Elder Murset

​Hola everyone!

I have been called Elder Murset three times since I've been here. I promise I do not look like an elder. I look very feminine in my skirts and blouses. But alas, the brethren apparently do not see that.  

I feel like I've been here for a month. Days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days. OH MY. So last Friday after our wonderful P-day festivities were over we had to go back to class. And what do we find out when we get back to class? We're teaching an investigator! Yeah... third day in and we're doing it all in Spanish.

The investigator is actually just a teacher acting a part, but lemme say something, our teacher is one GOOD actor. His "name" is David and he did some pretty bad stuff in Mexico and came to America to start over. I had everything written down in Spanish and I pretty much just read from my paper. But the spirit was so strong! He went pretty easy on us until last night. He had been agreeing with everything, and when we taught him about the Restoration and Joseph Smith he said that everything was clear, he understood, and that he had no questions (it was a really good lesson). 

So we're all confident and walking with a swagger in our step when we go to teach him last night (which, by the way, was our last time teaching him) and what does he throw at us? He didn't pray about Joseph Smith and he didn't understand why prophets are important. I just know he did that on purpose... 

Now here is where I insert my testimony about the gift of tongues. IT'S REAL. I talked for 20 minutes ALL in Spanish without any notes. BOOYAH. I actually don't know if I got my point across... but whatever. I did it and I was proud of myself. And that is my adventure for the past week. 

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to gain 50 pounds while I'm here. We sit, and sit, and sit. *Insert Pioneer Children Sang as They Walked* 19 year old missionaries sang as they sat, and sat, and sat, and sat... Plus we have rolling chairs so instead of walking down the hallway to get a drink we just roll. It's not very efficient but it takes like 5 seconds to get out of my chair and that's just way too long. 

Oh! I'll tell you about my district. There are nine people; Elder Eves and Elder Morrill, Elder Vaughn and Elder Soubie, Elder Daines and Elder Nay, Hermana Dalton, Hermana Valerio, and me. They are very... interesting people. Elder Eves makes me laugh until I cry. Elder Morrill is the most sartorial person I have ever met (sorry, Will). Elder Vaughn is a giant and I never know if he's teasing or being serious. Elder Daines is a smartypants. Elder Nay... I never know what on Earth is going on in that Elder's head. One of the elders bought a bag of rubberbands and now our room is complete chaos. They're pretty awesome though. I busted out my robot stickers yesterday and now we all have one on the back of our nametags. They were so excited. I'm glad I'm in this district. 

My eyes are permanently red brimmed from lack of sleep, I keep translating "It's A Small World After All" into Spanish as I'm falling asleep, I'm pretty sure I will have bad hair days for the rest of my 18 months, I keep writing "profeta" instead of "prophet", I laugh at the weirdest things, I am constantly in a state of exhaustion, 

BUT I AM SO HAPPY. It's weird. This life is so hard but it's so rewarding. After my last lesson with David I was over the moon because I could remember all the words I've been learning. And when P-day comes everything shines brighter and the cheeseburgers that they always seem to serve taste amazing. A mission is humbling and yet it is full of AWESOMENESS. 

Keep sending those Dear Elders! They keep me going throughout the week and they boost my spirits after I find out that the chocolate milk in the cafeteria is out. 

Thank you for all the emails even though I have no time to answer them! I love you, I love you, I love you all. Have a great week!

Hermana Murset

  Elder Morrill, Elder Eves, my companion Hermana Valerio, myself, and my companion Hermana Dalton.

                                                                The view from my bunk bed.

                                                 At the Mexican Consulate, getting my visa in order.

My classroom throne on wheels.

My first week at the MTC in Provo, Utah.  I have two companions, Hermana Valerio and Hermana Dalton.

Hermana Murset here.

My P-day is Friday, by the way. I am alive! That's the most important thing, right?

Getting dropped off at the MTC was a bit weird. It's not like I'm coming home in two months or I can call to say that I am alive and well and that my companion isn't beating me up. 

When I went to go get my missionary name tag it was given to me by none other than Aunt Debbie's sister! She recognized my last name and commented that it was her sister's last name as well. Then we had this whole excited yelling thing while we made the connection. So that was pretty cool. 

