Update on Annie

Merry Christmas!  Annie has had an eventful week.  Last Friday night we received an email from her saying they had finally received a reassignment.  She was being sent to Atlanta, Georgia.  At first they told her it was to the Atlanta North mission but when she arrived in Atlanta she was assigned to the Atlanta Georgia mission. (Sorry Whitney, we were sooo excited but she's in Georgia at least)  She was able to call us Monday morning from the SLC airport and we got to talk to her for about an hour or so.  It was so great to hear her voice and just chat with her for a while.  She was excited to be leaving the MTC and get on with her mission.

6 Silly Kids on Christmas

We love our Annie!

Today we got to skype with her!  It was great!  She is now in Fayetteville, Georgia just south of Atlanta.  Her companion is Sister Smith who has only been out about 8 months and is from Hawaii where her parents teach at BYU Hawaii.  They are in an area that hasn't had missionaries in it for at least 6 months.  They have giving out the pass along card for the He is the Gift campaign.  She said people have been pretty nice and several have gotten very excited about talking about Jesus but no discussions.  Of course she has only been there 2 days.  She found one little boy wearing a Kevin Durrant jersey and started talking to him about basketball.  (Kevin Durrant is Annie's favorite basketball player.)  She's doing good and adjusting to a new companion and a new routine after almost 12 weeks in the MTC.

Taiwan changed its visa process this summer.  Annie's group filled out the new forms and went through the new process. But the groups before did not and got backed up, pushing Annie's group further back than it should have been.  The group before Annie's left on Annie's departure date - Dec. 1st.  So the hope is that Annie's group will leave for Taiwan around January 12th, the departure date for the next group in the MTC.

Her email address is still annie.oviatt@myldsmail.net and she loves getting emails.  Her p-day is still on Mondays.  DearElders don't work the same once they leave the MTC, you are paying them to mail a letter for you but she won't get it the same day any more.  Her current address is 1903 Cobblestone Blvd, Fayetteville, GA 30215.  Thank you to everyone who has sent her packages, letters, cards, etc.
 She really appreciates it and so do we!

Week 11... WO-MEN HAI ZAI ZHE LI!! (WE'RE STILL HERE) yes we're THOSE missionaries that have been here forever.

Yay! Still at the MTC! 

We just wanna go to Taiwan!!!

We have no idea what's going on. We've heard so many different things! We could still potentially leave for reassignments this week, but if we don't leave by Thurday there's a rumor that because of holiday blackouts we could be here until Dec 30th!!! That is such a scary thought!!! But we really don't know. And we're getting a new Taipei district Wednesday who is supposed to move into our classroom! Craziness! Our 5th set of Sister Training Leaders/Zone Leaders in the MTC got called Sunday! We've been here foreverrrrr! (Note from Annie's dad: I'm calling the travel office tommorow around 1:00 MST and they should have more information then on when she'll be leaving. I'll put a note here when I find out more.)

There's a ton of construction going on at the MTC right now. They moved all of us sisters in the newer nice 17M into the old 3M that's all the way on the other side of campus today. :( The rooms are smaller and there's not a lot of showers. We've been in 17M since the very beginning in October so packing today was a pain! Plus we're leaving soon so none of us want to unpack anything. Our Elders are SUPER awesome and helped us move our luggage all the way over to 3M. I love our district so much. It's been a crazy PDay!!

Chips & Queso party!
Nothing like Texas, but you take what you can get here! ;)

So about 3 weeks ago we got 2 sisters put in our residence room with us. They're going to Taichung in January and their names are Sister Gardner from Pocatello, ID and Sister Carlson from Georgia. Well they're adorable and we're so glad they got to move into our room! We were pretty sad last Monday night after another week had gone by with no news on our visas or even leaving. We got back to our residence and had an awesome surprise! There were 2 big bags of chips, queso, and spinach artichoke dip sitting on a table in the middle of the room. They also put up Christmas decorations! :) <3  We were all so shocked and happy! They bought it for us just in case we were leaving. They are so cute and we love them(:

