Drowned Biker?

This week the weather has been the weirdest. So I get here and the first day is sweltering. IT is so hot. And then the next night it's freezing. And it goes back and forth all over the place every few nights. Getting up in the morning is REAL hard when it's cold.... and I often fall asleep while I'm praying. It's a struggle every morning and I'm trying my best to repent and do better. But there was the first rainy day. And of course since I didn't plan to be a biker, I'm in a biking mission. Well Sister Astorga and I got to ride around in the rain and get all wet and dirty and talk to a few people and it was great. It rains A LOT when it decides to rain and the streets, sidewalks, and front yards get really flooded. Everything is uneven so there are some parts that are perfectly dry and others that have literally like 17 feet of water. It's pretty fun. In a wet kind of cold way.

Also, the first day of biking, Sister Astorga's bike likes to break... so we get to play mechanics and fix it. or walk home and wait for you upstairs neighbor from Tonga to help us fix it. That might have happened. 

Really though, other than the weather and the other small things like I wish I had my sweaters to snuggle into and that no one really wants to talk to us, things are going great. My companion is a doll and the two sisters we room with are something else. We are having as much fun as a missionary is allowed to have(; ha. Sometimes more though. 

Have a great day! D&C 6:36. I wrote it in my planner and don't know why or what it says, so hope it could maybe apply to someone out there(: Enjoy!

-Sister Damstedt

Well here I am in NEW YORK. Being a missionary and whatnot. I will tell you right now that this is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life and it has only been about 5 days. It is something else. The MTC doesn't prepare you for squat. Especially if you spend all your time learning Portuguese. BUt that is ok. I'm learning quick.

So I have a story about my companion: Sister Astorga. She is a doll and I love her to death. She is from Guatemala and is Fluent in Spanish. ANd wouldn't you know, Portuguese. (she says she isn't, but she can speak it) The cool part about this story is that my mission president didn't know that she was fluent when he assigned us together. This was SUCH a tender mercy from the Lord. We also are living with two other sisters, one who is going to The Brazil Rebeirao Preto mission just like me. So three of the four in our house can speak together. It is the BIGGEST blessing. Even if we don't always use it as much as we should. It just showed me how much God does love me and wants me to be successful in my mission, in New York and later in Brazil.

On my first day here, President Francis took all the new missionaries to a bunch of the church sites. It was a miraculous day! We went to the Hill Cumorah, the Joseph Smith houses, the Sacred Grove and a few other places. The Sacred Grove was my favorite. We always talk about the first vision and that it happened in the Sacred Grove... but I guess it had never really been real to me. I mean it was real but it just was one of those things. But then we went and I was there and it WAS real. President let us go off alone for a little bit and I cannot describe the way that place feels. We have the ability to bring in a testifying spirit when we talk about this experience, but to BE THERE was something else entirely. Sitting on a bench I was looking around and it was so clear. This happened. It happened here. And I knew it. More than I have ever known. Joseph Smith saw God and he restored the church. I cannot deny it. The coolest thing about my mission is that all the sisters who are called to serve here work as tour guides at all these sites, so I've been learning SO much about the early history of the church. There is a nickname for our mission and it's the Cradle of the Restoration. Everything that happened in the first few years of the Restoration happened in my mission. There is a Spirit in those sites that cannot be replicated. I know it is holy ground and I know that it is true. If nothing else comes from my time spent in New York, I will know that more than I ever have. But more things will happen for me than just that. They already are.

It's a privilege and a blessing to be a servant for the Lord. It is hard and it is tedious work, but it is not harder and it is not more tedious than what our Savior had to do while he was doing the Father's work. And I am here to find and teach those who are ready to receive this truth. Some days I don't know how that will happen, but I've been called to do it and I know it will. 

Here is a nother picture. I stayed in the house that Brigham Young's father built my first night in the mission. It was the best night sleep I'd had in 6 weeks and probably will be for my whole mission!

First Photo from New York

First photo from New York.  One of these other sister missionaries had her family come to pick her up and the mom sent me this photo of Carrie with these two other missionaries.
Suzanne

Reassignment While Waiting for my Visa

Hey friends and family,

Today was a great extra surprise pday. I got all packed and am basically ready to leave the MTC. Minus the fact that there is a day in between now and when I leave. So basically I'm going to be living out of the free bin because I don't know where any of my things are in my suitcases, I packed and repacked them like 4000 times to be able to make the weight in each. I'm ultra bummed that I had to get another bag... All of those books they give you really weigh you down, literally. And seeing as I'm still supposed to be able to communicate once I finally get to Brazil, I need to take them with me. But still I don't know where All the other stuff came from. I mean I picked up a few t-shirts from the free bin because I realized that I needed more work out shirts as a runner because I sweat a lot apparently. Since I've never been a runner, I never would have known that. I'm not REALLY a runner now... but for the majority of gym times, I've been working on it. And I am quite pleased to announce that probably three weeks into my stay, I successfully ran two consecutive miles without stopping. And I'm am proud of it.

Mostly though, other than packing, there isn't really much going on. Just waiting and still studying in Portuguese. Which makes sense since I'm not going to Brazil. But really, I do love Portuguese and I love how far I've come and how awesome I feel like I am. Sometimes during lessons I forget that I'm speaking in Portuguese. I forget that it's not English and that I'm not really logically supposed to be more comfortable in this language than the one I've spoken for the last 19 years of my life. I love how that happened. The other day I was asked to pray before our service project and I had to do it in English and it was the hardest prayer I have ever given. I seriously haven't prayed in all English for over a month. Praying is normal to me in Portuguese now. And I think I probably won't switch back. I mean I use English when I can't think of words or don't know them, but mostly it's Portuguese. 

