worries there! We spend ALOT of time Sister Snow and I on the bench outside the single-person bathroom next to our classroom as she does this breathing treatment/exercise thing 5 times a day and it's sometimes hard because as a companionship you cannot leave each other's side. Like there's been times we'll go to the bathroom and I'll go, we'll go back to studying and then Sister Snow will just start laughing and be like "now I have to go!" so back to the bathroom we go. haha we've been trying to train our bladders to sync and we're getting better! So some other little funny things about mainly Sister Tiroba because in so many ways she just facinates me. haha So I guess in Kitibas it's normal to be an avid "Butt-slapper". haha Sister Snow and I have to literally watch each other's backs because Sister Tiroba will getcha! haha She also is SO funny. She also imitates us and it just cracks us up. Pasensya (puh-sen-shah) means "sorry" sa Ilonggo (in Hiligaynon) and Salamat (suh-lah-maht) means "thank you" so we also say "thank you" or "sorry Sister" and she'll make her voice really high and bat her eyelashes and say it like us but really exaggerated. haha She also like to try and hide from us when we turn our back or something and there's been times I'm thinking "okay this is not okay" because we really can't be alone haha so Sister Snow and I have to check around every corner and dark room until we find her. There was one time I was like so worried we wouldn't find her before someone noticed and I walked by a room and the only way I found her was by her cute little giggle. haha She has darker skin so I didn't see her sitting in the corner of the dark room and she was laughing and laughing and said "me, African American" pointing at her skin. hahahahaha Speaking of that, she has this.... thing against dark skinned people. hahaha It seriously kills Sister Snow and I. She get's all weird around them and like side-eyes them and makes these funny faces and when their backs are to her she points and pretends to laugh. Like we can't figure out what it is but even like a dark-skinned person in a picture will get her to laugh and make a face saying "african man". I can't really explain why it's so flippin funny but it just is. haha She is also SO shy. like cannot talk to a group of people. worste case I've ever seen of shyness. so pray for her because we're really trying to work on it with her but it's so hard. Also we've had to teach her how to use a water fountain. And the shower. And anything automatic. Even the hand santizer machines she has trouble with. It's so humbling to realize the living conditions that she has come from and how she comes from so little but wants to serve the Lord. I know that I was put in the companionship that I'm in for a reason and I'm learning so much about myself and about how much our Heavenly Father loves ALL of his children.
So a normal day in the life of Sister Judd is wake up 6:15 AM. Personal study in the classroom at 7 AM. Breakfast at 8:10. Class at 8:45. (during this time we'll teach a lesson. Do language study. Preach my gospel study etc.) Lunch at 1:10. Class at 1:45. (during this time we might have language study on the computers and a half our alotted time to have a daily planning session but it's mostly language study with an instructor). Dinner at 6:10. Additional Study time until gym at 8:10. Then companionship study and personal time at 9:10. lights out by 10:29 PM. So basically we LIVE in our classroom and only leave to eat. It's crazy how much we learn in a day but it takes A LOT of self determination and discipline. My instructors are AMAZING. I mentioned it in my last letter (Gwen could you maybe type some of that letter and put it on my blog??) but they ONLY speak Ilonggo to us.--Here is what she said in her letter: "I walk into my class (escorted) after dropping off my suitcases and my teacher is only speaking Ilonggo. I was just like "meh....." awkwardly in front of the whole class. I sorta wanted to cry, but I didn't. I don't really know how I finally got to sit down but I found out the 2 elders before me just went through the same humiliation and the sister after me too. The weather is cold cold cold. The teachers are so so awesome and the church is SO true!"-- If we don't know a word they will right the definition on the board but it's crazy how much I can already understand of what they say as they teach. My speaking the language though is rough. I can't imagine trying to learn Ilonggo any other way than at the MTC though. The best way they tell us to learn is to use SYL (speak your language) and erase the English words from our brain. So even using "I" I should be typing "Ako". So pasensya if my letters are rough to read! Ilonggo is translated into English as YODA TALK. So the sentences are 100% backwards and it's taking time to get used to that but I'm sure it will come! I can pray and bear my testimony sa Ilonggo, so I'm just trying to add on to those things and work hard to make my brain a Spongebob brain. Let's see the food here is interesting. I'm still not really sure what to think of it. They for lunch have a wrap bar which is pretty much like a mini subway but with wraps so I eat a wrap almost every day. And they make pretty good salads every dinner too so I find myself eating that a lot. But what I call their daily mystery food usually tastes good too. It's sometimes just a mystery as to if it really is what it says it is. Like Shrimp Nuggets or a Turkey Burger. haha Oh there's also "Eternal Life" cereal here. haha
The many many Polys in our zone (from Australia, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand etc.) LOVE the snow. Like LOVE IT! I get snow smashed in my face on the daily and it's funny to have huge snowball fights with them after gym every day after we're all hot from playing an intense game of volleyball.