One cool experience we had this week was Thursday night. All of the Taiwan missionaries from both zones who were supposed to leave Dec. 1 or today all got together and prayed. We said a prayer not that our visas would all come in, but that we'd be able to know what else we needed to do here at the MTC. We wanted to see the Lord's hand in this process. We wanted to know and do His will for us. It was a pretty sweet and unifying experience. The next day, after lunch, Sister Kirkham, Hendricks, Good and I went to the French building to look for one of our old substitute teachers who we love! So we looked all over for him, but didn't see him. 

Walking up to the temple with the adorable Sister Haupt!
Who thankfully is going to Taipei too! (:

As we were leaving, this cute Hispanic guy with a gold name tag on started asking us questions. When someone has a gold name tag that means they're just at the MTC to see how it works and kind of "investigate" the church. We told him we were learning Chinese and had been here for almost 11 weeks. He was really interested in how we've been able to learn so much from just our short time here. He said he's struggled with his English, so then we told him that if the Lord could help us learn Chinese, he could definitely learn English, too. He then started asking us about how Joseph Smith could really be a prophet. We discussed the restoration with him and some of Joseph Smith's story. We also taught him that we need to exercise our faith in order to receive answers. We were able to testify of Christ and His Atonement and how it could help him in his life. He started to tear up at one point when he was feeling the spirit. We were all talking to him for about 40 minutes! It was an amazing experience to be able to teach a real person. He had real concerns, real desires, and real questions. We know he has a real desire to be happy and find truth. He even set up a return appointment with us, tomorrow at 11! Even though we were in the French building, there was a Spanish Book of Mormon sitting on a table right by us! We gave it to him and asked him to read Alma 32 before our next meeting. It was so perfect!! We all really loved the experience actually impacting someone's life and helping them have happiness.  It made us sooo excited to go to Taiwan, but we've got a little more motivation to stay here. We all left that meeting with a renewed desire to preach this gospel and help others turn to Christ. 

Our cute district at our 3rd "last temple walk"

Earlier today, Sister Hendricks and Sister Good saw him and his wife! They told us he said, "You know those times when you're really thirsty and you just want a drink of water? I felt like you guys gave me that water Friday." That made us all feel so good! That's exactly what we hoped we did for him. It reminded me and Sister Kirkham of a scripture we read during Companion Study this week. John 6:35.  "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst ." We know God was looking out for us and Jose by making our paths cross. I believe we needed this experience just as much as he did. 

I am so grateful for Heavenly Father's perfect plan for us and all of His children. I know Christ is the Living Water. We truly will never hunger or thirst when we are turned to Him. The Lord is my light and my salvation. He cares for us, cries for us, and prays for us more than we will ever know. I am so grateful for Christ and His Atonement. One bright spot of still being at the MTC is getting to have some Christmas spirit. All of the devotionals and everything lately is so focused on Christ and God's love for us. Christmas will be so great in the MTC if we're still here. I really hope we'll be in the field somewhere, but it will be cool to be here, too! Well I'll talk to you guys later!

Thank you for all the Dear Elders, letters, emails, and packages! I love them so much(:

-Sister Oviatt

Week 10!!! Still in Utah

Well we're just about done with Week 10 here! :O The next district after us is scheduled to leave next Monday. They've got some going to Singapore & Taichung, Taiwan. They all have their travel plans!!! :( But no. Not us!!! The travel office applied for their visas the same time as ours, so we should all get them at the same time. They're thinking they'll all come in this week sometime. The difference between us is that when we get our visas we'll probably leave the next day or so. But when their visas come in they can't leave til their departure date. So basically they don't want to book our flights because they don't know when our visas are coming. So it's all craziness and we're done with the MTC. Still trying to work hard, but it's old teaching the same 2 teachers all the time. And just everything is old. I still love all the people though! Our district is getting even closer and Sister Kirkham and I are too. Yeah. That's really all that happened this week. The same old stuff! 

