So....I gave myself a concussion!

Ok, so yeah, I'm 22 now!  It's pretty awesome!  It was great to have a birthday in the MTC (even if it was one of those really hard days that makes you cry in front of your teacher and your class...but whatever, it happens!  Still gotta keep on keeping on!) I loved all the cards from everyone.  And mom and dad, I LOVED your present!  My zone did too!  They all thought it was very cute and very me!  hahahaha And it was awesome, the sisters in my zone threw a surprise party for me and this sister who turned 21 on the 7th.  It was great fun!

So we just got back from the temple and while we were at temple breakfast (the mashisoyo highlight of the week) we ran into Sister Paul's mom and aunt!  It was soooooo awesome!  Her mom is seriously the cutest person on the face of the planet!  It was so fun!

Well, in other news, my district has this mechanical dolphin that's been passed down for YEARS!  Our teachers really kind of hate it, but when you're in one room all day every day doing the same thing all the time you need some sort of entertainment...and if that happens to be a cardboard dolphin that was made out of a Chirstmas present, has really old candy canes stuck to the back, and is pretty odd in basically all regards, it works!  We also have this sticky octopus toy that we usually keep on the ceiling, a ball of crumpled up yellow paper that we use to play end of the day "district volleyball" in the classroom (it has now been replaced by the octopus...the octopus sounds funnier when you hit it and it doesn't hurt as much when someone accidentally hits it into your eye twice...I may have had that experience...maybe) and lastly, we have our lovely hebaragi (sunflower).  We recently transported it to a really nice pot that Elder Finlinson's mom sent us and we have part of Alma 32 on a nice little card to go with it (also from Finlinson changnonim's mom).  Well...we have this one teacher, Brother Wells, who has tried to throw away our toys a few times...but no worries, we always saved the day. But this week he just walked into the classroom and without saying anything just picked up the dolphin (which also had our octopus and our paper ball in it...don't worry, the hebaragi is safe and happy and growing about an inch a day...and it's just about to bloom!!!!!) and walked out.  The Elders came in, saw our dolphin was missing and went on a mission to retrieve it.  They found it in the trash (it was clean trash though) and they saved it and hid it...now our teacher thinks he finally got rid of the dolphin, but little does he know...we're resurrecting it our last week at the MTC...it will be most epic!

Ok...now for the concussion story.  so, Thursday morning we were getting our room ready for cleaning checks.  I was a little on edge because I hadn't been able to find this shirt that I wanted to wear for a couple days.  Well, I went to make my bed and as I went to do that I hit my head on the bed frame of the top bunk and was pretty much automatically down on the ground holding my head and crying.  I was down for a while but I got up eventually and finished making my bed and went off to breakfast (we got a "huzzah" on our cleaning checks by the way).  We went to class and did that for about three hours.  I was alright, a little dizzy and nauseous (I'd hit my head pretty hard...and if you know me...yeah, it makes sense) and during the coaching time with our teacher I had a really hard time remembering how to write things.  My teacher and my companion suggested that I go to the clinic, so I did.  They were full so we got shuttled to the urgent care clinic at BYU. when we got there I sort of fell out of the van.  It was funny, because when we talked to the receptionist lady and I told her what had happened she said that they actually saw this thing a lot from missionaries...it didn't make me feel any less dumb :) Well, long story short...I gave myself a concussion from making my bed!  Fun stuff!

Well I love you all and hope everyone is doing well.  We got our first native last night and are leaving 3 weeks from yesterday...time is seriously zooming by now!  Stay Awesome!

~Sister McClellan

So....four days, and four weeks!!!!

Hello Everyone!!!

So, I have four weeks left in the MTC...in a way I am so ready to get out and get preaching!  Also, I'm getting a little nervous...but mostly excited!  I can't believe I'm going to actually be in KOREA!!!!!!

