MOM!!!

Wow! I LOVE IT HERE!!  My companion's name is Hermana Agle. She is from Pennsylvania and just turned 19 the Tuesday before we entered the MTC.  I have so many friends here that I see everyday so that has been really really nice to have them here with me. I haven't been homesick once yet (probably because i'm still in Utah) but I am sure that will change when I'm leaving the country. My district is amazing! I love them all so much. We are all going to the same mission and leaving the same day. There are 6 sisters and then there are 6 Elders coming as well. Our zone is also amazing. I love everyone here, they are all so nice and friendly and I've had some really good laughs which is really nice. My district is HILARIOUS. I feel like I've known these Elder's and Sister's all my life. We all get along so well.  Elder Alonzo is our district leader. He is like my father I feel like. haha.  Although these Elders are all my age it feels like some of them are older. Anyway, Elder Alonzo is like a really big guy. He is very tall and stands up for me if someone says something to make fun or whatever. I love it. There are two elders in our district that are 18, me and Hermana Agle are the only ones that are 19 out of the sisters. Ashley Stott is in my district as well. it's been really nice to have a familiar face, she sits right next to me in class and her room is just down the hall from mine.

Oh my roommates left yesterday. :( we loved them.  They are going to the Guatemala MTC. We were only with them for a week but they were amazing. Hermana Miller got sick Tuesday morning and stayed the whole day in the room, we were really worried about her because if she couldn't get better she wouldn't be flying out the next day. They luckily left yesterday night around 5:30 and she was well enough to go. I was so excited for them. They were supposed to leave about 2 weeks ago but their visa's hadn't come in yet so they were still here, and it would have killed them to have to cancel again because they were sick. Since they left at 5:30 it's just me and Hermana Agle for the next week in our room. 

The first 4-5 days of being here we didn't have any time to exercise.  On Monday we received a set schedule for the rest of the time here and we have specific times set at 4 times a week for exercise. Me and Hermana Agle are going to go to a early morning class at 6 that they have just for sister's. It's going to be really nice. I've had her doing my back exercises with me and she loves them. She loves how hard they work her.  

I LOVE study time. I want to share something with you I found this morning while I was studying.  I liked the beginning of the verse. It's in D&C 128:22 it says (I'm changing a few words) "Sisters shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, sisters, and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing." I loved that! doesn't that just give you such motivation?! It did for me this morning. It really hit me about missionary work for sisters. We are able to go on missions now with the age change and I just feel like it's such an amazing time to be here and we need to have courage and move on to the victory! The end is so close and we need to give every last effort we can in this life. I just loved that. 

Sunday was AMAZING! we had Relief Society after listening to Music and the Spoken Word and Sister Wixom, the General Primary President spoke to us.  I loved her talk. I don't have my notes on me right now but I will tell you more next week about that. I just wish you guys could hear everything that people talk on here. It's so amazing! By the way mom, thanks for Elder Hollands talk!!  We have all been so jealous about not being able to hear what he said and it was really nice to get a little bit from his talk he gave last week :) 

We went to the temple today which was so amazing. I love beginning my day with that kind of spirit.  The second day we were here, we were thrown into teaching an investigator in spanish. Neither me or Hermana Agle knew what we were doing and we basically took in notes and read off of them. It completely bombed. It was awful. We went into the next lesson with only our scriptures and it was so amazing how different the spirit was. Last night we taught again for the 4th time and we taught about the Atonement. Our investigator (Rocio) knew a little bit about the Atonement and we went into the lesson just wanting her to feel of God's love for her and just to really feel the spirit. It was seriously the most amazing thing ever. I almost started crying because the spirit was just so incredible and strong. When we were leaving she talked to us about the lesson in English.  She basically went over how that lesson was different than all the others she had been taught and how she felt the spirit so strong.  It was great to talk to her about it because she is the one hearing the lessons, you know? So we got some really great feedback on how the lesson went.

Spanish has been coming back pretty fast. I can teach a lesson in spanish, pray and bear my testimony in spanish as well. Understanding takes longer but i'm getting most of what people say to me. My Branch President is President Sanchez, he is awesome. He has us write talks in spanish every week and we don't know who is going to have to give theirs until it's time for the "youth speaker's" to talk. He just calls us right out of the meeting. It's pretty scary but it's a great experience, I think.

I was walking into the Gym on Sunday for Music and the Spoken Word and I saw this lady that looked familiar to me. All of the sudden she realizes she knows me and is like Sister Tycksen!!!! How are you? I finally realize it's Tayler's Grandma!! His grandparents are Branch Presidents and I had totally forgot. She said, I've been looking everywhere for you for the past 4 days and we just started talking. She got a picture of me and sent it to Jen that night. She said she would have Jen send you the picture. 

I really am so happy here and I feel like I'm being mothered all the time by my district and others. The food is good and I have been trying to eat really heathly (it's hard with what they serve everyday, sometimes its like a good meal and other times its like a fried sandwich). I eat a salad and fruits everyday along with my meal.

We had a lesson on Tuesday night about Exact Obedience. I'm trying to do that. The member of the Seventy that talked said that if we are Exactly Obedient we will have blessings come to our families as well as miracles. I want to give my family those blessings and miracles and so I just want you all to know that I'm living exactly obedient to the rules in the white handbook. I'm trying to live everyday like a missionary should and I'm trying everyday to be not a perfect missionary but being perfect at being a missionary. 

I love you my family. I love this gospel with all my heart. I know that it is true. (I'll give you a little espanol). Yo se que mi Padre Celestial es muy armoroso. Yo se que Jose Smith estaba una profeta verdadera. Yo soy muy agredisada por la Expiacion y mi salvador Jesucristo. El es mi Salvador y mi hermano. Yo soy muy agredisada por las Escrituras y las palabras las profetas decir. 

Obviously my spanish isn't perfect and neither is the spelling but I wanted you to be able to hear a bit of what I'm learning. I love you all so much. I'll talk to you in a week!!

Amor,

Hermana Tycksen