Then I went to go get my luggage and the sister who showed me around was this girl that I went to college with, McCall Madsen! That was crazy. And on the way to my room I saw Caitlyn Hirschi. Then I saw Bailee Hirschi in the cafeteria. AND I found out that my friend Shaeli Bettridge (sp?) is in the MTC going to Japan. It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all, IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALLLLL. 

Anyway. I was taken to my classroom after that and as soon as I walk in, Hermana Hearne (my teacher) starts chattering away in Spanish to me. I could understand about half of what she was saying and through lots of hand gestures and wide eyed bewilderment I was able to understand what she was telling me to do. She refuses to speak in English. I guess that's okay but sometimes my eye starts twitching in annoyance. I'm learning to have Christ-like thoughts as well as Christ-like actions. We did a whole bunch of other stuff the first day but for you to read it would be pretty boring. Don't worry, I wrote it in my journal for my posterity.

 

I have two companions! I guess the Lord decided that I needed extra help. Hermana Dalton and Hermana Valerio. I'm taller than them and I always sit in the middle of them so we look extra aesthetically pleasing. They think I'm crazy. And weird for letting my cereal get soggy at breakfast. But we work well together and haven't gotten to the point of wanting to strangle each other yet. 

We're already teaching an investigator today in Spanish and we are freaking out. My district is still getting to know each other but over the next few weeks I'm probably going to know what their hopes and dreams are and all sorts of personal stuff. 

We have 3 hours of classroom time without a teacher to have personal study companionship study, and language study. We also have two hours of class time with our teacher and we have another 5 hours (just kidding I don't know how long) of class time for who knows what. Our classroom is our home. My companions and I are the only Hermanas in our district and all of us, Hermanas and Elders are going to the same place. Except Elder Vauhn. He's going to Chicago. 

Long story short, I'm good. The first day was hard because I'm SICK (bah) and it was hard to pay attention. Plus I was feeling wwwaaayyy in over my head. But we were sitting in class learning how to testify in Spanish and our teacher told us (in Spanish so I'm paraphrasing) that even though we know a tiny bit of Spanish, she was still feeling the Spirit. That made me feel a lot better. I was losing focus on what I was here for and only worrying about the language. But now I'm great. I feel like I've been here for a week and I keep saying "back when I first got here." 

Long email. Sorry. I'm starting to think in Spanish. That's good. 

OH. Please please please use DearElder.com. I want to hear from you and that is same day delivery. Or send me hand written letters. Or emails. Whatever floats your boat. 

I love you all! I love the Lord! I love my companions! I love my district! I love cereal! 

Have a great week!

Sister Megan Murset

NOV24 MEX-SAL

2007 N 900 E Unit 82

Provo UT 84602

Fare-thee-wells.

Back when I was young and wild and free (four months ago) I decided to give two farewells. One in my new ward that we moved into a year ago, one in my old ward that I grew up in. Different days, different topics. 

Woo! It was a wild ride. 

My first one went well, my wonderful brother played the organ and we had a few people come to my house afterwards. I wasn't nervous during my talk and I felt pretty good about it. 

Then along came yesterday. 

Two of my old roommates from Orem came down the day before and stayed over (yay!), the next morning 5 more of my college friends came including my best friend (yay!). So many of my friends came and people that I have met over the years. My whole family came, it was great. I had only read through my talk once and I was freaking out on the inside. I was sharing my farewell with another girl (who is amazing, by the way) so the chapel was PACKED. Filled to capacity. More chairs had to be brought in and people were still standing in the back. I spoke first, thank goodness. My wonderful brother played the organ again and did fantastic. I only started crying during the end of my talk which is an accomplishment. 

I was amazed at how many people came to hear me speak. I was feelin' the love! All the love and support that I am getting is astounding and I am SO grateful for these amazing people in my life. 

By the end of the day I was about ready to fall asleep on my feet. It was such a good day. 

I love my family, my friends, and everyone who has supported me in this decision.  

Especially my weird family. 

I love to see the temple!

I went through the St. George Temple on September 27th! 

