Sister Wynn in Singapore: I didn't survive my first week, I thrived!

Keluarga dan kawan,

I loved my first week here! So as you know, I´m the only Sister in my district with 8 Elders. They have come to be my best friends. I love it! I can say for certain that each of them are here for the right reasons. I can also see how companionships (or lack thereof) are inspired by God because they are so perfect here. My branch presidency constantly tells the Elders to be nice to Sister Wynn, but they make me feel like one of their own. Each of them have served me individually multiple times, I think especially because I´m the only Sister, and it´s great. I try to do the same for them. My favorite experience so far with them was when we had an hour after service (we just cleaned our classroom buildings) where we had nothing to do, so we sat on the grass in the apartment complex and told our personal conversion stories.

I´ve also never laughed so hard or so much in my life. These Elders are so funny and so...normal! I´m not sure if it´s just MTC culture where we just think everything is funny from lack of media or if we really are this funny. I like to think it´s the latter. A couple days ago, Elder Jackson and his roommates gave me a blue skittle...just one, from a plastic bag. I thought it was sketchy but I ate it anyway. They also gave Elder Strathearn one. His first name is Adam, which is relevant to the story. They asked me what flavor I thought it was, and I said, ¨I don´t know, pomegranate? Blueberry?¨ They said that it was called Forbidden Fruit. It´s probably not that funny to you, but for some reason we thought it was hilarious. These Elders also do such a great job of dropping me off to my Sister Companions when I need to, usually at my apartment. I love them, but don´t tell them I said that because they´ll probably make fun of me.

There is also another Malay speaking district, so total there are 17 of us going to Singapore-Malaysia. I just got a new companion last night, Sister Wenyi, pronounced Wynn-ie. We thought that was so funny. She´s from France but ethnically Congan, and speaks French, English, Spanish, and Portugeuse. She is going to Madagascar, Malagasy speaking. This last week my companions were Sister Sperry and Sister Olsen, both from Utah and are going to Indonesia, Indonesian speaking. It´s crazy how similar Indonesia and Malay are, so I can understand a lot of what they are saying. I actually elect to sit with my district for meal times and Sunday meetings though, mostly so I can practice Malay and laugh lots.

MTC West is nice. Supposedly we are a lot more trusted to get to our classes and meetings over here, which is nice. I heard it´s a little less structured here than on the main campus, but we are holding up. We just got a new cafeteria and the food is delicious, though they are constantly building and adding new things here. I also feel like we´re outside more often, which is nice. Today, as a district, we´re taking the shuttle to the main campus to show the travel agency our passports, then run a few errands at the bookstore and stuff. Then we will check out Brigham´s Landing, the shopping complex the west campus missionaries can go to. Missionaries get 50% off Jamba Juice there. I´m all for that.

I also loved Tuesday´s devotional. It was about scripture study by Brother Jensen, a former member of the Quorum of the Seventy. I sang in the MTC choir, it was fun and the words to ¨Come Follow Me¨make so much more sense. Same with Army of Helaman. We walked to the Marriott Center as a district and got lots of honks and waves. The people in Provo really love missionaries.

Oh and I think we leave September 10th for Singapore, so here´s my updated address

Sister Ellen Loila Wynn

SEP10 SINGAPR

2023 N 900 E Unit 840

Provo, UT 84602

Well my computer is glitching so I will send pictures in a separate email. I love you all but I´m too busy and tired to miss you, which is a blessing. I did tear up when I saw how full my inbox was. It is nice to be reminded that I am loved and cared for, but I also need to remember that these next 18 months are not about me, they are about the people I teach. I have a greater appreciation for the Gospel of Jesus Christ now that I´m teaching. So many people have been searching for spiritual truths all their lives, and their lives have the potential to be 180 degrees different, for the better. I love that we´re learning to tailor our lessons to the needs of the investigators. Melalui kuasa Roh Kudus, kamu dapat menerima kebenaran tentang semua hal.

Jumpa lagi,

Sister Wynn