Fire Alarm during the Morning Shower :-o

Hello family!! Como le va? (How is it going?)                                   Aug. 29, 12

 

Thank you so much for the awesome package and the letters!! I got the package slip on Monday night and retrieved my package yesterday morning. It was awesome! Thank you for the necklaces and earrings!!! I chose the pink one and gave the other to Sis Mortensen like you said and she LOVES them. She is actually wearing them right now as she is ferociously typing next to me ( email is a rat race here). I immediately put on mine yesterday and it made me feel very loved all day, so thank you. Also thanks for filling me in on everything. Stephen, it is so weird knowing that you moved to Provo a week ago and I didn't hear anything about it till I got Dad's letter on Mon, and Mom's letter last night. Way to be 3rd in the Dating contest! What can I say, my little bro is a dating king and he has only been a BYU student for 3 days :p.

 

Well, its crazy, but in a week and a half, I will be in NYC!!!! I get my travel plans tomorrow!!!!!! (I forget that people actually leave the MTC haha). I won't get to call you like Seth did though, because I have a p-day after I get my travel plans, but I do get to call you at the airport. I will send you more info in the letter I will write you today :)

 

Funny story....At 6:40am on Monday morning, our residence hall was buzzing as usual with all of us sisters getting showered and ready the day (which begins at 7). All of the sudden, my roommate (who btw knows the Carneys (sp?) her name is Sister Hansen and she is from Littleton!) comes in, grabs a towel and warns us that the fire alarm is going to go off because someone burnt something in the microwave. My companion and I go out to inspect and indeed the whole floor was full of smoke and the fire alarm went off. We, knowing the cause, grab our tags and go down the stairs to exit the building. The problem was that all of the showers were of course full, and so we had a hord of sister missionaries in towels exiting the building into the MTC campus. What a nightmare! Haha! Luckily a lot of sisters who were clothed had towels in their hair that they donated and so they were well covered. Also luckily our building is on the edge of campus so there weren't very many elders around. We also formed a circle around the sisters like a bunch of yaks. Oh it was pretty hilarious. I guess the whole thing started when this sweet Asian sister microwaved some corn. The floor still smells like smoke, but at least we have a great story from it!

 

I am so blessed and happy. The people here are incredible and I love them very much. We are like a big family. Sis Mortensen and I are 2 of 4 sisters in our entire branch now. When I go to leadership meetings, I am the only sister in the meetings which is definitely different than I am used to haha. All the elders in my zone are incredibly sweet and respectful towards us.  Their mothers have definitely taught them well.

I am very, VERY, nervous about entering the field in just over a week. I feel like I don't know any Spanish and that NYC will be very different than anything I have ever known. At the same time, I couldn't be more excited. I will soon be ACTUALLY doing what I have been talking about doing for the past 7 months. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that this is His kingdom upon the earth. I know that the covenants necessary for salvation have been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. I also know with all my soul that the work I am engaged in is real and the most important work on this earth, the very work of God, the salvation of souls. I am scared out of my mind to enter the field, but I have faith and am very much humbled by my calling, which if you think about it is the most powerful combination on this earth for it is through our faith and humility that God works His mighty miracles and commands the very heavens to shake for our good. I have faith; I know I can do it.

I love you all!

Hermana Chipman

 

PS Amigos: some of you I haven’t had the chance to write, can you dear elder me your new addresses if you have moved since writing me? Thanks!

PPS Chipper and Allie, I want to hear from you if you get a chance. Also chip, I have a letter for you, what's your address?

PPPS Mom, can you send that package to NYC? Can you believe it is that time?

I'm feeling much better :)

NOTE TO READERS: Megan called home on Saturday. She got the stomach flu and missed class for two days and so the MTC sent her to a doctor (I guess that is MTC policy). She ended up in the emergency room because it was a weekend and appendicitis was suspected. Everything was fine, but she got to call home for 7 minutes to explain the future emergency room bill that would be coming home :- /

Hola!!                                                                                                              8/25/12

Thank you so much for your letters and prayers. They have sure meant a lot. I also am guessing this is a much anticipated email seeing how the last time I talked to you was a 7 min phone call explaining that I had been in the emergency room all morning but for you not to worry. It was wonderful talking to you and hearing your voices! Made me realize how much I miss you.

