Hello Friends and Family!!
Greetings from the oh so exotic and exciting Provo. I've been in the MTC for 6 days now. Every day is getting better. The first day was crazy. You get dropped off, then another sister, called your host sister, takes you in, shows you around, gets you your name tag, and drops you off in this room with a bunch of elders and hermanas and a teacher. When I first got into the room I was SHOCKED! My teacher was only speaking Spanish!! Not to mention most of the people in the room seemed to be understanding what she was saying. Some were even responding. I started wondering if maybe they had left me in the more advanced room or something... they hadn't haha. I am just on the very low end of my beginning Spanish class. The group of people in my room is my district. There are 6 elders and 2 Hermanas, 3 including me. The two Hermanas, Hermana Boyer and Hermana Gee, are my companions. I am in a trio. Other missionaries who have been at the MTC keep saying they don't know how to we deal with being in a trio, but I guess we don't know any different so it's fine. Sometimes it's hard having to fit in the needs and wants of three women instead of two, but we make it work.
I like my companions, when I first found out they were my companions I was very excited. My first though was "Oh good! They look normal!" They are both beautiful! Turns out they are about as normal as they look. We get along well. They like to wake up early for the exercise classes here at the MTC so that is nice.
Day two was really rough. I think it hit me that I was actually doing this for the next 18 months. Also Spanish class really ran me into the ground. I felt like I was in Math class again and somehow everyone knew what was going on but me. Turns out everyone in my district (except for me and one other elder) have all taken Spanish. It was tough that first day. The teacher was really meeting the needs of everyone else not knowing how much me or the elder were struggling and I was too scared to point out that I have never hear of anything he was talking about (keep in mind he spoke in Spanish the WHOLE TIME!). We have a couple different teachers. Our main two are Hermana Baun and Hermano Daiz. Hermano Daiz is from Peru!! Cool right!! Anyhow the second day was just rough. Thankfully after dinner I got a letter from my sister Haley. It was my first letter at the MTC and it seriously saved me that day. I never realized til now the difference a letter can make in a missionaries life. I wish I had been better about writing my friends and family while they were out.
Every day since then has gotten better. I have learned a lot about prayer. When you have no one to talk to and everyone around you is a stranger, you really learn to depend on those conversations with the Lord. The Spanish is ... still awful ... but I have hope. I have been reading my Book of Mormon in Spanish and English side by side. It's really helped my vocab. I can feel myself understanding more. All in all it's very humbling.
The food in the MTC IS AWFUL!!!! Anyone who told me otherwise was lying haha. I eat a lot of PB&J's and fruit haha.
One weird thing about being around 100% new people is they don't always understand you, or your sense of humor. For example, my companions found out after a day or so that my dad had died. Then later we were in class and the teacher had me pretend to be an investigator for practice. Then he says for this situation lets pretend that Hermana Taggarts dad has just died .... so I laughed. Because what are the odds of that right? I look over at my companions and they are just shocked! Mouths open! I made a joke to my teacher, that you would only get it if you knew my dad had in fact died ... and my companions just sat there. it made me realize that only my close friends and family understand the whole, laugh or you'll cry concept. Or just have the same sick sense of humor that the members of my family have at times haha.
Halloween at the MTC was ... exciting... best costume I saw was this: So on your first day at the MTC they give you an orange dot to put on your name tag. It lets people know you are new so they help you out more and are more welcoming. Well the "cool" thing to do is to take this "Dork Dot" and put it on the back of your name tag after day one. So anyways the best costume I saw were a group of sisters who put their "Dork Dots" back on and dressed as new missionaries ... Yes as sad as that may be that was my favorite haha.
Oh one wonderful thing about the MTC is you can always find someone you know. Michelle Shurtz, aka Sister Shurtz, has been with me my whole first week. She left early this morning. Having her here with me was the GREATEST blessing. It was so nice to feel normal and to feel like Sadie. I think my companions have a much different idea of who I really am. So it was nice to talk to someone who knows me. Someone who I can tell the dead dad joke I made in class and they will just laugh at me. Really I will miss having her here SO MUCH!!!
AAAHHHHH!!! The count down is red I have to finish up. I only get 30 minutes!! Ok. I also saw Sarah Rice, Shaee Taylor (from comp volleyball when I was little) and Savanna Smart (from Dixie State) talk about random!
So far the MTC is a hard but positive experience. Spanish is the pain of my existence but I can probably use the humbling experiences that it is giving me. The church is wonderful. I am always amazed at how put together and organized everything is. I'm gaining strong testimony of prayer. I feel like I am really starting to depend on my Heavenly Father. I love you all! If you want to make my day you should write me, just saying. My companions are super popular so it makes me feel really special when I get mail ;) No pressure though.
Thanks for all your love and support.
Hermana Sadie Jean Taggart
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