In the MTC

Melissa flew to the Mexico MTC on June 25, and today was her first p-day, which means e-mails!

Hey Jessica!

The flight was pretty boring. I mostly just slept. On both of them. But it was fun being in the Phoenix airport because there were a ton of missionaries on the same flight! We all kind of sat next to each other and talked about where we were from and where we are going. It was really cool. I can't really describe it. It's really amazing the sisterhood/brotherhood that you feel here.

My companion is Hermana J. She is amazing! I love her and the two sisters I share a room with, Hermana C and Hermana M. They are amazing! We are all going to the Nevada, Las Vegas mission together, except for Hermana M who is going to New Jersey. I'll miss her when we leave. The Elderes in my district are awesome! Like seriously, I couldn't have asked for a better district. We like to do stuff together, we work well together, we have fun together. It's just amazing. The best part is when we are learning Spanish. We have people who didn't know any Spanish when they came in and people who took four years of Spanish before they came. We all help each other learn. It's also so amazing to see how fast everyone improves. Hermana J didn't know any Spanish when she came here a week ago (she took six years of German though) but last night, when we were teaching our investigator, she spoke nearly completely in Spanish! It wasn't very complicated, or totally correct Spanish, but it was Spanish. I'm so proud of how far she has come in such a short amount of time.

Love you! I would write more but I have to make sure I write to Mom and Dad too.

Hermana Leete

To see more of Hermana Leete's e-mails, our mom is posting her letters home here.

Goodbye Melissa!

Melissa,

Spending the weekend at home was great. It was wonderful to get the whole family together again. We didn't do much, but just spending time together was all I wanted. I love how we watched the Lego movie (twice!) and then continued to quote it the rest of the time. EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!

I can’t believe you’re going on a mission tomorrow! I already miss you so much, and I just barely said goodbye! I am so proud of you for deciding to serve a mission. You are going to be a fantastic missionary!

Two reasons you’re going to be a great missionary:

1. You love Jesus Christ – There’s no better reason to serve and there’s no way to be a better missionary than loving the Lord, His gospel, and His church. Whenever you teach, your love and testimony will shine through, and that will make you an effective missionary.

2. You know how to work hard – You've always been one to go the extra mile and to try new things. Like violin! The only reason you had to start and keep practicing was because you wanted to learn. You can motivate yourself like no one else, and that will keep you working hard your whole mission.

 I love you so much Melissa, have a wonderful time and work hard! I can't wait to hear from you.

-Jessica

Note: While Melissa is on a mission, I will continue to write her and post it here. Her replies will also be posted here.

Counting Down the Days

Hey Jessica!

Two weeks.

14 Days.

That's all I have left.

In a good way of course. I don't mean the kind of "that's all I have left" like all your friends have died and all you have left is a guinea pig and you are afraid it too will die. I mean the "I only have to wait 14 more days," "that's all I have left."

Needless to say, I've been pretty busy. Actually, that's kind of a lie. I have moments where I'm really really busy and I have moments where I read all day or watch Kim Possible. I really have no excuse for taking so long to post.

If you were wondering about clothing, I have:

• 5 bike-rideable skirts
• 2 thrown-in-if-you-have-room skirts
• 11 blouses
• 1 cardigan
• 3 pairs of shoes (one black heel, one black and one brown nice walking shoe)
• 1 cute raincoat
• 1 dress (that's coming in the mail, I really hope it fits)

As glad as I am to have so many skirts, I'm thinking my skirt-blouse ratio is a little off. But I don't know. Mostly I am just tired of shopping. Maybe when you come home we can go, one last time.

Do you want to know what else I've been doing?

THIS!

It is finally done. It's taken me a while, yes I know, but it is done! I hope you enjoy the fruits of my last finals week in Hawaii. Yes, you read right. Kelsy and I filmed this during finals week. It was quite the task. You have no idea. It even has multiple guest stars! Of course you know none of them, but oh well! You know what's even better? Everyone who is in the video knew they were being filmed at the time! That lowers my creeper status done to zero.

Anyway, if you post quickly, then I can reply one last time before I go and you will have to post for me. 

See ya!

Melissa

Since You've Been Gone....

Melissa!

It was amazing having you to visit! I'm glad I got to introduce you to a lot of my friends and celebrate my birthday. It was the best birthday I've had in a while. :)

So since you've been gone, it's just been life getting back to normal. Homework, work, a math test - but besides those oh so fun happenings, here's the highlights of the week:

First, having the 10th Doctor watch over my living room. He's still here in all his cardboard cut-out glory and it's great. He's had a number of hats, including a paper birthday hat and a flower crown, and he's successfully freaked out a couple of guests as they walked in the door.