Yes, I am feeling much better thanks. The real battle has been the fact that couldn't eat very much at all (thankfully I am beginning to be able to return to my normal diet) and so I now know what my newly discovered hypoglycemia feels like. Its definitely been a rough past week, but I have been able to stay in good spirits. The Lord truly is always there to comfort us, and I don't know if I have ever felt the comfort and supporting hand of the Lord like I have this past week. I also have again experienced the true power of prayer and the priesthood and that the Lord does take care of His missionaries. On Saturday night, I was feeling really weak from not eating hardly anything for a few days. In my prayers, I prayed that I would somehow be able to keep going and have the energy I needed to go to my meetings on Sunday and to carry out all the responsibilities of a missionary, and prayed that I could somehow find some "flu food" to eat throughout the day. I told Him if I had the right food, I could do it. The next morning in Sacrament meeting, one of the branch presidency's wives received a distinct prompting that she needed to go get me some "flu food" (bananas, soda crackers etc.). During the hour between Sacrament meeting and Relief society (we don't have Sunday School here) She went to the only grocery store that was open on Sunday in Provo and picked some up for me. It was truly an answer to my prayer and even though I haven't felt well, I have been able to attend all of my meetings classes, and have been able to snack on the food whenever I need it. A true blessing. I know that our prayers are heard and answered, and as you said in your letter Dad, it is most often answered through other people.

 

Also, funny story, on Saturday night, I told my companion that I was excited for Sunday because it is a day with a lot of down time so I could spend most the day in bed if I still needed too, and still go my meetings. Well, before our 8am Sacrament meeting, I got the assignment of coordinating sister in the zone, which means that I had meetings all day long. The Lord truly strengthens us. I could have totally taken another sick day if I needed, but the miracle was that I didn't need to. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes that is to the effect of "A lot of the work in this church is done by people who don't feel well."

 

Last night was one of the most powerful parts of my MTC experience. An apostle came and spoke to us, Neil L Anderson. It was President Monsen's Birthday and so he talked a lot about him and what he would say if he were here. He then bore powerful testimony of the Savior. I got great seats (yay for singing in the choir!) and it was an unforgettable experience to be so close to a witness of Jesus Christ bearing powerful testimony of Him. I testify the there are apostles and prophets today and that they bear true witness of the Savior. I also know that Jesus Christ lives and that this work that I am engaged in is divine. It is each of our duty's in this life to become deeply converted to Him and His gospel and help others do so!

 

Oops, I am over time. I love you all! Good Luck with getting Chipper moved out and moved into BYU. Stephen, I am so proud and excited for you!! (I have trouble sitting still just thinking of you at the Y). It truly has become a home for me and I know it will to you too. Just remember to have fun, care for others, and try to make friends with everyone. Also mom and dad told me about the team. THAT IS AWESOME!!! Good luck with the tryouts, you will be awesome. Run fast and enjoy running with some of the fastest athletes in the country!!! (Also tell my friends Taylor Farnsworth and Nate Fletcher hi for me :) )

Love,

Megan

Hola Familia! Como le van?                                                                          

(I was told I need to include translations...that means how is it going :) )                                                                                                    

This week has been another powerful week in the MTC. This has probably been one of the rougher weeks, and at the same time, I feel it has been the most powerful. This week has been a week of opposition and testing, but I have learned that such testing is always followed by great blessings. I have personally experienced the reality that the adversary often attacks right before and after great spiritual moments. I am beginning to just expect that before a fireside, going to the temple, teaching a powerful lesson, or other great spiritual experience, I feel icky. One night, I was confused about how I could feel so discouraged and disheartened one moment, and then so spiritually full and joyful the next. As I was falling asleep, a thought popped into my mind, "Take it as a compliment, the adversary wants to take you out because he feels threatened by you." It is so funny how I have known that all my life and yet as a missionary, I am learning it at a much deeper level. I am also learning the power of our covenants in these hours of distress. One of my teachers shared with us a scripture in D&C 35: 24: "Keep all the commandments and covenants by which ye are bound; and I will cause the heavens to shake for your good and Satan shall tremble." I love this. Living righteously does not guarantee the absence of temptation and sorrow, but the deliverance from it as we trust in God. I really am happier then I have ever been, and I know it is because I am forced to rely on and trust in God more than I have ever had to. Being a missionary is so awesome :)

The MTC is pretty much the same day in and day out. Really the only thing that has changed since I have gotten here is myself. Thus, it is amazing what we missionaries find entertaining (I find it proof that we are all going slightly insane haha). On Friday evening, we were in our 5th hour of class for the day and pretty beat. As I have mentioned before, our classroom is on the 5th floor, and our room has a window with a beautiful view of Y Mountain and Spanish Fork. All of the sudden, a big brush just appeared on the window (they were washing it) and it startled all of us (my companion and another elder gave out a yelp....see I am not the only jumpy person in this world haha). We all laughed and then like a trance all watched the brush clean the window.....we were all in a good minute of trance...like it was the coolest and most entertaining thing that we have seen since we have been here (which it probably was). Our teacher gave us all 30 more seconds to watch it. It was pretty hilarious, especially seeing how we all even talked about it with the other districts. Their windows also got cleaned and it turns out that they were all startled and entertained by it also, some elders even took out their cameras to take pictures of it. I am cracking up as I am writing about this.

