Thursday, February 11, 2010

RACHEL'S FIRST EMAIL HOME!

Guten Tag, meine Familie und Freunden!
I'm finally at my first PDay and I can say that so much has happened in just a week that I hardly know where to start! As I mentioned in the email on my first evening here, I met President Uchtdorf, which was AWESOME! Seriously, it was so cool. After we got our name tags and put our stuff in our bedroom, we were told to go to our classroom. Once we got there, we saw teachers rushing around, talking quickly (in Deutsch, nonetheless) and they finally told us that President Uchtdorf was coming to speak to us. Ah!! I'm sure you can imagine my reaction. =]
After about 30 minutes of waiting in our classroom, he just walks right in and as we stand, he shakes all of our hands. All we can muster to say through our plastered and incredibly ecstactic smiles was, "Guten Tag!" He talked to us for a few minutes and then asked us if we have any questions. We seriously could have asked him anything, but all we could do was smile and say, "Guten Tag!" Let me tell you, it was such a tender mercy! You all know how excited I was to come, but I was still nervous, and once he walked in, those feelings of anxiety and doubt left me instantly. It was amazing! I've witnessed so many tender mercies, miracles, and answers to my prayers in just 1 week! In case you were wondering, President Uchtdorf is much more tan in person than he appears in his photos. Heh. But it's true. I won't go into all the things that have happened here, but I can tell you that my companion is such a blessing to me! She actually lived in Olathe for a couple of years. Crazy!! Mom, Dad, does the name of "Burnell" ring a bell? I love my companion so much! She's great, really. We keep one another going and I'm able to help her a lot with German, which, in turn, helps me solidify it in my memory. You probably haven't heard, and Iactually just found out Tuesday evening after devotional with Elder Hinckley (he looks/sounds so much like President Hinckley!) that, come this Summer, I will no longer be serving in the Switzerland Zurich mission--we will now be serving in the Muenchen (Munich)/Oesterreich mission. Switzerland has been having too many issues with visas and the Church has decided to just merge the Zurich and Munich missions. It's bittersweet. Our mission now covers the southern half of Germany, the majority of Switzerland, and all of Austria. I fear that the work in Switzerland will slow down because we won't be there long enough to really connect with investigators. However, the Lord knows all and things will work out. I'm excited and saddened by the idea of serving in Wien. I love it there, but I'm afraid that with the music and my friends being there, I'll get too distracted and it'll be difficult. We'll see where I'm needed. However, all of this won't be happening until this Summer, so much could change. I'll at least go to Switzerland for the next couple of months, so that will be nice. You now know all that I do. I'll certainly keep you updated. I need letters! Please use "DearElder.com" since I don't have much time right now to read emails. I get them the same day you type them with "dearelder" and that way all I have to do is type on Thursdays. You can email, if that's best...I just can't guarantee that I'll respond right away. Sorry! We have the best teachers here! They're so nice! I can't deny that when it comes to our grammar lessons, I'm a bit bored. Like I said though, I can help my companion and roommates, so that's great. Our teachers are so great and incredibly helpful. By the way, Sister Christenson (Ali--roommate in Vienna, german class, etc, etc) and I are in the same bedroom and zone! It's weird calling her "Sister" now, but it's all good! The food here is awful. Truly. I run into elders all the time here that rave about the food and I cry a little on the inside. To think what they must have grown up with...I've been living off of salads, wraps, and cereal. Pray for me friends. Pray I won't die. I'm kidding, naturally. But seriously, the food is nasty. I do love the MTC. I'm suffering from a case of malnourishment and cabin fever, I'm afraid. My companion and I had to go to the podiatrist yesterday and I couldn't believe that there was life outside of the MTC! AIR! Real air! Not stifled classroom air that we breathe for hours everyday. My teachers are great though. I know I mentioned that above, but I've got to say it again. They're such a blessing! I'm afraid this next story will have to wait since my time is up, but I want you to know that, despite the food, I love it here! I love my companion, I LOVE German, and I love you! So please write. Schreibt mich, bitte! Actual letters are nice, but if all you can do is dearelder.com, it's still all good!
Liebe,
Sister NeSmith

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