We got our new districts this week...they are so so so so great!  We got permission today to go, as a zone, with our Sister from Mongolia to get her endowments...it was AMAZING!  I thought it was just so cool that we all got to be in the temple together...and as a whole zone!  I honestly cannot express how much I love the temple!  We also were able to take Korean names with us from this Sister who is Korean but is learning Cantonese.  It was soooo cool!  Ok, and seriously, Korean romanization is terrible!  I was glad I could read the Korean...and I felt bad for the temple workers...they had no clue what to do with the name!  (funny side note, Korean women don't have names on their paperwork...they're just so-and-so's wife...so...that's interesting)

The four days...yeah, I'm having a birthday in the MTC!  It's a very very exciting time. Just in case you all were wondering.  Very Exciting!

I have been working so hard on the language.  I almost have the first vision down in Korean.  Pretty cool!  We now have two new "progressing investigators".  We've been teaching one, but now we have both of our teachers being that we're completely into the new curriculum.  It's kind of sad, we were getting our old investigator pretty close to baptism...it was awesome!  I am so excited for our new ones though, I love teaching in Korean.  I've noticed that the more I'm able to teach in Korean and share the gospel in it, the better I get at it.  I drill things and go over vocab and work on verb-forms all the time, but it never sticks till I'm able to use it in an environment where the Spirit is telling me what to say!  It's basically the coolest thing ever!

I wish you all could meet my district...like I really really do!  Over the past week we've grown exceptionally close...I think it's due to the newbies coming in.  It's been incredible.  I've been able to see testimonies grow and language abilities increase more over the past week then in my whole time at the MTC.  It's been so cool having the younger district come to us with questions about the language and the gospel, and knowing that we really don't know and having to trust in the Lord completely to be able to give good advice.  I've grown to love Preach my Gospel so very much.  The more I study it, the more I understand why we need to be studying it.  Same thing with the rules.  My whole district has gained a greater understanding of why we have the rules we do and why we really need to be exactly obedient in everything.  This week has been phenomenal!

Well, I got to sing in Sacrament meeting this Sunday.  That was pretty fun.  I sang How Great Thou Art (first, third, and fourth verses in English and finished with the fourth verse in Korean)  My Korean...well, it was fun.  I messed up a couple times which was embarrassing, but after the meeting, Sister Shin (the branch President's wife) told me that I did really well with the Korean and then she and her husband gave me this way too nice compliment in Korean that I didn't understand, but they said that it was a saying that you only said to someone with a really good voice...President Shin wrote it down for me and told me to ask my teachers what it meant...I haven't done that yet, but I will.

I am really going to miss the MTC at the end of these next four weeks...like a lot!  This experience has strengthened my testimony so much.  I didn't even know it was weak, but I look back at where I was on June 15th and it's crazy, it's like I'm already a different person...a much much better person.  I think of what I would or could be doing if I weren't here and the ONLY thing I can think is: EWW!  I mean, I love who I am and where my thoughts and desires are right now.  I love the direction I'm going and how I'm really just beginning to understand what life is really all about.  I can't wait to go and share this message of happiness and love with the Korean people.  And even thought a lot of people probably won't accept it...it's worth it for the few who do!

I love you all!  Stay Awesome!!!

~Sister McClellan

So Much to write...So little time!!!

So, I haven´t had time to read anyone´s emails, but I promise I will....after email time though! :)  I have so many things to tell all of you!

 

First, last Tuesday we had the greatest devotional!!!  It was by F. Melvin Hammond (emeritus seventy) and his wife, Bonnie.  Basically I love them!  Sister Hammond talked to us about going out cheerfully.  She also talked about how when you use music in the lessons that it is magical...that made me smile.  The way she talked about the Boook of Mormon was also inspiring.  she and her husband read from the Book of Mormon in English and Spanish everyday together.  She very passionately talked about the hard work that went into learning Spanish and how she cherishes that language through reading and studying the Book of Mormon in Spanish.  After she spoke she accompanied her husband in singing...oh dang, I can´t remember and I forgot to write it down.  It was incredibly sweet though!  Elder Hammond then gave us 4 promises of devine knowledge we will gain through the Holy Ghost. 1. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World, 2. Those who pursue and ask will gain a testimony of the truth and divinity that the book is true, 3. Joseph Smith is God´s revelator and prophet, 4. The Church is the Lord´s kingdom again on the Earth in preparation of the second coming.  He also told us that every soul we can get to read the Book of Mormon will be able to recieve those same promises.  I could go on, I just adored them!  They reminged me so much of Grandma and Grandpa Mickelsen...it made me very happy.  I just wanted to go up and hug them at the end of the devotional.

