Brenna's Most Recent Info...

"......First, I made it to Spokane safely. Transfers were crazy the last two days, but I'm finally settled in at my new apartment with my rad new companion! Sister Everill. She's from Riverton, UT and we're gettin along just great so far! We've already had several awesome experiences with Investigators! It's been less than 24 hours, and miracles already! Can you believe it?!......

Here is my mailing address: (though you can still send mail to the mission home), 3728 1/2 E. 27th Street, Spokane, WA 99223 (Yes...that's a half street...hahahaha)."

We'll get to talk to her on Christmas Day!! Yay!

"I'm Gonna Be a REAL Real Missionary!!!!"

HELLO EVERYONE!!!! :)

Wow...I know that I use that word multiple times in every email that I write, but it's honestly all my brain can come up with after a full day here at the MTC! Ah! Haha. It's frustrating that we only have 30 minutes to write home on Preparation Day because I feel like I have SO much to tell y'all about life as a missionary! I start writing down funny things that happen here or think of spiritual experiences that I'd like to share...and then when I sit down at the computer and see that little "time bomb" ticking, I have an anxiety attack! AH! Hahaha. For all of you return missionaries, I'm sure you can relate...and for all those that are anticipating a mission in the near future - practice your WPM typing skills while you can! ;) Hehehe.

Well, let's see...what can I share with you today?!...got it. This week was hard, frustrating, exhausting and painful....and yet so exciting, comforting, and spiritually uplifting all at the same time! I had many missionary friends back at home that prepared me for this sort of mixture of emotions on a daily basis...so I feel like I have anticipated it well. I guess it doesn't surprise me at all that you can feel all of those emotions in one whole day (...cause let's face it...we women do that even when we're NOT missionaries!) but it's more of the....magnitude?...of the range of emotions. (I don't know if that makes any sense!) Let me explain:

Progressing Investigators: We meet specific ones on specific days. Sometimes we only get to have ONE lesson with them and then it's a new person the next time! SO, as Sister Morgan, this is what goes through my head!

-AH!!!! Someone I don't know!!!!

-Calm down, self!! You do this ALL the time!

-Okay, you're right. So, if we don't know them, what are we going to prepare to teach them?

-Let's Pray!

-...You're so smart, self!

-Okay, let's do this! The Lord has confidence in you, so have confidence in yourself!

Meeting the Investigator: (Thoughts that come into my head)

-Hey, I can really relate to this person! I feel like I am already starting to love them!

-...How can I love someone I just met?!...crazy...

-Oh no!...This person REALLY needs to hear the message of the gospel! They will be SO happy to know that their lives can be so much more joyful!

-...Now I feel SOOOO responsible for helping them to understand and come to know their Savior!

-I LOVE THEM!!!...What ELSE can I do to help them!!

-It's time to leave, but I just want to stay all night and share everything with them!!!!

Bedtime:

-(Brushing my teeth) Hmmm...they need to hear about the Plan of Salvation...

-(Still brushing my teeth) I wonder if they know how much I already love them?

-(Walking around the dorm in a daze)...Or we could teach them about ______...

Dreams:

-WHY AM I DREAMING ABOUT MISSIONARY WORK?! Hahahaha

So, there you go. I don't know if ANY of that makes ANY sense, but needless to say...Investigators become a part of every thought you have. You worry about meeting them and how you are going to teach them...at times you feel insignificant and think that you're too weak to express the Lord's gospel properly. Then, as soon as you meet them, you feel such a LOVE for them that can only come from our Heavenly Father. You lose sleep over how you can serve them and help them know they are loved and that God is aware of their needs. Then...you pray...with ALL of your heart that you can prepare a lesson and have the spirit guide you to say those things that will touch their heart! :) The craziest part about it all is that I'm only in the MTC! And these "investigators" are usually teachers or members of the church that are posing as investigators! I can only imagine how I'll feel when I'm out with REAL REAL investigators with REAL needs!

Funny enough...one of our investigators is SO great. Her name is Hely Meza, and we taught her 4 times while here. She's quite a "chatty Cathy", so we don't usually get much of a lesson in. This drives my Companion NUTS because she feels like we're wasting time letting her tell us about her problems. BUT, just this last time we met with her, I TRULY realized that by letting her talk and explain herself, she answered SO many of her own questions and REALLY progressed! She has 5 children, 3 of which have various types of special needs. One has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair. She struggles to stay afloat emotionally, as well as physically, trying to keep up with all three. You can see it in her eyes that she needs MORE than what she has. As we have been teaching her, we challenged her to begin reading the Book of Mormon in the morning for just 5 minutes, and promised that she would recieve an added measure of strength to get through her days. When we asked her about it on Thursday, she said that she isn't reading much because she feels like she gets SO much out of just a verse or so! (WHICH IS AWESOME!!!!). Also on Thursday, as we were teaching her, I felt like I needed to tell her about fasting...yeah, fasting...We haven't even gotten through a full lesson about the plan of salvation. Anyway, I went with it and told her that if she went without food and prayed with faith that the Lord would help them find their missing daughter, that he WOULD answer that prayer! Well, after we talked about her BOM reading, she told us how she remembered what we had told her about "fasting" and tried it out because she couldn't think of ANYTHING else to do in her desperation. Well, that next night, that prayer was answered! :)

