Week 3 Learning Everything 9/23/2017

Hello my beautiful friends and family!

I dearly hope that this email finds you all well! This week was also great. I am learning SO much. I am learning about how to be a good teacher, how to explain things in simple terms, how to love everyone unconditionally, and how to do all that IN SPANISH! I love it! Spanish is such a beautiful language. I am so so grateful for the opportunity that I have to learn it.

I want to thank everyone for all the letters, packages, and emails I have gotten. I really appreciate it and It makes me feel so loved! You guys rock!

Yesterday during lunch my companion and I were eating with two other sisters from our district and this older couple came and sat down next to us. I didn't think much of it because there are senior missionary couples who come to the MTC too. We got to talking to them and he was a general authority! (For those who don't know a general authority is someone in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who has a full time calling as their job to serve and love and preside over the church.) He was an area seventy for the north eastern states (like virginia!). His name was something like Steinfeld or Stanfield. I can't remember exactly. But it was so cool because he just RADIATED the Savior's love. He also told me about someone in my mission who he knows! I will be looking for them! 

So every week in my district we do Fluent Friday (o No Ingles Viernes). It's where we try our hardest to speak only Spanish ALL DAY. It is very mentally exhausting. Anyway, my companion and I decided that for every word in English we said throughout the day we had to do one sit up. Well this morning I did 50 sit ups... I was studying in English and I turned to her to share something really cool and I explained it in English on accident and she totally called me out. It was actually really funny at the time because I completely forgot about Fluent Friday. We had a good laugh. 

For those in the Wyoming Ward: Becka (sp?) Wadsworth works at the MTC and I've been able to see her twice! It's really refreshing seeing someone from home. :) 

My companion and I are getting a lot better at teaching by the spirit. It is so incredible to feel the Spirit tell me to say something and then I say it and to see the look on the person I am teaching's face. It is AMAZING. GUYS. This is all so true! This church is the only true and complete church of God!

On Tuesday Quentin L Cook came and spoke to us for devotional! For those who don't know, Quentin L Cook is and APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST. A real living apostle like Peter, James or John! It was awesome to have him come and talk to all the missionaries. He told some awesome stories about when he was on his mission. ALSO, I am in the MTC choir and I don't know if you guys can view the MTC devotionals, but try to! Because I'll be on the screen in the choir! 

Speaking of the Choir, it's pretty much the coolest. The choir is HUGE. But, when we sing our voices are united and I always feel the spirit. The choir director also always tells us really cool stories and so that makes choir practice really fun. Did you know that the song Nearer My Go to Thee is about Jacob's ladder? Super cool! 

Anyway, I love you all. If you have any questions or anything cool you want to tell me, please email! I am having trouble sending pictures to everyone and so if you want to see pictures, please contact my mom(donnasdaiesies@hotmail.com)! 

STAY STRONG MY FRIENDS. 

Philippians 1:2-4

--

-Hermana Lara Richardson

Answers to questions from Mom:

Well, a typical day we get up, get ready then go to breakfast at 7:15. Then we usually have class in the morning for 3 hours or so. Then we have study time and then lunch. Then more study time and then exercise time! Then we have class again for 3 or so hours. Every day is some close variation of that. (:

I'll try to take some more pictures. I just never think about it haha.

So when I say class, I mean that we either learn about Spanish (how to speak it and such) or we learn in Spanish how to teach and just how to be a good missionary. We have two teachers that rotate. Hermana Fisher (she served her mission in North Carolina Spanish Speaking) as well as Hermano Mella (he served in Argentina). They are both super duper awesome and I can feel the love that they have for us when they teach us. We talk about Preach My Gospel a lot and we have Language Learning Books that have activities that we have to do.

Sundays are not really a day of rest haha. We go to church at 8:30am and then we go to lunch and then we get to go on a temple walk. It's so cool. We walk together, as a district to the temple. Sometimes we sing but we mostly just talk about life. 

Our district is a pretty large district. Most districts are 10 or so people, we have 16! I love every one of those goobers though! We have some characters for sure. We have started assaigning everyone cartoon characters. Elder Beeson and Elder Wynn are Doofinshmertz and Perry the Platapus from Phineus and Ferb! They are hilarious! WE also have Gizelle from Enchanted (Hermana Ferré), Moana (Hermana Tanuvassa), Alex the Lion from Madagascar (Elder Florence), Ramon from Happy Feet, (Hermana Enriquez), and Branch from Trolls (Elder Valencia). We are working on getting everyone but that gives a little taste of how silly we all are. I'll ask if anyone wants you to write them.

I don't know if we will get to sing at General Conference! I SURE HOPE SO! They do tape the devotionals here and I wish you could access them! 

Love, 

Hermana Richardson

P.S. Feel free to share any of this info with the blog fam!