Oh my goodness I've been so excited to type out this email to you!! I had to start writing things down in my notebook to remember all of the things that I want to tell you! I feel like it's been a month since I entered the MTC. For reals though. I am going to attempt to give you the low-down but imagine Charlie trying to explain everything in full detail after he came out of the Chocolate Factory (not easy). Let me start out by saying I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!! I feel so much excitement to be training to go to the Philippines and while this is by far the hardest thing I've ever done, it already feels so rewarding. I can't imagine how I will feel after my first real investigator agrees to follow the example of the Savior and be baptized by someone with proper authority (I will explain the "real" part in a second).
SO DID YOU GET MY LETTER!?!?! Not gonna lie I thought for sure I'd hear back from youz (I'm starting to talk like the Polys in my zone haha.) before today but please don't forget about DearElder! Shout out to Lavonne Norris for being the FIRST person to write me since I've been hear! That's the beauty of DearElder, if you send it in the morning I will get it at lunch time that day! It's like Christmas every lunch time here when the district leaders go and get the mail and pretend to be Santa handing out the letters and package slips. Even if it's a couple sentences I could use the pick-me-up peeps. For reals though. Another shout out to my main gurl Sydni Prince for being the second person to write me!! Let me just say, Heavenly Father is so aware of us. Your DearElder letter could not have come at a better time! I thought for sure after the first 2-3 days of being here that I was 100% made to be a missionary. I felt so comfortable and loved everything about this place. But I forgot that even as a missionary (even especially in some ways) Satan is a jerk. I was so overwhelmed the other day and the lesson my companions and I taught that day tipped me over the scale and I sorta broke down for like point2 minutes. But I'm okay! I just needed to let it out. The MTC can be such an overwhelming place. I don't want anyone (mom) to worry too much because I really am emotionally and physically sound haha but wow I'm rambling my whole point in embarrassing myself just now with that story was to tell Syd thank you! Not 10 minutes after coming out of the bathroom with a puffy red face the mail came and it was such a tender mercy to me to hear from you! Love ya Squid.
