Hi family!!! As I write you today, there are tears rolling down my cheeks. I love you all so much! I am so happy here even if my face doesn't show it right now! This was an amazing week as a missionary! I feel like every day here is 30 hours because we do sooo much and I am constantly learning and never have time to just think! HOWEVER, I wish every day could be 40 hours! There is sooo much more I want to be able to do!! So many more words I want to learn, and lessons I want to teach, and people I want to serve, and food I want to eat! (I got the best packages this week and haven't eaten one single thing from them--yet!) This week when we all realized it was our month mark so many emotions hit us! How has God taught me SOOO much in just 4 weeks? Only 1 month! I think for me, its mostly been a shock of how fast this is going! I don't want to regret anything on my mission and only having 24 hours in a day makes that rough. I only have 17 months left? BUT THERE IS SO MUCH TO LEARN!!!!! I have been a missionary for 5 weeks! Time is seriously FLYING by!
Companions are still so great! I love them! Some of you were wondering if they are coming to my mission with me or what. All 3 of us are going to Slovenia! When we get there there will be 8 sisters in Slovenia! That is a lot!!!! since it is such a small place. I am guaranteed to be companions with them again in the field because we rotate every six to nine weeks. How great! Its a good thing I like them!
Slovene language is coming along! We learned this week that they might keep us for 10 weeks here because the week we are supposed to leave is the week before General Conference! Since there is basically no one who knows how to speak Slovene, there is no one to translate the talks for the Slovenian members. So in Slovenia they all get together and a missionary stands at the front and translates the talk as it is given.... so if they send us, we could get some good translating skills the first weekend! Haha so scary! Our teachers are having us translate scriptures every day and during devotionals and other church meetings. We all translate as they happen! I am getting pretty good!
The rest of last Thursday went great! After writing home, we went back to our residence where I took my first nap as a missionary (apart from when I was so sick) it was AWESOME!!!!!! I slept like a rock! I needed that after writing home! We had a member lesson (as we do every Thursday) and it was so great! The CUTEST sisters who had served in Slovenia were our members that day and they were SOOOO nice and so cute I was dying hearing their stories! They said my Slovene is awesome and that I have a cute American accent! They also taught us how Slovene has the most dialects of any Slavic language. So with just learning Slovene, we are considered to be learning 8 languages. Augh!. It is just super hard!
Friday started off very early! At 5:55 we got up so Sister Redding could attend the sisters kickboxing class with her best friend! She loved it! I used that time to do some scripture study! It was so great! I am trying to finish the Book of Mormon again before I leave the Missionary Training Center and that has been a hard thing for me! There is just sooo much more I want to do in the day! In class we were asked to give the first lesson--with no notes--in 10 minutes. Are you kidding me?!?! I was SOO scared because our companions were not with us. It was just me giving the entire first lesson in Slovene!!!! I said a prayer seeking for the Spirit and started my lesson. 8 minutes!!!!!!!!! SOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!! It sounded musical! I love this crazy hard language! I think I worked my hardest on this day! I memorized all the cases (language parts) which is a HARD thing to do! But I did it!!!!!! That night we had a lesson with our investigator Ziga! He is so great, but that was the first lesson where I have truly felt the Spirit with him. I love teaching! Friday was also a great mail day!!!! I got a package from Sister Plowman! She gave me photos of her and her family and her farewell talk! I loved it soo much! I also got a letter from an old college roommate and a letter from Madi Greene! I felt SO supported! I loved reading their letters and feeling their love!!!!
Saturday I had an awesome personal study time! I learned a ton about faith, humility, love and diligence! So good! I have about 12 pages of notes from it.
I studied the talks "I have given you an example" and "Love-- the essence of the Gospel" and "Is it I?" for my personal study on Sunday! I love reading talks!!!! I love fasting at the MTC! It's not even hard because literally everyone around you has something to fast for! During fast and testimony meeting I got up and bore my testimony on happiness and I made everyone cry... not entirely sure how that worked out. After almost everyone in my zone told me how my testimony affected them and my Branch Presidency said some things about it as well... I am so glad I shared it! God used me that day as a mouthpiece to help my zone! My testimony has been brought up in all zone meetings since by the Branch President or the missionaries. I don't remember what I said, but I remember what I felt.
