Back in the Motherland

Wow this past week has been crazy. I'm officially at the MTC (Missionary Training Center) and it's definitely true what they say about the days feeling like weeks and the weeks feeling like days. I have no idea where this past week went, but the days all felt soo long. Regardless I love it here. I have the same view of the mountains that I had at BYU cause it's like a mile down the road and it makes me so at home even though its all new. My class/disctrict has 6 elders y 4 hermanas and I love them all so much. Its amazing to me how easy my life has been after talking to some of the health, family, etc struggles that many of them have gone through. We all have so much fun together which really makes the time just fly. I've laughed so much in this past week! The Spanish is coming along. I continually feel super blessed that languages are something that I'm good at cause it's almost all we do here haha. Okay so that's not true. But they start by teaching language and then they start teaching you how to teach investigors. The past few lessons have been a little frustrating to me since they do it in that order, and also cause they kinda want you to learn by making mistakes. Figuring out the balance between being their friend and teaching the lessons have been a little bit of a struggle for me, but Hermano Nordfelt (one of our teachers) said it comes with practice. I can't think of too many specific stories to tell, we just laugh a lot as a district, especially us hermanas. Hermana Shaw is my companion and she is just awesome. She's from Seattle and just graduated high school, but also is somehow older than me which we laugh about all the time. Hermana Schaat is from rexburg and she's definitely the responsible one of the hermanas. Hermana Kinikini is just hilarious and super social. Like stops to meet random people and learn their life stories all the time. Shes visa waiting right now, but we really hope we get her for the whole 6 weeks. Like a couple of my friends have said, missionary work is exhausting. Despite getting 8 hours of sleep we are all just tired all the time. It's super funny to just look around during class, devotionals, lunch, etc and see who's falling asleep. I've seen so many friends here from BYU which has been such a blessing, including Talon (my brother who works at teh MTC). Our zone is awesome. All the hermanas are just the nicest people and have great stories to tell. I'm gonna miss all of them when we all leave. Other than that, P-Day is great! I'm so glad to be here, and to my family members I'm loving the letters! The gospel is true, love you all!

Hermana Bree

so the pictures aren't working on any of these computers so I'm sorry. I'll try again later

First Letter and a Surprise Photo

(Sent by Sister Bree at 11:51am)

I Survived!

So, we only have about 10 minutes to quickly write to our families, but so far the MTC has been great! Only 3 people in my district are going to the same mission, the rest of us are going all over, but mostly stateside. My companion is Hermana Shaw and she is also great. She's from Seattle and is going to South Carolina so she keeps asking me about the East Coast since the furthest east she'd ever been is Chicago. She underestimates the power of humidity haha. Spanish has been going good so far. It's surprising to me how much I remember.  Our room is surrounded by Russian speaking sisters so that's been lots of fun! They always seem very surprised when an Hermana walks up and greets them in Russian. I've run into a handful of friends so far from BYU and it has been such a blessing to see familiar faces. It started when I ran into Sister Pinnock only 5 minutes after I got into the MTC (she's been in my ward all three semesters). The other two hermanas in my district are Hermana Schaat and Hermana Kinikini. Hermana Schaat is going to Las Vegas (Kaila's mission) and Hermana Kinikini is here waiting for her visa before she goes to Guadalajara Mexico. We don't really know each other super well yet, but they seem pretty great to me. Can I just say that missionary work is humbling! It seems like every time you feel confident you're shot down, but the spirit is strong and the whole point of being here is to learn so I'm not too worried. The church is true, and I'll talk to you on Wednesday! Love you!

Hermana Johnson

 

(And back to me.....)

 

From this we glean three important pieces of information. One, I should have named this blog Hermana Bree in DC - didn't think that one through very well.  Two, her preparation day must be on Wednesday, so that's the day to look for letters!  Three, she is happy and learning and her first day has gone well.  Smiles all around!

A little later today I received this fun photo series:

Sister Bree, henceforth renamed Hermana Bree,  has a brother going to BYU who happens to work at the MTC and was there for his shift when she came in to eat. Of course, all greetings with opposite gendered persons have to be at arm's length, although I don't think her brother would have counted.  They will get to see each other quite a few times during her MTC stay.  Please make her dinner extra delicious, Talon! 

 

Happy Day 1 Hermana Bree.

It's Official

At 1pm today it was officially official.  Sister Bree entered the MTC for her 18 month mission to the Washington DC North mission.  She will spend 6 weeks here learning Spanish and preparing to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with anyone who would like to hear it.

I got to hear from her one more time before she walked in the doors.  First the good news: her luggage had been found, yes in Fargo, and flown back to UT.  It was set for arrival by the end of the day.  Terrific!  And the bad news: boy am I going to miss this girl!!  She will be wonderful and courageous and strong and bubbly, like always.  But I will miss her terribly.