Now back to the lovely stuff. I love it here! I honestly can't remember a bit of what I wrote you in my letter so I'm just gonna empty out my brain right now. By the way, about 11ish every Thursday until the week of January 15th you will get an email from me! I can read any emails you send to myldsmail.net email then too. So my mga kaupod (comanions) and I are really close and things are finally flowing. Sister Snow and I were companions from Wednesday to Friday evening and then Sister Tiroba joined us! We are the only 3 Ilonggo speaking sisters here so we really have to rely on each other! Sister Snow is from Provo and is the perfect companion in so many ways. She is so patient, kind and funny. I just love her! It's one of those things where we will walk by the classrooms in the hallway of our zone and people yell "Sistah Snow!!" out of their classrooms. haha Most of the time people just call me Sister Snow too because I'm her companion. And Sister Tiroba. Man where to begin. haha She is from Kitibas (I still don't know if that spelling is right) but it's pronounced (kid-eh-pess). She doesn't know a ton of English but understands most of it.. well for the most part. haha She was in the hospital with pneumonia when she first got the the MTC the Saturday before I arrived and the found serious lung infection and damaging in her lungs. She is still not at a safe oxygen capacity and we've been to the doctor with her like 3 times now but she has to be on life time medicine to prevent another infection. She isn't contageous or anything so no worries there! We spend ALOT of time Sister Snow and I on the bench outside the single-person bathroom next to our classroom as she does this breathing treatment/exercise thing 5 times a day and it's sometimes hard because as a companionship you cannot leave each other's side. Like there's been times we'll go to the bathroom and I'll go, we'll go back to studying and then Sister Snow will just start laughing and be like "now I have to go!" so back to the bathroom we go. haha we've been trying to train our bladders to sync and we're getting better! So some other little funny things about mainly Sister Tiroba because in so many ways she just facinates me. haha So I guess in Kitibas it's normal to be an avid "Butt-slapper". haha Sister Snow and I have to literally watch each other's backs because Sister Tiroba will getcha! haha She also is SO funny. She also imitates us and it just cracks us up. Pasensya (puh-sen-shah) means "sorry" sa Ilonggo (in Hiligaynon) and Salamat (suh-lah-maht) means "thank you" so we also say "thank you" or "sorry Sister" and she'll make her voice really high and bat her eyelashes and say it like us but really exaggerated. haha She also like to try and hide from us when we turn our back or something and there's been times I'm thinking "okay this is not okay" because we really can't be alone haha so Sister Snow and I have to check around every corner and dark room until we find her. There was one time I was like so worried we wouldn't find her before someone noticed and I walked by a room and the only way I found her was by her cute little giggle. haha She has darker skin so I didn't see her sitting in the corner of the dark room and she was laughing and laughing and said "me, African American" pointing at her skin. hahahahaha Speaking of that, she has this.... thing against dark skinned people. hahaha It seriously kills Sister Snow and I. She get's all weird around them and like side-eyes them and makes these funny faces and when their backs are to her she points and pretends to laugh. Like we can't figure out what it is but even like a dark-skinned person in a picture will get her to laugh and make a face saying "african man". I can't really explain why it's so flippin funny but it just is. haha She is also SO shy. like cannot talk to a group of people. worste case I've ever seen of shyness. so pray for her because we're really trying to work on it with her but it's so hard. Also we've had to teach her how to use a water fountain. And the shower. And anything automatic. Even the hand santizer machines she has trouble with. It's so humbling to realize the living conditions that she has come from and how she comes from so little but wants to serve the Lord. I know that I was put in the companionship that I'm in for a reason and I'm learning so much about myself and about how much our Heavenly Father loves ALL of his children.