 

Ok, Sunday´s fireside was also fantastic!  We got to hear from Steven B. Allen.  He´s important at the MTC, and he´s awesome, I just can´t remember what he does.  He used to be a producer for the Church and was in charge of all the LDS commercials for a while.  We watche d commercials the whole time!  I just laughed and laughed.  It´s funny that you can avoid commercials your whole life, but after no TV for 6 weeks LDS commercials are more than welcome (and the Testaments is legit entertainment!)  I just want to share some of the taglines...they´re cute!  "When everything says you can't, believe in the part of you that says you can." "It's not who youi aren't, it's who you are. And being yourself is being great."  "Sometimes the most important thing you can give is yourself." "It's often life's small moments that bring the greatest memories.  Don't let the magic passyou by."  "The people in your heart can't see what's in your heart.  You need to let them know what's in your heart everyday"  "How [companions] feel about themselves is often how they see themselves."  "Sharing, it's the icing on the cake"  "If you think childish arguments don't hurt your marriage (or companionship) don't kid yourself."  "Whatever you do in life just do your best."  K, so I know they're cheesey, but hey, I'm a missionary, they're true, and it was entertaining!  :)

 

Two last things and then I'm out of time :(

 

First, one of our teachers went to Lake Mead last weekend and we had subs on thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Well, he taught us again last night and told us about this dream he had while on his trip.  So in his dream he got another mission call.  He was worried about it because he just didn't have the time to serve another two year mission.  Well, he didn't tell anyone but somehow he ended up back in the MTC all dressed like a missionary with his suitcases and tag and everything.  He thought about all the things he was supposed to be doing (school, finding a wife, etc.) but the thing that made him want to break out of the MTC was the fact that his missionaries (my district) didn't have a teacher.  He spent most of his dream trying to find us and started freaking out because he couldn't, so he decided to break out.  He had a whole plan of taking off his tag and finding a visitors badge but he woke up before he could do it.  So, in short, our teacher missed us :)

 

Last, and I need to type fast, the fire alarm went off in our building at 2:00 AM last night.  It was the LOUDEST thing I've ever heard and it completely emptied the building (no fire...they don't know why it went off).  But here's the story: I got out of bed, realized what was happening (through a serious half-asleep fog) and the first thing I grabbed wasn't my shoes or my glasses...it was my nametag!  hahahahahaha, NO ONE else had theirs, but I, for some reason, just HAD to have mine before anything else.  Yeah, I'm definitely a missionary!!!  hahahahahaha

 

Out of time! Bye :)

 

~Sister McClellan

HALF WAY through the MTC!!!!!

So this computer won't print my emails...and as I am timed that means I've only glanced at the ones people have sent me.

 

Mom: Thank you so much for the package!!!  It means so much to read that I am loved :)

 

So, all of the older districts left yesterday.  I miss them more than I thought I would.  (Especially Sister Myrick...she and I got close.)  Well...yeah.  It's a lot quieter with no natives (they have got to be the loudest people in the MTC) and the older districts were just so cool.  there was a lot of excitement and a lot of crying yesterday...and the occasional "what have I gotten myself into", but it was great.  They're all going to be such good missionaries!

 

So I auditioned this week and didn't get asked to perform.  I instead got asked to come back this week with a different song (I auditioned with Amazing Grace and this week I got asked to sing O Divine Redeemer).  I keep trying to meet with my accompanist, Elder Jepson going to the Japan Kobe (I think) mission, but our schedules clash a little.  He's a really amazing pianist!

 

This week we get to teach our first all Korean lesson in the TRC...it's pretty exciting, my companion and I have been working on the vocabulary we need to be able to teach this lesson.

 

Ok, so I really don't know what to write about...let me think....hmmmm....OH!!!!  Evan!  Congratulations on turning 12, getting the priesthood, and getting to be able to go to the temple...that is all so exciting!!!  You are sooooo awesome!  All my friends here are excited for you too!!!