Just thinking about how she wept with gratitude and the spirit that we felt in the room warms my heart. We were all crying, to say the least, and I felt so grateful that the Lord granted that miracle. At the end of the lesson she was SO excited to learn more, when I told her that it was our last time meeting with her! She was so upset!...She said, "I know the Lord has blessed me with you two angels...what am I going to do when you are gone?!" I just cried! I suddenly realized that she MAY NOT be a member! (Actually, I'm quite certain that she is a REAL investigator!!!) So, I gave her my mission address and promised we woulld send someone along to help her!!! How amazing is that?!

I have to run!!!! AH!!!

Love you all!!!

Sister Morgan

HELLLOOOO!!! :)

Well, here i am writing as a missionary again! I'm happy to say that i survived my first "real" week here at the MTC! The rumors were true...if you could make it to your first preparation day as a missionary, you'll be just fine. It was an insane week, though. SO much to learn, and so little time! I'd love to bore you all with all of the details, but I know less and less people will be inclined to read my emails and write me letters if they got a play by play each week! SO...here are some highlights!

Things that were fun and/or different this week?...Well, I am LOVING going about my day, walking different places, and randomly seeing someone ELSE that I know! It's truly crazy how many people i have seen that I recognize or know well! Besides having Sister Allen in my own district, I've seen a few other "Cedarites" here at the MTC. I had been keeping my eye out for Tyler Eastmond my first few days here, but gave up after not seeing him the first week. (I mean, there are 2500 missionaries and multiple lunch schedules...) So, to my surprise this Wednesday when the new missionaries came in, lo and behold, THERE HE WAS! Elder Eastmond! :) It's always hard not hugging an Elder, but especially when you know them from home! Haha. Then, yesterday I saw a girl that was in my singles ward just before I left. She got called to Cambodia and will be here for a LOT longer than I will be...Cambodian sounds tough! :/ One of my favorite reunions, however, was when I was walking down my residence hall on Tuesday or so and I heard someone yell "Sister Morgan!!!!" When I turned to look, walking towards me was my childhood bestfriend, Kayla Batty!!! We haven't seen each other in 12 years or so, and yet there we were!...in the SAME dorm hallway, heading on missions at the same exact time!! What are the odds, aye?! :) We got a chance to take a picture together before she headed out tonight for Calgary, Alberta. :)

Another exciting thing that happened this week is that we got our travel plans! Already!!!! I cannot believe we are leaving in 1 week!!! We fly out early Monday morning and arrive in Spokane at around 9:30 their time, I believe? I SHOULD be able to call some people from the airport, but don't have any phone numbers! Send me a quick DearElder letter with the home numbers in them if you can, aye? I'll get to call home in about 2 weeks for Christmas anyway, but I figured it'd be fun to say hello if i have some time before catching our flight! The sad part about leaving in a week is that our District will be split up! :( I can't believe I'm not going to see Sister Allen and Sister Brand for 17 months...as well as our 4 other Elders that are leaving with them! :( We've all become such a close little family! It's amazing to me how much you can grow to love a bunch of people after only knowing them for a week and a half...the power of sharing spiritual experiences. Mmmm, it makes me happy and sad to see them head out to be missionaries in So. Carolina!

Another random thing that happened (okay, not really random at all...) is that I got called to be the Coordinating Sister. It's similar to a Zone Leader but just for Sisters. It adds a tremendous amount of stress to my world, but I figure if the Lord is extending the call, then he knows that I can't only handle it, but that it will prepare me for whatever will be coming my direction within the next 17 months! Haha. Scary thought, but I can handle it. ;) It just means tons of meetings for me...pray for me! Haha. I'm still the Senior Companion, for now, but I'm sure that will change soon?...It's strange to think that in a week I will have a completely new companion! We just got here!!! :)

Well, my time is running out! I had better wrap things up! I just wanted to express my gratitude to all of you that are back at home. Regardless of HOW you are supporting me, I feel that added measure of strength each day I wake up and commit myself to building up the Lord's kingdom. I appreciate every prayer, package, encouraging word or just thought that you send my direction! I need it!!!! :) One of my favorite scriptures is in D&C 84:88. I consider each of you one of those "angels" that the Lord is surrounding me with. Without the MANY miracles I have witnessed in the last 6 months, I wouldn't be here today!!!! I love missionary work!!!! :) Gotta run!

LOVE YOU ALLLLLL!!!!!