Monday was so good, however, I miss home and college Family Home Evenings! We had a lesson with Marko and I asked him if he was ready to be baptized! He said he knows this is the right path to be on, but just needs some more doctrine before he becomes a member. He said he will think about it. That was really exciting for us!!!! I offered a hug and a sad goodbye to Sister Kelsey Simpson on this day! As she left for her mission assignment. I miss her already but she is going to be so great!!!
I seriously love Tuesdays!!!!!!! This week we got to clean the bathrooms on the 5th floor in 18M! AKA where the English speakers are! It's so nice up there!!!! I LOVED being on the 5th floor and looking out the beautiful windows and seeing something other than the main MTC! The mountains are amazing and I just love Provo!!!! Its soo pretty here! After enjoying every second of cleaning the bathrooms, my companions and I just looked out the windows for a few minutes enjoying the beautiful area. That day is considered sweat day at gym because after service and gym, we have no option but to shower! So I ran 2 miles and did a ton of abs. SOOO GREAT! It felt awesome! However, that night in class I started laughing so hard I cried because my abs hurt so badly! I invented a new thing for lunch because they were serving something nasty this day and I am turning into a horse from the amount of granola I eat here! I found an apple... and some peanut butter. I was so happy the entire day because of my lunch! It was so great! Now everyone in my zone eats that too! Trend setter! Getting creative over here! We had another lesson with Ziga and again, it was so great! I can speak SOO much! It's not perfect at all but I open my mouth and it is ALWAYS filled! I love having thoughts come into my mind and I am like "Oh HEY Spirit! So glad you could join the lesson!!" I was nervous for the lesson so I did something not so great.... Sister Rhodes was teaching and our male investigator was sitting in front of us. I was wearing a skirt that buttons up the front. Since I was nervous, I was playing with the buttons. I hear Sister Rhodes finishing her thought which means I am probably going to be speaking soon.... suddenly my nervous fingers unbuttoned 2 of my buttons on my skirt.... so there is a gaping hole in my skirt and my investigator is about to look over at me ANY SECOND!!!!!!! So much stress! I got the buttons buttoned up again as fast as I could just before he looked over at me. I was laughing and he said kaj? which means what? It was awkward but that happens. Moral of the story? I need to wear a slip with that skirt!!!!
Yesterday was so great because MADI (my friend I met in Africa who became my college roommate) IS IN THE MTC!!!!!! I love her! I have missed her!!
We started the day off with a lesson with Marko. We taught about prophets and how important they are! I can understand almost all of what he said so I was able to answer his questions and explain some things about prophets! It was so great! I have never felt the Spirit guide my mouth that much! I am getting better at relying on the Lord and not my own knowledge of Slovene! In class we learned 4 ways to say that! Before coming on my mission I was a little annoyed with the lack of Slovene church materials... however, after a month, I now fully understand why some things are not yet translated. Sister Rhodes was asked last second to play piano in the new missionary welcome meeting! She said yes because she knew that meant I got to see Madi! During the meeting I was searching the Slovene dictionary (preparing for our first time teaching the word of wisdom) when Sister Redding said "Hey, I think someone sees you." I looked up and saw the cutest Sister Plowman with the most shocked face to see me! We both cried and hugged and talked about her first class in Tagalog (she was called to serve in the Philippines) and how great the MTC is! I love her so much! We ate dinner together and spent about 2 hours before bed together! We didn't get a photo because whenever we were together we were both crying!
Today has been great! The temple is my favorite part of every preparation day (P Day)! However, we didn't eat there today which was a bummer! But reading emails from home (including one from my brother) is so great! Please write more! I have tons of time to read emails because I print them off! Don't be afraid to take my time! I love hearing about everything good!
