i've been here two weeks and it feels so normal. like i should have been here forever. i do miss my college life a little, and being at home vegging was awesome, but i love feeling productive. and if there's anything you do in the mtc its be productive.
i got the package you sent mom and pop. thanks so much. i'm wearing my beloved jeans at this moment. i've learned to cherish the p-day clothing. but the best part of p-day is the temple. last week sister arnett and i went and did initiatories. and that was truly wonderful. it was so great to remember those blessings. today our district is going to do a session. we're scheduled to go at 12:40. so we'll go after lunch.
mom, i truly have to wear nylons every day. its awful. but i'm slowly getting used to it. i don't like the knee highs cus they always slide down, or i'm afraid they'll slide down. but whatev. i hope those rules change once i'm in nj. i prolly will have to buy a new slip, if i really think i need one. but who knows. i may not want one out there.
for all, i fly out at 10 am next tuesday. to philadelphia. straight flight. elder thielen and i will travel with four other sisters that are spanish speaking. it will be weird to leave my district. i wouldn't feel as weird if we were all going to the same place, but it will all work out. our district is so so great. we love each other like family. our teachers keep saying their waiting for something to be wrong with us. they say we're the best district they've every had. and i totally believe it. we are amazing. haha. but seriously, we love each other and we can all feel it. we're tight knit. you could even say we're felted wool. [hope you get that, mom.]
everything is great here. sister arnett is sick and we're going to the clinic today in about 40 minutes. but she thinks its just a sinus infection, so she should be okay by the time she leaves. we leave a day before they do. so it will be weird to be without me and elder thielen i'm sure. but we're all getting a little excited to get out and do the work.
OH! and there is this place in here called the referral center. where we call and take calls concerning orders for bibles and such. i talked to this lady for a half hour and sent her the missionaries and the bible and the book of mormon. she really needed God in her life and i was so happy that she made the effort to call in. i taught her about joseph smith and the restoration and asked her to read the BoM when she got it and she said she would. i hope she does. she needed the gospel.
i'm running out of time, but i'm leaving a little bit of time at the end so i can check back later tonight. love you all! keep me updated on everything!
love love love love love!
sister madeline mcneil
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
first letter!
Full of exclamation points and excitement...just the way we like it.
Surprise!!!
we get to email in the mtc!!! yay! okay!!! so! the mtc is great! the first day is brutal, i remember looking at everyone in my district the first day and seeing everyone's googly eyes. its pretty bizarro the first day. but it gets better every day. i'm learning so much. i have amazing teachers. brother lovejoy and sister higginson. both served in brazil. and they're both byu students. they are fantastic and quite possibly the best teachers i could get. they're so upbeat. and my district is hilarious. there are four sisters and six elders. these are the people we're in class with all day and meet with for church[plus some] and everything. everyone but me and elder thielen[pronounced thee-lin] are going to dc south. and elder thielen is the district leader which means he just talks at the beginning of meetings and picks up mail. elder mcfarlane is his companion and then there are elders holmstead, sackett[he knows logan mcneil-went to hs with him], davis and peterson. each one has a great sense of humor and they are all so great to learn with.
sister arnett is my companion, she's from orem. she's been a hairdresser for 3 years now and has just been doing that since high school. we share a burning love of 30 rock which we discovered the first night here and we've been growing closer and closer every day. she helps the days get better and she doesn't let things get boring. i love her. we get along really well and sister higginson thinks we work well together, which i have to agree with! we can focus when we need to and have fun when we want to. its loverly. sister hahn and sister bagley are the other sisters in our district and they are so funny. sister bagley came on the mission with the same worries that i did. and i feel fairly close to her because of that. sister hahn has a laugh that is simply contagious and we all love having her around.
quick story: one of the districts in our branch[the group we meet with for church] is all girls and they were all supposed to fly to hong kong on monday. because they learned cantonese they were here for 3 months. their flight on monday was delayed so much that they would have had to spend the night in sf so the mtc brought them back. then they were supposed to leave last night but they mission president in hong kong couldn't pick them up. so they are still here and all their luggage is probably in hong kong and they are leaving the mtc for real[we hope] tonight.
most of them are grateful they didn't leave yet though because Elder Ballard came to speak last night at devotional. it was INCREDIBLE! he is such a powerful speaker. i can't really believe i didn't take as many notes in his past conference talks. it might also be that i'm paying just a little more attention. but it was incredible. he talked about having a positive attitude and an excitement to share the gospel and then we will have success. one of the greatest things was he said, "we are in a hurry... people do not know who God is" and the need our message. I'm so glad i get to be a part of this work. i know my hard work here will pay off. and i think that phrase will keep me motivated for the rest of my mission.
family, i love you so much. i don't know that this is getting to everyone, so please send it on to whoever wants it. thank you so much for supporting me. i love you forever. i'll email next week and before then i expect letters. ha.
sincerely with my missionary love,
sister madeline mcneil
ps- my p-day is wednesday, and its the only day i get to write letters. just so you know. and also, i leave the mtc two weeks from yesterday! yikes!