​So last Monday we were really depressed that we hadn't left yet.
So we had an all black day. We're so cute right?
We're thinking about doing it again today. hahaha

Possibly the last Temple walk - Me and some of my faves!
I love these girls and I kinda don't wanna leave them this week.
but I really want to leave the MTC :/ MIXED EMOTIONS!!!​

Now for my embarrassing story of the week. I don't even know how it happened honestly! haha
So in our residence, I sleep on the top bunk and Sister Kirkham sleeps on the bottom bunk. I leaned over the railing to tell her something. Then I started slipping. I kinda caught myself and everyone was like Sister Oviatt! You're gonna fall! Get back on your bed! So I kinda tried to get back up, but I FELL! I fell onto that same hard concrete ground Sister Kirkham fell on a few weeks ago and got a rug burn from. It treated me much nicer. Somehow I didn't land on my head! I don't even have a scrape anywhere! I did hit my arm pretty hard on her bed, but I think it will just be a big bruise. Sister Kirkham kinda caught me on my way down so I think that's some of the reason I didn't break my head open! It was quite a blessing that I just have a sore arm today and nothing else! It was super embarrassing and all 6 of us were laughing for 10 minutes after. I don't understand my life sometimes! haha

Alrighty now for the spiritual. 
1. I bore my testimony in sacrament yesterday! All in Chinese of course! Our whole district got up because it was possibly our "last Sunday", but we'll see! 

​This is our district yesterday with our
 Branch President and her wife,
President and Sister Teng.
We love them sooo much!!

2. One time this week in class our teacher had us role play with our companions, but really try to help the "investigator" have a spiritual experience in the lesson. So Sister Kirkham started teaching me about why Christ is important. She had me say the opening prayer and ask why Christ is important. She shared some good scriptures and then started to talk about how Christ already performed the Atonement so we can and should always use it. She said EXACTLY what I needed to hear that day. I had been feeling a little guilty for always praying for help with all of the hard stuff that's going on here at the MTC. I felt like "I'm just too needy and I need to get over all this stuff so I don't have to keep asking for help all the time." I know I can always use the Atonement, but for some reason I was feeling bad for that. Satan really doesn't want us to use the Atonement! Anyways, she said that Christ's Atonement is always there for us to use and he wants us to use it, or something to that effect. She made me start crying!! She thought she was teaching a fake investigator, but I was totally just acting like myself. The spirit was so strong! She learned a big lesson about teaching through the spirit and so did I! We really can teach to people's needs even if we don't know what they are. Heavenly Father knows all of his children and what they need at any given time. We need to be in tune with the spirit so that Heavenly Father can use us to help his children. 

Triplets! ​Yep we decided to all match one day.
So yeah we're adorable and stuff. :)

I'm really excited to go to Taiwan and do REAL missionary work and affect REAL people's lives. I want to see the changes in their hearts and see the joy the Gospel brings into people's lives. But most of all I want to follow God's plan for me and apparently for me that's to be here at the MTC even longer. I've actually learned a lot of good lessons this week, and strengthened lots of bonds. I'm not 100% sure why we've been delayed in going to Taiwan, and I'm not sure I'll ever know in this life, but I know Heavenly Father knows all! He "is the ruler of the universe, being omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent (through His Spirit)." (Bible Dictionary, God) God is perfect in every single way possible and he wants to help us any way he can. One of my Mom's favorite scriptures, that will forever be burned into my memory, is Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Gotta be constantly remembering this scripture right now! He will direct our paths if we have faith in Him and then act! This church is true!

​We got to do our favorite thing ever on Wednesday - Traffic directing!
 It was so cold so we got to wear super cute jackets! (;
I love these girls so much!! I'm gonna miss them!

 Thanks for all the prayers for our visas(; and all the support! I'm so grateful for my awesome family, their examples, bringing me up in the Gospel, and everything we've been through together the last almost 20 years! :) THANK YOU!