I want you all to know how much I LOVE this gospel! I am seriously so grateful for the opportunity I have to be on a mission! This gospel makes me SOO happy! And right now I have the chance to share that with others and help them have this same happiness! The essence of this gospel really is love! I know my Heavenly Father loves me because I feel it every day!!!! He shows His love for me by giving me my family! My parents taught me how to be fearless in sharing what I love! They taught me how to be happy and rely on my Savior for strength. God gave me my siblings and loves them enough to give them their spouses! I love my family! My pride and joy is my family! Every day God shows us how much he loves us! I know God lives because I see His hand in my life! Just like the Brother of Jared, I know if we seek to see His hand we will. God desires to bless us and I know that as we humbly give honor and thanks to him He will bless us. I love this gospel with all of my heart! I love you all! Keep writing and be happy!
Sister Higgins
Companions are still so great! I love them! Some of you were wondering if they are coming to my mission with me or what. All 3 of us are going to Slovenia! When we get there there will be 8 sisters in Slovenia! That is a lot!!!! since it is such a small place. I am guaranteed to be companions with them again in the field because we rotate every six to nine weeks. How great! Its a good thing I like them!
Slovene language is coming along! We learned this week that they might keep us for 10 weeks here because the week we are supposed to leave is the week before General Conference! Since there is basically no one who knows how to speak Slovene, there is no one to translate the talks for the Slovenian members. So in Slovenia they all get together and a missionary stands at the front and translates the talk as it is given.... so if they send us, we could get some good translating skills the first weekend! Haha so scary! Our teachers are having us translate scriptures every day and during devotionals and other church meetings. We all translate as they happen! I am getting pretty good!
The rest of last Thursday went great! After writing home, we went back to our residence where I took my first nap as a missionary (apart from when I was so sick) it was AWESOME!!!!!! I slept like a rock! I needed that after writing home! We had a member lesson (as we do every Thursday) and it was so great! The CUTEST sisters who had served in Slovenia were our members that day and they were SOOOO nice and so cute I was dying hearing their stories! They said my Slovene is awesome and that I have a cute American accent! They also taught us how Slovene has the most dialects of any Slavic language. So with just learning Slovene, we are considered to be learning 8 languages. Augh!. It is just super hard!
Friday started off very early! At 5:55 we got up so Sister Redding could attend the sisters kickboxing class with her best friend! She loved it! I used that time to do some scripture study! It was so great! I am trying to finish the Book of Mormon again before I leave the Missionary Training Center and that has been a hard thing for me! There is just sooo much more I want to do in the day! In class we were asked to give the first lesson--with no notes--in 10 minutes. Are you kidding me?!?! I was SOO scared because our companions were not with us. It was just me giving the entire first lesson in Slovene!!!! I said a prayer seeking for the Spirit and started my lesson. 8 minutes!!!!!!!!! SOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!! It sounded musical! I love this crazy hard language! I think I worked my hardest on this day! I memorized all the cases (language parts) which is a HARD thing to do! But I did it!!!!!! That night we had a lesson with our investigator Ziga! He is so great, but that was the first lesson where I have truly felt the Spirit with him. I love teaching! Friday was also a great mail day!!!! I got a package from Sister Plowman! She gave me photos of her and her family and her farewell talk! I loved it soo much! I also got a letter from an old college roommate and a letter from Madi Greene! I felt SO supported! I loved reading their letters and feeling their love!!!!
Saturday I had an awesome personal study time! I learned a ton about faith, humility, love and diligence! So good! I have about 12 pages of notes from it.
I studied the talks "I have given you an example" and "Love-- the essence of the Gospel" and "Is it I?" for my personal study on Sunday! I love reading talks!!!! I love fasting at the MTC! It's not even hard because literally everyone around you has something to fast for! During fast and testimony meeting I got up and bore my testimony on happiness and I made everyone cry... not entirely sure how that worked out. After almost everyone in my zone told me how my testimony affected them and my Branch Presidency said some things about it as well... I am so glad I shared it! God used me that day as a mouthpiece to help my zone! My testimony has been brought up in all zone meetings since by the Branch President or the missionaries. I don't remember what I said, but I remember what I felt.
Monday was so good, however, I miss home and college Family Home Evenings! We had a lesson with Marko and I asked him if he was ready to be baptized! He said he knows this is the right path to be on, but just needs some more doctrine before he becomes a member. He said he will think about it. That was really exciting for us!!!! I offered a hug and a sad goodbye to Sister Kelsey Simpson on this day! As she left for her mission assignment. I miss her already but she is going to be so great!!!
