Jessica's FIRST EMAIL October 12th, 2013

October 12th, 2013
Jessica's FIRST email came today! Here it is:

Helloooooo family!!! How are you all doing?! It is day 3 here at the MTC and I feel like I have been here for months. Great, fun, exciting months. People say that the weeks feel like days and the days feel like weeks. I guess it's because I've only been here for 3 days that the days just feel like weeks... I sent you a letter on Thursday morning so hopefully you got that/ will get that soon. That talked all about the first day so I won't waste time on that!!
 

Thank you soooo much Sister Bertha!!! She sent me cinnamon rolls and 2 very nice and encouraging letters!!! Mail really is the best thing here. I also got a letter from Christie. Thanks chris. Love you!! Thanks for the email dad. That was really nice. And mom I saw the dear elder you sent but haven't gotten the print out yet. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.

There are a few thing I seem to have forgotten so mother, if you could get those to me that would be great!! Oh! And christie said she couldn't send anything till you knew what campus I was on, so I am on the main campus! Yayyyyy. It's just the address I told you before I left. So I would love like 3 skirt hangers. Just the cheapie clip ones. Still no signs of diet coke... CASEYYY. :) I would love a pack of pens if possible!! Either the WOW or the PROFILE. One od those is pentel and I can't remember which but those two are my faves. I also need a pair of jeans because that is what we wear at the MTC on Pdays. Mom I think my only pair of not skinny jeans are the abercrombie ones in one of the two drawers of my dresser. thanks! 

Ok. So let me tell you a little bit about my time at the MTC so far. My companion is Sister Green. She is from Arizona. We are sooo different but we get along well. She is pretty goofy, like pretty dry humor, and she totally makes me laugh. sometimes. A few sister Green stories so you know what this person who I spend 24/7 is like...

For 1 thing, I guess I walk fast (thanks to mom and treks through the mall) so I am always accidently walking like 4 feet in front of sister green. yesterday she was like, sister!! We need to work on walking together. So she made me hold onto her thing where we keep our ID cards on our waste. They pull out like maybe a foot. It actually worked, but we looked pretty lame. I gotta work on that though!!! 

So our classroom (where we spend like 12 hours a day) hasthis awful tree that blocks the window. Like I literally loose track of time in that lovely place and have no idea if it's daytime or pitch black outside. So yesterday I was saying how much I hate the tree and I said we should chop it down to give our lives a little bit of happiness. She stopped writing, lokked at me with the most serious look I have ever seen, and said "I don't think that's a good idea sister richmond." Good thing it was a joke! !haha

Then we went into this other room to study and there was a super nice huge flat screen. I said we should watch a movie and she didn't think it was so funny...

Last night she said something. Not even sure what, but I was so sleep deprived that I just kept laughing. She was like "sister richmond, I never know if you are laughing with me or at me..." I am laughing WITH her. I really do like her and enjoy her company!! Oh sister green...

Please tell sister heap that I said hi to Ben Patch for her like she asked he said hello to all the heaps! 

GYM TIME IS THE BEST TIME!!! Oh my goshhhh. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't work out... like ever. Well yesterday was the first time we got to workout. I was sooo excited.I have never been so excited to workout. Or excited at all. But I was pumped. Sister green not so much. I had to dragg her to the gym but we spit up once we got there. Mansy circuit told me that she would run to gym time and was so excited to just have a little break, get some energy, etc. SO TRUE!!! I tried running there but sister green's dang ID pully thing wouldn't allow it. It really made me so much happier though. 

Another thing that makes me happy is seeing familiar faces!!! I have fun into a few friends!

Sister Cattich (from madison's stake in CO. met her at BYU)

Sister Madsen (Ella from Santa Cruz. From the dorms)

Sister Foutz (from summer term at byu)

And Dallin Frandsen (Jessica's husband. He teaches here)

Ok Mom asked me to do a top 10 every weeks so here ya go...

1. GYM TIME!!!!

2. chocolate milk

3. No shots! Casey and Daniel are liars!!

4. we can bear our testimonies in tagalog!

5. Cinnamon rolls from sister Bertha

6. mail

7. my district is legitttt

8. my pillow is pretty comf

9. Hearing the bells after the BYU game

10. Our investigator Julio

Tagalog is hard... but it is coming along!! We can pray and bear a simple testimony now. well kinda. I need to use my notes still. The goal is by tonight to pray with no notes. We taught our first lesson yesterday to Julio, in TAGALOG. haha it was pretty rough. Hopefully Monday's lesson goes better!!! I am doing well and love you all lots. Please send mail :) It helps. I was pretty down on Thursday night, but I realized I was being selfish, lazy, dramatic, and dumb. SO I am good now!! I am happy to be on a mission and can't wait to teach people about this gospel!! 

Here is my testimony in Tagalog so you can get an idea of what it looks like. 

Alam ko po na totoo po ang Aklat ni Mormon. Alam ko po na Mahalga po an ebanghelyo ni Jesucristo para sa niyo. Alam ko po na Mapagmahal po an ating Ama sa Langit. Alam ko po na propeta po si Thomas S. Monson. Mahal po tao ng Diyos. Sa pangalan ni Jesucristo. Amen. 

Translation: 

I know that the book of Mormon is true. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is important for you. I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet. God loves us. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

K I am going to try to send some pictures your way!!! I love you all so much. Thank you for your support! You are the best. Praying for you all daily. WRITE ME. 

Love, Sister Richmond

PS- sorry this is so long... so much to tell you!!!! <3

SHE THEN SENT THIS EXPLAINING THE FOLLOWING PICTURES: 

 OK so none of my emails or pictures are showing up in my sent mail... hopefully you got them all. PLEASE let me know!! Here are what the pictures are of so you know what's up.

-The pic of me and a girl where I am holding my bag of books. She was my host

-4 girls in a bedroom. me and the other 3 girls in my district

-4 girls 2 boys in cafeteria. my whole district

-boys and cinnamon rolls. thanks sis bertha!!! 

-Map pic. girls in my district. all 3 of them are going to the neighboring mission though.

-Ron's painting?!??! amirite?!

4 girls in classroom. best purchase. ID holder things

-me at computer- hacking into my email. jk jk I would never

-me in stripped skirt. yummy cinnamon roll!!

-selfie- Me and the comp

-GYM TIME!!! 

-me with cup. Caffine free!!

-me and blonde girl in cafeteria. Sister Madsen!!!

-me and comp with DC. np caffine but still good i giess

-me and comp. i got hurt she was pretending to care

-me and terrible view of tree

OUT OF TIME. BYE