-Sister Oviatt

Week 9! And I'm still in the MTC!...for who knows how long...

Note from Annie's Mom:
Annie and her district were scheduled to leave the MTC for Taiwan on December 1st but due to visa delays they are still in the MTC and probably will be for the next week or 2.  Last week we received her email and within minutes it was out of date.  She received a reassignment email right after she sent us her weekly

email. It's a long story but I decided not to post until we had a bit clearer picture of where she would be.  The reassignment letter was cancelled and now they are staying in the MTC a few weeks longer.  The travel office is waiting to receive the visas from the Taiwan consulate and they could come at any time.  It was a confusing week for Annie and for us.  We are so proud of her for her faith and patience.  Life rarely goes the way we expect it to and Annie is very well aware of this, especially right now.  If you would like to send her a package or a DearElder letter please note the change of departure date from Dec 1 to Dec 15.  I've changed it on the blog as well.  So here is her latest email and pictures.  ENJOY!

​So we thought it might be our last temple walk as a district so we took this picture.
 PSYCH!! It's not. But we're still awesome. so whatever!

Hello everyone!
Yes, today was our scheduled departure date, and yes, we're still at the MTC! No, we don't know when we're leaving. We got our departure date changed to December 15 for Dear Elder, letter, and package purposes, but we don't actually know when we're leaving. Just whenever our visas go through! We did get reassignments last week, but they got officially cancelled because they think our visas will be coming soon. My reassignment was to Pocatello Idaho! Crazy! Patience is hard, but the Lord has a plan and a reason for all of us to be here a little longer.

Alright. Got the sad news out of the way. This week was super eventful because of Thanksgiving! This Thanksgiving I've been thankful for so many things Heavenly Father has blessed me with. This email I'm going to write about 3 things I was grateful for this week.

1. I'm thankful for our great MTC Presidency that organized 3 AWESOME devotionals this week! Tuesday night we heard from Elder Oaks!!!! The spirit was so strong from the moment he walked in the room and we all stood up for him. The reverence and calm stayed the entire night.One of my favorite quotes from his talk was, " You are acting in similitude to the Savior, because as a missionary you are doing something for them they cannot do for themselves." We are inviting them come unto Christ, and have faith in His Atonement unto repentance. We help them receive baptism and the gift of the holy ghost. They can't do this without our selflessness and charity for them. Our teacher also taught us this week that we are learning Chinese, so that we will learn to have Charity towards the people of Taiwan. We're working hard to learn this language in order to help them come unto Christ. We're willing to "sacrifice" and "suffer" for them to know God & Christ. We know the happiness and purpose it has brought us, so we're willing to do this to help them have that, too. We are willing to follow Christ's example from 1 Nephi 19:9 and "suffer" because of our love & kindness towards them. When they see how much we had to learn & do to bring them the message of the restored gospel, they'll see how much it means to us. The rest of his talk was amazing and I wish I could tell you more! But as I said there were 3 awesome devotionals this week so I gotta get going.

Because of Thanksgiving we got to have a devotional Thursday morning. AND we got to sing in the MTC choir for it! We participated in an MTC first, by singing "Come Thou Fount". WOW I LOVE THAT SONG. It is so powerful and has so much truth in it. I don't have time to tell you all my favorite lyrics and why. But wow. That song spoke to my heart this week. They usually tell us right before the devotional who is speaking, but for this one they didn't say anything until he walked through the door! So we're singing the prelude music and in walks.... DAVID A. BEDNAR! That was AMAZING. Again like Tuesday, the spirit flooded in when one of the Apostles of the Lord walked in. This devotional was broadcast to all 14 MTC's all over the world! His devotional was a little bit different than what we're used to in the MTC. He announced that he was going to just answer our questions the whole time! The even cooler part was that he passed out a couple hundred cell phones and had us text our questions to his iPad. Then he'd choose some of them to answer. The other MTC's also had a way to send in questions through email! A WORLDWIDE Q&A SESSION WITH ELDER BEDNAR. WOW. I'll just really quick share my favorite quote from him because I don't have enough time. :( 'Nobody who has consistent, heartfelt, and meaningful prayer and study of the Book of Mormon will wander off the path." He said those two things were the key. I've had the opportunity to do that here, much easier than in real life. ;) I've felt the effects that those can have on us. I know it's soo much harder to do in real life, but I know that it works. the rest of this answers were great too, but I loved that one the most. These devotionals. Wow. Highlights of my week.

