Visitors Center Training!

Wow, it feels like forever since I've emailed you all, but it was only just Monday, which is crazy. VC training is the best thing in the world. Oh my gosh, it is such a special blessing to be called as a VC sister, and even more so to be able to serve on a historic site. There are so many tools available that make is so much easier to spread the gospel, and the people even come to us, it's amazing!

So my new companion is Sister Sicotte! She is speaking Mandarin going to the Hawaii temple visitors center. And fun fact, she's also from North Carolina! She lived a little outside of Raleigh, so we got our endowments out in the same place, which is super cool! She is so awesome and so sweet, we work really well as companions. Also really nice, she likes to exercise. My last district didn't really want use exercise time wisely, so I haven't been in great shape. But boy, can Sister Sicotte run! I'm dying just a little bit, but it's definetely good for me! It's too sad we'll only be together for a couple of more days :(

My new companion Sister Sicotte!

Thankfully one of those days we get to go Salt Lake. I am so excited! Tomorrow we take the train and ride to temple square where we tag along with VC sisters there, and they'll show us more about everything, and ah! I am so excited!

One of my goals is to find someone to teach on the train. Frankly, I've been feeling a bit cooped up here, and while there are still many ways to share the gospel, even in the MTC, you do have to get a bit creative. I am so excited to go to the outside world again, and share this beautiful message with everyone whose path I cross! Ah!

Also, there's a girl in my new district (new district is only sisters, VC life) who is going to my same mission. She was able to find out who I was because I'm the flight leader (yeah, forgot to mention that, pray I don't lead everyone to utter destruction), for our group and it was so great meeting her. She's super perky, and looks soooo much like Anna Messisco.

Also, I had one last day of normal MTC stuff before VC training and I was able to say goodbye to Hely. She is so sweet and wonderful! I was also able to teach Jose, her husband. They are really just such open people, willing to talk about anything. Pray they're family can find a way to the gospel. It really is so sad I can't stay to help her along, but I know she's in good hands with the missionaries here. 

Our investigator Hely!

Anyway, we also get to do online stuff which is cool. I'm moving slowly with the computers though, so we'll see how well I get things figured out. It's pretty cool because we get to call people from all over the world. I can also talk to tons of Spanish people! You guys would not believe how my Spanish has improved (comes with only speaking it for three weeks). Others may not notice a difference, but words flow so easily to me now. Even though I'm still not perfect, I can get my message across and fulfill my purpose to bring others closer to Christ in Spanish just as much as English, and I'm loving it.

So I'm going to the temple in a little bit, and after that I'm getting my haircut. Don't freak out though family! I'm staying true to the long hair! I just want my bangs back, and it's free here, so why not? Mother, if you don't like it, it'll probably have grown back by the time I get back ;) So I'll send pictures later so everyone can see what it looks like!

BANGS!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Abreu

Amazing Week 3 at the MTC!

Hello everyone!

Wow, this week has been amazing. We had TRC lessons (basically real lesson with a real investigator) with this super sweet lady named Hely and ah! I love her so much! Sadly Hna. Carreon is leaving tomorrow and I'm moving on to visitors center training so we have to pass her on to some other elders, but I know they'll do a good job of keeping her progressing!

So I'm going to have two P-days this week. One is today which is my normal P-day, but when I switch to visitors center training it will be on Friday. Then I leave Tuesday, so you probably won't hear from me until my first Monday in the mission field. So it's great for this week, but next week not. I love all you guys though and know I'll be thinking of you!

This week in the MTC Elder Bednar came and gave a worldwide devotional to all the MTC's. Wow, there is nothing more powerful than seeing an apostle in the flesh, and actually speak words in the place where you can hear words being spoken. Anyway, he talked more about how to read more thoroughly into general conference talks. He listed out that he writes out three columns, one for Doctrine, one for the Promised blessings of that Doctrine, and then the Invitation to act. I invite you all to look through this past conference and use this method when analyzing, so we all can be more receptive of the actions we need to take. I loved how he described it, "These general conference talks should be your walk and your talk for the next six months, until the next round of conference talks."

Hna. Noyes and I were part of choir, so we got to sing "Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer" before the devotional (thank you Mother, for making me do choir). Really and honestly it was so beautiful and I'm so grateful we had the chance to do that. Even if I didn't sing in conference, I got to sing for an apostle, so that's worth something.

We also got to host for the new missionaries and I hosted two girls. One of them had a van full of family members, all crying and loving each other. When they said goodbye they all huddled together and chanted "family hug, Family Hug, FAMILY HUG!" which was was fun to witness.

Also, Hna. Noyea and I performed this week for the new missionaries. That was great, loads of missionaries with red dots on their nametags (that's how you know they're new), kept recognizing us, so we're basically famous. Just kidding! Also, Sister Bates (Kiana) came the day I sang, so I got to say hi to her and I see her a lot in the cafeteria which is awesome! Unfortunately, she has the picture of us. See if you can hook up with her mom and get that picture!

We went to the temple again which was really amazing. It is such a blessing to have the temple so close by and go weekly. Also, we had infield orientation, which is where they basically took all the missionaries leaving and explained how to do technical things in the field, but ah, I am soooo excited to go to the field. But, I still have one more week. All my district is leaving, so I'll be transferred to another one and be a solo missionary, which will be super sad, but wish me luck in all my visitors center learnings!

I love you all and hope you have a good week! I'll email again on Friday!

Hermana Abreu

Hermanas Carreon, Berru, and Abreu!!

Sis. Noyea in front of the Provo temple!

Funny story with this picture. I was trying to be fancy and take a cool photo of my nametag on the water fountain, but the water was pushing it and I caught a picture of it just before it fell in the fountain. There were bars underneath, so thank goodness it fell flat. Never again will I try to do fancy things with my nametag. 