 

Oh and mom, I thought about what I want for my birthday.  When the natives came they all had these PMGs with Korean on one side of the book and English on the other (so you were looking at the book and the page on the left was in Korean and the page on the right was in English) and you can get all the pdfs somewhere online...If you could make me one of those that would be great (because you can't buy them) and if it could be a little one...that would be cool.  While I've been here I actually did get a little PMG in English.  It's about the same size as my scriptures.  Elder Finlinson in my district's mom made him one through alphagraphics and now everyone who sees his wants one, so he has his mom send them and people buy them...it's really funny!

 

Oh, so I just got put in as branch music director.  I find the whole leading music while singing in Korean (which I'm still not very good at) a little overwhelming, but it's so exciting!

 

Well, I'm sorry, but right now is one of those few times in my life where I just don't know what to say.  So I guess I'm done!

 

I love you all and hope you are all doing well.  I love the letters and packages you send (and if you don't want to take the time to write a letter, dear elder is awesome for that)...please send me your addresses so I can write you all better!

 

Love, Sister McClellan!!!

So, it's been another week in the MTC...

Hello everyone!!!

So, a lot of the novelty of the MTC has worn off. I don't know what people do when they're only here for 3 weeks...I'm starting week 5 and I feel like I just got here (well, in some regards I also feel like I never had a life before the MTC.) So, Nothing tooooo exciting has happened. We still have our older districts...but today is their last P-day...they're all leaving on MONDAY!!! It's crazy! I am seriously going to miss them soooo so much! It feels a little like high school around here right now with all the Koreans passing around notebooks and journals for people to sign...I love it! Oh...speaking of journals...I'm already almost done with the brand new one I brought and I've only been here four weeks! I didn't realise I'd write so much...wow!

So, one really cool thing that I want to share is about this AMAZING fireside we had on Sunday. It was given by the head-honcho MTC guy, Richard Heaton. He started off by telling us that he wanted to speak about a VERY important principle: repentance. He asked the congregation to come up and share their honest opinions and thoughts on repentance. A lot of people talked about how they understand repentance, but his favorite answers were from the people who felt scared and terrible when they had to repent. He talked to us about the history of the word repentance and how it's Hebrew and Greek roots meant to turn (away from sin and towards God) but that the latin root meant to feel regret/contrition and is the same root as for words like penitent, penitentiary, and penance and that because of the corruption of the bible people like Martin Luther believed that the only true way to repent was from inflicting pain on themselves so they could feel a portion of the suffering of Christ. He then talked of William Tyndale (love that man!) and how when he was translating the bible from Latin to English he made the word repent. It still has the "pent" from the Latin, but it also has the "re" as in return...so now we finally have that thought creeping back into the scriptures. We were then taught a little about the true beauty and joy that comes from repentance. He shared with us some stories of people in his life who had repented...the room ended up in tears...like everyone! After one of his stories he showed a clip of the District (think missionary work reality show, but actually real life...it's amazing!) and he had us watch specifically to see the joy and peace that grew as this woman was going through the repentance process. Now this was a clip we had seen many times in class and had used for an example of how to teach, but watching it form the perspective of the investigator was amazing. Seeing the way she was able to change her life and the joy that she was able to have and how happy her family was...it was amazing! He then began to share scriptures form the book of Alma...this is where I just broke down (Alma is my favorite!) He shared part of Alma 36 (my favorite part) where Alma is teaching his son, Helaman, about his own process of repentance. But it was interesting, because now this scripture hits me harder than it ever has, and it always hits me pretty hard. When Alma is visited by the angel he remembers all his sins and feels the most exquisite pain, but here's what I never realized, as SOON as he says, "O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me..." and that whole part (that seriously fills me with the Spirit every time I read it) as soon as he says that and begins to turn away from sin and finally turn to God, THAT is the moment he begins to feel the most exquisite joy! (if you haven't read Alma 36 lately...you should seriously read it again...it's the best!) We also touched on Alma 26:21 (another favorite chapter in Alma...I pretty much can't go even three days without reading it), Alma 27:18, Alma 42:24, oh I wish I could just share everything with you! It was soooo amazing! Best fireside ever! I'll just share one last thing cuz then I'm out of time (curse my slow wpm)...It's small, but in D&C 109:21 there is a promise given to missionaries. A promise that we can speedily repent...and seriously, how great a promise is that. And I know it's true, because I've already felt it!