So a normal day in the life of Sister Judd is wake up 6:15 AM. Personal study in the classroom at 7 AM. Breakfast at 8:10. Class at 8:45. (during this time we'll teach a lesson. Do language study. Preach my gospel study etc.) Lunch at 1:10. Class at 1:45. (during this time we might have language study on the computers and a half our alotted time to have a daily planning session but it's mostly language study with an instructor). Dinner at 6:10. Additional Study time until gym at 8:10. Then companionship study and personal time at 9:10. lights out by 10:29 PM. So basically we LIVE in our classroom and only leave to eat. It's crazy how much we learn in a day but it takes A LOT of self determination and discipline. My instructors are AMAZING. I mentioned it in my last letter (Gwen could you maybe type some of that letter and put it on my blog??) but they ONLY speak Ilonggo to us.--Here is what she said in her letter: "I walk into my class (escorted) after dropping off my suitcases and my teacher is only speaking Ilonggo. I was just like "meh....." awkwardly in front of the whole class. I sorta wanted to cry, but I didn't. I don't really know how I finally got to sit down but I found out the 2 elders before me just went through the same humiliation and the sister after me too. The weather is cold cold cold. The teachers are so so awesome and the church is SO true!"-- If we don't know a word they will right the definition on the board but it's crazy how much I can already understand of what they say as they teach. My speaking the language though is rough. I can't imagine trying to learn Ilonggo any other way than at the MTC though. The best way they tell us to learn is to use SYL (speak your language) and erase the English words from our brain. So even using "I" I should be typing "Ako". So pasensya if my letters are rough to read! Ilonggo is translated into English as YODA TALK. So the sentences are 100% backwards and it's taking time to get used to that but I'm sure it will come! I can pray and bear my testimony sa Ilonggo, so I'm just trying to add on to those things and work hard to make my brain a Spongebob brain. Let's see the food here is interesting. I'm still not really sure what to think of it. They for lunch have a wrap bar which is pretty much like a mini subway but with wraps so I eat a wrap almost every day. And they make pretty good salads every dinner too so I find myself eating that a lot. But what I call their daily mystery food usually tastes good too. It's sometimes just a mystery as to if it really is what it says it is. Like Shrimp Nuggets or a Turkey Burger. haha Oh there's also "Eternal Life" cereal here. haha
The many many Polys in our zone (from Australia, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand etc.) LOVE the snow. Like LOVE IT! I get snow smashed in my face on the daily and it's funny to have huge snowball fights with them after gym every day after we're all hot from playing an intense game of volleyball.
To explain my district and zone.. my district is made up of
my companionship that I'm in and 2 other sets of elders. 2 of the elders
(Powell and Turley) arrived the same day as Sister Snow and I and then the
other 2 were assigned to Tacloban speaking Cebuano but were reassigned just
like 2 days before we got here! They're now going to Ilo-Ilo (spell check?) and
that's where Sis Tiroba is also going. They speak Ilonggo in that mission too
(well duh. haha) So that's our classroom. Then our zone is I think just 2 other
disctricts who all speak Cebuano going to different North and South missions.
They all leave before our district and have been here for 3 weeks now. So we've
been called "the new sisters" since arriving. Love them all! Oh and
our President is like oober strict. He doesn't smile and says it how he means
it so everyone kind of tiptoes when he's around because our zone is actually
really crazy!
OH! The Shurtleffs- You know an Elder Cravin huh?!? He's in my zone! The Elders in my district (class) are besties with him so I see him ALOT! I love that we both know the amazing Shurtleff pamilya (family) :) I'm keeping you all in my pagpangamyo (prayers)!
So the MTC is so incredibely filled with the spirit. Like every day Tuesday in General Conference and every Sunday is General Relief Society Meeting. On Sunday Sister Marriott (2nd counselor from the Younng Womens Presidency) came and talked to the new sisters and then Quentin L Cook was our devotional speaker this Tuesday. I can't wait for Christmas, at least 2 general authorities are supposed to be visiting!! And my companions and I are in the MTC choir and on Tuesday we were on the jumbo tron close ups on us and it was shown live at all the MTCs around the world too! So basically we're missionary famous. Oh funny story about that.. you know "The District"? Well it's these episodes of real missionaries that were filmed as they teach investigators and one of them is an instructor here and he walked into the cafeteria the other day and we are were just like jaw dropped. We study this guy when he was a missionary! Then I'm like thinking okay this guy isn't Channing Tatum or something.. but all our first reactions were as if it were. haha
Some of the main spiritual whacks upside the head that I've received this week as that me being a missionary has nothing to do with me. It is 100% The Lord's work. I am trying to learn the doctrine from Preach My Gospel that He would teach and I am trying to humble myself and love like He would love. It's such a challenge to give up myself completely. Learning the language is not about me. It's about the faith that I have that no matter how much I learn, Heavenly Father will qualify my words and my teaching so that they are enough. Just look up D&C 12:8. It sums it up perfectly. Elder Cook told us "If you are anything but humble, you cannot be a successful missionary". Well let me tell you, faith and humility take alot of effort and it's something that I have to remind myself even every hour of the day. With humilty comes gratitude and with gratitude comes brotherly love and charity. With these attributes we can be more like Christ and therefore be more effective missionaries in sharing His gospel.
