Sarah calls home!

We just got off the phone with Syster Page. It was so good to hear her happy voice. She called us at 1:30 am our time from SLC airport but only had aboout 5 minutes until she had to get onto the plane. She said she would call us from Paris since she would have 6 hours inbetween flights there. Dad worked from home so he could be here when she called. She said she spoke French to the passport control and she tends to speak Swedish with a French accent.

There are 11 missionaries in her group traveling to Sweden. Sarah is very excited to get there. I asked what she was wearing today and it was this same shirt and skirt in this picture. I am sure the shirt is tucked in now. The flight was long and she did great without an ipod or the movies. Sarah sounds older and more mature Dad says. I asked what she wanted me to pass along to everyone and she said "tell them I love them and am excited. I am doing good."

Love for our Syster

Hello, friends and family of Syster Page! Sarah really appreciates all the letters and messages that she has been receiving from y'all, and would love to get some more! Please, please, please send Syster Page some love! Look at this girl- she needs all the love she can get!

You can use dearelder.com to send her a letter for free while she is at the MTC- here is her information:

MTC box #: 135

Mission Code: 0324

Estimated MTC departure date: March 22

So for the next few weeks send her some letters to the MTC, and after that I'm sure she'll appreciate letters from friends even more! Check her facebook information page to find her address for Sweden. Thanks for all the support, and even if she cannot send a personal message back to you we know she is thinking of you and is truly very grateful!

Last Letter of February

Here is another letter from Sarah I never posted...she's loving Swedish, the Gospel, Christ, and jokes. Not a whole lot has changed...

Hejsan igen familj!

I am happy to be able to talk to you again. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts and advice. I love them. I never get tired of them. Well, so far. I was a little sad this week because I didn't get very much this week mail wise, but then I realized that I was probably still getting about double what I will get after I leave the MTC so I got over it and was more grateful. All about perspective!

This week I celebrated one month on the mission! We called it Karleksfest (Share-leks-fest) which literally means "lovefest." We found that word in a hymn and thought it was funny (in the song (Come ye Disconsolate) it says 'the feast of love'). We didn't really do anything to celebrate... but it was still fun to recognize our progress so far.

I love Swedish! And this week I started to think that maybe I was meant for this language! It is super expressive, with tons of tones and ups and downs so much that it sounds like singing to people who hear it (like the Danes, Dutch, and Norwegians down the hall). I love speaking it and I think eventually I'll be able to really express myself.

I attended my first Branch Council meeting. I was called as the Music Coordinator for my Branch so that's why I was there. ? Ha but my companion is coordiating sister so I had to be around anyway. It was nice. I am really happy to have a responsibility in the Branch. Before I forget: My Branch President is President Ahlander and his wife is Sister Maxwell Ahlander, Martha Maxwell's Aunt. There son served under Mike Jensen as mission president. I am also curious if Sarah Doxey has received a mission call. That is all. They come with us to the Temple almost every week. That is really cool. They love us and take good care of us.

The role play philosophy has been very wonderful. The more we practice the situation, the more I learn! It is so beautiful. We had practiced a lot this week with the first lesson and teaching different people, so when it came time to go to the TRC and teach it (pa Svenska) it was smooth and the Spirit truly guided us!

I made the goal (I started on Karleksfest, tror jag) to read Mormons Bok entirely before I leave for Sverige. That will be a lot of reading! But I am excited. In the last 4/5 days I have read more than 100 pages so I think it will work! I love the scriptures.

I love my Savior. I have been taking note of when Jesus Christ invites men to come unto him. Many times he invites us to see for ourselves. Feel the prints of the nails in his hands, thrust our hands into his sides. He tells us that His hand is stretched out still. I have been thinking about what that really means. His Hand. The symbol of His Atonement and His Love. He stretches His Hand out to us to invite us to take hold of it. Use the Atonement. Apply the Atoning blood of the Savior to us. We should not suffer if we take His Holy Hand. We must take His Hand in order to be led into our Father's presence again. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I know He lives. He weeps with me when I weep and rejoices when I rejoice! I know I will be safe and happy if I strive be led by His Holy Hand.