The MTC is a wonderful place, and I am getting excited to go to NYC (4 more weeks!!!). I am so grateful for all of your prayers, I really do feel them. Spanish is really hard, but it is slowly coming. This gospel is true and this reality is sinking deeper and deeper into my heart each and every day, especially when I teach it in Spanish. There is no way I could do this alone and it is a huge comfort to know that I will never have to.

Also, I got all your letters last night, and it was wonderful to hear from you!! I love you and miss you dearly. I will send you letters later today!

Love,

Hermana Chipman

MTC record board!

Hola mi familia maravilla! Como le van??                                          August 8, 2012

This week has been an awesome week. The MTC is really hard, really powerful, and I feel like I change and become better everyday. I finally feel a little more at ease here, and I am really happy. I also have now been here for 4 weeks and so I am almost half way done!! I would have to say it has been the longest and shortest month of my life.....I now know what they are talking about when they say that a mission is a time warp!

Mom, thanks for sending my racing flats here, they are perfect for walking around in on p-day and doing our weekly service project. I also was actually able to use them for their original purpose :) Here at the MTC, they have a record board. They have weightlifting, push-up, vertical, soccer juggling, and etc. records. They also have a mile record for both Elders and Sisters. When I first got here, I saw the record and thought to myself, "No way, I don't want to worry about it."........and so of course, knowing me (and maybe I can also blame the spirit of the Olympics haha) I tried to break it this past week haha. They time you as you run 2 laps around the MTC practice fields (which means you have to go up the beginning of the temple hill twice). At the encouragement of my district and my companion I tried it, just to see where I was (I haven't tried to run a fast mile in over 2 years). Anyway I ran it, and my body seemed to still remember my original pacing. I ran the first 800 in 2:30!!! At that point I knew I was going to die, but miraculously I held on okay. I ended up running a 5:25!!! I beat the record by 33 sec! I was in shock (and so was my body the rest of the weekend haha). The record has to stand for a week before it gets posted (2 more days!), but it will feel good to be on a record board again :) Also, mi maestro (teacher) had a good point when he said that seeing how the MTC is our own sheltered little world, in some ways I had broken a world record, I will take it. It was such a tender mercy from the Lord, and I am grateful for the reminder that God still wants us to be ourselves as we accomplish His work.

Oh also, Celeste and my Brittany Apts friends pretty much made my life and sent Boyd the Knome for a visit :) A note to them: pictures will be coming! Thank you for thinking of me, and I miss and love you all!

This week I have really begun to learn and realize the power of the Book of Mormon, and the miracle and mercy that it is. I think that sometimes in the church, we take it for granted. It can sometimes be, as Dad says, just a "paper weight" on our desks. The Book is full of the very power and spirit of God. We can read it with the promise that as we seek for truth in it, and ask God, we can know for ourselves and experience for ourselves the truthfulness of it. The power and miracle of the Book of Mormon also is not just that it was translated in 70 days by a 23 year old man (which btw is like me translating a 251 page book in Spanish in the time that I am in the MTC), or even that it is evidence of the restoration of His gospel. The power and miracle of the book is that it brings us to Christ and brings Him and His spirit closer to us. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real, and there is no other book that explains His suffering in the garden, death on the cross, and resurrection from the dead, with such power, plainness and promise. I testify that it is true. My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ, and the purpose of the Book of Mormon is to persuade each of God's children to Come unto Christ (2 Nephi 6:4). How great is my calling, and how blessed I feel to "make this known unto the inhabitants of the earth." May we all realize the gift that it is, read it each day and gain our own testimonies of it. May we all also live by that testimony and its precepts and be willing to share it.

Love and miss you dearly! Thank you for all of the support and prayers! It means the world! Hasta proxima semana!

