Hola, mi familia y mi amigos!
It was so great to hear from so many people! I loved hearing from you, but I can't write you all back. If I had the time, I would love to, but my time is severely restricted.
My days are so packed full of learning I don't know where to start. We have personal study every morning at 7:00, Breakfast at 7:30, Class from 8-11, Another hour of personal study, Lunch, an hour of language study, 3 more hours of class, dinner, and hour of gym, and hour in the TALL lab and planning time every night at 9. Of course not everyday is in that order. On Tuesdays we have gym time at 6:05 am, Workshops in the afternoon, Choir and the devotional in the evening, and only one block of class time. Today, our P-day, we have time for laundry and letters, and we get to go to the Temple in the Afternoon, but we have class again after dinner.
Class time might by my favorite because we have a teacher to teach us. The rest of the time is self-directed, which is fine for studying gospel topics but more difficult when trying to learn a language. We have learned tons of Spanish already. We can pray and bear testimony and have taught four lessons entirely in Spanish (very broken Spanish) to our 'investigator.' We teach him again tonight. By keeping our lessons really simple, we have been able to understand most of the things we are reading/the investigator is saying. We are still in awe of the missionaries who have been here at least 4 weeks and can say so much. Most of the time it doesn't feel like we will be like that anytime soon.
Yesterday we had a perfect moment where we were outside in the courtyard outside our classroom. The weather was perfect, we were studying, everyone around us was studying or teaching lessons. The sun was setting and pride rock was reflected in the window. It was amazing. However, most days are amazing, if you ever have the time to stop and think about it. I live in a place where everyone is using all their time and energy to come closer to Christ. There are so many people here and they are all so amazing. If everyone of us went out and brought just one person into the church, there would be thousands of more people who know the truth.
Elder Claudio Zivic was our devotional speaker this week (on Tuesday) and he gave an amazing talk that was full of advice for living a better life and being a better missionary. My favorite thing was when he said success in life comes from the work you put into it. Like an echo, you get what you put into life. If we put in our best effort, we will be rewarded.
I am so glad I am here. I miss all of you from my past life, but I wish you were all here with me now. Part of me wants to stay here forever. Part of me doesn't think I could handle the food that long.
Good luck to all of you, and remember to do and be your best self at all times.
P.S. Thank you Alan, Kristin, Beckie, Emma, Mom, Dad, Cheryl, Taylor, Troy, Sidney, Sarah, Lexi, Jill, Lisa, Sharon, Barbra, Terina, Jenny, Sean, Laura, and Melissa for participating in "Write Anna a Letter Day." I had no idea the event was happening, but I am very grateful to you all. Gracias!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
First Email!
Saturday August 20, 2011
Hola! Today is our pseudo-Preparation day so I get to write to you all. The MTC is great. It is such a happening place. Or rather, things are always happening. We never have a dull moment and have about 10 seconds of free time a day. We have learned so much it is insane. We've already taught a lesson in Spanish and teach another one tonight. Our 'investigator' doesn't speak English, but is nice, even when he has no idea what we are saying. Which is good because we don't know what we are saying most of the time either.
In case you didn't get my letter, my companion is Hermana Carnes. She is from Covina, California and is also going to Fort Lauderdale. We are working well together so far. She is really determined and keeps me constantly working to improve our language abilities and stay in shape. We have gone to an extra, Sisters-only workout (kickboxing) at 6:00am and haven't eaten any ice cream or cookies yet. That's how dedicated we are. Although, I'm pretty sure I won't make it through the entire nine weeks without a dessert like she is planning to do.
Our district has ten people. 4 Hermanas and 6 Elders. The other Hermanas are really nice and smart. They already know a lot of Spanish and have finished school. Hna. Andrus is a nurse. She and her companion, Hma. Magnusson (who is 27), are going to Argentina Salta. There are two other sisters in our room who have been here for 2 1/2 weeks. They are also very nice. They are also in our zone, along with 2 other sisters who have been here 2.5 weeks, as well.
