So first of all, leaving the MTC was so sad. I loved it there so much. Life was probably a little too easy there. At least it became too easy. On what was supposed to be our last day of instruction, our teacher wasn't there, and our two other teachers were out of town for a conference. We found out that the one teacher was in the hospital because his arm got infected (yes, that can happen). So we didn't have a teacher for our last day and they told us to conduct our own studies. Well that was so not going to happen. Our district talked to the MTC President and he let us walk to the hospital in Chorley and go see our teacher. We all signed a card and then walked over. It was like a ten minute walk. We got there and he was actually just getting ready to check out because everything was all good, so we gave him the card talked a bit, met his wife, and headed back. I guess when I write it out, it sounds simple and uneventful, but it was super exciting to us. People don't usually just leave the MTC like that.
Well, on Wednesday, after many hours of departure orientation from the previous day we headed to the airport. Let me tell you, I have never been so scared in my life. I think the word I used in my journal was petrified. On the way to the airport, my district of five missionaries was freaking out. Sister Arnold and I kept telling each other that we couldn't believe we actually signed up for this of our own free will. There are not many churches where teenagers hop over to Europe and start teaching the gospel in a language they don't know to a culture they are not familiar with. This is actually insane, BUT I have one thing that makes it completely and totally ok. Faith. Heavenly Father knows what He's doing. He is watching over me, is proud of me for doing this, and wants to see me do well. Being scared is normal. We are all humans, but if we have to rememeber not to be dismayed because the Lord our God is with us withersoever we go. ITS SO AMAZING!!!
We spent our first night at the mission home in Munich where we ate dinner and did some training. The dinner was amazing. Sister Miles is a wonderful cook.
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| Me & Sister Powell |
Later on in the evening we were put with our new companions. Drum roll please.....SISTER POWELL!!! She is so awesome. She is from Arizona and has been super great about answering my questions and helping me out with my adjustment to the mission field. The next morning we were off to Ludwigsburg together.
We got to the train station in Munich and there was a whole cluster of missionaries and their suitcases there already. We all just stood there and talked with one another until our trains left. It was cool too because missionaries from parts of Austria, Switzerland, and Germany were all coming in from their trains to be transfered to their next areas. My whole MTC district was still there but we were all dreading saying goodbye to each other. We literally spent all day everyday together for six weeks. You get really close to people when stuff like that happens. One by one, they all filtered away on their respective trains and it was so sad. It's like saying goodbye to siblings you are really close with and having no idea when or if you'll see them again. Ok so I will see Sister Arnold and Elder Lynch again because we all ended up in the same zone, so we'll see each other on June 3rd for zone conferences. Elder Marley went to Zurich Switzerland, and Elder Werner went to Innsbruck Austria. I'm just praying that we will all get together again at some point because they are all awesome people and I feel so blessed to have been able to get to know them.
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| In da square |
Anywho, Sister Powell and I got on our train to Stuttgart and it was the most amazing thing ever. 12 missionaries, and 24 suitcases...big suitcases. Thank goodness for elders, because I didn't have to lift my suitcases once, but it was really amazing when we got to Stuttgart watching all of the suitcases get ripped off the train by some elders in a matter of a couple minutes. I was thoroughly impressed. Sister Powell and I took one more train and then a bus to get to our apartment in Ludwigsburg, and that was it. Our apartment is fantastic. Super clean and modern, and there are disney princesses on my bed. Anyone who knows me knows that is doesn't get much better than that.
Ludwigsburg Ward is on fire right now. My planner is already packed with appointments. We have inactive families and investigators. The ward makes lots of eating appointments with us so we get lots of good food, and we talk about family mission plans and stuff. It's great.
Ludwigsburg itself is so pretty. It is a little city outside of Stuttgart. There is a castle, that Sister Powell and I are going to see on one of the upcoming p-days, and there are loads of little villages that look a lot like the kingdom in frozen.
Yesterday we went to our ward mission leader's home to skype our families for Mothers Day. It was so fun. We made pizza and at 6 I got to talk to my family. Just so everyone knows, they are alive and well.
I don' have much time left. Sorry this one is so long, but loads has happened. Here is my address for the next 12 weeks. This gets things directly to my apartment. The Munich address gets things to the mission office. I get that mail once a month so decide what you think is best, but here is my apartment:
Kirche Jesu Christi HLT
Sister Smiley
Simanowizstrasse 11
71640 Ludwigsburg
Make good choices!
Sister Anna Banana Smiley
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