1st letter

Hello!

How are you doing? I am doing great! The MTC is great. I wrote a letter to tracee a few days ago, i don't know if you saw it or not. Well, my companion started out as Sis. Israelsen from Snowflake, AZ. She is an RN (registered nurse) and going to Rosario, Argentina. She is in the intermediate class though and then on Thursday they put 2 other sisters in my class and then on Friday they moved up another sister to Intermediate so now Sis. Fernandez and Sis. Vasquez are my companions. Sis. Fernandez is from the Dominican Republic and Sis Vasquez is from Honduras. I love them! It is an adventure communicating with them because they don't speak very much english. But we get by and I think we have a good companionship. I am learning lots from being with them. We haven't been able to be in the same room but I am moving today to be with them.  

The minutes are counting down on me, I only have 30 minutes to write, so I hope I can say everything that we want. And I am trying to help Hna. Fernandez figure out her password for email haha.

There are 13 in our district/class and we are really tightly packed into our classroom, one of the elders has to put his desk in front of the door because we like to sit in a circle so we can see everyone's faces. So there are 10 elders and us 3 sisters. We talk in only spanish and it is kind of hard. There is one other elder (E. MIckelsen) that is white, haha, and he lived in Mexico for 6 months so he speaks better than me. He is also our district leader and he is great. Our district gets along so wonderfully. We all clicked instnatly. We have a lot of jokes like Buenas noches! (Good night!) and "somos avanzados" (we are advanced!) and it seems like we are always laughing but we work hard too and all of us are growing. Hermano Lewis and Hermana Bauserman are our teachers. They both served in Utah haha (SLC-north and Provo) but in spanish and they are great! They both go to byu and Hna. B is an elementary education major, yeah!

I am getting bettter and better every day with spanish. It's a miracle really, I"m experiencing the gift of tongues, it is real!! I have memorized the missionary pupose statement and also JS-H 1:17 in spanish! I got a really nice set of scriptures in spanish when I got here.

Oh I forgot to mention, Hna. Fernandez is going on her mission to Sacramento, CA and Hna Vasquez to Ventura, CA. Hna. Fernandez is 29 and Hna Vasquez is 26!!! Can you believe that! Hna. Fernandez joined the church 2 years ago and she is the only member in her family. I wish I had time to tell you her conversion story! Hna. Vasquez used to work in the cafeteria here at the MTC and her brother works here as a teacher and she has a sister who works in the cafeteria. She knows everyone here!

Oh, I guess they changed my departure date to 12/15. But I think I have to have my visa for Bolivia before I leave for Peru. So we will see. There is one elder (E. Reyes) who is also going to Santa Cruz. I have also met a few others around the MTC. I think they are really trying to build up my mission.

Today my companions and I are going to sing in the choir for the general authority devotional. We don't know who it is until they get here. So it could be the prophet for all we know! We are singing come thou fount of every blessing. Also we are going to go to the temple today.

For thanksgiving we do get a thanksgiving lunch, but a sack dinner, and then we are doing service projects for most of  the day, since the teachers get the day off.

We got to walk up to the temple on Sunday, and it was snowing. Hna fernandez had never seen snow before! She was soooo happy! We took tons of photos. I forgot to bring my USB but I willl try to send photos next week. Sorry!

I said the prayer in church on sunday. I am playing the piano next week for church. Pray for me for that haha. We are all suppposed to write a talk every week, and the branch presidency chooses 2 missionaries to speak. So you have to be ready! I'm hoping my chances are less if I keep volunteering to play piano and pray, etc. haha.

I am learning soo much and my testimony is growing. We have had a lot of larger meetings for orientations, etc. but we have also had just missionary stuff and it is great. It seems like all the things that I have been confused about as far as missionary work go have been cleared up. Now just time to practice, practice, practice!

How are you guys doing in PMG?

The food is good. It's slightly better than the cannon center and there are always 3 or so choices plus salads, wraps, etc. I am running for gym and it's great!

PLEASE use Dear Elder instead of emailing me while I am here in the MTC. I only have 30 minutes to write you and read anything you email me. Or just send real letters :) I love those. And packages (hint hint tracee there is somewhere you can go in the wilk and you can send them for free).

Aunt Sandra gets the prize for writing me first. Thanks! 

I love you all. I'm praying for you, and please pray for me!

