Hello everyone!
Wow! What a week it has been! My first week here has been amazing, tough, strengthening, tough, spiritual, tough, and did I mention tough? Haha Isn't it great to get emails though? Now you all (well my family) know how I felt about Pdays! ;) My P-day is tuesday but I only get one here at the MTC because next Tuesday I will be flying out to Georgia!! :D Crazy huh?! I have my itinerary and everything and we have to be at the travel office at 3:30 AM Tuesday morning!!!!! SOOOO EARLY!! But it's okay, I'm excited :) Well my companion is Sister Johns from Seattle Washington area and she's pretty great! We're really open with each other and she's fun but we're still having a hard time connecting with the spirit together and I've been getting irritated easily with some things... haha but I'll talk about that in a bit ;) So my first day was great!! I definitely think that the hardest part was leaving my family.... :( but once I got to my room and my classroom and met my district I felt very welcomed and like I belonged here! My district is ALL going to Georgia Atlanta North Mission :) We have bonded so well and it's awesome because seeing everyone grow here and then we'll be able to continue to watch everyone grow out in the field cuz we'll fly out and be there together!! So there's 4 Elders and 4 Sisters: Elder Oyler from Kaysville, UT; Elder Medina from Idaho; Elder Hamrick from Colorado; and Elder Patton who is from Kentucky but spent 14 years in Korea and I think was born there so he's Asian! Ha and then there's Sister Newman from Idaho; Sister Barnard from Seattle Washington area; and then my comp Sister Johns and then me! Our zone is awsome too, there's three other Elders coming to Georgia with us in the other district and we have an Austrailian in our zone named Elder West and he's so funny!! Haha Also we have another district coming here tomorrow and we'll have another sister from austrailia come in that district! It's cool cuz tomorrow me and sis. Johns get to be with her tonight cuz she comes in a day earlier and because we are the Sister Training Leaders for our zone and are in charge of the sisters :) so that's been exciting to already have a calling haha but it's been overwhelming and stressful too! But it's fine, the Lord has been good to me.
So HOLY COW do I love wearing our Savior's name on our name tags!! :) I love being a missionary and the first two days I was on a spiritual high for sure!!! The first day we had an orientation about the MTC with the presidency and in a room filled with about 600 just got there THAT DAY, we all sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth", "Called to Serve", and "As Zion's Youth in Latter Days". The Spirit was SO strong it was incredible. Then by the second day, our district had bonded so well. We all shared our reasons as to why we came on our missions. It was powerful and everyone has a back story but it's so cool to see how the Lord has worked in our lives so that we could be here at this time and I truly believe that. There are no accidents, we are all here going to the same mission for a reason. I'm definitely one of the slower ones in my district though.... haha mentally and getting ready in the mornings :/ There are some major habits I really need to break and work on but I am trying my hardest to be as obedient as I can! Exact obedience brings blessings!! I can see the growth and change in me every day and I know it will only progress.
I sent a letter home too btw that I'm hoping you guys got :) So anyway by the third day, 2nd full day, we were already teaching! We have two teachers, one in the morning who is Sister Jenkins and she's great, and then one in the afternoon who is Brother Vogt (vote) and he's awesome! He's my favorite and is so funny!! But basically our teachers "role-play" as investigators. They act like someone they taught on their mission to make it seem more real. Sis. Johns and I had our first lesson on Friday and it was hard! We were both so nervous and so new to this but we were lead by the spirit and we are still teaching our "investigator" and we are doing well. In fact, our lesson yesterday was truly amazing, we both came out of our lesson with huge grins because we both felt the spirit so strongly, not just individually but as a companionship, and we could tell he felt the spirit as well. It's truly incredible being able to see that spirit in our teacher as an "investigator" even though he's acting, he still acts so well to portray this person. Then yesterday we started our TRC lesson, which is Training Resource Center, but basically these are hired actors to come to the MTC for us new missionaries to kind of practice on but it's still a lot of pressure and it feels so real! It really shows what it'll be like in the field. Me and my comp felt okay about our lesson but both agreed we didn't have that connection and the spirit wasn't there for both of us. My companion is great and I learn a lot from her but it's so hard adjusting to being around a person 24/7 and they kind of get on your nerves every once in a while. Haha but the Lord is teaching me how to be more humble and expressing outward instead of inward and just serving her so that we can work well together.
I have to be honest though, Friday and Saturday I started to get kind of down. I was having a hard time and kept thinking about home and wasn't focused. I could see some distress coming and so I was getting irritated and didn't feel motivated to do anything. But then Sunday came around and WOW. Sacrament here with our zone and then Music and the Spoken Word at Relief Society and then there were meetings which were long haha oh and the temple walk! We got to go outside of the MTC grounds!! :D but THEN..... Chad Lewis, as in THE Chad Lewis, came and spoke at our devotional and the spirit was so strong and he lightened my mood and said things I needed to hear. And straight after that we have like movie time or something but it's just like another devotional to watch, and we watched The Character of Christ by David A. Bednar. Seriously.... watch it. I'm not joking. Try to look it up. It was giving at the MTC on christmas day a while ago... So I don't know if you will be able to find it somewhere but really.... I was crying so hard and it was sooooooo powerful and definitely a change in how I see things and a different way to try to become more like Christ. This perspective and that talk was truly inspiring. I love being a missionary!!! And times like that make me think that there is no where I'd rather be than here at the MTC.
Yes, the food here is so good. But it's SO bad. Hahaha It has not been good to me ;) but it's delicious I think and there are so many options. And also I already have blisters on the heels of my feet and I got them the first day. Yeah, they've been a pain and haven't been healing because I am constantly wearing shoes that even though wouldn't be giving me blisters, but since I got them, my shoes have been constantly rubbing them. :( So it's whatever, they'll heal eventually. Also Gym time is bomb. I love it and it releases so much stress and is just a good break :)
Anyhoot, I am enjoying it here. I miss all you guys but I feel strongly this is where I need to be. I don't have everyone's email addresses and so send this to everyone you can think haha plus we only have an hour here and so I have to hurry. But the next time you'll hear from me I'll be in Georgia! and I don't know when that'll be haha but just be patient, I love you all and thank you for your emails :) Also I have to wait to upload pictures cuz we can't do it here apparently ha but I will try my best to get to everyone and reply back, it's just crazy how time passes so quickly! Love you all, have a great week, you are in my prayers :)
Love, Sister Davenport
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