Christmas at the MTC

 This Christmas did not feel like Christmas very much. And when we did do Christmas activities I was really missing home. Christmas Eve day they put on a nativity, MTC's Got Talent, Scavenger Hunt, a performance by Jenny Oaks Baker Family, and caroling around the Tree of Life with hot chocolate and donuts. That night was so fun!

Christmas day we had a devotional with Elder Stevenson of the quorum of the twelve and his wife! It was great, he and his wife read us Luke 2 and talked about the gifts we give to the people we teach as missionaries; the gift of the restoration, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the gift of the Atonement and the gift of the Book of Mormon. I also got to talk to my parents on Christmas which was the best! They gave me a pillow with Bosco printed on it so he can be with me on my mission!! 

After sacrament meeting we watched Lexi Walker and Dallyn Bayles sing, and we watched the Christ Child. This video about Christ's birth just brings me so much peace and I feel His love for me every time I watch it! In Sister Stevenson's talk she was talking about how God gives us babies when He wants something done. We were born at the time we were so we can meet and help the people in our lives now. I know I am here in the MTC at the exact right time I'm supposed to be. So many sisters in my district had to wait months before receiving their call, but I am so glad because these sisters were the best Christmas gift God could give me!

After our Christmas activities, we met up as a district to talk about Christmas traditions we did at home. When we were finished with that we were playing Uno, throwing and catching mini starbursts in our mouths, and on the way back to our residence halls, we built a mini snowman and had a short lived snowball fight!! 

On Tuesday we had another general authority speak to us! Elder McKonkie III spoke to us about Czechoslovakia and how missionary work came to be there. It was a miracle! He talked about how to expect miracles and the power we have as missionaries. It was such a great devotional and I learned a lot and felt inspired!

Pictures:

-winter weather

-MTC's Got Talent 

-Christmas Lights

-Sisters in my District. Sister taking our photo said "Say 'Tax Evasion!!'" Hilarious 

-me and my Comp. Sis. Phillips

-my Bosco pillow

Temple Trip

 The sisters in Brinlee's District were able to take a quick road trip to the Timpanogos temple.  On their way they passed the Lindon Tagg N Go and she said it made her day.  That girl still bleeds TnG.  

She said she had a neat experience doing work for one of Sister Willy's ancestors while she was there and it made for a pretty special day.  

Planted a seed?

 Aunt Shelli sent this picture over of Uncle Mike getting home from his mission.  Brinlee is there to greet him as he gets off the plane from North Carolina, the neighboring mission to the north of hers.  Pretty cool!

1st week at the MTC

 Made it through my first week! I can't believe it's already been a week. The days are long and busy but I am loving it! I love my companion, Sister Phillips, we are getting along so well. I love my classes and personal and companion studies. 

Some fun things: in our free time, the sisters in my district throw gummy bears, swedish fish candies into each other's mouths, playing foosball with a person on every pole, the group chat of pictures of elders falling asleep in classes. 

Some tender mercies: I ran into the temple worker who walked with me throughout my endowment! How crazy is that!! We even got a picture together. We found a study room with comfy chairs, a beautiful mural of a lavender field, outlooking the mountains and Provo temple, AND it plays piano music. I love having music to study and it just made me feel so loved to find that spot for personal and companion study. I found a tiny duck toy thing on the ground in one of my classes. That is just SO random that this was on the ground, but how perfect because I collect rubber ducks so it was just a little sign from Heavenly Father that He is aware of me!

Spiritual things: Bonnie H. Cordon spoke to us on Tuesday! She had a wonderful message of how we are all meant to be on Earth at this exact moment in time and Heavenly Father has so much in store for us and will put people in our lives for a reason! I truly believe that. I am getting along so well with all the sisters in my district. I love them all so much. Their amazing faith and relationship with Heavenly Father has helped me and my testimony grow so much!

The MTC is all decorated for Christmas and it's beautiful! There are lights in all the trees and there's even a big tree that's like the tree of life from Lehi's vision! So cool! It's also been snowing a lot here so it's cold, but it's so pretty and fun!

Drop off at the MTC

Brinlee got a free lunch at the Brick Oven in Provo, a little perk from the owners there.  The place was packed with outgoing missionaries, maybe for that reason, or that it's just close to the MTC.  Grandma and Grandpa Emery were able to come down to have lunch and see her off.  

There was a pretty snow storm happening in Provo.  We said our good byes at the Marriott center since we heard you unload at the curb and get rushed out of there.  They were actually really accommodating and gave us as much time under the parking structure, away from the snow, as we wanted to take.  Brinlee was ready to go and took off.  Didn't even give us time to snap a picture of her walking away.  That girl is ready to serve!

 

 I know we don't call it a farewell anymore, but Brinlee did a great job on her talk on December 11th.  She had a lot of family and friends come to see her off.