Marvelous Mary once again paid me a kindness with a parting shot:

 

I won't hear her voice again until Christmas.  That seems like a very, very long time.  And yet, I wouldn't have it any other way.  

Be amazing Sister Bree.  Adventure awaits!!

Destination - Fargo?

As per Johnson family tradition, the trip to and/or from the mission has to be memorable.  Sister Bree didn't disappoint.  Her first flight from Missouri was delayed by 40 minutes.  This was a problem because her connecting flight only allowed her a 45 minute layover.  This was now cut to 5 minutes!

Since I had been tracking her flights, I knew that she would even have to go to a different terminal.  It would be incredibly close.  Then, much to my surprise, I watched her connecting flight take off early.  Sister Bree hadn't even left her first plane before the second one was in the air.  Even though she didn't have a phone, I knew what had happened and waited for some kind of call.  About 30 minutes later, an unknown number rang in - a kind fellow passenger had shared her phone.  Sister Bree was letting me know she had, indeed, missed her flight and a new one had been scheduled for several hours later.  She would get to spend some quality time alone in an airport. Since she is a seasoned traveler, this really wasn't a big deal, more an inconvenience.

The part that was harder to coordinate with no phone was her ride from the airport in Salt Lake.  Sister Bree left a message for her friend, Mary, but wasn't able to speak to her directly and didn't know if the new pick-up time would work. I assured her that I would make certain someone was there to get her.

Wonderful Mary texted me not too long after and assured me that the new time was still just fine. A few hours later, I received this:

Hooray!

Then, shortly afterward, things were not so happy.  The carefully packed suitcases had not arrived in Utah.  After a very tedious amount of time, they "possibly" located them in Fargo.

Fargo, North Dakota.

Perhaps the first excursion on either side of our family histories to Fargo.  Something to be proud of?

The airline gave her a number to try and track her luggage and hoped it could be located and delivered to the MTC.  Not exactly the smooth transition we had hoped for her.  She would now have only the clothes she was wearing, a skirt in her duffle, a change of unmentionables, and a few basic toiletries planned for her overnight stay. Once again, Mary came through for her and added a couple more shirts and some toothpaste, just in case the suitcases took a few days to arrive.  Thank you!

I got a great phone call just before bed letting me know that the frustrating day had turned out well and she was happy and comfortable with a  friend.  Let's hope for some good news tomorrow!

Taking Off!

That alarm did ring way too early! A mere 3 1/2 hours of sleep is not enough. I (Mom) made breakfast while Sister Bree showered and finished last minute details. There were hugs here at home and a few more tears.  We are sure going to miss her while she is gone!  Since Sister Bree's father works near the airport, he loaded her bags into the car and made the drive with her while I stayed behind and got everyone else off to school. He was kind enough to send me a farewell photo.

As I type this, I keep checking her flight status.  She is now taking off and will end up today in Utah, a familiar place, but with so much changed since she is now a missionary.  She doesn't have phone or internet access, so I'm counting on the people who will be kindly hosting her today to let me know she has arrived.  She will enter the MTC tomorrow and then it's all officially official.  Good luck my beautiful Bree!

Final Weekend at Home

Sister Bree's final weekend at home was a busy one!  We had an open house/farewell party on Friday night for friends, neighbors and church members.  It was so nice to celebrate Bree's next adventure with people who mean so much to us.  We finished most errands on Saturday, she went to the temple with her Dad and two of her sisters and she finalized her talk.  She gave a terrific address in church on Sunday about why we share the gospel of Jesus Christ, then spent the remainder of the day relaxing, sorting things from her room and making memories with her family.

Monday took Bree and I on an excursion to the St Louis Zoo.  She had wanted to go see the polar bear all summer and time had escaped us.  Even though there were so many things to do instead, we wandered the entire zoo and ended up loving the penguins most of all,  though, admittedly, the polar bear was quite cute. 

We picked up late lunch on the way home and jumped into the final tasks.  She delivered a beautiful, framed drawing to the Adams', the family she was a nanny for this summer and loves like crazy.  I'm so unhappy that I forgot to photo copy it! We ate her favorite dinner, cafe rio style burritos and prepared for our stake president to arrive for our family home evening and setting apart.  For those who don't know, the setting apart is a special blessing given before beginning a new calling or area of service in our church.  This setting apart blessing is specifically to be a missionary and includes words of direction, comfort and blessing.  It was a sweet experience for our family to be together for this and more than a few of us needed a tissue.

Then to the final business of last minute packing and room cleaning. Bree and I stayed up much too late, but finished everything and fit it all into her two suitcases and duffle - with weight to spare! Our heads didn't hit the pillow until after 1am, so the 5am alarm will be painful, but there are no regrets.  It was a fabulous, jam packed, full of incredible things and quite a few tears, four days.