last week at the mtc!

MTC WEEK 5!!!!

Querida familia,
WE GOT OUR FLIGHT PLANS!!! We leave Tuesday. We have like 28 hours of travel (two layovers) and by Wednesday I will be in PORTUGAL. I am getting so so so excited. I can't even handle it. Also-our whole district will be on the same flight. And not just our district - but all FOURTY THREE of the missionaries here are on the same flight (there are around 55 missionaries going to Lisbon that day, and 43 are in this MTC). So that will be crazy- especially for the 7 other passengers on that flight. ("Dude I just boarded and there's like 600 missionaries on here").
This week was a lot better. Our district re-wrote two Little Mermaid songs to be about Portugal and missionaries... ("Partuguese World" and "Across the Sea") we sang them to our teacher who served there and he was dying of laughter. Maybe I'll share them with you someday. But some of it you might not think was funny. The ambience has to be right, too.
I actually have liked the MTC. I like how friendly everyone is. On Sunday we went to the devotional early to study there, and Sister Carroll and I ended up talking to three elders going to Africa for almost an hour just about missions and things like that. And yesterday we were studying outside and it started raining and so we were walking back inside and we met a guy here volunteering and he asked us where we were going and ended up talking to us for 20 minutes. (It was a little weird though because he was like "I came out in the rain and met two beautiful rays of sunshine!" and we were like "...yep".) But everyone is friendly and I love just talking to all these different people. But now I get to go do that in Europe!! Ah, I am so excited I can't even explain it.
Sorry I didn't write any letters last P-day-I'd just written three days before, so I took a two hour nap instead. It was glorious.
So we have this "investigator" here who is an atheist. And we have been teaching him for almost 2 weeks and there was no improvement. Buton Wednesday we went in to teach, but instead of teaching, we just listened and testified. We stopped the lesson after about 45 minutes, but it was so amazing. It's weird how much I care about a "fake" investigator... It's going to be so crazy when it's a real person, really coming to know that God lives and loves them. (The "pesquisador" is starting to believe, by the way. :) )
Oh! This Sunday was fast Sunday (it was a long day..) so instead of Relief Society/Priesthood we had a "mission conference" thing where all the MTC presidency and their wives spoke. Sister Sandholtz played the violin as the rest hymn (she is a violin performance major at BYU and only had one semester left and is amazing). But since she and her companion Sister Duke are the Sister Training Leaders, Sister Duke had a meeting, so Sis Carroll and I escorted SIster Sandholtz, so we got to sit on the front row for the devotional. And all the MTC presidency shook our hands. It was neat. Sunday night's devotional was amazing. It was Chad Lewis who I guess played football at BYU and in the NFL. He was really funny, but also really uplifting and powerful. Also I shook his hand after, even though I didn't know who he was. So now I hugged general officer of the church and shook an NFL player's hand. I'm basically famous. Or something.
Also sorry if this makes no sense. I feel kind of like a caged animal here and am kind of going more crazy. I am just really really excited to leave. And also scared. I might end up not knowing any Portuguese and just smiling at people. But it will all be okay! I already love Portugal. Sorry if I never come home...
Also, please make sure if you send any mail it will get here before Monday. That's the last time we get it and I think after that they'll just throw it away. Which would be sad.
Congratulations on your graduation, Mom!!! I wish I could have been there. Also, happy mother's day... I don't get to call on Sunday, but I can call from the airport (if I can find a payphone. Or if you send me a go phone. Hint, hint ;) ). It sounds like everyone is doing okay? School is almost over - hang on, you can make it. :)
I love you all a lot! Sometimes I feel like I'll be gone forever, but then I think about it, and I'll be home next year. That's crazy. And the MTC has gone by so quickly... It's crazy. Missions are crazy. Life is crazy. And totally awesome.
Vos amo!
Sister Gidney