9/11/13 | MTC

Hello family!!

How are you all doing?! I've been getting all of  your dear elders and they make me so happy. My district always gives me a hard time cause I get so many :). Well today is finally Pday and that is seriously the best feeling in the entire world. Sister Smith and I were looking at our schedule for the day and saw that we had 4 hours of unscheduled time...we have no idea what the heck we are going to do with all that free time! It is such a wonderful feeling :) 

Well mostly for Jenna's sake, let me give you a little run down of what actually goes down here at the MTC. On an average day, you wake up at 6 because 30 min is not quite enough time to get ready properly. Then you head over to our classroom where we meet up with the district. Sing, Pray and have an hour of personal study time. Then we have companion study time for 30 more minuets before breakfast where we share our study learning with our comps. Then we all head over to breakfast. It is usually something good. They always have oatmeal yum yum and so many cereals. I seriously have a bowl of fruit loops with every meal. Then after breakfast we go back to our classroom for 30-60 min of study time. Usually this is when we plan lessons for our investigators. (our investigators consist of role playing with one of our teachers and our TRC investigator) Then on days we have TRC, we go teach our TRC investigator. We did that for the first time yesterday and it was an epic fail. We get there and and the lesson is going just fine for about 5 min. Then the supervisor taps on the door and motions to sister smith that we have 1 min left. We are supposed to have 40 min total. So she about has a heart attack and I'm like great, thats totally fine. So we finish our little getting to know Hely Meza (That is straight up her real name) tell her that God loves her and that we would love to come back on thursday. The end bye. Turns our they double booked our districts TRC time with another district and everything got messed up. Whoops. Oh well, it was really a good experience because I'm willing to bet that stuff like that will happen out there in the real mission world. Well maybe we wont be kicked out by some elders that want to teach our investigator but you get the point. Then we have class time for 3 hours straight with sister gibson. She is a really good teacher but super intense. She kinda reminds me of Janelle DeGroot only I like Janelle better :). In class we do alot of role play and learning. Lots of learning. Your mind is ready to explode by lunchtime but it better not because you have another 3 hour block of class time with brother sherk right after lunch. Lunch is usually really fun because we all get a little crazy from sitting in class for so long. Elder Readhead (the one from england) has been telling us the history of the world according to England. It is seriously hilarious. Yesterday he told us about the Irish potato famine and this is how it went: The Irish seriously love their potatoes. One year, their potatoes didnt grow, so instead of eating their sheep, pigs, cows or anything else they had readily avalible, Then hopped on a boat and came to America. Ok I just realized how not funny that story sounds, but imagine a giant british man yelling that in the cafeteria. Really funny :) Then after our second block of class time, we have Zone Teaching. Which is basically one more hour of class time with our entire zone which is three districts, mine, one that is going to tampa and one going to uganda, english speaking, I didnt even know that was a thing...In zone teaching yesterday, I made sister smith cry. We were going on our amost 5th hour straight of role playing (let me tell you it gets a little old after that long) and i was being our TRC investigator. So I pull out my best spanish accent (Seester smeeth!) and she just couldnt handle it and starts laughing so hard she is crying. now it probably didnt help when I turned russian :). and our teacher kept looking at her like what the heck is wrong with you cause i was doing really well with keeping a straight face. ha. So then you go to dinner and have more cereal (2 bowls for dinner) and learn more about how the british dont really learn or acknowlage the revolutionary war...awkward. Then you have more study time in the classroom for an hour, plan with your companion and go back to your residence. Were you get ready for bed, write in your journals and talk about the funny things that happened that day with the sisters. I LOVE THE MTC! Some days you have Gym time. our district has been playing volleyball together and its really fun. On tuesday and sunday nights you have a devotional and it is really really great. The one last night was by Elder Martino. he talked about the importance of having a member be at your lessons. Which is cool cause we had been talking about that as a district earlier and were trying to figure out the requirement of having a member with you at some lessons. But elder martino set us straight. Having a member with you can be so beneficial for the investigator. we went over the story of alma and amulek and how amulek was like the less active that alma brought back to church and then took him with him to preach and my mind is kinda blanking right now but it was really good. I think its in Alma 8:10. go read it. Sundays feel so wonderful. we had the best sacrement meeting i have ever been in my whole life. They have everyone prepare a talk and then the announce who will be speaking after the sacrement and you dont know if it will be you until then and its crazy nerve racking. I didnt have to speak last sunday so that was good.

