Week 1 in MTC

Week#1
Dear family and friends (Tuesday Dec 10th 2013)

To answer Mom's questions first: 

1. I am doing pretty good! I bruised my arm on my bed one morning when I was jumping off my ladder in the dark. OOPSIES.  It is rather cold, as in really, but sometimes it almost feels nice.  My stomach has actually been pretty good!  The main problem is the food here.  Half the time it is fried.  They do have a salad bar, but it's basically rabbit food in a tortilla. So,  meanwhile everyone else is eating fried chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies with a giant slab of cheese cake,  Or everyone is eating tater tots and chicken nugget,  I sit in the corner eating a banana.  so, I eat, but not always as much as I would like to.

2. My companions name is Sister Hall.  She is from some tiny town in Utah called Blanding.  She is really nice and has a huge heart and loves everyone around her.  However, I was so worried about ME being the weaker link in a companionship, I never contemplated what it would be like if I was the "stronger" companion.  she is having a REALLY hard time adjusting to the MTC and mission life, and lets me know it, kind of a lot.  So that has been a challenge for me, to look past all the complaints, moaning and groaning to see the sister behind it all and see her for her.  I can see that she has a big heart and loves all those around her, that she has a really strong testimony because even though she NEVER wanted to serve a mission, and doesn't really want to be here, she is here because she knows this is where the Lord wants her.  I admire that.  She also seems to think I am the best thing since sliced bread and that I am super funny, so that's nice, but it can get old when she tries to read my facial expressions and think I am angry all the time, when we all know, I don't get angry.  And then she won't believe me when I tell her I am not angry. *sigh* we all have our own challenges.  It has been a blessing to try and help her with her homesickness and to deal with all of the stress, and Heavenly Father has blessed me to somehow have an easy time here.  The stress doesn't get to me that much, I am not homesick and I actually am enjoying it here a ton.  I think He gave me that blessing so I can help sister Hall since she is having an awful time, it's been harder for her here than it is for a fish to climb a tree.

3. I think I am learning the lessons. It's hard to tell.  I frankly don't know.  It basically seems like all the stuff I have known all my life, but in a more formal setting.  And then they make this whole ruckus about how we need to learn the restoration or the plan of salvation.  Yet, it's all stuff I already know.  What I have more of a problem with is managing to work WITH someone, planning it out and being formal. That's my issue and  the lessons are helping with that too.

4. P day (preparation day) is today.  Tuesday.  The temple is closed until January, so instead we sat around for 3 hours writing letters, since we have a specific time to email an do laundry.  So, Steven, Elly and Katie can expect letters being sent to our house. (I don't know either Elly's or Katies address, and since Elly is coming to visit, I hope it arrives while she is there).  Next Tuesday is when we travel to Kansas, and I am the travel leader of 3 other sisters and two elders!  SCARY.  Basically, I am in charge of making sure we get there in one piece. And if a flight is  delayed, or gets cancelled I am the lucky one who gets to call the travel office to notify them.  (The one job I would never want, they give me.)  Gotta love how the Lord works.  I have been told we can call home while in the airport, so...maybe!  Our flight leaves at 11 Utah time, so that means I could be calling around 9 California time.  I have no clue.  Nor do I know if the phone call rumor is a rumor or true.

5.  I wish I hadn't left my water bottle in the car.  The classes in the cafeteria are EXTREMELY small and I never get enough to drink. So I wish I had known to bring a water bottle!  I know you meant spiritual things I wish I had known, but I don't really know.  I feel like Heavenly father prepared me before I got here so I could be my crutch to my companion, so all my challenges are people related, not spiritual.  Another thing I wish I had known is that they tell you that you always have to wear lip gloss.  I packed mine away in a box in my room!  oops.  Apparently it makes people focus on our smile?  I dunno, they really want us to be "lady like". which I get, but part of me wants to be like Viola in the movie  "She's The Man" when they tell her to be lady like and she just takes a  giant bite out of a turkey leg and chews with her mouth open to show how "lady like" she is.  Because I am not lady like.  So that will be a fun challenge.

