LAST EMAIL WITH A COUNTDOWN

O my goodness.

So talking to ya'll was much harder than I was expecting, expecially considering I felt like I was going to puke the whole time (FYI do not eat the salmon at the mTC).

SOOOOO I'm going to BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA.

Take a moment and laugh.

Ok. I'm actually really excited. I was able to fill out my online version and so that means my visa will be here in less than thirty days so that is awesome but in the mean time I will be able to go back close to home and teach people I'm very familiar with. I was so excited when I heard we were going to south. Even more excited that my entire district was going with me. They never reassign entire districts...so I'm thinking there is something exciting waiting for us in Alabama. haha. Alabama. So anyway for language hour I gave the entire class a whole lesson on how to speak southern. It was a lot of fun. All the elders are super excited to get going and start being missionaries. Which makes me happy because a month ago they would have been heart broken that they weren't going straight to Brazil. But we will get there when the Lord wants us too.

So my last week at the MTC (last week how crazy is that?) has been super amazing. I saw a real improvement in my language, which was nice. I felt like I've been hitting a wall the last few weeks. I'm sure I will hit that wall many more a time, but it is nice to see some improvement. It's funny but i'm pretty certain I already speak Portuguese much better than i ever did in all my years of taking french (although that is not saying much since I pretty much stunk at french) (O BTW monica when we saw ya'll my companion said that she was in your french class). Anyway it's nice to see that I've improved tremendously.

We had another apostle come...3 in a row...that pretty much never happens. It was M. Russel Ballard this week and it was amazing. I had a seat like right under his nose so you can imagine how happy I was. He talked about the importance of communication and what communication entails. The BIG SECRET: Smile...haha.

One of my favorite part of the weeks was when I talked to the Ambassador from Peru. (I didn't realize it until about the middle part of our conversation). He was just a man in the way of my couch. It wasn't until I noticed the people taking pictures of me and my companion, the body guards, and all the missionaries standing around watching that I realized that he was a big deal. Haha looking back it is so funny. I seriously just pranced up to the ambassador of Peru. Saw that he was from another country, asked him where he was from. "Peru." How long he was here for? What he was doing at the MTC? "Figuring out what this whole mission thing was about." He then looked at me and asked, "You don't have to be here. Yes? Why are you here." I then preceeded to tell him that Heavenly Father had blessed me with the knowledge of his gospel and that the least I could do as an attempt to pay him back was to share that knowledge with others. We then talked about where I was from and the language. He was amazed at how quickly we learned and asked how that was. my reply- a lot of study, prayer, and answers to those prayers. His wife, who I hadn't noticed til then, said that she thought that was exactly what it was.

He was a very nice man and I was so glad that I had the opportunity to talk to him.

I can't believe I'm leaving this place. I know it is time...any longer here and my pants will not fit me anymore...haha just kidding. But seriously.

THis place has been absolutely amazing. I can't believe I was ever bummed about coming here. I have met so many amazing people and made many great friends from around the world (fiji, the marshall islands, new zealand, england, japan, Pakistan, the first ever sister from Jordan, Kansas, Utah, France...everywhere).

I know that Provo was exactly where I needed to be. The lessons taught and learned, the people met and loved, the experiences...were all things that I needed. And because of that I will go wherever the Lord needs me to go without complaint and I will stay there for however long. I'm just happy to be here. To be learning things I've learned. To be teaching the things I've taught.

I'm a little nervous to go, but I have confidence that I'm doing the right thing. I have confidence that if I work my hardest, the Lord will take up the rest. Because I know I can't do it on my own...the times I have tried, I've failed. But in those times that I am humble and aknowledge that this is not in any way about me, are the times I do things that always catch me by surprise.

I know that I'm on the Lord's errend and because of that I will find people wherever I go. I will do the the things I need to do. The Lord will make me into who I need to be.

Thank you so much for making this possible. These 18 months will always be something I will look back on and love. I promise to work my very hardest, even when times get hard. I promise to love every minute of it, even when it is difficult to. Thank you so much for supporting me- be it the money that pays for me being here, the letters that are sent, or the prayers that are said.

Love Ya'll :)