Morgan's 2nd letter home

September 25, 2008

Dear Mom & Dad,
Gosh! You guys are fast! I’ve been in the MTC all of one day and already I have a package?! Wow!
Day Two at the MTC: I’m tired but thrilled to be here. I’m at a meeting right now with a really good speaker, Bro. George T. Taylor. He’s very enthusiastic, excited, and he knows his stuff. We sang “Hark All Ye Nations” for an opening song and he stopped us after the first verse. Hen then went on for about 3 minutes and talked to us about being missionaries. He told us about the word “enthusiasm,” explaining that it came from the Greek word “entheos” which meant “God in us.” Wow! “Enthusiastic” is my favorite word –of-the-week now! Then he had us sing again, and I had goosebumps all over! It reminded me that I didn’t mind being outnumbered. The Elders are amazing!


September 26, 2008
Wow—I now understand why my friends in the MTC wrote such short letters—there is no time! We have a strict schedule and I actually love it. There is no room for doubt; I am where I am supposed to be.
Dad, I met some elders at lunch today who were going to Ecuador. I told them you served in Colombia and they got all excited. They asked if you loved it and I told them, “Of course!” I told them that they’d be eating a lot of rice and beans. One elder asked how quickly you got used to it. I told him pretty quick. Alright, that’s all for now! I’ll keep sending letters as often as possible, I promise!
Love,
your missionary

p.s. Check out Dear Elder.com! We’ve heard that if you send it through them before noon, we’ll get the letters that day! Please pass on the word! Put it on my blog, too.

Morg's First letter to me!!!

So here it is!!! The first letter to the lil sis!!!

My dearest darling chicken-y popsicle!

Hello my love! How are you? How is school going? Hopefully all is well. School is hard, but it should also be fun. Look for the fun in everything!

How's Lisa and Courtney, and Brittnee and...um...the other roommates name who I am blanking on? Sorry :( I hope you love them as much as I love mine!

My companion is Sis. Dalley. She's from Inkom ID. She's going to LA too. Sis. Scheer is her companion, and she's headed to the Texas Fortworth mission. We are the only sisters in our zone at the MTC, which is kind of fun.

There is and Elder Riches in my zone who knows Melody from Hennifer! :) And Elder Cook in my district knows the Jardines. Small world huh? I also ran into an old friend from Oak Canyon, Sis. Young, and I stood in line with Sis. Ness who knows Cydney from Timpanogos! Crazy huh?

I've run into Elder Long a couple of times. It's fun getting to talk to him in french-probably mostly because I know more than he does for now. Ha ha! :) I also met and elder who knows "oh my" Melody: he's from Hennifer too. AND an elder in my district is from Alpine and knows the Jardines. AND I saw Sis. Warwood from Battle Mountain here! I think her first name is Cara? Ask mom if you can't remember; she should.

I'm listening to a girl sing, "I Stand All Amazed" at a meeting right now, and it makes me love you all the more for your beautiful voice! You have the ability to bring such a strong spiritual prescense when you sing. Please use that gift often! You never know who much peace it can bring to others. :)

Okay, I love you tons! I'd write more, but I'm about to pass out, I'm so tired. I have never been so busy in my entire life! It's so amazing how much we get done in a single day!

I love you!

I love you!

I loveYou!!!( with a heart around the word love)

Your Favorite Missionary,
(I'd better be!)

Sister Pedersen

TADAA! I love her!! Send her your love!!!!!

Sister Morgan Pedersen
MTC Mailbox #251
LA-BAT 1014
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604-1793

She is estimated to leave for LA October 14th so I'll put her new address up when that time comes!! Until the next letter!!

Love,

Stacia

Sister Pedersen's First Letter Home

Morgan sent the following letter home:

Dear Mom, Dad, and Stacia,

Yes, I know I've only been in the MTC for a matter of hours, but I had some free time after unpacking so I thought I'd start my first letter to you.

Today was a busy day! I met my very first companion, Sister Dalley. She is from Incom, ID. I totally knew where that was, too! She's really nice. The other sister I've met is Sister Boulter who is from St. George! Small world, huh? The three of us are all going to the Louisiana-Baton Rouge Mission. They were in the earlier orientation meeting. Sister Dalley and I both went to BYU-Idaho and Sister Boulter went to BYU. We haven't met anyone else in our room yet, but by the looks of the decoration, one sister is either from Australia or is going there. Don't worry, Mom, I will find out for you!

I've already seen Elder Long (boy from Hurricane) a couple of times today; it made me smile. I stood in line next to Sister Ness--she's friends with Cydni, too! She recognized me from Cyd's bridal shower. Man, the Lord works fast here! I was kind of worried about standing in line alone, and--BAM! There comes Sister Ness.

It's overwhelming, seeing how vastly outnumbered we sisters are. It's a good kind of overwhelming, though. It creates lots of opportunities. Hooray!!!

(written later that evening)

Now that it is later, I've met my other roomies here at my residency hall. Sister Sheer, who is Sister Boulter's companion, is going to the Texas-Fort Worth Mission. Sister Naulu is a Tongan Australian--it's her flags that are all over the room. She is from Brisbane, Australia. She and her companion are serving in the Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission.