Well, I love you all and I honestly wish I had more time...I wish I had time to write you all individually (if you send me your home addresses I can...please PLEASE send me your addresses!!!) I hope you are all doing well and thank you so much for the support you give me. I can feel it! Thanks for the packages (Marilyn) and the emails (grandma) and the letters....and pleeeeaaassee, keep 'em coming...they make my day!

~Sister McClellan :)

Week 2? no 3? wait...this is week 4!!!

So time flies by here.  That first week went by so slow and now all the older district is getting their flight plans this Thursday!!!  It's crazy...I'm going to miss them so much.  Let me just tell you a little about them.  First there's Sister Richardson.  she's the coordinating sister of the zone.  she is so sweet and so pretty and gracious.  The Elders in her district call her mom...it's kind of funny.  She's a dancer and she is just wonderful.  She is in my room with the other sisters in my district and her companion sister Myrick (pronounced just like it looks: my-rick).  She is also pretty awesome.  She knows SO much vocabulary...like SO much!!!  She's funny too...always cracking really dry jokes.  She's convinced that one day she'll marry an Asian...it's pretty funny listening to her talk about it.  And then there's sister McComber and Sister Nelson.  They are in the room next door and they have such a special place in my heart.  Sister McComber is the branch chorister and she is just about the friendliest, happiest sister in the whole world.  Oh, I just love her so much!  And her companion, sister Nelson, is just this little ball of sunshine wherever she goes.  She really likes pretending she's angry all the time, but she is just about the HAPPIEST little blond haired blue eyed person!!!!  We also have Sister Brady, who reminds me so much of my friend Ruthie it's crazy, and Sister Mecham, who is always saying something really funny and never accepting of praise for it, who both came the same day as my companion and me and are in our district.  We also got our natives!!!!!!!  They are so so cute.  There's Sister Lee, perfect tiny Korean girl who is just so nice and so sweet, Sister Jeon (I think that's how you spell it in English) who is just the quintessential gorgeous asian...with freckles!  And then Sister Nam, so funny!!!  she is always getting embarrassed for one reason or another but she is so outgoing and so friendly but also so shy...she is ADORABLE!!!  Oh, I wish you could meet these sisters!!!  The Elders in our zone are pretty fantastic as well.  I don't know them as well, and I really don't know any of the natives (there are six...and they are a blast.  We took temple pictures on Sunday...it was sooooo fun!!!) But I do know the ones in my district, elder Finlinson and Elder Gillis...they are so great.  They still don't know how they feel being outnumbered by Sisters...even more so when they older districts have left.  But they're really great!  And one of the other districts has Elder Miller, Elder Messick, and Elder Porter.  Elder Miller has spent most of his life living in Tokyo and he was actually a model for Gap out there...mainly due to the fact that he's white!  hahaha, it's great!  We've had fun talking about Japan!!!  And then Elder Messick, he is from California and is pretty cool.  I honestly don't know him that well though.  Elder Porter has lived in Utah all his life, first up near Logan and now in St. George.  He has been EVERYWHERE!  It kind of makes me a little jealous.  His sister is also an artist and just got featured in some sort of European fashion/art magazine.  Pretty cool.  The other district has Elder Ward, Elder Jones, Elder Choi, and Elder Olson...and I don't know them well at all.  We all sit at the same table for every meal, and they always sit at one end and I and my companion are usually at the other with Sister McComber, Sister Nelson, Elder Miller, Elder Messick, and Elder Porter...I love my zone!  Pictures will be coming!!!  Oh...and we're all going to be featured in the Korean Liahona soon...they took a picture for it on Sunday!

It was awesome...and not totally random, the MTC let us see the Stadium of Fire fireworks show on Saturday!!!  We had this big fireside that was amazing.  It was all about freedom and not taking it for granted.  They told some stories that are never going to leave our minds.  We all left really loving the United states!!!  and then they gave us chocolate covered ice cream bars, and let us stay up till almost midnight watching the fireworks from the MTC campus....it was packed!  It was so awesome though.  sister Myrick got this great video of the show and the audio is hilarious...its a bunch of the elders from our zone just making some very funny commentary of the whole thing!

