Chapter 4 - Veterans of the MTC

Hey!

I'm doing great! Another week here at the good ole MTC has flown by.  I've been here a whole month - so unreal! It's weird when we talk to other sisters and we're the "Vets" now haha Surviving the MTC so far. :)  That's awesome about your trip to Logan! I'm glad it went well (I knew it would ;))   I'm sure Katie will do awesome as always on her finals (who studies for those things anyways!)

haha okay, okay! I'm sorry about the pictures but, there's only one computer lab where we can email pictures from and everytime we try to go, the lab is full or the computers are down for maintanence! So not entirely my fault, just mostly.  Expect some pictures today: I'll wait in line for you!

Exciting story for this week: We got to Skype Germans on Monday and teach them! Bruder Devones facebooked a bunch of the members, he met on his mission and they said, they'd love to have us teach them! So Sister Young and I taught two sisters from Mannheim, Germany.  They were 13 and 15 years old, have super cute names whose spelling I would butcher so I won't try, and are BEAUTIFUL!  The Latter-Day Saints bring up some gorgeous children that's for sure! Anyways, it was loads of fun to try and understand their German (they speak incredibly fast) and do our best to communicate back.  They love our American accents and would not stop giggling. (That might have been because we mixed up the word for Switzerland and sweat.... but whatever haha) All in all, they were able to understand us and I got about a fourth (maybe a third) of what they were saying. Heck yes! It was reassuring and terrifying at the same time. Less than two weeks till Deutschland!

 I should get my travel plans either this Saturday or Monday and I just bought my phone card to call ya'll from the Airport.  Next e-mail I'll be able to give you more details about that so until then! :)  You should be getting a box any day now of some exercise clothes I'm sending home but I think other than that I brought enough of everything.  I get plenty of letters but, I'd never say no to more haha  Gratitude!  Oh also, here's a quote from last night's devotional  that I really liked: "If you don't feel Christ's presence, move closer." It's our job to make sure we're continually moving closer to the Savior.  I can't explain how important it is to our Heavenly Father that we're making plans/goals to become more like Christ.  And then, BAM! Actually working on our goals!

I got a little sick last Saturday but, after some rest, I feel way better. My health is golden - no asthma issues or headaches or anything like that! Can't complain! :)

Love you all and I'm so glad ya'll are doing well!!

-Sister Harman

  Funny story - the first pictures we received were actually from Lauren, Sister Nance via Katie!  It seems only fitting since most of pictures documenting her freshman experience were taken by Lauren.  I love Krissie's roommates from freshman year, every one of them.  :)  So I guess I guilted Krissie into sending more.  :)

 Schwester Harman and Elder Miller.  Elder Miller is orginally from Burley but never lived there when we did.  These two actually met last summer, Elder Miller will be serving in the Frankfurt, Germany Mission.

 Krissie and Lauren reunited at the MTC.

 These two were roommates their freshman year at BYU!

 All the sisters in Krissie's zone

 Schwesters Harman and Frederiksen

 Schwesters Harman and Young, MTC companions

 Schwesters Harman and Blohm

Schwesters Harman and Young, their first day at the MTC, even have the orange dots to prove it.  :)

Chapter 3 - The MTC adventures continue

Hey you!

I loved getting your letters! I'm glad that everyone is doing well.

Thanks for the package! I loved it and so did all my district (be proud, I've finally learned to share haha) Yeah, if you wouldn't minding sending off everything that you can to the mission office.  I'm bummed I didn't get the letter before or I would have had it all done by now.  (P.S. I love my towels - they are light weight and dry super fast. Best idea ever) If I need to get more pictures taken, I can do that here so that I can mail it off ASAP.  Hopefully, this won't mess with my visa stuff.

This week went really well, we've taught so many lessons this week with our new investigators and our German is coming along swimmingly haha.  In other words, I can generally get my message across. Now I just really need to work on my grammar. Yay for additional study time! (It's the time where you can study basically anything you need.) Thanks for doing the blog stuff - I've heard from everyone that it's a big hit!

 

So here's the great thing about being in an MTC branch, there is an assigned topic for that Sunday for the Sacrament talks.  Everyone has time to prepare a talk auf Deutsch on Saturday night and then after partaking the Sacrament, the Branch Presidency member conducting announces which two missionaries will be speaking.  Like five of the Elders in my zone leaned over right before Sacrament meeting and all told me that I would be speaking.  Wham bam - it was my turn. 

