Week 5: If It Gets Any Better, We May Get Twinkled!

Hello, dear family and other lovely people!

Ahhh, so much to say. Firstly, I s'pose, we had a devotional from Elder Costa on Tuesday. I almost told him I know Raquel Call (All Brazilians know each other, right?) but I got too nervous. He stood up after his wonderful wife spoke and said (picture it with a sweet accent), "As you can see, my wife seems to be absolutely perfect. I, too, used to think-ed my wife was perfect" (*laughter*) "Let me explain. Every time I travel I find notes in my luggage. My wife is very good at fitting lots of stuff in little space, so she packs my things. One notes say, I love you, one say, come home soon. She is so nice to me. One time I find a note in my shaving cream! I unfolded it, and it said, YOU ARE HANDSOME! ...now I know she is not perfect, because now I find her eyesight is not so good. I took her to the doctor and got her glasses, and she never left that note again. With her glasses, though, she IS perfect!" Teee heeee.

In other news, my hair's getting darker, my washcloth finally stopped smelling like play-dough, two SEPARATE people at gym yesterday asked if I ran cross-country or track because, "your calves are... massive! I've never seen calves like yours!" ... thanks...?, I tried to help a sister just in from China understand that she could borrow my towel but she only spoke Mandarin and my Mandarin is super rusty (not that I EVER knew how to say "borrow" or "towel" anyway) (it was kinda depressing because I realized Cantonese is... less useful than Mandarin. Unless you're in HK!!), our older district left for HK on Tuesday and we cried.

I fell asleep with my nametag on and accidently took my scriptures with me to the bathroom, Sister Farr and I were interviewed (again, but for something else) on camera for a missionary documentary, our teacher got engaged to our (pretend) investigator in the most confusing and awesome Saturday of our lives (we walked into our teaching appointment on Saturday morning, asked our investigator in Cantonese, 'how's your week been' and he responds in English, 'Great! I'm going to ask your teacher to marry me tonight! But you can't tell her!' and we went... '...WHAT?!' Then our other teacher, Brother Jackson, ran back to our room and chastised us in Cantonese for not focusing. It was pretty hilarious), Mountain of the Lord is the best movie I've ever seen and the language is awesome. Speak Your Language has been hard because I'm a little more... dedicated to it than my companions (I'm sure just because it's naturally a little easier for me... it definitely has nothing to do with my level of spirituality :P).

One Month in the MTC! Well, one month and one week, but whatever. I like thinking about what has been different. When was the LAST five weeks I spent without touching a cell phone, without wearing jeans, without driving a car or watching TV or getting on facebook or touching a male? A month of never being alone, never listening to an ipod or typing an essay, or lying on the grass or taking a nap. A month without buying groceries, without buying gas. A whole month of not cooking! A month without calling Mom, without getting one text from an athlete, without working out with Ian. A month without sleeping in! A month without opening a novel. A month without taking a bath (I DO shower), without jogging outside, without swimming, without radio and google and Cami and Ian and Dad and news and wasting time and weather reports and dating and midnights and green smoothies and Aidan and Brian and Kamas and Harold B Lee library and...

I wish I could give up more--I wish it'd been five weeks without guile. A month without anger, without apathy, without mistrust and impatience and sarcasm. I want a month free of lust and vanity. I want a month without doubt, a month without pride, without anguish, without fear. I want to spend a month without competition and frustration and judgment. I wan a month of the Spirit's constant presence, of purity and love, one shining in the light of Christ and singing in the ways of the psalmist and basking in the warmth and constancy of God's love. I want a month of consistent scripture study and personal prayer, a month of charity, gratitude, commitment and hope.

One month turns into two, two into six, six into a year and finally I will have a joyous life to live and love, to look back on in confidence in God and joy in the work He's given me.

I GOT MY PACKAGE OF JOY FROM IAN! Sister Farr and I refer to it as "Christmas." We had the best time opening everything in it. The frog puppet is our new favorite. I bonked Sister Farr on the head while she was sleeping with the blarney stone in hopes that it would make her talk LESS. (just kidding, sister farr). We went into a sentence-forming frenzy with the magnetic words when we figured out our bunk BED is magnetic! Ian writes the best letters in the world.

Mom's letter last week was also pretty wonderful, although her boring ones DO make me a little less homesick :) Sister Farr and I are turning into the same person... And I'm not even going there with Elder Smith. I love my companions!

I'm rationing the St patty's day family cards, and reading them one a day.

I love you all so much! Your prayers help so much, I know. Thank you so much! You are wonderful and I love you!

Sister Darcey