Week One

Konichiwa family! I'm sorry, I only get 29 minutes and 20 seconds now on this computer so I'm going to type as fast as possible. This week has been amazing.  I'm hoping you guys have all been getting my letters.  I won't really have enough time to be able to tell you all about what's going on here through email because I just don't have that much time.  It's ridiculous!  Luckily, we have snail mail so you guys can still hear from me.  :-)  One trick to let me have more time to write you all... Send me an email in a word document. I can open a word document, close My LDS mail and take as much time as I want writing you all emails in Word.  Obviously that won't work this time, but for future reference.  That would be awesome.
 Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what to tell you all!  Most of what I want to say I've been writing in my Snail Mail letters.  I hope you guys are getting those and reading them.  I feel like I'm writing them constantly.  Whenever I have free time that's what I do is write you all.
 Okay, random stories for you for the rest of the 21 minutes I have...
 First off, I went to the Health Clinic today to see if they had anything to help with my blisters.  They're really really bad.  I wish I could send you pictures, but (OH YEAH!  This is important) I can't actually upload any picutres on here.  I don't have the stuff to be able to do that.  The only way you'll be able to see any picutres I take is for me to send you my camera's memory card with all the pictures on it so you can look at them.  I'll probably do that once my camera is full of pictures and I can't get anymore.  The Health Clinic gave me some more moleskin (That's another thing I need a TON of if you can send me more) with holes in it so I don't keep ripping off the new skin...  Sara, brilliant idea with the hocky tape.  If you can find that, I'd love some!  Hopefully what the Health Clinic gave me will help, but I'll have to let you know.
My District is freaking awesome.  There are 4 companionships total in our district.  Our District Leader is Smart-choro.  He's an awesome District Leader.  At first when he was asked to be DL I wasn't sure, but now I totally see why Heavenly Father wanted him as our first DL.  Smart-choro has 2 other doryo named Carter-choro and Williams-choro.  They've nicknamed themselves The Triforce-Chorotachi!  Hahahaha!  Only nerds get called to Japan.  It's awesome.  x)  Long-shimai and I call ourselves The Ichiban-shimaitachi (lit. Number One Sisters!).  Then there's also McKnight-Choro and Fukino-choro who call themselves Fukinighto-chorotachi.  The only other companionship in our District are Wooden-Choro and Lee-Choro.  They're still working on a name for themselves.  We only came up with these names to make it easier to talk about each other.  For example, instead having to ask where each individual choro is, we can just say "Triforce-chorotachi wa doko desu ka?"  It's just a lot easier... and fun.  :P
 Studying has been very difficult.  Nihongo is a very difficult language to learn... Very difficult.  Luckily, I now know why Heavenly Father didn't want me to get into the MTC any sooner than I did.  If I had, I wouldn't be Long-shimai's doryo!  She needs me.  The fact that I took those classes of Japanese has helped so much in studying.  Long-shimai didn't know ANY Nihongo before she got here so she's been finding it helpful to have me here to help her understand.  It's weird how quickly she and I have become friends.  :-)  I already feel like I could tell her pretty much anything.  Every night we have to have something called companionship inventory.  During that, we have to talk about our relationship and what we can do to improve.  So far, every night we've just said "uhmm... We're awesome?  And we need to work on not liking each other so much so that we'll focus better!" xD  We get so easily distracted.  It's ridiculous.  We'll go off on tangents constantly.  I love her!  She's like my 3 month older sister.  x)  Oh PS, I'm senior companion.  It was chosen by alphabetical inspiration.  ;)
 10 minutes... AHHHH!
The MTC has been amazing.  The spirit is SO strong here.  Everywhere you go you hear people singing hymns, praying, speaking foreign languages, testifying... There's not a moment that goes by that you don't feel the spirit.  I love it so much.  I've been introduced to so many people and, again, it's crazy how we've all bonded so quickly.
The other amazing thing is Nakajo-san.  We've been teaching him for a few days now.  It's SO difficult to teach in Japanese!  I have so much that I wish I could say to Nakajo-san, but I just don't know how!  Pray for me to be able to say what I want to say!
 I now have roughly 7 minutes to tell you about my amazing experience last night.  I was laying in bed trying to force myself to fall asleep.  We have this hour called "Revelation Hour" and during that I kept thinking about the fact that I was here.  The fact that I was in the MTC being a missionary.  I was thinking about why I was here and praying to know that this was really where Heavenly Father needs me and not just me thinking it was.  I've never felt the spirit so strongly.  Heavenly Father told me that he's proud of me, and that I am where he needs me.  I KNOW that that's true.  I know this is where I'm needed.  I just pray that I can make him and you guys proud.  :-)
 Please keep praying for Long-shimai and I!  We could use all the prayers we can get!  And please keep writing me! Whether through email (Which I can only check on tuesdays) or snail mail (Which I can read every day!!).  You know how missionaries always tell you that they love getting letters?  You really don't know how true that is until you're on a mission.  Seriously, whenever ANYONE get's a letter it's like Christmas.  :-)  We get excited over each other's letters!  4 minutes!!!
Write me write me write me!  :P  I love you all.  I know this church is true.  I know it!  :-)  Remind me in my next email to tell you about "Christmas at the MTC".   (OH!  And I met Elaine S. Dalton and Sheri Dew!!  AMAZING! )
Kay, I"ve really gotta go.  I love you!  I'll talk to you again soon!
-Christine Grosland