 

Luckily, I'm ridiculously good at German and was able to speak it super well (insert hysterical laughter).  I got so nervous that I just straight up read my talk in German.  At least I bore my testimony auf Deutsch without too much trouble haha Oh well! Baby steps :D Girl!

 

So here's a funny story, here at the MTC they have huge containers of cereal. Similar to those at hotels, in that we turn the nob for the cereal to come out. So our Zone (all going to Deutschland) decided that one morning we would try to eat all the Coco Roos and completely empty a container before the MTC workers refilled it).  The morning came and grand total 67 bowls of Coco Roos were consumed.  (Our branch is about 30 people)  with Elder Morey eating 11 bowls. (He's 18... what do we expect ;)).  Elder Milsoe (Danish Elder headed to Alpine) picked up the ginormous container, lifted it above his head and yelled, "FREEDOM!".  It was absolutely hilarious.  We all cheer and all the Elders began singing the forbidden first verse of the German national anthem. (Deutschland, Deutschland uber uber alles) Germany over all - it was during Hitler's reign and it's a huge no-no but everyone sings it anyways.  It was hilarious and so random.  The joys of the MTC!

Anyways, I love you and I hope all continues to go will.  LOVE YOU!

-Krissie

Note for Schwester Harman's mom:  Krissie's letter from her mission president never arrived and finally made its way back to the mission home so we are trying to get all the stuff done we were supposed to do months ago.  But the Lord takes care of  His missionaries and their families.  I had a copy of everything we need to send on the computer.  Very blessed we are!  The towels she is talking about are the microfiber towels, we found them at Deseret Book and they are so small!  I hope you are enjoying the blog!  If you happen to hear a great story from Krissie that is not posted on the blog, email it to me (babescola@msn.com) and I will post it.
Thank you!!

Chapter Two: At the MTC

I LOVE THE MTC! It's a spiritual paradise more like.  Crazy busy but, I really do enjoy it. My spiritual batteries are overflowing with energy. Literally, I feel the Spirit 24/7 and it's glorious (hasslich)  German is coming really well, I mean I still don't know a ton but I can generally get my points across now.  I can't believe how much I've learned in only two weeks.  I leave in a month from now and I CAN'T wait. I mean I"m terrified but so excited.  

Yes! I saw Lauren! I had been looking for her everywhere and I didn't see her until Saturday afternoon! It was really fun.  

This week has been SO good! I feel like I've learned more this week than should be physically possible.  My head is bursting with German knowledge but, I absolutely love it! I can't believe I've already been here two weeks.  Less than a month and I'll be in Deutschland! Random fact, all the English Speaking missionaries that reported the same day as me, have all been sent out into the field now. WEIRD! This last week we finished up teaching our first investigator with a commitment to baptism! (Oh yeah!) And now we have two new investigators! Christian and Albert.  It's tough because they all speak different dialects of German and they're upping the ante with German words. Our first couple lessons, they spoke really simple phrases and words.  Now they're almost to normal words but, luckily, still speaking really slow for us haha

The other sisters in our district (our little class) knew a bunch of German already so they're being spoken to at normal speed, which they say is SO hard! I can't wait till that's me!  

 

The language is actually coming surprisingly well!  I'm able to say lots of words and am really working this week on being able to piece lots of sentences together.  I will definitely ask specifically for the gift of tongues I know that will help me so much!  My classes from high school helped so much.  I remember random words and facts from class and it definitely helps me when we're teaching our German investigators (untersuchers).  The trip has helped me feel more comfortable in where I'm heading and the culture to which I'll be learning.  I love love love the MTC.  My district is like my family here and it's great to have a group (8 of us) to help each other out with German and with teaching lessons.

Elder NELSON came and spoke to us yesterday for our devotional!  Sister Young and I thought about going early to lunch and leaving personal study early to get good seats (they didn't announce who was speaking until he walked in) - we were just worried that we would sit in the overflow and devotionals are always so good.  Since our goal this week has been exact obedience, we finished study time and left way later (as we were supposed to) than the rest of our zone.  We came in to find nearly all the seats taken but ... then we found two empty seats right up front!  God blesses those who are exactly obedient!  And yes, we got better seats than those who left early!  BOOYAH! haha

 It was awesome! He is such a sweet, soft spoken man and when he walked in the Spirit just hit like a freight train! Elder Nelson talked alot about how ancestors of non-members are praying for us to find their descendents and for them to accept the gospel so that their whole family could be sealed together. Yay for angels and family history! It really is a huge blessing in our lives.  He said that if we need, we can pray for angels (by name) to guide us and help us through the trials that come our way. I've been praying for Grandma Fowler's patience as I attempt to learn German and get used to the business that is the MTC.  My favorite day is Wednesday because I get to see all the new missionaries come in and, of course, get to e-mail ya'll! 

