extended a week at the MTC

Hola mi familia,

So i'm hoping you got my email the other night about my change in plans.  I've been extended to stay here another week at the MTC.  My visa has not come yet, so they are hoping it will come sometime in the next week and if not, i'll get my temp. reassignment next thursday or friday. Apparently there have been a TON of visa issues for a lot of different countries.  Peru used to not be very bad but apparently it's been pretty bad lately.  Everybody that is currently at the MTC that is going to Peru is in the same situation as me.  We all got extended another week, because I guess our visas are supposed to come in at the same time-ish.  So there are about 30 of us that are just chillin here for another week.  Some people were saying that since so many people are trying to get visas to Peru, they just shut down and stopped handing out visas.  So who knows how long it will take.  My companions were praying for their visas not to come because they wanted to stay here for the prophet on the 23rd. Be careful what you pray for! I've been praying to get my visa so hopefully it'll come soon and we can get down there.  The MTC is great and all, but i'm ready to get out there and do work.  The biggest bummer of being extended a week is the fact that that is one less week out in the mission field! So wherever I go, I hope I can get there soon.  The Elders in my district received their reassignments, because they are going to Argentina and probably will have to wait a couple of months for their visas.  One got assigned to Oakland, 2 to Salt Lake City, and 3 to Ogden.  The hardest part of getting a reassignment, like you were saying Dad, is that we could get assigned somewhere that doesn't have a lot of Spanish so we don't get to use all of this that we've learned.  I have no idea what is going to happen and when it is going to happen but i'm just excited for it and know it'll all work out eventually.

This week was pretty normal.  It was a little weird emotionally because we were getting so excited to leave and doing our last preparations to get out in the field, and then we were told we have another week.  So we had to reset our minds and can't get too excited now or else we won't get anything done in the next week.  It'll be good for me to be able to learn more Spanish while i'm here. 

Elder Mervyn B Arnold of the 70 came to our devotional on tuesday which was awesome.  He spoke about making sure that at the end of our missions when we report, we will say we have no regrets.  It was pretty motivating. It was cool because it was the first time every they held the MTC devotional in the BYU Marriott center because there are so many missionaries here.  We all got to walk over there which was fun and kinda cool to see thousands of missionaries in a big group.  It look like an Army of Helaman! There are a ton of missionaries here, it's awesome.  Every time we have a devotional, the speaker comments about how the work is hastening and how much of a miracle all of this is.  It's really cool to be a part of it.  The world better watch out because the missionaries are taking over. And it's awesome opposum.

 We attended in-field orientation this week which was motivating and got me really excited to get out there.  Everybody here is still getting pretty excited about the big mission conference training thing they are holding here .  I'll be singing in the choir so if anybody watches it, look for me on the big screen! haha. 

There are like 12 or 13 sisters here from  my ward this past semester, it's pretty fun.  Also there are a lot of other people that I know.  The past two weeks like all of my friends came in so it's fun to see them all the time.  Hermana Hoyt lives right next to the other sisters in my zone so every night my companions and I have to visit them so I usually stop by and say hello to hermana Hoyt as well.  Also, my other roommate Taylor Clark came in this week so I've gotten to see her a few times.  Maggie Jones came in last week so i've seen her, and i'll attach a picture that we took together.  Also attached is a pic of all the sisters in my zone. My district is the oldest here now so we think we're pretty big stuff.

mi vida es bien aqui en la CCM.

It's interesting because the Spirit is so strong here, that I sometimes forget how strong it is.  It's like how when you walk outside and it's super cold and that's all you can think about, but then when you walk inside somewhere, and it's warm and you are so grateful for the warmth. But then, after a while, you become accustomed to the temperature and forget how warm it is.  That's how it's been at the MTC.  The Spirit is so strong all the time at the MTC and being a missionary that sometimes I forget what the Spirit feels like and I have to remember to be grateful for it and to be grateful that i'm a missionary and see how I can have the Spirit more.  I'm so grateful to be here and for this wonderful opportunity I have to serve. 

Thanks for the letters and packages. Love you all!

-Hermana Jones

p.s. Matt, Happy Birthday tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!! I don't have your email address, so this "p.s." is dedicated to you. Amurica.