January 29, 2015- MTC
Family (or Mom cuz I don't remember anyone else's emails)!!!!
I am safe. That is what they told us today. They're just giving us a quick paragraph but here's a quick update: I'm SO happy! I am in a trio companionship and in a room with the 2 other sisters in our mission and they are going to Croatia. There are 5 of us going to my mission including 2 elders going to Slovenia. We are just drinking from a slovenian, spiritual fire hose..... or two. Haha. I looooove wearing my name tag and this morning I woke up from 3 on until 6:30 on every half hour worrying that I missed my first day as a missionary and slept in. When I finally got out of my top bunk to check the time . . . it was 6:26. I couldn't make it that last 4 minutes. So I starred at the ceiling and slipped slowly into madness. It was seriously like Christmas morning! Sister Higgins and Sister Redding are great! And one of my sister leaders is Audrey Taylor who I went to preschool with . . . I'm still trying to remember her. Haha but she knows me! So we've got to go, but I love your guts all and have been thinking about you guys! I have a little note pad for random thoughts that I've been taking for a more detailed email later. But I am happy and well and so excited and loving wearing church clothes and all. Talk to you thursday! xoxo
Love,
Sestra Rhodes
Hehehey Everybody!
February 5, 2015
slovenian warning STOP worlds most sporadic email ahead STOP continue at own risk STOP love you all STOP
I'm on a computer . . . hehe so fancy. I'm on a mission too and let me tell ya, it is good stuff. So I'm going to take some time to tell you bout' it and answer some basic questions:
Companions-awesome! I feel like a giant, which is well deserved. But we are working pretty well together . . . we've had a couple of 'let's talk through this' talks. But all is well, they are beautiful and I am so happy to be serving with them and I know that I'm going to learn many important things from them. Our 'residence halls' make me feel like I am in boot camp a little bit. Mostly the tan scratchy blankets tucked perfectly (by myself each morning) atop our bunk beds. I'm also frequently reminded of hunger games because this weird man voice comes on the speakers and announces those who didn't make it that day.
Or maybe he just tells us its lights out time...I don't remember.
Slovenian, Sloveeenian, Slovene. Turns out, they're all correct so everyone can pat their backs. However the actual language . . . hoo hoo. That's a task. I've been really grateful for German this week and suddenly it sounds like the prettiest language ever. Here was my first thought of Slovene: j
"These guys are really great at minions impression from dispicable me." Second thought, " . . . . . blank." Third thought "I feel like they are speaking just like the weird jibberish guy on brave." (Maddox may be the only one to understand that reference. But I imagine I will grow to love the sound, it already is growing on me. GERMAN HELPED ME SO MUCH. We are learning very fast and having practice of knowing how to learn a language has helped dramatically. I don't think my comps like that very much . . . I don't want to learn slower, but I feel bad knowing more .. . weird situation. Plus all my teacher giggle and tell me a speak with a german accent. On the outside I'm laughing and saying "haha really?" On the inside I'm saying, "Yeahahahahah! Das what I'm tawking about! BOOM. TOWN."
Clayton would have been in my zone if he was on a mission again. :) I spend all my time with my zone: aka Bulgarians, Czechs, Polish elders and sisters. They're all so great! Also, The Swedish elders and sisters study right across the hall! We see and chat with them all the time! So I'll be chatting it up with Sister Mecham here pretty soon!
We had our first Mission conference (aka whole MTC) and had two devotionals and it has all been super awesome. At the conference, the mtc president asked an elder to come up and bear his testimony. He is the first missionary to come from Syria and had a crazy story to tell. Along with another sister (who has already returned) who left on a mission even though her mom was going to pass away from cancer while she was gone. She came back to one brother. It made me sooooo grateful for you guys. When I think of family, the closest and best description I have is literally, "a portion of what heaven will be like." I seriously. Mmm. love you guys.
QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT: If any of you want to get in contact with me, emails work. They do. However, if you send a dear elder on wed, then I can read them in my not computer time and reply to you all! I also wanted to give two shout outs: Steph. She gave me my first rockin hand written letter. (More are encouraged. I'll write you back . . . Que creepy smile.) Second off to Pa. Who (and I quote) stated so eloquently, "Today marks a week already since we dropped your sorry tail on the curb!" Really that wasn't a shout out. I just thought you should all participate in what me me laugh. Sorry.
We've taught 5 lessons (kind of) in Slovene. Cough Cough.
And for the first time in my life, I can finally go to the temple and prayer with really specific questions. I am already loving the mtc life. I am learning so much love being here. Really it is the same feeling as the first time I came out of the temple, "I don't know what just happened. But I'm just so happy!" Yup. Anywho, I love you all. Sorry for the long email. or not sorry. You can choose. But the work is going and I look forward to hearing about your lives!
Lots of sisterly love,
Sestra Rhodes
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| Say that ten times fast... |
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| Me and Sestra Higgins |
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| Sister Redding, Sister Higgins, Me |
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| Sestra Redding and me |
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| This picture's for you mom. Thanks for the outfit! |
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| The classroom every day... "vsak dan, cel dan." |
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| Getting travel plans and obviously freaking out. |
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| Sack breakfasts were oddly one of my favorite meals. Because they were paired with gym clothes and service! |
This email feels infinitely long. Is that bugging you guys? I can tone it down a bit.