Argh! There is no time! Okay. Sorry the end of this is rushed, but it's "lights out" in five minutes and I've got a bunch left to do. I love you!

Your missionary,

Sister Morgan Pedersen

The "MTC"

It was an amazing day that brought back so many wonderful memories for me. Morgan is so ready and excited to be there. I was the only one not to cry because I couldn't wait for her to experience this wonderful opportunity called a "Mission". More need to do it, we need young men and women and older men and women too. Please if you have a desire serve, it will be the best thing you can do for yourself. A mission experience is like no other and it will affect you in such wonderful ways now, and for the rest of your life. Love, Mom

Morgans Officially a Missionary!!

Well hello all!! Since Morgan officially can not update her blog, I her loving little sister Stacia will. Morgan went into the MTC yesterday... It was quite the experience. I was doing pretty good until we got in a room that had two signs, one stating Missionary Exit and the other saying Family Exit... I pretty much lost it from that point on. It was a trying yet amazing experience. I was bawling and Morgan shed a few tears, but I could tell that she was so exicted. This was the day she had been dreaming about for YEARS! I couldn't be happier for her. Morgan will be in the MTC till around October 14 2008 so for those of you who want to send her letters, that should help you decide where to send them. I'm putting up some fun pictures from the MTC. Send her you letters with love!! I cant gaurantee she'll reply, shes good at writing but has issues with getting them in the mailbox :)

I'll post her emails up here too so all who would like to read them can :)

10 DAYS!!!

Wow! Time has sure flown. It's almost hard to believe that I leave in ten days! I'm so excited, it's ridiculous! Everything is done, just about. I've got a couple last minute things to still get--first aid kit, helmet, etc--and so this week is dedicated to PACKING. Ugh, I do not enjoy packing. But it'll be worth it...I just have to keep reminding myself that. It WILL be worth it.

Next Sunday I get to speak in church, and that brings me even MORE excitement! I know it sounds funny, but I love to give talks! It's an odd quirk, I know, but I can't help it. Last time I gave a talk, I was working on just a couple hours of sleep (I'd worked a grave shift on Saturday) and I was getting to that point of being-so-tired-you're-hyper. I got up to speak, and couldn't hold still; I even said, "I am just so happy to be up here! Giving a talk is my most favorite thing ever! I really mean it too!" Yes, I had the congregation laughing, but I didn't care. I had my family laughing behind me too. Oh well. At least I kept everyone awake, right? Ha ha ha.

For anyone who can/wants to, my family is having a going away party of sorts for me on Sunday afternoon. It's from 6 PM to 8 PM, and there will be food and fun and ME! Ha ha, just kidding. Well, I mean there really will be food and fun, and I will be there too, but I didn't want it to come across like I was the entire reason for coming. That's a little cocky, and not what I meant. Although, I guess the reason for the party is because I'm leaving...hmm. This IS a conundrum. Oh well.

And yes, I'm FINALLY getting my mission addresses up here. I love letters, and promise to write back! It might take me a little while, but I will write eventually. Writing the actual letter isn't my problem. It's getting the letter to the mailbox. Apparently that skill still eludes me. :)

MTC Address:

Sister Morgan J. Pedersen
Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center*
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604

*I'll get a P.O. Box number once I get there, so I'll have my mom put it on here.


Mission Address:

Sister Morgan J. Pedersen
Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission
12025 Justice Ave.
Baton Rouge, LA 70816

The best way to get something to me when I'm in Louisiana will be through the mission office. I won't know my own apartment addresses or anything until I actually get there; I'll have my family update this with those when I get them. Plus, my instructions say that any packages should be sent to the mission office too.

I see that I've had some questions about my bike. Believe me, I was worried too! But my mom told me how she rode hers on her mission. Clothespins. They become your very best friend. The apostles in Christ's time set the example here. You read, "And they girded their loins," a lot in the New Testament. What they did was pull up their...um...for lack of a better word, skirts from the bottom and tuck them into their belts. This made them look like they were wearing gaucho-type pants. Same thing goes for me. Except, instead of tucking my skirt into my belt, I'll clothespin it together. Voila! That's part of the reason girls bikes have that slanted bar instead of a straight one. Makes it easier for us to get on and off them in skirts.

Waiting...and some shopping...but mostly waiting...

Okay, so I was totally gungho about starting a mission blog. However, I've discovered it's kind of difficult to keep a mission blog when you have yet to go on said mission. Sigh.

I did go mission clothes shopping earlier this week, and it's all done! There are just a few random things I still have to get, like a bike and sheets and...well, I can't remember what else, but know that there is only a few little things left. A piece of advice for any girls getting ready to go on missions---head to Sister Missionary Mall. They have INCREDIBLE prices, and the clothes aren't all that frumpy either! (Yes, sister missionary outfits can be cute and not frumpy. You wouldn't guess that from the little insert they stick in the mission booklet that gets sent out. Seriously, those pictures are from the 80's, at least!)