Second, starting on my scarf. The yarn Sunny sent is beautiful and I'm a bit over a foot into it. It'll be great when it's done!

Third, delicious stir-fry with broccoli, carrots, and bell peppers with some onions and garlic to season and pineapple as a sweet treat. The colors were beautiful all together, but more importantly it tasted amazing. I'm very proud of myself.

So there's my life, how's yours?

 - Jessica

P.S. Also this is a highlight.

10 Things That Make You Wonderful or Why I Wish I Was You

Hey Jessica!

I am done with school until 2016. Woah. That's weird to think about. But, I've decided this post isn't going to be about me—no, it's going to be about you.

Congratulations! Your finals should end today! You made it! You are so close to being done with this stage of your schooling, I’m so proud of you. Because of this I'm going to tell you some awesome things about yourself (just in case you've forgotten). Here they are: 10 Things That Make You Wonderful or Why I Wish I Was You

1. You sew, crochet, and knit. That's pretty impressive. And you don't just follow patterns, you make stuff up too! Like the sleeve for my computer. You can sew some amazing dresses, and don't get me started on your quilt. It's amazing! You put so much hard work and perfectionism into these projects that is incredible, and it shows in the finished projects.
2. You are super smart. I don't think I need to tell you that you are the smartest one in our family. It's pretty obvious. You get the best grades because you are the hardest worker even though out of all of us you probably are studying the hardest subject. Go you!
3. You can cook. And bake. If you don’t count brownies, these are two skills of which I lack. And two skills of which people (especially of the male variety) love. You make some of the best things I have ever had. You also get excited about making things—that makes making things even more fun! (Might I add that you look super cute in your apron, the apron that you made.)
4. You are amazing at the piano. It cannot be denied, you are the most musical person in our family. You are the only one to pick up piano again, and the only one to play so many instruments. Oh, and don’t forget you have an amazing voice. Like, come on, Concert Choir, Cantores . . . leave some skill for the rest of us! Don’t forget you are awesome at saxophone too! You and the quartet gave me an appreciation for that instrument.
5. Clothes. You wear super cute stuff. ‘Nough said.
6. You have perfect teeth. The rest of us had to go through years of braces to sort of get teeth like yours. Lucky you.
7. You can take pictures like this and still look great.

   

   The turtle is not the only cute thing in this photo

8. You are great at strategy games. At least better than I am. And you are great at card games. The rest of us can’t keep up.
9. You look great in scarves. I’m a little jealous. Only a little, I swear!
10. You are beautiful. Don't go shaking your head at the screen. Don't do it. For once, let yourself believe you are beautiful, because it is the truth. You have a symmetrical face with these gorgeous eyes staring out at the rest of us. (If you think that me saying that you have a symmetrical face is a little cold, it’s really not. It’s scientific. That’s what makes people attractive.) Don’t get me started on your hair! I am soooooooooo jealous of your hair. It is a gorgeous brown, and is curly. I love the curls you have. So many people spend forever curling their hair everyday so that it will look like that. You also have long, curly, dark eyelashes. The rest of the world wishes that they had your eyelashes. I could go on, but we don’t want you getting too big of an ego.

I thought this was appropriate

Now, don’t get discouraged, there are more reasons why you are wonderful, but to state them all would take the rest of my life. These are just a few. I thought they might be able to recharge you for the next semester. I love you Jessica, keep being awesome.

Love,

Melissa

The Little Things

Melissa,

So this month has been crazy and I'm very sorry it's taken this long to get a post up. But despite all the crazy that's been going on there's always been the little things that keep me going.

First, hobbies that keep me sane. I've been going to social dance club every week and since it's in the evening, it forces me to stay on campus all day and get homework done! But more importantly, it gives me a chance to forget all the math and just waltz across the dance floor.

Second, delicious food. Lately I've been experimenting with making my own bread! It's a lot of fun, and it tastes much better than the over processed preservative filled bread they sell in the store. It also makes delicious sandwiches to take to campus!

Third, helping others. Service always makes life better, and since I'm in the math building all day, there's always someone around who needs help with math. Plus, other people's homework is much more fun!

And last and most important, all my wonderful friends that make the long days in the math building fun and my roommates that make my apartment a great place to be. They keep me smiling all day and stop me from being too stressed about the piles of homework looming over my shoulder waiting to be done.

So there's the little things that keep me going. How's your life in Hawaii going?

Jessica