MTC Pictures

This blog with these pictures are a little out of order, but I will take them when I can get them. She also told us that her Preparation days are on Tuesdays and her shoulder continues to hurt. And she loves us! The group pictures at the temple are of her zone and her two companions.

She met her friend from our home ward, Sister Kaylee Worthen, at the temple one day and was able to get a picture. They have been friends since grade school! Sister Worthen is serving in the Winter Quarters Visitor's Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

She's working, teaching, speaking and loving it!

Hey Mom and Dad –

Well, the work is going good. We are working with two girls and I would love them to be baptized. We will ask them to be baptized on Friday! They are so great. The mom and dad are Spanish and do not know anything! So that makes it hard. But they are great girls. Then I meet another girl. Her mom is Spanish, too. There is a girl named Jordon who just got baptized. Oh mom, I love this little girl. Her dad has died so we are going to teach her about the plan of salvation.

I love my comp. her name is sister AH SUE. She is great. We went the temple today! The temple is small. We are living with a family. They are the Lewis family. The mom is so great! She is like you a little bit. The dad is the bishop of the ward.

We cover 5 wards here. We talked on Sunday. That was not fun, but it was ok. Tell the gmas thank you for writing me, and tell Cherie thank you too! I love you mom and dad so much! I miss you!
- Sister Musick

Sister Musick with President and Sister Yardley

Along with a sweet letter thanking us for sending Katie to join them in Boise was a note encouraging us to also mail handwritten letters from time to time. "Your love and encouragement shared in this way fills a need for those who give so much to others."

Welcome to Meridian ...

Meridian, Idaho From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Meridian is the second-largest city in Ada County, Idaho, USA, and the third-largest in the state. As of July 2007, the population estimate of Meridian was 64,642.

Having recently surpassed the eastern Idaho cities of Pocatello and Idaho Falls, the 2007 estimates placed Meridian as the third-largest city in Idaho behind Boise and Nampa, all in the Treasure Valley. Meridian is the state's fastest-growing city, with a 81.5 percent increase in population since 2000. The Meridian School District is the largest in the state. Meridian is part of the Boise metropolitan area.

Geography
The majority of Meridian lies on a flat plain, roughly in the north central part of Treasure Valley. There is a low bench along the south east edge of the city. The city is crossed by several irrigation canals that generally run from the south east to the north west. The Boise River runs north of the city. The Snake river runs far south of the city. Squaw Butte is visible to the north at 5,873 feet (1,790 m). Shafer Butte is visible to the north east at 7,572 feet (2,308 m). The Owyhee Mountains are visible to the far south.

Climate
Meridian's climate is characterized as semi-arid with four distinct seasons. Meridian experiences hot and dry summers where temperatures can often exceed 100°F (38°C), as well as cold winters with occasional light snowfall. Rainfall is usually infrequent and light, usually averaging less than an inch (25.4 mm) per month. November is the wettest month with an average of 1.35" of precipitation, and August is the driest month with 0.26". Spring and fall are generally temperate.

Meridian, Idaho

Dear Family –

I am here safe and sound. I love the people here! I am now in Meridian. It is a small town! Yeah! We had a meeting today with the elders in my District. They are a great branch of elders. I love my comp, she is so cool. We taught 2 lessons yesterday. That was hard, but I loved it. The Spirit guided me though it. I am happy that I can be close to the spirit to help me.

I miss you all and I am happy to hear that Jared got a job. Heavenly Father listens to our prayers. I am grateful for that in my life. I love you all - thank you for your prayers.

I will be sending pictures soon. Sorry that it is taking a long time. I got Aubrey’s letter. It was fun. My friend Brandon wrote me, too. Letters are good. Send more! Thank you.

I got the box, Mom, thank you. I love you for that! I will talk to you later. Pray for me! I will pray for you, Mom and Dad.

Love, Sister Musick

Phone call

We had a nice 40 minute phone visit with Sister Musick as she waited for her flight to Boise in the Salt Lake City airport. She called about 8:00 am and sounded ready for the next big adventure; although she loved her experience in the MTC and the wonderful people she met there. She was particularly grateful for one of her teachers, Elder Dixon, who was very understanding and supportive of her particular challenges as he had some of his own; so he could relate. Another fellow missionary, Elder Claridge, was very helpful with her reading. She left with 6 elders from her district and they met up with 3 more heading to Boise.