Hermana Tibbitts.

Adios!

I am going into the MTC tomorrow! I am so excited to start my mission!

Last week, I did a temple session, and the name I got was a woman who lived in BOLIVIA! It was so awesome! It really solidified for me that my call to Bolivia is divinely inspired. Getting that name was not a coincidence.

There is really nothing else I would rather be doing. It is a sacrifice to go, but I know that I will gain more than I am losing. I know that the Lord will support me in the hard times, and that he will direct me to the people that are ready to hear and accept the gospel message. I know that the church is true and that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He atoned for our sins so that we can live with Him again. The Book of Mormon is the word of God, translated by a true prophet, Joseph Smith. The Church of Jesus Christ is the only true church on earth, and Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet today. I know that the priesthood power has been restored to earth, and that families can be sealed together forever in the temple.

Thank you for your support and your prayers!
Read Preach My Gospel! It is amazing!
Don't forget to write!!! :) My addresses are under the "addresses" tab above.

Service, Spencer W. Kimball

“The more we serve our fellowmen in appropriate ways, the more there is to our souls. We become more significant individuals. … Indeed, it is easier to ‘find’ ourselves because there is so much more of us to find!” - President Spencer W. Kimball

Judging

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”- Mother Teresa

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. John 7:24

You

"In whatever country you live, however young or inadequate you feel or however aged or limited you see yourself as being, I testify you are individually loved by God.
You are central to the meaning of His work and you are cherished and prayed for by the presiding officers of His Church.
The personal value, the sacred splendor of every one of you is the very reason there is a plan of salvation and exaltation.  Contrary to the parlance of the day, this is about you."
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Saturday morning session of General Conference, October 2010

let me introduce you to my mission

I'm pretty excited about going to Bolivia. I've been doing a lot of research to know what it will be like. Here's some info I wanted to share. My mission also includes the departments of Tarija, Chuquisaca and Beni, (I think) but from what I've heard, they usually keep the sisters in Santa Cruz the whole time they are out.

Bolivia (the country)

• It is officially known as the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
• It is bordered by Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, and Peru.
• Bolivia is named after Simon Bolivar, the great independence fighter of South America.
• Bolivia became independent from Spain in 1825.
• It is landlocked. This is a sore spot for Bolivians. They lost their coastal access to Chile in the War of the Pacific in 1979.
• Before it was colonized, it was part of the great Inca Empire.
• Bolivia is a democratic republic and divided into 9 departments (like states or provinces).
• The geography of Bolivia is varied with the Andes in the west, and lowlands of the east.
• The population is about 10 million and is multiethnic and multicultural.
• The main language is Spanish, although the Aymara and Quechua languages are also common.
• The current president is Evo Morales, who is the leader of the socialist party MAS ("more").
• Shares Lake Titicaca with Peru- the world's highest navigable lake.
• Bolivia is rich in natural resources.
• Predominately Catholic.
• Bolivia has 2 capitols: La Paz and Sucre.
• One of the poorest and least developed countries in Latin America.
• There have been A LOT of coups the history of Bolivia since 1825.

Santa Cruz (the department)

• Santa Cruz is the largest department in Bolivia.
• Located in southeast Bolivia.
• Main languages in the region are Spanish, Guarani and Quechua.
• There are lots of natural gas reserves.
• Weather is warm and tropical.
• Winter lasts 2-3 months but it is only really cold for about 1-2 weeks, otherwise it's pleasant, and rainy.
• Agriculture grown there includes sugar, cotton, soybeans, and rice.

Santa Cruz de la Sierra (the city)

• Santa Cruz is the largest City in Bolivia with about 1.6 million people.
• The name means "Holy Cross of the Hills".
• The city was founded in 1561.
• Elevation is 1365 ft above sea level.
• The city's street layout is a concentric ring model.
• Santa Cruz is a major fashion and modeling hub. Cruceños are proud of the tradition they have of winning beauty pageants.
• The city has grown a lot in the past 15 years.
• Common foods are rice, potatoes, and meat.

info and pictures courtesy of CIA world factbook and wikipedia

My mission call

Guesses for my mission... no one guessed Bolivia! 

The envelope! Waiting to be opened. The anticipation almost killed me. Thank you Lauren for keeping my mind off it until my family arrived. :)

Video of me opening the envelope... Boone is pretty funny...