MY DISTRICT

Half of those in my district are serving in Rancho Cucumonga, California and the other half are serving in Kansas.  There are four elders and 6 sisters.  When I say half, I mean half, One companionship of sisters is going to California, another companionship is going to Kansas and my companionship is the merger, where sister Hall is going to California and I am going to Kansas.  So that's interesting.  Here are the sisters:

sister Parry:

19, from Utah, very perky and LOVES Disney and loves to sing the songs.  serving in Kansas

sister Speed:

JUST turned 21 in November, from Florida and is your stereotypical sister missionary.  She doesn't like to be girly, hates makeup, is fluent in Japanese and Latin and is a computer science major at BYU with a scholarship.  Serving in Kansas

sister Wall:

19. from ENGLAND. Has a delightful accent and informed me that mine is actually Australian.  Dang it.  She is one of our Sister training Leaders, very perky, very fun and unfortunately keeps being given a hard time because she is British. serving in California

sister Johnson:

21 , from Utah, loves sports and was going to school to be a PE teacher. A sister training leader.  She taught me how to serve correctly in volleyball yesterday, so I think she will be a great teacher.

sister Hall and I: we are like the night and day companionship.  she is very quiet and shy, meanwhile there is me.  So it is interesting to see how that pans out, but she is helping me be more quiet and I am trying to help her talk more. so I guess that's good.  I still tend to take over our practice lessons because she just won't jump in!

THE ELDERS

Elder Robbins:

His name keeps sending me through a loop because I think people are talking to me.  He is from WINNEMUCCA NV and I am the only one who knows where that is.  And he is the youngest in our district.  The little baby :-)

Elder Jones: He is the innocent one.  He is fro Kaysville UT (he said he doesn't know the Taylor clan) and when we started teaching our "investigators"- which are actually our teachers pretending to be people they taught-, he came back so SHOCKED with an identity crisis because he was so sure he was walking into that classroom to teach a real investigator even though we were told they would be our teachers.

 Those two are going to California and are our Zone Leaders

Elder Knight: he is our district leader and apparently brought 32 ties with him.  He also is obsessed with Soccer and has two scholarships waiting for him when he gets back.  He is from Utah.

Elder Simonson: Our resident nerd.- in a good kind of way.  apparently he develops 3D software.  And worked at  Lagoon Amusement Park for four years and likes to ask us random questions he created while working there to ask his co workers.  My favorite was the one about what super power we would have.

Those two are going to Kansas.

I have tried to upload from my camera but apparently it is blocking my camera.  according to sister Parry the only computers that accept them are in the laundry rooms. dag nabbit.

I have some good pics on there tho!  If that means anything.

The snow storm a week ago here was awful, you know I HATE snow. HATE it.  But we lived, the coat you bought me has been working splendidly! 

Overall, the experience here has been great, I mainly miss naps.  And we have to shower everyday, which is annoying since I shower every other day, but I have managed.  The sheets have an electrical charge in them, which terrifies me beyond words!  I love love love when we have personal study.  I get to study the Book of Mormon, or Preach My Gospel and it's GREAT.  Companionship study can be a bit wearing because sister Hall is the Senior Companion, but she won't, or doesn't know how to, take charge so we just sit there staring at each other till I take charge even though I'm not  supposed to.  So it can be challenging, especially since she never even knows what she wants to study or plan when we study together.  However, it just helps me to learn patience and that is something important to learn.  On the first day at the MTC they said there were TWO ROOMS both filled with 720 new missionaries.  Since you guys wanted to know how many new ones. apparently 1440.  

 I hope everyone is well.  I am doing pretty good.  I miss you all, but in a way that is more of a good thing that I am thinking of my family because it reminds me of why I am here and to keep going.  However, I guess it's not that way for everyone because we were told NOT to pray for our families at night because it makes some people more home sick?  Frankly the fact that I am not allowed to pray for my family upsets me more than not praying  for you.  So that bothers me, but I am trying to be obedient.  I don't really know what else to write.  We are "teaching" an "investigator" who is actually our teacher.  His name is Stephen (the character, not our teacher) and I think we are doing well?  I am not so sure to be honest.  there is also TRC where you teach REAL people that could or could not be members, they won't ever let us know.  However our person cancelled last night and I am terrified to teach him tomorrow because he is an orthodox christian who is taking the lessons to prove the church is wrong.  Sounds like a delightful breath of fresh air!(think PANIC)  Well, I guess I need to sign off.  Bah humbug.  I really wish my camera could send pictures, but they have a lot of security on these computers, which makes sense.  I hope you survived the cold weather, if it helps it's been in the single digits here and we "rejoice" when it snows because we know it has to be warmer to snow.  Tonight I am singing in the Choir, I wonder who will talk at the devotional?  A rumor has been going around for a month that Elder Holland is going to come. But he keeps "not coming" each week.  I think it's just a rumor.  We shall see.  Lots of love.  I hope you are all doing well.  I miss food that isn't fried back home. seriously.  What is it with the fried food here?  

LOVE YOU TONS!

sister Robyn Cramer

PS they have a strict rule about not flirting with the elders. Who would flirt with them, they are all 18!? I think it's funny.  Although yesterday one of the elders in my Zone said I am his fave sister and the sisters in my district joked that that would be "flirting". And we are not allowed to call anyone "guys" or high five anyone because it isn't lady like.  It's hard to adjust.