Howdy family and friends!! So my mom said that some of you might not understand the joke in the subjects of these emails and I was very shocked that I could be friends with/related to people who have never watched friends.
Alternate titles for this week:
-The one with the tree that smells like creme soda
-The one with President Nelson's Doppelganger
-the one where I left the MTC
-the one where you're petting a fish
So I survived the first year......I mean week..... of my mission! (We are hoping the other 75 weeks go a little faster than this one) I have realized that when you're prepping to go on your mission everyone tells you how hard it is and how long the days are but honestly, I didn't understand until I lived it.
Fun story for you guys. Sunday night it was 11:30 PM and being the obident missionaries we are, we were dead asleep. All of a sudden there was a sister yelling "SISTERS WAKE UP. THERE IS A GAS LEAK." So we all had to evacuate. Then one sister had the "brilliant" idea that instead of knocking on all of the sisters doors, she would just pull the fire alarm. It wasn't very long before there were fire trucks and police officers pulling up. The policeman stood on a bench and yelled "SISTERS" and it was the quietest I have ever heard the MTC and he asked who pulled the fire alarm. Naturally, no one fessed up until he told us that they will watch the video camera and find out who pulled it but that will take up 30 more minutes of our precious sleep. He then went on to tell us that the smell the sisters were smelling was a skunk, not gas, and we could go back to bed. To say that all of the sisters were veryyyy unhappy the next morning is an understatement.
To explain the alternate titles:
-on our first day, our zone leaders took us on a tour of the MTC and they hyped us up by telling us that we would end the tour at the best part of the MTC. My hopes must've been super high because when they stopped at a tree I was very disappointed....till he had us smell it and it smelt exactly like creme soda hahahahaha. It's the little things while here at the MTC.
-my branch president looks EXACTLY like the prophet. When he walked in I literally thought it was him and my heart dropped but nope.
-I came into the MTC on the tail end of some sickness but turns out it was not the tail end. I went into the doctor on Monday and after hearing I had not been feeling to hot for 3 weeks now, he sent me out of the MTC gates (gasp) to get an xray. The good news is that I got some fresh air out of the gates and I do not have pneumonia.
-I have said the phrase "yeah it's pronounced Pettingill, like you're petting a fish" about a million times the last 6 days that it has almost become part of my name.
My companion is Sister Liddle and I have actually known her for about a year just from random different things! Definitely a tender mercy to have someone that I have met before and have gotten to know a little bit! I love love love my district. I'm actually already dreading leaving them.
On Sunday we watched a talk by Elder Bednar called "The Character of Christ". It honestly changed my life. I want you all to be able to watch it but the downside is that the church hasn't published it and it is only available to watch as a missionary at the MTCs. It is about how the character of Jesus Christ is to turn outwards in compassion and love to others. Being here and not feeling good has showed me that the natural man really wants us to turn in to ourselves and say "poor me". But there are so many examples where Christ shows us to turn outward and serve others. One of the biggest examples to me is after Christ had performed the atonement and finished suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, found out that one of his apostles betrayed him, and the others were sleeping when he asked them to stay awake, basically he was having the worst day ever. During the scuffle that broke out as Christ was being arrested by the Roman's, one of the guards ear got cut off. And even though Jesus was having like the worst day, he turned outwards and healed the guard's ear.
I challenge all of you to find ways this week to turn outward in compassion and love to others when it would be easier to turn inwards and say "poor me."
I love and miss you all!!! Thank you for all the emails and messages of support and love. They mean the world to me. 
Love you guys,
Sister "petting a fish" Pettingill