I seriously love Tuesdays!!!!!!! This week we got to clean the bathrooms on the 5th floor in 18M! AKA where the English speakers are! It's so nice up there!!!! I LOVED being on the 5th floor and looking out the beautiful windows and seeing something other than the main MTC! The mountains are amazing and I just love Provo!!!! Its soo pretty here! After enjoying every second of cleaning the bathrooms, my companions and I just looked out the windows for a few minutes enjoying the beautiful area. That day is considered sweat day at gym because after service and gym, we have no option but to shower! So I ran 2 miles and did a ton of abs. SOOO GREAT! It felt awesome! However, that night in class I started laughing so hard I cried because my abs hurt so badly! I invented a new thing for lunch because they were serving something nasty this day and I am turning into a horse from the amount of granola I eat here! I found an apple... and some peanut butter. I was so happy the entire day because of my lunch! It was so great! Now everyone in my zone eats that too! Trend setter! Getting creative over here! We had another lesson with Ziga and again, it was so great! I can speak SOO much! It's not perfect at all but I open my mouth and it is ALWAYS filled! I love having thoughts come into my mind and I am like "Oh HEY Spirit! So glad you could join the lesson!!" I was nervous for the lesson so I did something not so great.... Sister Rhodes was teaching and our male investigator was sitting in front of us. I was wearing a skirt that buttons up the front. Since I was nervous, I was playing with the buttons. I hear Sister Rhodes finishing her thought which means I am probably going to be speaking soon.... suddenly my nervous fingers unbuttoned 2 of my buttons on my skirt.... so there is a gaping hole in my skirt and my investigator is about to look over at me ANY SECOND!!!!!!! So much stress! I got the buttons buttoned up again as fast as I could just before he looked over at me. I was laughing and he said kaj? which means what? It was awkward but that happens. Moral of the story? I need to wear a slip with that skirt!!!!
Yesterday was so great because MADI (my friend I met in Africa who became my college roommate) IS IN THE MTC!!!!!! I love her! I have missed her!!
We started the day off with a lesson with Marko. We taught about prophets and how important they are! I can understand almost all of what he said so I was able to answer his questions and explain some things about prophets! It was so great! I have never felt the Spirit guide my mouth that much! I am getting better at relying on the Lord and not my own knowledge of Slovene! In class we learned 4 ways to say that! Before coming on my mission I was a little annoyed with the lack of Slovene church materials... however, after a month, I now fully understand why some things are not yet translated. Sister Rhodes was asked last second to play piano in the new missionary welcome meeting! She said yes because she knew that meant I got to see Madi! During the meeting I was searching the Slovene dictionary (preparing for our first time teaching the word of wisdom) when Sister Redding said "Hey, I think someone sees you." I looked up and saw the cutest Sister Plowman with the most shocked face to see me! We both cried and hugged and talked about her first class in Tagalog (she was called to serve in the Philippines) and how great the MTC is! I love her so much! We ate dinner together and spent about 2 hours before bed together! We didn't get a photo because whenever we were together we were both crying!
Today has been great! The temple is my favorite part of every preparation day (P Day)! However, we didn't eat there today which was a bummer! But reading emails from home (including one from my brother) is so great! Please write more! I have tons of time to read emails because I print them off! Don't be afraid to take my time! I love hearing about everything good!
I want you all to know how much I LOVE this gospel! I am seriously so grateful for the opportunity I have to be on a mission! This gospel makes me SOO happy! And right now I have the chance to share that with others and help them have this same happiness! The essence of this gospel really is love! I know my Heavenly Father loves me because I feel it every day!!!! He shows His love for me by giving me my family! My parents taught me how to be fearless in sharing what I love! They taught me how to be happy and rely on my Savior for strength. God gave me my siblings and loves them enough to give them their spouses! I love my family! My pride and joy is my family! Every day God shows us how much he loves us! I know God lives because I see His hand in my life! Just like the Brother of Jared, I know if we seek to see His hand we will. God desires to bless us and I know that as we humbly give honor and thanks to him He will bless us. I love this gospel with all of my heart! I love you all! Keep writing and be happy!
Sister Higgins