Yesterday was awesome too. Sheri Dew came and spoke at Relief Society. She's so strong and has so much wisdom. She talked about spiritual "wrestles". Like in Enos 1:2, "And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins." She said most spiritual enlightenment & inspiration comes after a spiritual "wrestle", like in Ether 12:6, "And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." I've had lots of spiritual "wrestles" here and I anticipate many more when I go out in the field, and for the rest of my life really! I know that really doesn't make sense because you need to hear the whole talk to get it. But I hope you at least understood a little! It was great. What a week it has been. Finally, last night, we had our Sunday night devotional. It was Vocal Point from BYU! We finally got to hear music again! They sang the most perfect songs, that I needed to hear last night. And they shared great tips and stories from their missions. Then I got to say the closing prayer in front of all 2,000 missionaries and the MTC Presidency! So scary!! But it was great to hear President Hacking say, "Sister Annie Oviatt from Round Rock, Texas going to the Taiwan Taipei Mission." It was great to hear my first name again and my hometown!! (adopted hometown) :) So yeah. That was my amazing week of devotionals!

My Mom's the BEST!
#TEXASFOREVER

2. I'm thankful for the packages my family sent me this week!! My Mom literally ran all over Texas to get me the stuff in that package! I got new shoes, Texas stuff, Christmas presents, and BUCEE'S BEAVER NUGGETS! Bucee's is like at least an hour away from Round Rock. so it's a pretty big sacrifice for her to get me those!! We GREATLY appreciated them! So I showed them to my TX friend Sister Good. She freaked out!!! She grabbed them from me, hugged them, and started crying!! We miss our TX! She made me start tearing up too! We had to take a picture with our Bucee's shirts, Beaver Nuggets, and the flag because of how much TX pride we had at that moment. :) So THANK YOU for those! We shared with everyone and now they're addicted ;) Somehow we haven't eaten them all. We're still savoring them! <3 I also got a couple packages with more food from my Grandma Liz that were great! We hate this MTC food now so all the food we've gotten, Beaver Nuggets, Granola bars, chocolate, has been from HEAVEN. None of it has gone to waste! My whole district is grateful for my packages(; 

Note from Mom: Beaver Nuggets are a Texas thing and if you'd like to understand why they freaked out over them you'll have to come to Texas. ;)  But really they are a snack from a BIG gas station here in Texas called Bucee's.  Maybe I should have sent more. :) I was more excited about the other stuff in the package but those were the hit! 

3. I'm grateful for Jesus Christ and His Atonement, love, mercy, and His Gospel. I am so grateful that I can share His Gospel & wear His name everyday. He truly lifts me up everyday. It is only through His power that I can do anything. I am so grateful to have been raised in this church and to know of the fulness of Christ's Gospel. I am excited to help others taste of the exceeding joy of this Gospel. I don't know when that will be, but God has a plan for all of us. We are exactly where  we're supposed to be right when we're supposed to be here. Lean on the Lord and everything will work out... eventually. ;) The Lord is my light, then why should I fear?! I know this Gospel is true. Christ LIVES. He atoned for us. He LOVES us. Joseph Smith restored this Gospel. He saw God the Father and the Son. Thomas S. Monson is a true and living prophet on the earth today. The Lord directs his church through him. The Book of Mormon is true and will help us and guide us in our lives.

Thanks for all of the prayers and support everyone! Talk to you next week probably!

-Sister Oviatt