Carolyn's Second Week in the MTC

Hello!


I hope everyone had a happy Father's Day (a few days late, I know!) I was working out (not by choice) this weekend. In the gym they play conference talks, church movies, and Mormon messages on the TVs. They like to trick you, though, and if you aren't peddling fast enough the sound won't play through your headphones. Anyway, one of the Mormon messages was about fathers. It featured a dad that got up and went to work to provide for his children. The kids were little and didn't realize that their food, house, and toys were all there because they had a dad that provided for them. From their perspective, it just magically appeared. It made me ask myself if I really take the time to appreciate everything my Heavenly Father has provided for me. Do I really take the time to think about everything he has given me? Or, do I take it for granted?

This week we had a new district come into our zone, so we aren't the new ones anymore! This week we have two new districts coming in. The new districts are all elders and have no sisters in them! That should be interesting! On Thursday nights I get to teach the new districts how to use technology at the MTC.


This week we got three new "investigators" to teach. We have teaching appointments everyday, sometimes twice a day now. They are still hard, but my Spanish is improving enough that I am not as scared. Spanish has been hard for me, but I have to keep reminding myself that I have only studied it for a week and a half. Also, I know that the Lord will help me. I have been set apart to teach the gospel. I am not learning Spanish for myself, I am learning it for Him. So, He will help me learn at a pace that He is okay with.


There are a lot of mission presidents here learning in English in preparation for new mission president training next week. So, there are a lot of Spanish speakers learning English. We try to stop and talk when we have time so we can help each other out. This week there was a mission president's wife sitting on a bench outside of our dorm. We said hello and talked for awhile (in Spanglish.) She told us that God would bless us with really attractive husbands one day if we work hard on our missions. She also told us that obviously her husband had worked really hard on his mission because he got her. :)


Since the new mission president training will be in a few weeks, a lot of important general authorities will be here. So they decided to turn half of the cafeteria into a meeting area for that. So, we lost our good salad and wrap bar and one of the food lines. So, the food isn't great anymore and there is nowhere to sit! Oh well. 

Conversation of the week
Someone: Elder Mcconnell, do you know any of our first names since you pick up our mail?
Elder McConnell: I only know Hermana Taylor's name, Sarah.
Us: Why did you remember that?
Him: Because that's the lady that sewed the American flag
Someone: That wasn't Sarah Taylor, that was Betty White
Me: THAT WAS BETSY ROSS

and we all died laughing

I hope everyone has a great week! I love all of the dearelder.com messages. They are super encouraging!


Love,

Hermana Bettridge


Featured Pics: Selfie of me and Hna Taylor, our door we made cheetahlicious, and our district at the temple

The Farewell Fiesta

The weekend before Carolyn left for her mission, the family hosted an Fiesta themed open house for friends and family.  Here are some of the pictures in no order.  

Thanks to Mark Bush for some great photos!

Carolyn's first week in the MTC

Carolyn left the Tulsa airport bound for the Missionary Training Center on June 8, 2016!

                      

Today we got her first letter and it was very exciting!  "Hermana" is the Spanish word for "Sister".  In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, all female missionaries are referred to as "Sister" in the language of their mission.  Men are referred to as Elders.  Here are the adventures of Hermana Bettridge!

Hello, family and friends!


My first week at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) has been good! The food here is generally very good (unlike SUU) and I'm trying not to get fat!


My district is great! In our district we have three sets of sisters and one set of elders; it is unusual to have that many sisters and that few elders, but, sisters try to generally leave this time to get back in December before the semester starts and elders are gone for two years so it doesn't matter when in the summer they leave. Everyone in my district is speaking Spanish in the United States. My companion is Hermana Taylor. She is awesome! She is from Gilbert, Arizona and is going to the same mission as me! We are in a room with another set of sisters in our district: Hermana Beach from California going to Iowa and Hermana Andreason from Utah going to Houston as well. The other set of sisters live in the room next to us: Hermana Whitaker from Colorado going to Idaho and Hermana Beckstead FROM HOUSTON going to Iowa. The set of elders is Elder Hernandez from Alaska going to Indiana and Elder McConnell from California going to Iowa.

