Week 4

Dear Family and Friends,

 

Wow, I can't believe I've already started my fourth week at the MTC!  Whenever I think of how much time I have left I realize how much I still don't know and have to learn before getting there. The language is clicking, but it's a struggle everyday and sometimes I feel like I forget more than I learn. I just have to study harder. Sorry I ran out of time last week to send out a group letter.  I responded to all the emails from my family and didn't have time to write a group email. =/

Good news!

However, before I write you , you must promise that the result of this good news will not go into affect until I leave the MTC.  Promise?

Okay. =]

Well, Friends can now email as well as family! :)  Letters, handwritten or from dearelder.com are great though because you don't have to wait until p-day to see them. Please do not (if you are not family) email me until I reach Lima, Peru.  I will feel awful not being able to respond to all of you in 30 minutes, but, les quiero mucho!

 

My visa still hasn't arrived, and neither has my companion's.  It really is a common problem.  Apparently Argentina isn't even acccepting visa applications right now.  Many people going to South America are having trouble.  If my visa doesn't come before I finish my stay at the Provo, MTC, I will need to be reassigned until it does come. I'm thinking it would be really cool to go somewhere in the South since I've never been in that part of the states before.. or perhaps new york city. :)

 

The clock is ticking at me... 1:00 exactly left. =/ Every letter I 've gotten has made my day. Thank you! :) "talking" to people who really know me help me remember who I am and where I'm going. <3

 

~Hermana Julia Bendixen

Week 3

During the third week, Julia only had time to send a few pictures. This is what she said about each one:

 

I loved seeing all the guys in our family before going into the MTC. Apparently what dad yelled to me before leaving in the car in front of the MTC is what the Indian yells at the end of "Dances with Wolves." It means something like "you will always be my friend."  :)

 This picture of Tierra's sparkle cracked me up! I saw it on the one of the doors in our residence in the MTC haha!

 The ministry of magic picture was in a bathroom on our floor. It's the little things that brighten your day. LOL did you read what someone wrote on the sign?

 We learn a lot.  lotta books on the floor lol

Week 2

Dear Family and Friends,

This week at the MTC has been incredible. Let me just say that it is impossible to be at the MTC and not go through the "refiner's fire."  Even if the work load, being away from family, and lack of personal time doesn't get you down, God somehow miraculously finds away to show you every single weakness you have ever had in your life, and at the same time shows you that He loves you anyway.  While being here, my perception of my purpose really changed.  It's something more sacred than I imagined.  It's to live up to my temple covenants and really take Christ's name upon me so that I can be His mouthpiece.  It's not about baptisms, it's about being there, helping them come unto Christ every step of the way because you yourself are converted to the Lord , and His gospel is what converts and can truly change us. 

We spend so much time as a district every day that loving them like family was inevitable.  All of us are needing to lean on our Savior as we become more converted to the Lord.  We cannot teach what we don't know, and well all are leaning on each other.  Our motto, we decided, and put outside our classroom door is Alma 26:27. Look it up. :) 

Being at the MTC where the Spirit is so abundant is amazing, because I'm learning so much that normally I would just forget.  I'm recording it all in my journal, but I think I'll share the most important thing I've learned recently. 

We watched a devotional that was recorded in 2009 during Christmas when Elder Bednar came and spoke to the missionaries.  Unfortunately, all MTC devotionals are in no way open to the public so you can't just go look it up on youtube. =/ It was so inspiring.  He talked about Matthew 4 and how the primary temptation for Jesus wasn't necessarily all that Satan offered Him, but it was to take the things Satan was offering to him to prove who He was, that he actually was the Son of God, or to defend himself.  Elder Bednar taught how the primary character trait of the Savior is that He always turns outward, never inward.  Jesus sought to care for others always: in the garden, when he was betrayed, on the cross.... every one of his moments was never to do anything except sacrifice for those around him. 

I think Bednar's talk touched me so much because I had decided a long time ago what true love was.  I had analyzed it so much that I knew in my heart that true love was Sacrifice.  I felt guilty knowing I had lived so long knowing that and yet still reverted to my selfish ways.  It's of course a process of trying every day to be less selfish, but I know that through God all things are possible.  Apparently, Elder Bednar came out with a book recently that talks about it.  I don't remember what it is called though. 