Second Week! (2)

Wow, so it feels like I've been here an eternity, but in the eternal life kind of eternity feeling, if that makes sense.

This week Hermana Carreon and I are full on sister training leaders, which is super exciting because we carry around a phone and everything and get to do cool things. More importantly though, I love this calling because I get to serve the Hermanas around me in a more intimate way. This calling gives me the permission slip to serve basically, and I know you don't necessarily need a permission slip, but I would not be as involved as I am without this calling.

Hermanas in our District!

Another cool thing that happened this week! So Hermana Noyes, another Hermana in my district, and I auditioned for a special musical number and now we get to sing the EFY medley for all the new missionaries coming in on Wednesday. She's super stoked because she normally doesn't perform, and I'm stoked as well.

(Hermana Noyes and I with our perfomance acceptance letters)​

(Hermana Noyes and I not being dumb and finding out we get to perform)

One thing I've learned at my time here in the MTC is the power of music. I joined choir (you're welcome, Mother), but I'm actually really glad I get to participate in it. We don't stand too much, which was my least favorite part of choir, so now I get all the good parts of choir. We're singing Precious Savior Dear Redeemer, which is one of my favorites and I could feel the spirit so strongly while in the choir. I find myself absentmindedly humming more often, and my district will be wondering where it's coming from, which is funny sometimes. I also got to sing a hymn in a lesson during a role play, which really brought the Spirit.

This past Sunday we got to walk to the temple as a zone, which was great. It was a break from a super busy Sunday because as STL's we have lots of leadership meetings we sit in on. But, boy, do I now(Hermanas in our room, being more dumb with our hair) have a testimony of fasting. I forgot that's what I was even doing this past Sunday until it was dinner time. Sure, I felt hungry, but I was so busy concentrating on the spiritual part of the day that I didn't have time to be worried about it. I would invite all of you on fast Sunday to fill the day with the Spirit. Whenever you feel a pang of hunger, read your scriptures, or pull out a talk. I assure you, your testimony will be strengthened if you approach it with an open heart.

(Our Zone in front of the temple)

I love you all, and I'll update you with more next week!

(Hermanas in our room, being more dumb with our hair)

First letter!

Pero gua.

The MTC sure is an experience! The first day was a huge rush, hustle and bustle, and we constantly had things to do. We always constantly have things to do, which is a great thing because we are learning so much about missionary work. 

My companion is Hermana Carreon. She is super sweet and comes from Idaho, so she's experienced with the cold. Her Spanish is exactly like mine, so we get along just fine :)

There's a lot of sitting in classrooms all day, but the spirit is so strong it doesn't even matter. Conference here was amazing. I'll admit, I was slightly jealous of the MTC choir performing the Saturday afternoon session. I came a week or two late for that :( Either way, it was still amazing hearing them sing, and I had met a good portion of them. The most amazing was standing up with all the missionaries and singing "Called to Serve". Oh my goodness, maybe it was a good thing I wasn't in the choir because I would have been shedding a good amount of tears.

So big news! The second night we were here we got to meet our Branch Presidency, and they consist of President Glazier (it was great getting to see him and his wife again), President Nilsson, and President Flores. All of those men are amazing and the spirit is so strong with them, it's so hard to contain tears listening to them, and a smile when you see them. We were all called as either senior or junior companions that same night we had interviews with them, and Hermana Carreon is the senior in our companionship, but we were both called as Sister Training Leaders. Cue me: How? What? I'm...what? 

Meeting the other STL's was super great, little did I know we would be in their spots soon. They leave today, so we are now the official STL's, and I'm dying a little bit. But seeing the other sisters in action so far has got me really excited, and I know this calling will help me bless the lives of others so much, and I'm so grateful Heavenly Father has given me this opportunity even if I don't feel very qualified, I can become through Him.

(Carreon and I freaking out)

My district is awesome, though I admit a lot of us could be better with our study time. We'll be sitting quietly in class, reading, when all of a sudden an Elder will laugh and the entire district will burst out in that same laughter. But they're awesome, I know the Lord put us all together for his a grand purpose.

(Elder Milward was posing as a pregnant investigator with his bag, and Hermana Servin wanted to feel his stomach. They're crazy)

So my Spanish isn't as bad as I thought. Everyone in the advanced class speaks at pretty much the same level as me, so I definitely don't feel out of place. But I can testify the Spirit really does work with the gift of tongues because with everything being in Spanish, I have said things and communicated stuff with ease I never thought I would have been able to back home. The Spirit man, it's the stuff.

​Last night Vocal Point came and gave a devotional to all of us, which was super great. I loved their version of Nearer My God To Thee. Hearing it live was so strong and beautiful, and the fact that it was my favorite hymn made it that much more great.

I love you all! Les amo a todos! Espero que el espiritu puede guiarlos por el resto de la semana! Adios!

-Hermana Abreu

I am a full fledged missionary!

So the day has come, today I enter the MTC and become a full fledged missionary. I have been called to serve the Lord in the New York Rochester mission as a visitors' center sister speaking Spanish, and I couldn't be more excited!

Here my family will be posting my weekly letters and updates about my life. I hope everyone who reads this will be feel the Spirit from my experiences, and inspire you in some form or another.

Seeing as how I am going to serve in the place of the Restoration, here is my testimony of this beautiful and sacred place. Though I have not yet arrived, I can already feel the special spirit my mission has. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet who restored the full gospel of Jesus Christ, the one which he established on the earth, and I couldn't be more thrilled to be a part of it. 

Love,

Giselle

Uncle Charles, Aunt Julee Ann and Riley Charles dropping me off!

Me and Riley

In front of the Provo temple!

Bye for 18 months!!