Week One

Can I just start off by saying... the MTC is unlike anywhere else in the world and I'm LOVING IT. The people that I have met here are some of the strongest, most inspiring people that I have ever met. My companion, Motra Lyng is from Norway! Fun fact, she's from the northernmost branch in the world. Her hobbies include dog sledding, ice fishing, etc. Cool, right?! Anyway she's the best and we get along so well!  

We hit the ground running from the moment I walked into the MTC, on Wednesday the 27th. In my class the teacher only speaks Albanian to us, which is pretty tough because most of the time I have no clue what she's saying. On top of that, we had to prepare a lesson to teach on Friday with a guy who only speaks Albanian. I had no idea what the guy was saying, but I stuck to my little script I prepared, bore my testimony, and prayed in the language. 

Yesterday, Sister Lyng and I went to our first choir practice. I was kinda roped into it, because I'm NOT a good singer. But it's pretty cool because every Tuesday we get to sing to a General Authority! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and I cannot WAIT. What a privilege! Anyway, I'm so glad that I went yesterday to the practice because I swear I've never heard (or been apart of) something so beautiful before. The choir consisted of about 700 people and it was SO uplifting. Music can be so powerful. When we sang "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus," I couldn't stop crying. It made me think of Abby and Emma and my primary kids at home. I miss everyone a lot but I know this is where I'm supposed to be right now. Someone in class yesterday said, "We had an eternity to prepare for our mission, and we'll have an eternity to look back on our mission. But we only have 18 months to serve the mission." 

I'll be honest, every day here feels like it's a week long...  we wake up at 6, eat, class, eat, class, exercise, eat, class, lights out at 10:30. It's a lot of hard work and I've get really stressed sometimes. I've been given a lot of assignments and responsibilities that take me out of my comfort zone, such as public speaking, teaching, and speaking Albanian. These things are pretty hard for me, but all I can do is try my hardest! No matter how inadequate I feel for this calling, after all I can do, I get on my knees and ask for help. I've been praying more than I ever have before in my life. Faith and doubt cannot coexist! I encourage everyone to remember that!  

I hope you all have an awesome week!

Love, 

Motra Fulop