Sister Brenna Morgan

GREETINGS from the MTC!!

(NOTE: This is Brenna's lovely sister Caitlin updating her blog. This is NOT Brenna posting from the MTC!)

Hello Everyone!!! :)

I can't believe I am typing this from the MTC! It is truly amazing to me that just 7 weeks ago I was hanging around, just waiting for my call in the mail! Actually, I'm even more amazed that just a short 6 months ago I was unsure of whether I was going to have the amazing priviledge of serving a mission for the Lord at all! And yet...here I am! The first five days here have been SO amazing! :) I am honestly so blown away by what has come to pass over my first few days as a missonary! I'll try to give you a blow by blow without boring y'all to death, but here goes!

I was nervous, anxious, scared, excited, overwhelmed and joyous all at the same time when we arrived here last Wednesday! The dropoff on the curb was short, but sweet. As soon as I stepped onto that campus, the first thing I noticed were the beaming smiles wherever I went. (A friend of mine in Cedar said that the MTC seems like it could easily be a "cult" because of how different the environment was!) Haha, while I think he was exaggerating a bit when he described it like that, there really is such a STELLAR feeling here on campus. The first day was a lot of lines, meeting people, smiling, meeting more people (including a companion), more smiling, laughing, unpacking, devotionals, classes, and finally bedtime. I had remembered a few times throughout the day that it was my birthday, but it wasn't until I was finally laying in my bed that i realized just how busy the day had been! :)

The following day weren't much different, besides cramming in even MORE classes and devotionals! BUT, I must say that I have never enjoyed sitting in the same chair for 6 straight hours x 3 days in a row than I have as a missionary! Honestly, everything we learn is so incredible! Not that any of it is new information, but that we are finally learning how to USE what we know! (It sounds so simple, but in reality...My mind is spiritually blown EVERY DAY!) It's so amazing to come out of a classroom where you feel like you have a purpose in life! What a blessing it is to be a servant of the Lord!!!!!!

The idea of "TIME" here is so mixed up! When we are powerwalking to get to lunch, we all think it's dinnertime. When we're sitting in class at 9:30 PM we think it's sometime in the morning! My first day here, a Sister told me, "Next week you'll realize that your days feel like they are weeks long, and your weeks will breeze by like days!" I haven't yet hit the week mark, so I don't know if that part is true or not, but I can DEFINITELY feel what she means by days feeling like weeks long! Hahaha. It's amazing how many new life lessons you can fit into a 24 hour period of time! I love it!

Our district is FANTASTIC! I hear missionaries walking and saying how some missionary in their district has a bad attitude or is too hyper. I can honestly say that every member of our district is amazing! The weird thing is that within our district, there are 2 separate missions! My companion, Sister Schoppmann and I, then 2 Elders (Whiting & Bobo) are serving in Spokane, WA. THEN, 4 Elders (Brimhall, Mckell, Worthen & Sisson) and 2 Sisters (Sis. Brand & Allen) are serving in Columbia, South Carolina! At first, I didn't quite know why we were all together, but the more we are around each other, the more I realize the Lord planned it this way! Actually...Sister Allen is Heather Allen from Cedar City, TOO! Haha, we had mission prep together and it was quite the surprise when I walked in and we realized we were in the same district! I LOVE our sisters...It's going to be so hard to say goodbye in 2 weeks! :(

I'm almost out of time, but i just wanted to share a few stories! We have all adjusted to the missionary life SO well that the other day, as our district was walking back from dinner, we saw a man and a woman sitting next to each other on a park bench talking.......this doesn't seem like such a strange thing to everyone else in the world, but to a group of missionaries, it's a whole different story! The moment I saw them, I realized that we had ALL seen them and our whole district slowly came to a standstill. Jaws dropped....hahaha. Eventually we realized that they were teachers and were fully "authorized" to be paired off like that, but it was funny, none the less. ;) Oh, missionaries. :) An amazing thing happened today...as we were walking up to the temple for our temple day, my companion and I, then 2 sisters from our zone were approached by a woman just outside the entrance. She had an accent and looked asian. :) Well, she asked if we were going to do a session and I told her we were. She then asked us if we would help her out by doing some family names for her!!! It was such an amazing experience! The name i received was Wu Shi. She was born in 1669!!!! Moments like that just brighten your whole day! She was so grateful to us, but at the end of the day I was so grateful to HER for giving us that opportunity! :)

I'm out of time! I love you all and want you to know that I am SO grateful for the opportunity I have right now to serve my Father in Heaven! I feel so blessed that he deems me capable and fit to share the message of the gospel! I can HONESTLY say that I can't imagine being anywhere else, doing anything else that being a missionary RIGHT NOW. I love this gospel! Please write, if you have time! Missionaries can use all the letter support they can get! (Especially this redhead! ;) Hahaha)

Love you all!!

Brenna

Sister Morgan