February 12, 2015
No one knows the meaning of this term. . . until you've been in the mtc and after two weeks have been teaching lessons in flipping Slovenian on almost a daily basis. Every day is like a bucket of ice water dumped on my head . . . and I LOVE it. Haha. So quick update:
First off....THANK YOU for the dear elders and packages and love from those of you who haven't sent me any of those . . . cough. I know you still love me ;) But really I do. I talk about all of you all the time to my comps and district! Speaking of zone . . . all the people in my zone leaving this week got temporarily reassigned. They are all going in states for a transfer . . . it doesn't usually happen to those going to Slovenia....but IF ("if . . . if is good.") I'm holdin out for the cornfields of Iowa. ;)
So, first week I get here. . . it comes up a play the piano. That Sunday we play at devotional . . .and in polite terms . . . we rocked it. Boom. Although my pedal leg was like a massage chair. Shaking like crazy. Also, there is practically negative amounts of time to practice, so my sight reading is going to skyrocket here because now I am one of the mtc accompanists. Who even knew that was a thing? I played for another audition today and literally looked at the music 10 before we auditioned and grabbed the same (Sister Olsen) violinist and we accompanied another singer. 20 minutes and we were done, and it went quite well. Two more next week. I've never been so loved. I'm also reeeeally grateful for the chance to keep playing when I can and know Heavenly Father's looking out for me! Go Klavier! (It's the same in German. :) Which . . .my accent still hasn't gone away.)
We have been teaching lessons like crazy, only there aren't two many people in utah who speak Slovene. So, we will be in class, then my teacher leaves and takes off his name tag and becomes the investigator....mental challenge number 371 of a mission. ;) We are having 'member lessons' with some other returned missionaries tonight, so it will be cool to teach people we don't know, in a language we don't know. . . . haha. Comfort zone? There isn't one. The idea of being comfortable is like a otter-pop in the middle of arizona. Lasts about 2 seconds before it's gone. Don't take this as complaining people. . . . I love it!
The worst part of my week: I am pretty sure the granola is permanently gone from the cafeteria. I thought it just ran out, I even told two workers, "Listen. If you have some sort of cafeteria meeting and you boss asks you about the granola situation. . . . please raise your hand in favor of bringing it back." Twice I told people that. It's my breakfast regular, come on now! Also (since food is somehow STILL a mystery here and that is almost the number one question) fruit choices are limited. I have eaten a bowl of cantaloupe and honeydoo approx every day . . . every meal. Sometimes I'll eat an apple....but I'm not going to put my mtc weekly wage on picking up a good one on the first try.
As odd as it is . . . I can't think of much to say. We learn, we eat, we wear our room keys and meal cards on a cool-kid toy on our hips, we . . .. oh wait! I remember! Gym time. Surprisingly enough (I can't imagine what it is) everyone thinks I played a ton of sports. Well I haven't played a ton, I'm not super awesome . . . (well, at least, my friends say that I am) but gym time is so much fun! We play basketball and volleyball, run, do some quality wall squats, all of the above and it is truly SUCH a nice break from the sitting and the sitting and the learning slovene and the sitting!!!
. . . someone is playing a pirates of the Caribbean song on the piano in the room next door . . .and I can't focus. Blah. Is that even allowed?
Ah yes, the temple. Today we went with our whole zone to do a session and it was wonderful! THEN (it gets better) we all went and ate breakfast in the cafeteria! It was so awesome. . . bacon. . . omelet. . . all things I haven't thought about in . . . well, two weeks. Haha. ONly 7 weeks left to learn this language and how to teach the gospel effectively. No pressure. I am loving every second of it though and I love every dear elder and thank you all for being amazing examples and friends and family . . . I love you all so much. In Slovene however that would be inappropriate. . . so "I have liking for you all!"
Hugs from provo . . .air hugs of coarse. Pretend that's a thing.
Love,
Sestra Rhodes
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| The MTC Slovenia district: Elder Peterson, Elder Rice, Me, Sister Higgins, Sister Redding |
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| Me, sister Olsen (Bulgaria), Sister Aubrey Taylor (Bulgaria) performing at MTC devotional! |
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| Esther (Sister Change) is in my piano studio at BYU and we ran into each other! |
February 19, 2015
Hi hi hi Momma!
YES! Did I get your package? Pahlease. It was so great! The apples and oranges and necklaces. You outdid yourself woman. But I loved it. Haha. Here was my appropriate response:
Actually that was from Jill. Can you send me her email? I am writing a letter back as well but wanted to send her that pic. Or you could forward it on and tell her how amazing and fun and delicious it was!
Haha, THAT was me with your package. Oh yes.
I got a within the weekend, a total of 6 packages! Lisa, you, Steph, Lindsey, Jill, Kristin Cunningham, and I got a valentine letter from Grandma Barton! I am so spoiled. Truth be told, I ate maybe 2 percent of the sweets. Too many. I shared everywhere. I gotta watch myself you know? The whole Gray thing is blowing my mind. My branch president came up to me and told me that someone was at a swim meet and said that he knew me...put 3 and 3 together: I took math in highschool from Mr. Melville, also the swim coach. Mr. Melville is the son of my branch president. So Gray and Mr. Melville were tight and a hello made it's way to the mtc through mr. melville's dad, aka my branch president. Funny stuff. Sounds like he is still keeping busy... so weird that he was just talking to you guys. It's like freaky friday...mission version....kind of. Or not. But it's crazy that we flopped spots so fast.
Anywho, I want to whip out a good mass email. But I love you so much momma! you are so supportive and I love hearing your dear elders and emails and packages. I talk about you lots to my companions and now I can show the pictures so thank you! You are such a good mom to me, and friend, and teacher, and laugher-wither. :) So glad I got sent to you! I'm praying and will fast for and with you guys. xoxoxoxo
Eri...ooops. Sestra Rhodes
ps.
if you could put these haley.brunsdale@myldsmail.net on the mass email list and dr. holden if he's not already, that would be great! And tooky11@hotmail.com
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoooooooooooooxxxxxxxxx
HAPPY BELATED VALENTINES DAY! (Take note of the outfit:)
can you send these to linds and tell her I was so happy and she has a letter in the mail? thanks!
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