helloooooo.

august 9, 2012

hello my loves!

can you believe that this is my penultimate email from the mtc?! i can't. my goodness i love it here. the only thing that i am good and ready to leave is the food. don't get me wrong. i have felt pretty content with the food up until this week. i just hit a wall of hatred for it this week. ITALY baby here i come.

thursday:

i always refer to elder holland as president holland. always have and continue to here. at first i blamed it on the fact that elder holland's son is the president of uvu but that is not it. i made a pretty bold claim this day and called my silliness and forgetfulness prophesy. just needed to call it just in case.

friday:

nothing of significance happened besides our investigator talking about biscotti (cookies) for the entire 20 minutes we were with them. it's tough to tie cookies back to the plan of salvation but we did our best.

saturday:

sister mancuso's clock started going backwards. it was weird and i was worried about it all day. that sort of thing doesn't just happen!

we had a spa day (aka a spa 10 minutes) and i waxed sister beutler’s upper lip almost completely off and i plucked sister beus' eyebrows until they bled. such a sweetheart i am.

gabe babe got baptized and i thought about him all day. somebody tell him that he made the first best decision he could ever make (the next one comes in 11 years...) and now he had the greatest gift that he should cherish and remain worthy of his whole life because it really comes in handy. i am so proud of you gabe! i love you!!

sunday:

i fell in love (in the appropriate kind of way) with all the new missionaries. they bore some of the most powerful testimonies i have ever heard. i even have a new favorite missionary but that is rude so it's a secret between me and you. more on him later.

just kidding more on him now. his name is elder hulburt and he is a convert. he was baptized about a year ago in south dakota. he was studying the world financial crisis and through his research something about the church's welfare program came up. before he knew it he had studied all that the internet could offer about the lds church. he told me that the weirdest feeling came over him when he wrote an email to some girls that he knew were lds. he was sweaty and shaking and couldn't stop smiling. less than a week later he met with the missionaries and was soon baptized. his family is really religious and not completely thrilled with his decision but he said his mom has since told him that she is proud of him so he is happy. so cool right? his conversion is only part of the reason why he is my favorite...the rest is CRAZY and coming up later in the week. so keep reading.

OH i saw the poly angels that i worked with at uvu on sunday walk and i love them. i told them to send a picture of my friend cole swan so i could convince sister beus that they were born for each other (bfeo...) but i've got nothing yet. still i think she is convinced and i will soon have the 3rd marriage that i predicted underway. YA!

OHH sister beus performed her musical number "the prodigal" (youtube it with some tissues nearby). it was beautiful and though i didn't think it was possible, she got even more famous at the mtc after. she did so good and i just love her so much. she is the best and i miss her already when i think about having to say goodbye in 1 week and 6 days. ugh now i am crying. embarrassing. hope she doesn't notice. ANYWAY....

monday:

we had the best opportunity to meet real live italians. sister beutler and sister mancuso were selected to teach them a lesson. one, gabriele, is from italy, a non member, met with the missionaries, goes to byu and is dating a member. he came with his uncle that is the total package italian, with the shoes and the hair and the accent. he is a member and used to teach at the mtc but now is teaching at byu. they were so wonderful! they gave us some priceless advice (don't get uncomfortable with people who hug you and kiss you because that is how italians say hello. and open your mouth and pour out your love for the book of mormon because the italians need to hear it and have never been so ready to receive it). we took pictures with them and our teachers. i will send my camera card home for you to see the pictures. so great. i am so excited to get to italy!!!!

the saddest thing happened to me. courtney discovered the beauty that is l'occitane almond oil. i brought some with me and have savored it. i love it. but i showered while poor beus was sick and sleeping. because i was trying to be quiet (one of my worst qualities) the almond oil slipped out of my hand and fell on the ground. it fell like 1 foot but shattered...a PLASTIC bottle. shattered. and all of my oil is gone. saddest day of my life. ***mom and dad and courtney send more if you feel so inclined but if it is too expensive i'll live...maybe***

OKAY this is the rest of why i love elder hulburt. i love crazy people. they are so interesting and i wish i could vacation in their brains for a day. he is no exception. i was eating soup...because i can't stand to eat another mystery meal at the mtc (okay it's not that bad. JACKSON ROPER and other missionaries coming soon. the mtc is fantastic so don't worry) and he wandered over. he never has an opening line to his conversation. he just starts like you have been talking for a few minutes. he said "so when i like something i love it. if i find a scent i like, i buy all of the scents i can afford and store it away forever. i love soup but i didn't know that until a few months ago. i ate some then went right to the store and bought enough ingredients to make 25 different kinds. i made them all and canned them. my family was mad. a week later i learned that i don't know how to can properly because they had all rotted in the cellar. my mom decided the best punishment would be to make me clean it up all by myself. so i did. i had to pour it all down the drain. still i love soup and that is true love." and with that he left. interesting kid.

CTC employees listen up: remember rusty? everyone else. i used to work with this boy named rusty. i, however, thought his name was graham...don't ask me why. anyway he is here and now i don't know his last name and i feel really bad.

tuesday:

we spoke our last english words. it is hard. but good. and i had the best nap ever.

...i am almost out of time but don't worry because that is all the good stuff that happened.

this work is perfect. i love this gospel. don't forget me. be happy!!

loooooove

sorella wightman.