Surprise!!!
we get to email in the mtc!!! yay! okay!!! so! the mtc is great! the first day is brutal, i remember looking at everyone in my district the first day and seeing everyone's googly eyes. its pretty bizarro the first day. but it gets better every day. i'm learning so much. i have amazing teachers. brother lovejoy and sister higginson. both served in brazil. and they're both byu students. they are fantastic and quite possibly the best teachers i could get. they're so upbeat. and my district is hilarious. there are four sisters and six elders. these are the people we're in class with all day and meet with for church[plus some] and everything. everyone but me and elder thielen[pronounced thee-lin] are going to dc south. and elder thielen is the district leader which means he just talks at the beginning of meetings and picks up mail. elder mcfarlane is his companion and then there are elders holmstead, sackett[he knows logan mcneil-went to hs with him], davis and peterson. each one has a great sense of humor and they are all so great to learn with.
sister arnett is my companion, she's from orem. she's been a hairdresser for 3 years now and has just been doing that since high school. we share a burning love of 30 rock which we discovered the first night here and we've been growing closer and closer every day. she helps the days get better and she doesn't let things get boring. i love her. we get along really well and sister higginson thinks we work well together, which i have to agree with! we can focus when we need to and have fun when we want to. its loverly. sister hahn and sister bagley are the other sisters in our district and they are so funny. sister bagley came on the mission with the same worries that i did. and i feel fairly close to her because of that. sister hahn has a laugh that is simply contagious and we all love having her around.
quick story: one of the districts in our branch[the group we meet with for church] is all girls and they were all supposed to fly to hong kong on monday. because they learned cantonese they were here for 3 months. their flight on monday was delayed so much that they would have had to spend the night in sf so the mtc brought them back. then they were supposed to leave last night but they mission president in hong kong couldn't pick them up. so they are still here and all their luggage is probably in hong kong and they are leaving the mtc for real[we hope] tonight.
most of them are grateful they didn't leave yet though because Elder Ballard came to speak last night at devotional. it was INCREDIBLE! he is such a powerful speaker. i can't really believe i didn't take as many notes in his past conference talks. it might also be that i'm paying just a little more attention. but it was incredible. he talked about having a positive attitude and an excitement to share the gospel and then we will have success. one of the greatest things was he said, "we are in a hurry... people do not know who God is" and the need our message. I'm so glad i get to be a part of this work. i know my hard work here will pay off. and i think that phrase will keep me motivated for the rest of my mission.
family, i love you so much. i don't know that this is getting to everyone, so please send it on to whoever wants it. thank you so much for supporting me. i love you forever. i'll email next week and before then i expect letters. ha.
sincerely with my missionary love,
sister madeline mcneil
ps- my p-day is wednesday, and its the only day i get to write letters. just so you know. and also, i leave the mtc two weeks from yesterday! yikes!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Madeline's address in the MTC
MTC Mailbox 147
NJCHL - 0303
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793
She's only there until March 4th so send your love!
NJCHL - 0303
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793
She's only there until March 4th so send your love!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
and it begins...
Hey everyone, Kate McNeil here. Madeline asked me to takeover her blog while she's away.
Just talked to Madeline and she's a couple hours away from entering the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. She called the MTC "a bad place," recalling memories of sending her brother Daniel on his mission, but added, "I'm sure it's a different experience when you're the missionary."
She will spend three weeks there and then head to New Jersey. If you haven't read the crazy story about how she got her mission call, do so here.
She brought two bags with her, one of which was "really cheap at Ross" and has "lots of multi-colored stars" on it. Haha, sounds like Maddy, no?
Anyway, think of Madeline at 1:30 p.m. mountain time! Can't wait to here more from her...
Just talked to Madeline and she's a couple hours away from entering the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. She called the MTC "a bad place," recalling memories of sending her brother Daniel on his mission, but added, "I'm sure it's a different experience when you're the missionary."
She will spend three weeks there and then head to New Jersey. If you haven't read the crazy story about how she got her mission call, do so here.
She brought two bags with her, one of which was "really cheap at Ross" and has "lots of multi-colored stars" on it. Haha, sounds like Maddy, no?
Anyway, think of Madeline at 1:30 p.m. mountain time! Can't wait to here more from her...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
hey-o and bye bye
so, tomorrow i enter the mtc and will be handing over my blerg to my journalist sister-in-law. very capable hands. its been fun keeping my thoughts about random things up, but from now for a while it will be my thoughts on some not so random things about jersey and church and being a missionary work. its gonna be awesome. awesome. party is getting started. see you on the other side! love you all.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
i left my heart in a can of crisco
these are some pics from our most memorable weekend. i love these girls. and i love san fran.
how gorgeous is she? i mean, c'mon!
this is my bestie of all besties. roomates for 2.5 years. love her.
just a wee group of us. sorta candid, but i like it.
all of these girls have never been together in one group before, ever. i love each of them so so much. this was the perfect brake from school for them and the perfect brake from nothing for me. loved every single minute of it. [including the bum in church experience.]
pictures compliments of rach. thanks so much for a great weekend girlies. i love you.
how gorgeous is she? i mean, c'mon!
this is my bestie of all besties. roomates for 2.5 years. love her.
just a wee group of us. sorta candid, but i like it.
all of these girls have never been together in one group before, ever. i love each of them so so much. this was the perfect brake from school for them and the perfect brake from nothing for me. loved every single minute of it. [including the bum in church experience.]
pictures compliments of rach. thanks so much for a great weekend girlies. i love you.
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