Hermana Chipman

Pictures from the first weeks at the MTC

Megan at the Provo Temple with Grandma and Grandpa Burgoyne. 
They picked her up from the SLC airport and were on thier
 way to drop her off at the MTC.

 Megan with Grandpa Burgoyne.

He is dropping her off at the MTC

July 11, 2012

Megan & Sis. Mortensen survived their first  full-day of classes
at the MTC.  They are companions.

Megan & Sister Randolph
(She is going to St. George, Utah Mission)
They are friends from BYU.

 Megan & Sister Mortensen

 Megan & Sister Fisher

(She went to the Temple Square Mission)

They were friends at BYU.

 Megan & Sister Bingham

They were friends at BYU.

 Megan Shows off her new Mission T-shirt.

Megan with Sister Olander

They were on the BYU track team together. 
Sister Olander is going to TX Fortworth- Spanish speaking mission.

Megan's district sisters

Megan's closet that she shares with another sister.

Megan's District

Hola mi familia!!

Hola mi familia!!                                                                                

Wow do I love hearing from you! It is amazing how you can forget that there is a world outside the gates of the MTC! I hope you have fun at the wolf sanctuary and on your backpacking trips! (PS Dad, "nature's scrubber" and Hot Chocolate don't mix, I wanted to remind you before the Carneys became victims too haha). I can't believe Nemo died, I thought he was the invincible fish! I never got to say goodbye, but at least he had a good life in that bucket and his snowbird fishbowl in the winter. How long was he dead before Allie found him?

Oh and that is really hard for Sister Sollee and her family. She is in my prayers!!

Well its kind of hard to believe, but I am on "week 4" here at the MTC. In some ways it is crazy to think that it is already week four, but mostly it is crazy to think I have ONLY been here for three weeks. Hermana Mortensen and I joke that we have been here our whole lives and forget our "pre-mission life" haha. I think I am finally adjusting and the days seem to be going by quicker.

Something of interest....all the missionary services (bookstore, dry cleaning, mail, doctor) are in the Jacob Hamblin building. When I am having a hard time, its nice to walk into that building and be reminded of my ancestry and a pretty phenomenal missionary :)

The language is coming. Our church is in Spanish and I feel like I am able to get more and more out of it each Sunday. It is miraculous how quickly you can learn and understand something with the spirit of the Lord. I am speaking MUCH better Spanish than I ever did after taking 5 years of it in school. And things that I never understood (like Por y Para) are clicking. God truly helps His missionaries. Oh and you would be delighted to find out that yes, my roommates still report to me what Spanish I say in my sleep....it is now almost a daily occurrence. I guess the other night I said "Hola, hola, hola, hola espanol amen".....It is now even a joke with the Elders in my district. Teasing apparently still occurs on the mission haha.

Miracle of the week: I wasn't able to sleep very well AT ALL for the first 2 and a half weeks here. I guess I was just was really stressed with everything going on and I couldn't put it down at night. I still was following the rules and was in bed at 10:30, but I would just lay there. Also, I don't think it helped that I have been a college student who never sleeps for the past 3 years either. Anyway, MTC work is EXHAUSTING; we get up between 6-6:30 and just go go go to classes and teaching appointments until 9:30pm. Anyway, I was dying and a very tired missionary. I prayed really hard every night to know how to get sleep and that I would be able to sleep. Finally on Sunday, I prayed to find a solution, because really I didn't know what to do. I had another interview as senior companion with a member of the branch presidency and at the end of the interview, he asked if I needed anything. I was about to give my usual, "nope, I am doing great" but right then, the spirit filled me and I had the strong impression that it was appropriate to ask for a blessing so that I can get some sleep. I almost disregarded it seeing how I had gotten beautiful and powerful blessings recently, but I am grateful I didn't. I told him my situation and asked for a blessing that I could get some rest because I knew if I could sleep, I could do the work required. He very humbly laid his hands upon my head and pronounced a powerful blessing that I would be able to rest at night, beginning that night. I knew that God was answering my prayer. That night, even an hour before bedtime, I could feel myself wind down and on that night, and the two nights since, I have been able to sleep better than I have been able to in months. I know that the power of the priesthood is real, I know that the power of our faith is real and that God hears our prayers. He loves us dearly and wants to bless us desperately. We need just to demonstrate our faith in him and ask.

Heavenly Father lives and knows us. Jesus Christ overcame all so that we can too. The gospel is true and estoy agradecida que puedo ser una misionera! (I am grateful that I can be a missionary!)

Love you! And I miss you all dearly!

Hermana Chipman