Carolyn and her companion, Hermana Taylor in their classroom.

I'm really glad I am companions with Hermana Taylor! We are different in a lot of ways, she is very organized and wants to be an accountant (she did a year at ASU before coming,) but we are both really knowledgeable about things, we are funny, we walk fast, and eat fast. :) We work really well together planning lessons. OUR SECOND FULL DAY HERE WE HAD TO TEACH A FULL 30 MINUTE LESSON TO AN "INVESTIGATOR" IN SPANISH. I thought I was going to die. We teach a Spanish lesson every day except Sunday and P Day and we get a new investigator every week. I am the only person in my district that has never studied Spanish before. I am lucky to have Hermana Taylor because she is probably the best in our district at Spanish. We can plan a lesson, but we can't predict what he is going to ask us about or how to respond to it. Basically, every lesson we end up teaching about something other than what we planned.


Every day we get up at 6:30 (but we get up at 5:45 three days a week to go to a workout class.) We have gym time for an hour, get ready, eat breakfast, eat lunch, eat dinner, and are in class about ten hours a day! We usually have an hour of personal study (to study the scriptures,) an hour of companion study (Hermana Taylor and I plan our lesson in English and study scriptures together,) an hour of language study with our companion, a half hour teaching appointment, an hour and a half of additional study to study what we need to, an hour of class (taught in Spanish) about how to be a missionary (how to teach, how to fill out our planners, how to memorize scriptures etc,) and four hours of Spanish language instruction from our teacher. Studying that long was really hard, but I am starting to get used to it.

Hermanas Taylor and Bettridge

Church is interesting here. We go to church as a zone (there are around four districts in our zone.) On Sunday morning we all write a talk (in Spanish) about what we are learning about in sacrament meeting that day, and the bishop gets up after the sacrament and announces who is speaking. Kind of scary! (It wasn't me, thank goodness!) So that will happen for five more Sundays :) I was called to be the Zone Technology Coordinator (because I know so much about technology... not!) so I will train all incoming missionaries to our zone how to email, write a weekly report, access online assessments etc. I am also the senior companion in my companionship. The branch president and his wife (President and Sister Price) are the best! They are so sweet and really care about us and I love them! Pres Price looks just like Mitt Romney and Sis Price looks like Sarah Palin, so that is funny. They dress up like them every Halloween. They are super cute! They both went on Spanish speaking missions. Church is in Spanish, but if someone from the branch presidency talks it is in English.


I am glad I came well prepared to the MTC. A lot of other missionaries are not. I am glad I had a knowledge of French, even though I am not speaking it, because the grammar is similar. I know I use the conditional tense of a verb to be more polite, even though we haven't talked about that etc. I also know where scriptures are, which can be really helpful in lessons! I wish I had come with some things memorized, like the first vision, but I was generally very prepared.


Emotionally I have been fine. I miss everyone and I miss home, but I know this is what I am supposed to do and I am not overly sad. On Sunday Hermana Taylor and I were having a hard time with all the stress of the language, study, having to be around people all day etc. But, we had a good cry in a classroom together and were fine :) That's what companions are for!


On Sunday a girl in our district said something really hurtful to Hermana Taylor and I and we were upset and kind of mad at her (in hindsight I realize she is just dealing with the stress in a different way and hopefully wasn't trying to be mean.) But, I was really hurt. Then at choir practice that night (we have choir practice twice a week for two hours) our director was talking about William W Phelps. He was a really strong member of the Church and ran the printing press and printed the copies of the first Books of Mormon. He also wrote a lot of the hymns and was good friends with the Prophet Joseph Smith. Then something happened and he decided to leave the Church and tell the authorities lies about Joseph Smith plotting to take over the country. As a result, Joseph was arrested and spent over a year in Liberty Jail until it was cleared up. Joseph was in jail when the Church really needed him and when his family really needed him. He even had to miss the birth of his child. Later, William W Phelps repented and wanted to come back to the Church. He wrote a letter to Joseph Smith and apologized. Joseph accepted his apology without question. If Joseph could forgive him after all of that, I can forgive that girl.