OH! The Shurtleffs- You know an Elder Cravin huh?!? He's in my zone! The Elders in my district (class) are besties with him so I see him ALOT! I love that we both know the amazing Shurtleff pamilya (family) :) I'm keeping you all in my pagpangamyo (prayers)!
So the MTC is so incredibely filled with the spirit. Like every day Tuesday in General Conference and every Sunday is General Relief Society Meeting. On Sunday Sister Marriott (2nd counselor from the Younng Womens Presidency) came and talked to the new sisters and then Quentin L Cook was our devotional speaker this Tuesday. I can't wait for Christmas, at least 2 general authorities are supposed to be visiting!! And my companions and I are in the MTC choir and on Tuesday we were on the jumbo tron close ups on us and it was shown live at all the MTCs around the world too! So basically we're missionary famous. Oh funny story about that.. you know "The District"? Well it's these episodes of real missionaries that were filmed as they teach investigators and one of them is an instructor here and he walked into the cafeteria the other day and we are were just like jaw dropped. We study this guy when he was a missionary! Then I'm like thinking okay this guy isn't Channing Tatum or something.. but all our first reactions were as if it were. haha
Some of the main spiritual whacks upside the head that I've received this week as that me being a missionary has nothing to do with me. It is 100% The Lord's work. I am trying to learn the doctrine from Preach My Gospel that He would teach and I am trying to humble myself and love like He would love. It's such a challenge to give up myself completely. Learning the language is not about me. It's about the faith that I have that no matter how much I learn, Heavenly Father will qualify my words and my teaching so that they are enough. Just look up D&C 12:8. It sums it up perfectly. Elder Cook told us "If you are anything but humble, you cannot be a successful missionary". Well let me tell you, faith and humility take alot of effort and it's something that I have to remind myself even every hour of the day. With humilty comes gratitude and with gratitude comes brotherly love and charity. With these attributes we can be more like Christ and therefore be more effective missionaries in sharing His gospel.
Kabola ako nga matuod and ebanghelyo. (I know the gospel is
true.) Kabola ako nga importante ang pagtuod kag libro ni mormon. (I know faith
and the book of mormon are important.) Kabola ako nga Manluluwas si Manunubos.
(I know that the Savior is the Redeemer.) I love you all so much and I am so
grateful for your support! Pray for me to not learn the language, but for me to
have more humility and faith in Christ. Pray with a grateful heart when you're
feeling down and Dios (God) will bulig (help) ka (you) realize how much you are
loved and blessed. He's there to help us with anything we need.
I'm out of time and want to send some pictures. Don't forget DearElder please! Love you all!!
PS HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAREST ABIGAIL!!!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH DOOFUS! WISH I COULD BE THERE TO TAKE YOU TO LUNCH AND GIVE YOU A GINORMOUS HUG. LOVE YOU!!!!
I'm out of time and want to send some pictures. Don't forget DearElder please! Love you all!!
PS HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAREST ABIGAIL!!!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH DOOFUS! WISH I COULD BE THERE TO TAKE YOU TO LUNCH AND GIVE YOU A GINORMOUS HUG. LOVE YOU!!!!
PPS I saw Spencer our cousin!!!! We were walking to the
Provo temple on Sunday and we were at the crosswalk and he drove by in a black
mini cooper (I think that was the car). haha I think he saw me but I'm not sure
and I didn't realize it was him till he was driving away. But anyways if it was
him tell him I saw HI!!
All my love,
Sister Judd
Here are some of the pictures that she sent:
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