Oh, I got to leave the MTC again. One of my companions had to get their wisdom teeth out yesterday because they didn't actually have room for them when her dentist said they did so it was infected and causing problems. So we went out and got that done and it was just as weird as the first time. I'm not sure how the world outside of this place works anymore. I'm going to have to adjust a lot. 

Well, here are some pictures: 

1) Me pointing at BOTH of my missions! How blessed am I?? I get two missions! And I couldn't be happier. I can't even believe that it was only yesterday that I got my reassignment. It just seems so normal that I'm going to New York. It seems so perfect and I can't wait! Fun possibility about my mission: the Sacred Grove might be in it. HOW GREAT would that be if I got to visit. Oh how I hope it is in my mission and oh how I hope I get to go. That would make me so extraordinarily happy. 

2)This is a rock that has been in our room for the last few weeks. It's kind of like a pet in a way. We love it. We found it while cleaning out a pipe chase for service and decided to keep it just in case we needed to give someone as a present again like we did for one of our Elder's birthday. But we didn't need to and we (mostly me) became sort of attached to it. It is a really nice rock. (sorry it's sideways. Computers are hard and I can't make them work) 

I hope that all is well wherever you are. Have a great day and know that you are in God and mine's thoughts!

-Sister Damstedt

Hey friends(:

I just looked at my reassignment(: 

I just can't handle how excited I am for this. 

It was like a second mission call except for this time I didn't want to open it. 

But as soon as I looked and as soon as I saw it, I knew that this is where I'm supposed to go before Brazil. 

So here is what you all are waiting for: 

I have been reassigned to labor in the New York Rochester Mission until my visa comes(: 

I can't stop smiling. 

I'll be leaving the MTC on Monday morning at 3:35 am to catch my 8:25 am flight. 

I can't wait to finally go out into the world and serve the God I love. 

This is my time and it's finally here. 

I am a missionary. 

And I know this church is true. 

With love to you all, 

-Sister Damstedt ~Now a member of the New York Rochester Mission ~(: 

(: 

In my last email I was all excited that I had been in the MTC a month. That happens to be a false statement at that time. In my brain I was thinking: four weeks=one month. Well it doesn't. But as of right now, I HAVE actually been here a month. More so actually. To the point of I'm one of the oldest sister hanging around... I'm getting my reassignment this week... and that I'm leaving within the next eight days. What has happened here? What has happened to this month?? I mean I just got here! But no... I have been here a whole month. It's a little sad and a little relieving. I think the next 17 months will fly by considering how quick the first one was and all I did was sit in a classroom all day every day. 

I have no word about my visa. So I'm expecting to be reassigned this week and be heading off into a new U.S. mission come next week. As the visa rumor giver, I will pass on the latest visa situation gossip that I know. Apparently, visas are in short supply because the U.S. only lets so many Brazilians have a visa, so this makes Brazil say that they'll only give out visas to that same amount of Americans. Another little tid but is that the San Francisco consulate (I think that one at least... regardless of the name, the one in California that my paperwork went through) is having problems. So basically no one who goes through that consulate gets their visa, hence why I do not have mine. So that little rumor of more people from Washington get called to Brazil because our consulate goes quicker for us is apparently false. I am the proof of that. However, all hope for other people getting to Brazil is not lost. The Houston consulate is the lucky place to go through. Two elders in my district went through that one and both received their visa this past week and are heading down to Brazil! What a treat for them! I'm so excited for them. They are going to do so much good down there. I'm so excited for them. 

I finally got a picture with Elder Wells. I'm pretty sure he is leaving the MTC tomorrow. That lucky dog. He got here after me and left before me. Oh well. I've learned quite a bit during my time here and I'm thankful for so many of the experiences that I've had. Like last week at Devotional, there was another MTC world wide broadcast and Elder Neil L Anderson came and spoke. It was super cool. And after wards, there was a crazy rain storm with thunder and lighting to the point where they made us stay in for a bit before walking back to the MTC campus and so Elder Anderson went around and shook hands with a bunch of people. I was no where near close to the people he met at the front, but Elder Wells said he was like a row away. That must have been so grand to see him so closely. I however, was seen on the telecaster (is that what the video screen is even called?) by basically ever MTC goer ever because I was in the choir. That was fun. Elder Wangsgaard emailed me saying he saw me. So that was fun. 

A couple of days ago, I left the MTC. My companions and I literally walked out the front gate past the security booth, across the street and down the road. It was the weirdest thing I have ever done here. We had to go pick up a prescription at the BYU health clinic. IT was the weirdest. We seriously just left and no one asked or questioned or anything. We just left like that was the normal thing to do... even though it is the furthest thing from normal. But I did enjoy getting out for a bit. Even though I just really wanted to get back in as soon as I was out. It was fun. 

Here are some pictures from my week. There is the one in the laundromat with Elder Wells and his companion. Awkward mixed gender missionary pictures at it's finest. You think you don't know what to do with your hands in pictures outside of the MTC, just wait till you are in. It just gets bad. Also here is a picture of all of my district. I'll just say they are a motley crew.... with very distinct and interesting personalities. All in all, I think there is only like four of them that I could see myself actually being friends with if I had met all of the outside of the MTC. But that is the goodness of the mission, it brings you into places you normally wouldn't go and to people you normally wouldn't meet and teaches you to love them. And I do love my district. Yes, sometimes I want to strangle almost every single one of them at times... but mostly I've been learning a lot about how to accept and love people based on who they are, not on who I wish they would be. It's been an experience, that's for sure. 

I hope all is well over where you all are. I'm doing great and I'm more than excited to finally be heading out into the field and feel like I'm part of the work I've been called to. I know that I spent the time I needed here at the MTC and I'm ready to go. I'm ready to serve God.