last words from the MTC!

Dear Famdamly,

 

Another week has come and gone at the MTC. This time-warp thing here is starting to freak me out just a little bit. I feel like I have been here for years, but at the same time I can't believe how soon I will be leaving. 

Travel plans are in hand. I am leaving this Monday at 4:50 pm, with a direct flight to Paris! Do you know what this means? I get to eat airplane food! Oh yeah and I GET TO TALK TO YOU!!! I AM WRITING IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. We are leaving the MTC around 1:30, so I am guessing I will be calling you around 3. Will everyone be home? Will you send me E's cell number? Send me the details, I don't want to miss anyone.

 

My time at the MTC has been great and hard and happy and hard all over again. I can't say I am sad to leave this place, but I am sad to be leaving my district. I have learned so much good here, and have found even more good in all the people I have been able to meet. They are great. This past week was really good. Here are some highlights:

 

— My dear Claire got here on Wednesday. I was sitting on a bench outside after dinner, hoping to see her and then I saw her across the way and we made quite a spectacle sprinting across the MTC to each other, crying as we went. But ca va, the MTC needs more excitement anyways. It was so so lovely to see her. She lives on the floor below me, so every night we get to talk. Such a beautiful thing to be reunited with the people you love most.

 

— The district played a joke on Wallace and Louis and told them that Chouette's visa didn't go through and that he was being transfered. The joke went on a little too long, and they cracked after they held a meeting for him and told him he was in their prayers.

 

— Elder Bednar came and spoke at the devotional last week and it was so fantastic. He talked about how faith leads to action, and action leads to power. Faith becomes a power when we act on it.

 

— The water went out in our residence a few days ago, and so throughout the night there has been a giant drill outside our window working on it . . . took me back to the days at the Manor house this spring when we would wake up to our house literally shaking  because of the construction. Needless to say, I feel like the walking dead these past few days.

 

— We looked up Family History this week and I found a fun French line way back including a lot of towns that are in my area.  Also included: a Tomasco Francesco, Prince of Savoye Carnigan and Marie Soissons de Bourbon, Princess of Conde. I don't even know what that means, but it sounds fun. Also, I would love to do some family history on Dad's side, any info you have would be fab.

 

— Class is still good, French is still good, the district is still dominating at four square, food is all starting to taste the same, etc. etc. We have been looking up some fun phrases in French. One that we keep on quoting at totally random times: On peux pas vivre d'amour et d'eau fraiche. Meaning, one cannot live off of love and fresh water alone. We think it is great and funny and man I love French.

 

This week I have had a lot of thoughts bouncing around in my head. I guess the conept of actually moving to another country for a while hadn't actually sunk in. This week it sunk in. And I cannot wait. I know that a lot of hard things are ahead, but I also know a lot of good things are ahead. Sometimes I struggle with the concept of approaching people and ultimately asking them to change their lives. This week I found a fantastic article though (it was actually about Islam and Mohammad and our church, look it up on lds.org.) and there were all these quotes about how we add upon other truths. I love this gospel because it provides me with purpose and then encourages me to find goodness and truth in all things. There was a quote by Joseph Smith where he said, 

"One of the grand fundamental principles of mormonism, is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may... gather all good and true principles in the world and treasure them." 

So off I go into the world, to share the best principles of living that I know, and to gather as many other good principles I find in people and places and ideas.  I believe in this with my whole heart, and I love you all with my whole heart. Next time I write to you it will be from France or Belgium or Luxembourg. Oh la la la la. C'est fou.

 

Love always, from Paris to the Moon,

 

Olivia