It was a beautiful experience, especially being able to be there with my family. I never realized how much I wanted to be with my family for eternity until they were with me in the temple. It is truly heaven on Earth. 

Going to the temple has made me realize how much I want to share this gospel with people. It is something that needs to be shared! I love it. 

Heck, just read Elder David A. Bednar's talk from General Conference.

I wrote this... two months ago.

I would rather be cuddling with kittens right now than doing what I'm doing.

Shopping.

I can hear all your gasps from here. HEINOUS CRIME, DISLIKING SHOPPING! Calm down, this is a different kind of shopping. This is the kind of shopping that will cause your brain to explode and make you question everything you know about yourself and what your favorite color is. 

Yes, this is missionary clothes shopping. 

Blllllaaaaaaahhhhhhh.......

Here is my dilemma. When I got called to Mexico, I thought: 

Oh! Mexico! Hot, hot, hot weather. Very light fabric. Linen. As little layering as possible. Lot's of bright colors because that's the culture. Can I wear a serape or would that be offensive?

I went a little crazy. I would spend all day online scouring the internet looking for the perfect navy blue skirt. I wore myself pretty thin in just a week and after all that looking I only ended up with one skirt that I somehow acquired from a warehouse in Korea.
And then I realized something. I would be there for two winters and only one summer... not only that, it doesn't get that hot there and the winters are pretty cold. You mean to say it won't be hot, hot hot?!
GAH.
I also seemed to be sticking to my normal color scheme; jewel tones. Not at all like the bright reds and yellows I was trying to go for. What was my problem?!

I had to change my whole mindset. I needed to stop making flowcharts about how blue goes with everything and thus needs to be a staple in my wardrobe.  (Slight exaggeration) I told myself to calm down and get my mind straight.
So I got over myself and headed over to the places that everyone and their dog were suggesting.

I didn't have time to take pictures of all the things I got, so I'll just tell you where I got them. Cool? Cool.

MIKA ROSE
I steered clear from Mika Rose because everyone was telling me to go there. *Rolls eyes* I don't like people telling me what to do. Good thing I'm going on a mission, right? As soon as I walked in I was instantly sucked in. Quality stuff.

MR. MAC
As soon as I started looking for clothes my mom suggested that I stop by Mr. Mac. I refused to because I swore that I would never shop anywhere that was specifically for missionaries. Well... turns out I got some of my favorite stuff from there. A dress that doesn't wrinkle? Score.

DESERET INDUSTRIES
I have NO problem thrift shopping. D.I. is a great place to get skirts! Plus they're already worn a bit so the skirts are more comfortable. I shopped at D.I. in high school. Such a hipster.

YESSTYLE
If you don't mind sifting through literally thousands of skirts, shirts, sweaters, and who knows what, then yesstyle.com is for you. I'm all about shopping online and this site was like heaven for me.

Etsy
Be careful with Etsy though. You'll start looking for a navy blue skirt and then next thing you know you're just set on finding the perfect pair of earrings with real flowers pressed into them. True story. I eventually found my navy blue skirt and it is my favorite skirt that I'm taking!

Target, Ross, T J Maxx
I'm all about plain basic shirts and these places did not disappoint. Also tights, socks, gloves... they have everything.

Ebay
My sister was super generous and bought my bag for me. We looked in the men's department under messenger bags and found the perfect bag! Wwwaaay cheaper than the ones we were looking at on Etsy.

Cobb Hill
I bought a pair of shoes from here and they are heavenly. My mission is a walking mission so I am getting the comfiest shoes that I can find. No matter how clunky they look.

Clarks
My mom is a firm believer in Clarks. I am a firm believer in Clarks. Do not skimp on shoes. Your feet will have no rest for a year and a half!

I may add to list further on down the road, but man I am so busy!

Do not stress about shopping. Obviously not everything you get will match with each other. Get the basics, then move from there.
Good luck!

Picture, Picture.

One stormy day in September my dad and I drove up to Kolob Mountain because I insisted on having a dramatic setting for my missionary pictures. I was beyond happy with how they turned out! Beautiful Zion National Park is in the background. 

Thank you, dad!

I don't think people realize how hard it is to pose with a Book of Mormon.