The Elders in my district are: Gerber and Doolhoff (Phoenix, AZ), Stevens and Larson (Salta, Argentina), and Johnson (AZ) and Rockwood (Fort Lauderdale!). They are all pretty funny and we are getting along well and we are becoming more unified as we are stressed together.
My residence is on the second floor in 17M (Richards Building) and my Classroom is on the first floor of Richards, as well. We spend a lot of time in the same building. Our teacher is Hermana Edwards and she is really nice, but a little scatter-brained. She forgot to tell us things, like write to your family on the first night and what/where the TALL lab is. Luckily, we knew who to ask so we survived. Also, I really like the TALL lab. It is a brilliant program and I've learned a bunch in there already.
We had a really cool workshop this week that used the "1 in 8 million" stories from the New York Times. I suggest you all check it out. I'm sure you won't look at each profile as a potential investigator like we did, but there were cool nonetheless.
Well, my time is fast escaping me. I hope you are all well and happy.
I am so happy to be here, learning Spanish and more about the Gospel, even if I'm tired of sitting and have blisters on my feet. I know it will all be worth it to share the word of the Lord with the people in Florida.
I love you all!
-Hermana Anna Sheffield
P.S. Thank you to the 12 or so people who wrote me Dear Elder letters! They were so great and just what I needed! Gracias!
Hola! Today is our pseudo-Preparation day so I get to write to you all. The MTC is great. It is such a happening place. Or rather, things are always happening. We never have a dull moment and have about 10 seconds of free time a day. We have learned so much it is insane. We've already taught a lesson in Spanish and teach another one tonight. Our 'investigator' doesn't speak English, but is nice, even when he has no idea what we are saying. Which is good because we don't know what we are saying most of the time either.
In case you didn't get my letter, my companion is Hermana Carnes. She is from Covina, California and is also going to Fort Lauderdale. We are working well together so far. She is really determined and keeps me constantly working to improve our language abilities and stay in shape. We have gone to an extra, Sisters-only workout (kickboxing) at 6:00am and haven't eaten any ice cream or cookies yet. That's how dedicated we are. Although, I'm pretty sure I won't make it through the entire nine weeks without a dessert like she is planning to do.
Our district has ten people. 4 Hermanas and 6 Elders. The other Hermanas are really nice and smart. They already know a lot of Spanish and have finished school. Hna. Andrus is a nurse. She and her companion, Hma. Magnusson (who is 27), are going to Argentina Salta. There are two other sisters in our room who have been here for 2 1/2 weeks. They are also very nice. They are also in our zone, along with 2 other sisters who have been here 2.5 weeks, as well.
The Elders in my district are: Gerber and Doolhoff (Phoenix, AZ), Stevens and Larson (Salta, Argentina), and Johnson (AZ) and Rockwood (Fort Lauderdale!). They are all pretty funny and we are getting along well and we are becoming more unified as we are stressed together.
My residence is on the second floor in 17M (Richards Building) and my Classroom is on the first floor of Richards, as well. We spend a lot of time in the same building. Our teacher is Hermana Edwards and she is really nice, but a little scatter-brained. She forgot to tell us things, like write to your family on the first night and what/where the TALL lab is. Luckily, we knew who to ask so we survived. Also, I really like the TALL lab. It is a brilliant program and I've learned a bunch in there already.
We had a really cool workshop this week that used the "1 in 8 million" stories from the New York Times. I suggest you all check it out. I'm sure you won't look at each profile as a potential investigator like we did, but there were cool nonetheless.
Well, my time is fast escaping me. I hope you are all well and happy.
I am so happy to be here, learning Spanish and more about the Gospel, even if I'm tired of sitting and have blisters on my feet. I know it will all be worth it to share the word of the Lord with the people in Florida.
I love you all!
-Hermana Anna Sheffield
P.S. Thank you to the 12 or so people who wrote me Dear Elder letters! They were so great and just what I needed! Gracias!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
MTC Address
Sister Anna Dee Sheffield
MTC Mailbox #251
FL-FTL 1018
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793
MTC Mailbox #251
FL-FTL 1018
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793
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