Some advice for the MTC :)

March 25, 2013

[For sisters preparing to serve... these were things that were helpful for Sister Chase. Luckily, she's kind of a blog stalker and learned about most of these before entering the MTC. While there she picked up several more bits of advice and wanted to share in hopes of helping other sisters be prepared with things they may not have thought of previously.]

• Bring a watch
• Bring a small calendar (it’s nice to know what the date is)
• Bring some pictures of friends and family
• Bring stamps, envelopes, paper, and cute stickers to put on your letters
• Good pens and pencils
• If you get cold really easily at night, bring a small blanket
• Definitely bring a pillowcase
• A laundry bag you can carry (the place where you do your laundry is a totally separate building than your residence hall)
• Hand sanitizer, tissues, small lotion to carry in your purse
• Mints ( you can’t chew gum at the MTC)
• Tell your family and friends about dearelder.com (if they send a note before 12pm [Monday-Friday], you get it that night.
• You won’t get any mail until the first Friday you’re here
• Study the Book of Mormon, mark it, read it, know it, love it
• Camera with 2 SD cards-- to be able to swap one back and forth with your parents
• Bring more garments than you think (you get sweaty during gym and service time, it’s nice to put on a clean pair)
• A little hymn book (though not completely necessary)
• Smallish notebook to take notes and Band-Aids!
• Be prepared for some weird people
• The days are super short and super long at the same time, time is so crazy here at the MTC
• Try to have fun and remain normal. If you’re not laughing, you’re not doing it right
• Your emotions will be up and down all the time
• Bring melatonin if you think you’ll have difficulty falling asleep
• Be prepared to sit A LOT. All you do is sit.
• Just make it to P-DAY. You can do it!
• You won’t get to check your email for over a week after you report
• Don’t be nervous to teach investigators—as long as you’re prepared and have the spirit with you, you’ll do great :)
• When it’s hard, remember that it does get better—if you look, you will see tons of tender mercies from God during the hard moments
• Pray for your future investigators ALL the time—it helps to stay motivated and happy :)
• The elders in our district wish they would have remembered to bring their journal and a couple cans of mountain dew :) [What?! No caffeine at the MTC??]