On Sunday we watched Elder Bednar's address called the Character of Christ and it changed my life and completely changed how I think about things. Go look it up on lds.org and watch it! I really want to make certain changes in my life to become more like Christ so I can come closer to Him.


Please write me letters at dearelder.com (my mom can help you if you have any questions about that!) We get those letters the day you send them (at the end of the day, so letters won't distract me!) and I get to read something encouraging at night. Emails I can only read on Tuesdays. I love getting dearelder.com letters so much!!


I love you guys and hope you have a great week!


Love,
Hermana Bettridge

FAQs about Missionaries

As I’ve been going through this process I’ve had a lot of people ask me questions about missions. I decided to make a post answering some of these questions because I’m sure many people have similar ones! If anyone has any more questions about LDS missionaries or LDS beliefs, feel free to ask me!

How was it determined where I was sent?

Before all of my paperwork was sent to the missionary department in Salt Lake I had several interviews with my various ecclesiastical leaders. I also met with doctors, a dentist, an oral surgeon, an optometrist, and a psychologist. I filled out a lot of paperwork and wrote about many things including my family, language ability, grades, talents, and driving history. It took me about two months to complete all of that, then my application was sent off.

A missionary assignment meeting is held weekly. The assignment is made by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostle, and he is assisted by someone in the missionary department. To learn more about my belief of a living prophet and apostles, see this article https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/restoration . He goes in fasting and sincerely prays about where each missionary should go and prays to know “perfectly” where each missionary should be assigned. He spends several minutes reviewing one screen with the missionaries’ application and one screen with the needs of the various missions around the world (around 420 missions.) Prompted by the Spirit, he makes the assignment.

For further detail, check out this article. http://www.ldsdaily.com/church-lds/elder-oaks-shares-photos-of-missionary-assignment-meeting/#.VygEmAWlA_A.facebook

Elder Oaks making an assignment.

How will I learn Spanish?

Before I go to Houston I will receive six weeks of training. My training consists of classes about how to be a missionary, as well as Spanish classes. This will take place at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. There are fifteen MTCs around the world, and I was assigned to this one. It is the only one located in the United States.Language training at the MTC is intense and consists of learning in classes almost all day. I have also started studying Spanish on my own!

What will I be doing as a missionary?

As a missionary my purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ. I will be teaching others about Christ and His restored gospel. I will help others develop faith in Christ. I will also spend a lot of time serving the community in Houston. Missionaries spend a lot of time performing service, from helping an elderly woman with yard work to serving at a community food bank.

Are missionaries paid?

No. LDS missionaries are volunteers and receive no financial compensation (but lots of blessings!) LDS missionaries must pay their own way. My family will be financially supporting me while I am gone.

How long will I be gone?

I will be serving for eighteen months. I leave June 8th, 2016 and will return in December of 2017.

Will I come home to visit?

Nope, I will stay in the Houston area the entire time. My family will not be visiting me while I am gone, as well.

How will I stay in contact with my friends and family?

I will communicate through weekly emails. I can also receive and write letters. I will video call my family on Christmas and Mother’s Day.

Will I go back to school after my mission?

Yes! Since I will return in December I will start school again that January. I will continue studying French Education and will add a second major in Spanish Education. I plan to spend a semester studying in France, and then it should take me another five semesters to graduate.

I am so happy for the opportunity I have to serve as a missionary! Everyday I feel more and more blessed. The gospel has made me so happy and filled my life with so much peace, and I cannot wait to share that joy with others! I am not going on a mission to force my beliefs upon anyone, but if someone wants to know more about my faith I will be happy to tell them all about it! I know I was sent to Houston, speaking Spanish, for a reason. I do not know all of the reasons yet, but I cannot wait to find out! I am not going on a mission because anyone expects me to go or because I am taking a break in my life. I am going because I want to invite others to come unto Christ. I want to help prepare the world for His second coming. I know it will not be easy riding a bike around Houston in the middle of the humid summer, trying to find people who will listen to what I have to say, and trying to communicate in Spanish. But, I know it will be worth it, and Heavenly Father will help me. With Him, all things are possible.

Doctrine and Covenants 6:36

Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not.