She did injure her shoulder (AGAIN!) while in the MTC. No surprise there – we were expecting that. She was so excited to play ball on the field in front of the Provo Temple with all the other missionaries. This time she was playing softball! They wanted to send her to the doctors, but she refused and opted for some medication instead. It made her sick so she went back to ibuprofen. She did receive a blessing, but she said he didn’t say anything about her shoulder, but all about her mind being open and receptive to the work she needed to do. I guess the shoulder will have to take care of itself.

She had the opportunity to go to the temple twice and she did work the phone center. That was an interesting experience for her, but she did get to send a Bible to someone who called in.

She wanted to know about everyone, particularly Sam. We realized that she doesn’t have access to his letters and the blog anymore so she feels disconnected to him now. I am not sure whether he emails her or not. We will have to send his info her way and vice versa.

Anyway, she was ready to get started among the wonderful people in Idaho. We wish her well and great success.

MTC Questionnaire answers

We sent Katie a questionnaire at the MTC and thought we'd post the answers.

Who is your companion(s)? Sister Emrazian and Sister Stuart.
Where are they from? Utah and Virginia
Do you have roommates? Sister Haralan - she's great! I will miss her!
Where are they from? Utah
Where are they going? Cambodia
How are your studies going? It is OK. I get tired all the time sitting there. Sometimes it reminds me of school
What is your favorite part of the day? gym and one of my teachers, Brother Dixon's class. He is so funny.
What do you study everday? The lesson we are teaching so that I understand it better and then whatever we have to do for the day.
What do you do during your free time? Run, basketball, whatever sounds fun :)
Is there anything you need/want/forgot? No, Just keep sending letters! I love you guys!

MTC Week #2 - Still loving it!

Mom and Dad - Hey

Thank you for sending a questionnaire that was great! I loved it so much! I like the elders in my district; they are so good. I like my teacher Brother Dixon, he is so funny and he helps me a lot. I will miss him. He is a great teacher. I will be sad that I will not be able to talk to him when I need help.

Kaylee [Worthen] left on Monday; I saw her when we took pictures at the temple. So I have some pictures of her. I will be sending you the pictures soon, when I get them.

General Conference was so great. I love being a missionary and hearing those words. It is crazy that I got my schedule to go to Boise now. I feel like I have so much to learn. I do not want to leave the MTC now. I did not want to come here to the MTC, but now I do not want to go. But it will be so great to go and teach the people in Boise. I am so happy that I will be able to call you guys on Tue. I hope you will be there. I miss you all. I am going to try and e-mail Sam now. I will talk to you soon.

Love, Sister Musick
Hurrah for Israel!

First letter ... still happy

Dear Mom and Dad, written 10/06/09
Well, what can I say, the MTC is hard work. General Conference was so good. It is so different being a missionary and watching it! The talks were great, I loved Elder Bednar's talk. There was one guy's [?] talk about missionary work that was just great! That night we had a fireside that I loved so much! It was on music.

I saw Kaylee [Worthen, from our home ward], she has one more week there. I saw Kevin [Andersen, her cousin, heading to Colorado Springs, Co Mission] there and talked to him at meal times! He left the MTC on Tues. He said good-bye to me - he was so cute, he said he loved me! Oh and I saw Sam's friend, Travis [from BYU-I heading to Honduras] he saw the Musick name tag on me when I walked by him and he yelled "Sister Musick." It was so funny!

I will email you today but I wanted you to know that I am ok! I love you all and miss you all.
Love, Sister Musick
Hurrah for Israel!

Finally ... her first email!

Hi Family -

I just want to tell you I love you! I hope this works. Tell me if the first email works ok. I am working with a lady now to help me with my reading, it is ok. We are going to the temple today, so I am happy. I need all the blessings I can get now! I love being here at the MTC. I like my Elder here. I love you all. Sorry that I am not good at writing e-mails, Mom. I wrote Sam today. Is Jared getting a job? How’s Cherie? How is Bethany doing? Well, love you! Send something.
Love, Sister Musick
Hurrah for Israel!

I know Katie isn't big on writing and letters, but I was thrilled to receive this as it speaks volumes: She's happy, she's getting help, she's going to the temple, she's thinking of others, not quite sure about the Elder thing, but she likes it and that's good. YEAH!