Dear Elder.com---this is free to the MTC, write Merilee there at no charge!

First MTC week-

Family. Hello. I cry every day here at the MTC. Mostly it's a happy Spiritual cry, sometimes however, it is an overwhelmed cry. I am sure all the Hermanos y Hermanas here think I am loco. Which is completely true. So it's ok.

My companions are Hermana Forsyth and Hermana Evans. They are sweet sisters and I love them. We get little time for ourselves..which is perfect and ideal, but also takes any time we might use as personal time and changes it into study time to help others. Meaning it would be very selfish to take that time to read or even respond to letters. So we don't get much time. However, it is nice to know one is loved.

I know I am loved, but missionary studying is hard. Mostly because you have lots of language to learn and they start you on hard goals the first day. We are only to pray in Spanish-ever. Tomorrow, first Sunday ever, we are to have a talk ready on Obedience. In Spanish.

Every sister and elder here is extremely kind. All the elders and sisters are serving one another all the time. It is fantastico! The elders take our trays..very nice of them and let us cut in line for meals and stand up when we sit...because they are told to do so the first day. It does wonders for me. I feel very loved because of it.

I feel hurried all the time, but it is a good hurry. We do not have time to waste. There is much work to do. I wrote this in my letter, but America took every single one of my tank tops out of my suitcase. I thought she would leave one of each. Shows how much I know. Now I cannot wear half my shirts because of a little corner of white showing underneath. Mother, please go into the plastic tub in the loft...second one down and send me a brown, black, and white tank top. Please. Thank you, I need them.

Spanish will come. I know it's true. My companions love me. The Church is true. I have only met two of my three teachers. Hermano Shamo y Hermano Hadley y Hermano Crapo. They are very knowledgeable and push us. Very good for me. Love you! Hermana Peterson

On the way

Merilee at the KCI airport on Tues eve, March 23, on the way to Provo and the MTC.

Well well my dears!!!!!

I'm leaving for Provo tomorrow, so this is the last blog I'll be writing to all of you for 18 months. My mom will try and keep this updated for me though. Here is my contact information again, for those of you who forgot where my other information was typed. I hope this shows up ok. I love you all! The church is true! Love, Merilee

The address at the Provo MTC is:

Sister Merilee Enid Peterson
Guatemala Guatemala City North Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604

The address for the Guatemala MTC is:

Guatemala MTC
Bulevar Vista Hermosa 23-71
Vista Hermosa 1, Zona 15
01015 Guatemala
Guatemala

Pouch letter address:

Sister Merilee Enid Peterson
Guatemala Guatemala City North Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City UT 84130-0150
USA

To
prevent possible fines please only send: postcards and letters that are
single sheet, folded into three-panels, and taped at the top only (no
envelopes) may be sent through the pouch. No packages through pouch.

Packages may be sent to the mission office:

Sister Merilee Enid Peterson
Guatemala Guatemala City North Mission
5a Avenida 5-55, Edificio Euro Plaza
14 avo. Nivel, Oficina 1504, Zona 14
Guatemala
Guatemala
Phone: 502-2385-3386
(phone for package sent with private courier)

My mission email: merilee.peterson@myldsmail.net

ESPN NCAA-

My brother Neal does a family/friends bracket every year. Unfortunately, I'm not terribly interested in basketball, so I never do very well. My bracket comes from selective random guesses that normally take the complete wrong team to the top. Oh well, not a huge surprise, since I don't follow basketball. It does remind me every year of a flashlight I got one year from my father's company bracket I filled out completely guessing everything. I don't think I ever used that flashlight. I'm a bum like that, but seriously, who ever uses flashlights?

We went to Houston last week. America and her two kids, my mom, and Christian piled into the car with me and we watched the broken dvd player that kept unplugging and restarting about 2/3 of the way. It was too frustrating for me, so I couldn't watch it. Others did. Bless their hearts.

America's kids have lots of energy and affection. I'm very glad I don't have any children yet. I don't think I could handle that 24 hours a day for years at a time. We went to the Galveston beach one day...my mom, me and the kids. It was full of dog poop and the birds attacked me because I was eating a sandwich. Not a fun day.

We played lots of games, some of which I won. We went through my mission clothes and Sarah said they were acceptable. Later America went through my clothes with me and told me they were all unacceptable. Dumb.

For anybody wondering about my boy situation, I don't really have one. I mean, I got back from Whistler and the 19 yr old wouldn't even sit by me, so I guess that's over. I thought maybe I'd get some man affection right before my mission, but it no longer seems feasible. We might hang out a bit before I leave, but sitting across the room from each other, of course. Anything else would be inappropriate for prospective missionaries.

I'm sure it's good for me or I wouldn't hate it so much. Neal said I shouldn't be dating anyone younger than 22 anyway. I guess that's a matter of opinion but I can guarantee I will not date anyone younger than 21 when I get back from Guatemala. I cannot handle anymore premission drama. Plus, 27.5 is too old for a girl to wait another two years to see if a boy may or may not like her when he gets back. These things change- as we all know.

If I dated anyone my age he would've freaked out about my mission decision, so I think 19 was the only way to go before I left. Just so you know I didn't regret it a bit. Not one. And bits are very small.

I'm getting nervous for my mission, but I leave next Tuesday for Provo, so no surprises there. I need to get some stuff and pack some other stuff. I think I'm about halfway there. I need to stop bumming around though and get it done. It's so easy to do...