Em's First Letters from MTC

(sent via email 03/06/12 1:39pm)

Subject: Suasdei Family!

Hello from the MTC! Oh my there is so much to write. Thank you for the letters and package. I love them. I love getting the DearElders everyday. I can read them more often since I only check my email on P day which is Tuesday (Today!). 

Sunday was a beautiful day here in the MTC. The sky was blue, the birds were chirping, and there was an amazing spirit. We had mission conference since it was fast Sunday. The talks were amazing but the one that struck me the most was by President Brown. He talked about the final hours of the Savior's life. It was amazing. I had a quote from it but I don't have that notebook. It really just struck me the depth of all the Savior suffered for us so we can be clean and live with him again. I pray everyday to remember the power of the Atonement in my life.Do you know if there's a way to get transcripts of MTC talks? That would be an amazing one to read. Oddly enough the special musical number was "O Divine Redeemer." It was sung by a Sister and it was beautiful but it really made me want to hear the version Laura and I did.

I received a calling this Sunday in our MTC branch (which comprises Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Hmong speaking with some Elders going English speaking to Atlanta, GA). I'm now the musical coordinator. I pick the hymns for Sunday and arrange for special musical numbers. They found out I could play the piano and latched onto that but I love it. I'm glad I can share my talent with others. Our Sacrament meeting on Sunday was amazing. It was fast and testimony meeting and all the testimonies borne were so uplifting and inspiring. Later that day we had a Temple walk which was marvelous. The weather was beautiful and I didn't even have to wear my coat! I got some pictures of my district and companions but I'm not sure when I'll be able to upload them. We had a fireside Sunday night by Alex Boye. It was amazing. I'm sure Marion would've enjoyed it. The three things I remember he said were a mission is a partnership with God and to look to him for help and guidance, you become what you think so think about your mission has an amazing life changing experience and will be. Also believe in yourself, don't get yourself down.

Now to talk more about my companions. I am in a trio with Sister Brunelle and Sister Tsuchida. They are the best companions ever. I love them! Sis. Brunelle comes from Sacramento, CA and is the first of her family to join the church. When she had her farewell her Mom came and showed some interest so she's hoping that she'll join the church. Sister Brunelle has so much energy and brings a lot of fun and livliness to the MTC. She also has a very strong testimony of the Gospel. Sister Tsuchida is from Japan (her family still lives there) and attends UVU. She has one of the most amazing testimonies and brings the spirit wherever she goes. She'll be tri-lingual when she gets home speaking Japanese, English, and Khmer!

There are 5 sisters total in my district all going to Cambodia (Cambodian speaking). Sister Vom Lehn is from New York and Sister Solorio is from Thailand but she's really American. She moved to Thailand in high school. Together we sisters in the district complete each other and have so much fun! Seriously the MTC is a blast.

There are 5 elders in our district with 4 going to Cambodia and 1 going to California Long Beach. The whole district has so much fun together and whenever there is a district meeting we know we're going to have a good time. They say the MTC expericence is made by your district so I'm sure mine will be great. I love my district!

We've taught our investigator a total of three times now. It blew me away when on Friday they had us teaching and investiagor meeting. Each meeting has gotten better and it's been some great experience. Last nights was amazing because we got him to pray on his own. We had the prayer written out in Khmer to help him and he did it all on his own! The feeling was one of the best I've had so far. We're even bringing him a Book of Mormon! We would've last time but we didn't have one in Khmer on us. I've used the word amazing a lot but I don't know what else can describe it. It's just ... Amazing! Look up some words in the thesaurus I could use. :)

Sister Brunelle has a dog and Sister Tsuchida has 3 cats. They really love their pets and I wish I had a picture of Magic and Princess that I could show them.

We only get 30 minutes to check our email on P day so excuse the shortness of the letter. I could go on forever about how wonderful my experience at the MTC has been thus far. And I've only been here one week! I'm going to make the best use of the next 11. I love it here and will also love it when I'm serving the people of Cambodia!

All my love,

Sister Emily Strobell (EMS)

(Emily wrote 2 letters before her email dated 03/01/12 and 03/02/12)

03/01/12

Jem Riam Sua family! Today is my first full day in the MTC and it is going great. Today we got our shots and that's why I'm writing you (not that I didn't want to anyway). 

Our instructor only talks to us in Cambodian which is good for learning the language. Yesterday I was a little uncomfortable with the language so I can't imagine what others are feeling. I love you all and am glad I'm here starting on my mission. They say it gets better after your first Sunday. I can't wait 'til I can communicate the good, happy news the gospel is to the wonderful people of Cambodia. And in their native tongue too! Again, I love you all very much.

Love,

Sister Emily Strobell

03/02/12

Thanks for all the letters! The mail didn't get checked for the first time until today. I feel so loved with 5 letters! I'm off to TALL right now (computer lab language study).

So I just got back from district study and it was a blast! My district is way fun and I'm so excited we get to serve together for the next 11 weeks. All 5 of the sisters in my district are 21!

Today I ran into Elder Casey Yates at the bookstore which was cool. Be sure to ask Erin for the picture.

Another thing we did today was teach our first "investigator" which was crazy. We just barely learned how to pray in Khmer and bear our testimonies. We were supposed to teach him how to pray. I'm not sure how much he understood but I know we will get better and the Lord will help us. I'm not worried about the language. I know the Lord will help us master it and communicate better.

The meals here are good. I haven't indulged in my chocolate milk yet but I think I will  tomorrow. They have these wraps here that taste amazing and aren't bad for the waistline either. They actually had BYU Creamery ice cream here on our first day but I didn't get any. We have it every Wednesday and Sunday.

Now to answer some questions that haven't been answered. All the people in my district will leaving at the same time which right now May 15th. Our days are very scheduled. They are filled with studying, studying and more studying but it's good.

We had gym time tonight and when we were done we had the ultimate indulgence of BYU Creamery cookies and cream chocolate milk. It was divine but definitely only every once in a awhile. It was like melted ice cream. 

We have between 4 to 7 hours of language studay everyday with a gym time everyday except P day and Sunday. I played the piano last night in the branch meeting. The presidency said to thank you Mom for having me learn and play the piano.

A spiritual experience I've had since being here is . . . Well I've had numerous spiritual experiences. One of my favorites was when we had the lecture about loving those we teach. It's also important that they know of Heavenly Father's love for them. I'm sure I will have many spiritual experiences to share with you throughout my whole experience.

I was made senior companion at our branch meeting so I try to set a good example but really we all have equal parts in the companionship.

Here's a funny story - when we were teaching our investigator how to pray we asked to kneel down at the beginning and we stayed on the floor the rest of the time. We didn't know how to ask him to get up.

I love you all very much and will write you on Tuesday (P day).

Love,

Sister Emily Strobell (EMS)