There are these videos we have been using in class that the new york times made. It's called one in 8 million and its really cool. They have a bunch of small clips on people they found around the city. We watch one, then pretend they are our investigator and plan what you would teach them. because we teach people here, not lessons. You'll learn that very quickly here spanky. 

Sister Smith and I got a calling on sunday. We are the Sister Training Leaders. That means we get to welcome our new district in tonight with the zone leaders and go over stuff with them. Basically be a good example for them while we are here. I am also the "Travel Mum" when we fly out. Elder Readhead started calling me that so now my whole district does. The real name of is is Travel Leader. But i was looking over my responsibilities and basically I just have to make sure we all act like missionaries while traveling and dont miss our flights etc. so travel mum it is.  

Oh so apparently I failed the stress test we all have to take so they made me go to a workshop in the clinic...yay. I was scheduled to go today but i really didnt want to do that on my Pday so i went to see if i could reschedule. so we went and they told me no i couldnt but that i could do it right then. we only had 15 min before class so they said they could make it a 10 min instead of 30 min workshop. Thats exactly what i like to hear. So we get in there and i see a picture of Cameron Gibons on the desk. I ask the shrink his name and he's totally Camerons dad! I told him my dad was Coach Bailey and he just goes on and on about how great dad is bla bla bla seriously for like ever. So dad, you are even popular here at the MTC ;). Also Nate Haug is here!! I see him in the cafeteria almost everyday! I talked to him the other day, i think he said he is going to argentina...or mexico... He is excited Spencer is coming. Hopefully they will see eachother. Elder Parker in my district is from AF and it turns out he is Jessie Ivins cousin! crazy huh! he is really great.  AND OH MY GOODNESS I SAW PRESIDENT AND SISTER ANDERSON. but I'm guessing you already knew that, he probably told you eh? I was sitting in the massive MTC wide RS on sunday on the second row and i look back and there they are sitting in the very back. so after the meeting i rush over and say hi to them. :) they are so nice and i love them. 

Thank you thank for for your love and support. I think of ya'll often and hope you are doing well. Tell Bailey raw raw raw Roar! 

OH before I sign off. let me tell you about elder Issertell. he just graduated from high school so he's 18 and just the sweetest little homesick missionary. the first few days he cried a bit...alot. and we sang families can be together forever on sunday and he lost it. he's just the sweetest thing. he is also pretty OCD. he has more hair products than i do and he uses a blow dryer to do his one inch of hair every morning. He caries a glasses cleaning cloth around so he can keep his badge shiny and finger print free. haha. He also had a little freak out the other day when he realized that he couldnt remember what medicines you could and couldnt take together. sister smith and i started explaining it to him and he shhhed sister smith and said, "I'm going to listen to what sister bailey tells me cause she reminds me of my mom" hahaha 

and let me tell you a bit more about sister smith. She is very very smart. She has a photographic memory and remembers every scripture reference...ever. which has been really nice and usefull. She also is always right...always. or just really thinks she is. I love her though. we get along really well. she makes up analogies on the spot during our lessons and it reminds me of mom.

Ok time to go. does spencer come in at 12:30? cause I have free time then. and most of the rest of the day. hope to see you this afternoon. Love you all! My next p day will be in Philly!!!

Love, Sister Bailey

and you're gunna hear me ROARRRRAAAAAH!