I would like to request a French testimony. It has just so happened that I can no longer access any French once I have started learning Swedish. I think we will be flying to Charle Du Gaulle so I would love the lingo to testify! Merci! Je sais que.... Evangile? Merci mes cheries!!Oh dear.

I am sooooo sorry that I literally have no time to write almost anything other than this on P-days! It is most frustrating. I have been working on the same letters for the last 3 weeks! I am so sorry. Y'all know that I would write you though, right? I have always been good at the keeping in contact thing. I love you all and I REALLY DO APPRECIATE WHAT YOU SEND ME and I am truly sorry I can't send personal things as often as I want to.

Quick: Yesterday in class we were talkin with Bro Killian about being rejected on the street or something or he was telling us a story abou it. He said thy'd be like "yeah whatever, you are not worth my time" or "yeah go to h---" (the --- is for you Carissa). Everyone in the district was just quite and a little embarrassed or confused. Then he was like "I just realized I shouldn't have said that." We all kind of laughed and then A. Dean was like, "We were all like '... (mouths open)' People actually SAY THAT!!? What have we gotten ourselves into!!?"

First Letter of March

Here is another letter from Syster Page. Her letters are getting more and more exciting- this one even has a suspenseful sequel to it!

Thank you for your letters! They really make my week. Thank you Katherine and Abby for the most recent letters I received (via DearElder) och thank you for the rest of the letters I got. Yes, I have received the letters you sent via DearElder, Jeff and Courtney-- and thank you for them! Really. I love hearing from you all.

This week was exciting. It's March! I just got the cookies you sent, Mom/"fam fans." I am excited to share them. Today we are having our second "English Fast" of our stay here at the MTC. The first one was Friday and we fasted (from food and drink) too, for the Svenska foklet (eller "Swedish people"). It was really great. Man, it really hit me this week how seriously easy Swedish is. People ask if it is hard. The only real answer to that has to be no. I mean it is harder than not learning a new language, but if you are going to learn a new one, this would be just about the easiest one ever! It has the same sentence structure as English! I was just remembering French. That is hard. With all the le and en and y and la and all switched order. I am very blessed to be able to learn this. It still sounds kind of hard! Nice. I hope you will forget this and be really impressed when you hear me speak later. I am still very blessed by the Lord in learning the language and I still really need his help.

To be continued....

I love you!

Okay here we go again!

Now, I am in the laundry room with all my best friends. Well, all my friends. That is literal. Anyway-- hey Elder Badoni (Lance) is on my floor for class! Interesting, eh? Ja. It's pretty cool to have that connection.

One of my biggest weaknesses is laughing. I mean, I just laugh when I am happy and being a missionary makes me happy so I like to laugh. I am working on it. Like this week in Districts Meeting, we were in this small room all in a circle around the room and then we had to stand up and sing. But, we didn't have books or anything so we all stood up to face eachother and sing and we didn't know where to look or what to do with our hands and it was just funny! So, I tried hard not to laugh, but then my face was turning all red and apparently no one else was really having a problem except one Elder who just always laughs when someone else is laughing even if he doesn't know why. It was funny. Anyway, there you go.

The TRC was good this week. We taught the first lesson again in Swedish. We are struggling to learn the second lesson now in Swedish. We have to teach Sara (our teacher) tomorrow. My teachers are so funny and SO different. Syster Ronndahl is literally funny and Broder Killian is funny in the not funny way. Funny. He is just very serious and very black and white and likes to be our boss. I don't like so many bosses who are not really my bosses. Well, he is pretty much the only one who is not my boss. I have many weaknesses as you can see.
I am wasting time trying to think of things to say! Thank you, Mom for telling me about Sarah Doxey. And I hadn't heard. That is exciting. Isn't that kind of where she wanted to go? Koolt.

Congratulations, Rachel, on your solo. That is way exciting! I do not know that song, I think. I sent a few things out this week; I hope that you got them or get them soon.

This week I learned more about the Atonement. That reminds me: Dad, I don't know if you realized it, but your testimony was in English and I think you meant to do it in French. I am not sure. I was wondering if someone could write a testimony to me in French.

I love my Savior. I love you! I have to go!