About the letter from my mission president, everyone going to Alpine got one except for me.  My guess is mine probably got lost in the mail. I really think I don't need anything sent and if they do need something they'll call me into the travel office soon! But yeah, on my ministerial certificate it says I'll be serving from May 1st to October 29, and so that's an estimation of when I'll be coming home! CRAZY!   I love you all and hope that you have the greatest week ever!

Tschüss!

Sister Harman

Chapter One Continues...

So I found out I actually have an hour with email and not thirty minutes so YAY! The MTC is crazy busy but so wonderfully spiritual! Wake up at 6:30, exercise, eat, shower/get ready, personal study, classroom, lunch, classroom, dinner, language study, personal study, planning and bed.  This is usually my schedule... we never have a down moment, which is good because we have so much to learn.  Right after I left ya'll at the curb - I got my name tag, dropped off my things in my bedroom and went to my classroom where they began teaching us. EVERYTHING IN GERMAN!  Too bad I'm awful at charades or I might've gotten something out of it.  haha Luckily, I was so pumped, it really didn't bother me.

The exercise is nice, Sister Young and I run for a warm up, lift some weights (she's pro!), and then usually play volleyball. All in all - can't complain there.  The food is decent enough and they have lots of choices so everyone is usually pretty happy with the choices. (when in doubt, there's always cereal)  The flipflops to wear as shower shoes were a really good idea.  So many people are showering and it gets kind of nasty.  In my district, (my classroom - my "MTC family") there are four elders (Elders: Kastendieck, Barker, Hancey, and Sumsion) all going to Alpine and 4 sisters (Sisters: Carlson, Petersen, Young and myself).  All the sisters are headed to Frankfurt.  Sister Young and I are kind of the odd companionship out of our whole branch (ward. In our ward, we have 4 districts), we're the only companionship not headed to the same mission.  There are only four other sisters in our branch (Sister Weber and Sister Miller, who both are our district's bedroommates; and Sister Frederickson and Sister Blohm)  Sis. F and B are headed to Alpine and they're from Denmark. Pretty cool! Sister Weber and Miller are headed to Frankfurt. 

I'm working hard on the language and am just pressing on! I can't believe that a week has already flown by and that it's time for new missionaries to report! I'm not a newbie anymore!! Only five weeks left and I'll be in Europe! That scares the heck out of me because I still have a lot of German to learn but I'm excited anyways haha!

Love you all and wish you the best!

Sister Harman :)

Chapter One

Hallo!!

No worries about the tears, I cried like a baby, Monday so we all have our breakdowns haha  Wednesday is my P-Day, obviously, and your package came on Monday, which was perfect!  I was just feeling a bit overwhelmed with the German and we were teaching our second lesson AUF DEUTSCH! to an investigator.  They really throw you right in and the lesson didn't go so red hot so Sister Young (meine mitarbeiterin) and I were feeling really overwhelmed... tears ensued but, we talked it out and are feeling much better now! 

It's been so crazy here with about 10-11 hours of studying in one room every day.  And I thought school was hard!  I love my companion, she's really funny. Think Amanda Bynes from She's the Man plus a little bit of Nebraskan craziness and that's her.  SO funny.  I've seen so many people here that I know. It's a small world!

The rice krispy treats were AHMAZING! Thank you thank you!  I have one baby request... more sweets! haha I love sweet and letters and joy and sleep and exercise!  More to come in a letter later because I'm almost out of time!

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Kris

Preface: An Unexpected Journey

     In a dorm at BYU, Provo there lived a girl. It was not a dirty, unfriendly kind of dorm: it was a freshman dorm, and that meant fun! Although this is not a story of Middle-Earth, it is a story of a young women answering the call to serve. In October 2012, when President Monson announced the lowering of the missionary age, Krissie knew what she would do. Within minutes of his talk's end, she had called her parents to tell them she was headed on a mission. Before the session was through she had also called her bishop, and then began her mission papers. She decided to finish fall and winter semester before leaving on her epic journey.
     On January 25, 2013-a day before her birthday- she received her mission call. She was headed to the Misty Mountains of the Alpine German Speaking Mission. She began her quest on May 1st, when we dropped her off at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah.