A Few Photos

We received a little package from Melissa (Sister Broekhuijsen) today. There was a letter for us (her parents) and one for Garrett, but not one for Joshua because the "little schmoo schmah" hadn't written to her yet! Anyway, there was also an SD card from her camera with a few MTC pictures. I'm not sure I'll remember how to do captions on the photos, so I'll just tell you that the two other women in the photos are Sister Tofete and Sister Roy, her "tripanions."

Melissa closed her letter to us by saying:

I mostly want to tell you to not WORRY. Keep praying for me, please, but don't worry. I think the worst of the adjustment shock is over. I am getting used to the schedule. I'm following the rules. I'm eating healthily. I'm being watched over and loved. Mostly I'm growing. I know everyone always says this but it's so true — I have learned more about preaching the gospel and about myself in the last 6 days than I could ever have guessed I would. I am not only surviving, I'm thriving here. So please don't worry.

Love, Love, LOVE you,
Sis. Broekhuijsen

First Email!

Oh happy day! How I love P-Day! And I love email! It's great to know that Melissa (Sister Broekhuijsen) wrote these words just minutes before we received them. What a joy to hear from her and to know she's doing well. Here are some excerpts from her first email home. Enjoy!

I have SO much to tell you about but I don't know if I'll have time. I have been writing down things to tell you all week, and they're not in any particular order, so I'll just go, and hopefully they will make sense.

The first day was crazy. After you dropped me off, I went with the elders for a few yards, then met a host sister who took me to do my registration business, and took me up to my room. I didn't even have time to unpack! We dropped off the suitcases and ran around some more. We met our districts and companions, and had a little get to know you meeting. Then we went into a giant hall in the main building and had a little Welcome Devotional type thing where the MTC Presidency and their wives spoke to us. It was really cool because for the opening song we sang The Army of Helaman song, but they changed the words to "We are NOW the Lord's Missionaries to bring the world His truth" instead of "we will be." It was really, really powerful.


So. Let me tell you a little bit about how I live. I'm in a dorm-style room with 3 bunkbeds. There is my tripanionship (which I think I told you about in that first letter) and two other girls, I mean sisters, Sisters Bown and Wilson. We all get along so that is great!

Our district is amazing. This is who we have all our classes with (two 3-hour blocks of class every day) and we eat with them, and go to firesides and devotionals with them. They are so cool! We are the only sisters, and then there are 8 Elders. Elders Escobar, Morrill, and Winegar are going to Boston with me! Yay! Today is Baby Winegar's 19th birthday. We are so proud. :) Then we have Elders Bartholomew, Fultz & Nielsen (companions), and Hill & Troester who are going to Houston, TX along with Sister Tofete. We all get along really well. I love them, and it's cool to see them bear their testimonies, and to hear why they're here. We usually begin class with a song and prayer, and OH my. I'm pretty sure a couple Elders are tone deaf, and a couple others see the notes on the page as guidelines rather than instructions to be followed. But LOOK- the Spirit is blessing me because I'm not even the teensiest bit annoyed :)

So we are on a new curriculum that they just switched to last month. It involves a LOT of teaching. Every day we are teaching a lesson to a fake investigator (who is one of our teachers, acting) and three times a week we teach volunteers who come in and pretend to be investigators. They have very defined characters, so it's really cool.

Our meal schedule is really weird. I'm pretty sure they're convinced we're in a nursing home. We eat breakfast at 7:00 every morning, so that's not bad at all. But then lunch is at 11:30, and dinner is at 4:30! It's funny. The food is not bad. I'm trying to be healthy and I eat at least one banana every day. Even if it is gross and mushy and makes me gag a little bit, I finish it. So be proud.

In one of our workshops, and in class a couple times, we've been using this NY Times online thing where they interviewed a ton of people they found in New York City and set their voice recordings to pictures of them. They are INCREDIBLE. We've been using them to try to learn how to love people as the Savior loves them. That makes missionary work infinitely more personal and easier, actually. We've been told to treat our investigators like our own family. Of COURSE I would share this message with my family if they didn't have it! I LOVE them! And I want them to have it! It's just like that. it's called "1 in 8 Million" and I think you should look it up and have an FHE with that. Just watch a profile, then as a family ask questions like, "What do you think Heavenly Father would say to these people if He were talking directly to them?" "How would having the gospel improve her life?" "In what ways is he already prepared to hear our message?" It would be way cool.

Probably the hardest adjustment so far is not having instant communication. The first 3 days I was writing down all kinds of really cool insights I had found that would help for your Relief Society lesson, Mom. But then I realized that I wouldn't get to tell you until today! So that was weird. I hope it went well even without my incredible suggestions.

Well, I just want to say thanks again for the packages and your prayers. I can really feel them. I'm doing really well, and I know that that has to do with the Spirit comforting me. I couldn't do it without help. I just couldn't. It's so hard, but it's so DOABLE with the Lord's help.

Sorry if I forgot to thank you for something - don't think I'm not grateful I just don't have time, I don't want it to kick me off.

Love you all,

Sister Broekhuijsen

First Contact!

I tried very hard not to get my hopes up about hearing from Melissa today, so I was very pleasantly surprised to find a red envelope in the mailbox from Sister Broekhuijsen! Hooray! I won't include the entire letter (you probably don't care what things she still needs us to send her!) but here are some excerpts from her first letter home.

Well, Day 1 is now over and I'm barely worse for the wear! The more I think about it, the more I'm just so grateful that they do curbside drop off. Like Mom predicted, they've kept me so busy I haven't had any time to be sad. The first day here was so overwhelming, but so full of tender mercies (yup…tender mercies. I'm THAT girl now) that I can't help but be grateful.

First of all, I am in a trio companionship with 2 other sisters. We lovingly call it a "tripanionship." Andrew would be so proud. :-) Sister Roy is 25, from Maine, and is serving in Temple Square. Sister Fofete is from Salt Lake City and is serving in Houston. Our district consists of the 3 of us ladies and 8 Elders who are all serving in either Houston or Boston We're still warming up to each other but I think things will work out just great.

My companions are so awesome - definitely an answer to prayers because we get along really well. I have a lot more to tell you and not nearly enough time so I will just try to write an awesome email. My P-days are Tuesdays (like brother like sister!)<-- not a phrase -- so you will next hear from me then.

Know that I love you, that I'm doing well, and that I could still use about a trillion prayers.

Next in the letter comes the "bossy, complainful list of things I need." Then she says:

Thank you for your prayers. In my blessing when I was set apart I was promised that I would able to feel your prayers, and I really have!

Love you,
Sister Broekhuijsen