Thursday, April 11, 2013
I’m here! I’m at the MTC! And it’s so great! It’s super crazy & I feel like I’m drinking (or trying to drink) from a fire hydrant. It’s insane! But it’s good.
So we got here, the Elder came & helped me with my luggage, walked me to the front desk/building place, I got my tag & all sorts of other good things. And on the little envelope that had all my info on it & it said my companion would be Kaylee Ripplinger. And I LOVE her. She was one of the girls that went to NYC with me. And we just totally hit it off! So excited! And the best part? I have been feeling like I was going to get here as my companion since I got set apart. And she’s just amazing! I feel like we’re basically the same person. She’s from Brigham City. She’s 19 now & will be turning 20 in..June? July? This summer.
Oh! And we also taught our first lesson last night, Wednesday. In the first few hours we were here. In front of like 100-150 people. Yeah. Crazy! The teacher lady came up to us & asked if she could talk to us. We though we were in so much trouble! And only like 4 hours after we got here. Ha. That would’ve been funny. So she says, I’ve been noticing how involved you sisters are. You really seem to care about what’s going on & the people around you. And I’ve been feeling the Spirit so strong! Would you two sisters like to do the next door approach? We’ll get you both miked & everything. Oh man. Yup, we did that. Crazy!
AND! I ran into Hermana Lake yesterday too! We got pictures. So you’ll be seeing that soon. I haven’t run into anyone else I know yet.
My P-day is Thursday’s but I don’t get it this week. So my first full week, you’ll get an e-mail.
The language is crazy! But so pretty! So we got our tag & stuff & went to our rooms to drop everything off & went straight to class where the teacher only spoke Danish! And the crazy part. I actually understood most of it. And the teacher wasn’t even miming all that much! So that was really cool. So I don’t know how true this is, but someone told me that the reason we can understand it so well is because it’s a Germanic language and so is English. Now the speaking part? Ha. That’ll be interesting. We’re supposed to teach our first lesson (in Danish) tomorrow (Friday). So, I guess we’ll see how that goes. Or doesn’t. 
And FYI I probably will be reassigned stateside before I go to Danmark. The group that just left pretty much all went to Nashville because their visas hadn’t come through yet & they went to NYC in November/December. So yeah. But we’re scheduled to leave the MTC May 20th. So we’ll be leaving that day whether we are heading to Danmark or some other random place.
And a really cool thing – we are the biggest group of Danish Missionaries to ever go to Danmark! 22! 11 Søster & 11 AEldste. Amazing! Thank heavens I’m not in trio of søster. That I think would drive me nuts! But really, I absolutely adore Søster Ripplinger. She is amazing! Go look at the pictures from NYC & you will see who she is. (Here is their picture)
I have (obviously) picked up a few words in Danish. Goddag – good day. Jeg – I. Jeg hedder Søstre Rigby – I am called Sister Rigby. Hvor kommer du fra? – Where come you from? The d’s sound like l’ & Søster is pronounced sooooster. Like soup. Oh! And søskende – siblings. Jeg har to søskende. I have two siblings. It really does sound a lot like English, just much prettier – it’s pretty melodic. And I got some Danish scriptures. The Book of Mormon/D & C/Pearl of Great Price is in a triple combination and looks pretty normal. But the Bible (which I don’t have yet) is yellow! They’re on back order so we may or may not get them before we leave. But they’re yellow! How cool is that! And the learning materials….there’s so much! I’m pretty sure it weighs like 20 lbs. Ok, maybe an exaggeration. But really there’s so much.
I really do love it. It feels like I’ve been here forever already, but I love it. And it feels like we’re getting a crash course in Social Work. Seriously. Last night & this morning they just kept saying what is the person telling you that they’re not actually saying? Can you say therapizing much? So glad I already know how to do that & I’m not trying to figure that out on top of learning Danish. And as far as being a missionary? It feels…..normal. It’s so great!
Love you guys! I’m so grateful for your love & support. You’re the best! Tell monster that I love him & can’t wait to watch TMNT with him when I get back. Tell Zach I love him & to write me it he hasn’t already.
Love you!
Søster Rigby
(The first one ever )
P.S. The number on my address is 0520 not 0522. Yeah. It’s the date I’m scheduled to leave the MTC.
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