I'm so grateful I am here and able to serve.  There are so many miracles that have happened in regards to priesthood blessings, monetary things, changed hearts, to write them all down would take the whole day.  I am so excited to serve the people of Peru.  My Spanish is still ridiculously poor, but I've already seen how God gives you the words to say when you know you can't speak the language on your own.  The gift of tongues is real.

I hope everyone is doing well!

Love,
Hermana Bendixen

Week 1

Friends and Family,
Julia Bendixen is serving a mission in Lima Peru, but she is in the MTC right now in Provo, UT. I am her sister and will post the emails that she sends and wants her family and friends to read. I've never blogged before so I apologize if the blog looks lame and if I mess stuff up. Enjoy her letters!!
-Cheryl

Dear Family and Friends,

I just entered the MTC on the 27th.  When my Dad dropped me off outside, another missionary who had been here for a few weeks helped me with my luggage and I got in a long line where I received my classic name badge.  As my Dad was pulling away he yelled something really loud in.. Hawaiian?  I don't know what it was but it made me smile and all the Elders around looked and were like "that's awesome." Haha. I thought so.  Even though I have no idea what he said. 

When people say that the MTC is hard, they weren't joking.  Every single minute of every single day is planned out.  I don't know what's wrong with me, but most of the Sister missionaries I'm blessed to work with and room with have already broken down in tears.  After the first day we had already entered a classroom where the teacher spoke only Spanish to us.  About half of us in our District have taken Spanish before, but I especially feel bad for this one sister who has never even taken a language.  She took ASL, so the conjugations and masculine and feminine forms of words etc. are completely new to her.
 I got lost multiple times on my first day, but everyone is so nice!  It felt a little like being at BYU-I where everyone says Hi to you and is happy and helpful except ten times more so. 

By the second day, we were told that we had to teach a lesson in Spanish to an investigator.  It turned out to be a former missionary pretending to be an investigator he had, but it was still really nerve racking!  We all felt like we didn't know any Spanish whatsoever.  I'm still amazed how we did that lesson.  The words just came.  We didn't know how to conjugate everything, but through actions and a lot of "lo siento"s we were able to share a message about the restored gospel. It wasn't easy.  He kept asking why he should do things and we had to respond without reading our lesson plan haha! But, I thought it went really well since he didn't tell us that we should come back better prepared like to other companions in our district and since he said he would pray about the Book of Mormon. =) It's seriously amazing how even our sister who only took ASL, is able to communicate in Spanish.

The Spirit is so strong here and I'm so grateful to be here. 

I have yet to break down like many of my sisters.  I feel like at some point God is going to seriously humble me, but I keep praying that I will be humble, partly because I don't want to have the experience of being humbled. haha.  Whenever there seems to be a lot of negative things happening i.e. I've had this really bad cough.. possibly walking pneumonia? for basically this whole week, and we are a little late to class because we keep losing our key cards and other essentials, and whenever I'm about to be a little disappointed, I look down at my name badge and I can't help but smiling. 

I'm seriously so blessed to be in this place where we are all learning how to be better missionaries, and to be surrounded by so many people who are so devoted. 

I've learned more Spanish here in two days then I did in French in two years of French Class. :) And I'm not lying when I say that.  It's incredible. 

I feel like I've been blessed by having a great first companion.  a.k.a that other missionary who walks around with me all the time for those of you who are reading this and are unfamiliar with that term.  We are from similar backgrounds and we are both 21 instead of 19.  Her name is Sister Butterfield.  Because we are around everyone from our district ALL DAY, I already love them all so much and we are all really good friends. 

I can already see how we are changing and we've only been here a little over 3 days. 

An interesting scriptural thought I'd like to leave you with is something that my companion's friend wrote her in a letter.  I thought I would pass it along.  It's about Alma.  Alma the younger in the Book of Mormon.  Alma didn't have the full gospel of Jesus, Christ. He didn't know everything, but he continued doing what the Lord wanted him to do.  Learning is a process. It's not all going to come at once.  We aren't always going to know  all the answers, but we can have faith that we are doing what the Lord would have us do, the Spanish language will eventually come to us Hermanas, and that the Spirit of what we teach will touch the hearts of some people who want to draw closer to Christ.

I only have 30 minutes to respond to emails and to write a group letter each Pday or (preparation day) on the computer, (the rest of the time my pday will be on fridays), so sorry if these emails become shorter, and also for the poor grammar in them etc...  Thank you so much to all of you who have already written me! God bless!

Love, Hermana Julia Chanel Bendixen