Wow, I really type slow...hmmm....yeah, I miss my laptop...I typed much faster and better on it.  Thank you so much for the packages and the letters and my skirt getting fixed...if I had more time I'd have more detail.  Love you all!  Stay Awesome!

~Sister McClellan

P.s. Sorry for typos!

I LOVE THE MTC!!!

So I will try to answer everyone's questions here (so mom, please feel free to forward this to anyone and everyone...y'all will be getting another letter.)

I only have 20 minutes left...yikes...I'll type fast!

So, I love the MTC!!!!  I kind of have to as I'm going to be here for 12 weeks.  My companion and I are getting along great.  She is fantastic.  She understands the language so much better than I do.  I honestly am not getting it as well as I had hoped.  But I know that through the Lord's help I will be able to communicate with the people if I continue working hard.

As far as the food goes, I love the salad bar...I eat it everyday!  It's pretty much the only thing besides cold cereal that doesn't make me feel sick after I'm done eating.  I've only got to go to one choir practice so far and I sadly wasn't able to sing in the seminar.  I love getting to go to the temple (got to go again today...last time before it's closed nearly the whole month of July.  But I heard that my zone might get assigned to help clean it next week!!!)  I really do love the MTC.  The first few days were difficult, but the Spirit is so strong here and you get so see people everywhere with the same purpose and a strong testimony of the gospel...and it's literally EVERYWHERE!!!!  It was funny, today while we were in line at the temple cafeteria I was able to talk to Myrick Chamenim and Richardson Chamenim (wow that looks different in English!), about how cool it is to see missionaries all the time everywhere!  It still feels bizarre that I'm actually here right now!!!!!!

So, I unfortunately don't get to sing for a few more weeks.  Things were overbooked in our branch.  But I will be auditioning for a solo in front of everyone either this Thursday or next.

Um....Oh, I wish I could remember everything, but unfortunately I can't right now.  Let's see...oh, I just wanted to share with you some of the things I've been learning in the scriptures.  I'm doing a few things, first of all, mom, I'm getting a list of lesson scriptures and their summaries together for you to make into flashcards (if you wouldn't mind)...it's funny...I'm not that good with the language, but I'm known in my district as the class scriptorian....hahahahaha, I think it's great.  Secondly I'm re-reading the Book of Mormon (oh MAN how my testimony has grown in the power of that book!!!!) and I'm looking for references to the atonement, the promise that if you keep the commandments you will prosper in the land, and on the side references to artifacts like the sword of Laban and stuff like that.  It's been great, I'm not too far along yet...I get so distracted with cross referencing and all those exciting things.  Can I just tell you, the gospel is sooooo much fun!!!!!!

We had a great fireside on Sunday...and on Friday.  Elder Bednar spoke on Friday about how to be a PMG missionary.  And on Sunday...oh, I can't remember his name, but he spoke a little about the sacrifices we make to be on missions and the hardships we will go through as missionaries.  I'll go in more depth in my letter.

It's been so great being able to focus so heavily on the gospel.  And it's been wonderful to be able to share those feelings everyday with people who share my beliefs.  I wish I could type faster (I've gotten too used to my netbook keyboard) because I just can't tell you enough how amazing this experience is.  I love you all and I REALLY love hearing form you...it keeps me from getting discouraged and reminds me that I can do this!

Love you all!

~Sister Amanda McClellan :)

Week 1

Hello everyone!  The MTC has been amazing so far and I love it here! I'm going to be here till August 29th...that's 12 weeks!!!  Such a long time, but I know I'm going to need it!  Korean is soooo incredibly hard!  I really love it though.  I'm already praying, bearing testimony, doing contacts, singing, and even occasionally thinking in Korean.  It is really a beautiful language and I can't wait till I can know it better and can better express my thoughts and feelings in the language!  I have gotten a little discouraged at times already.  I feel inadequate at times, but the feeling is usually fleeting...so that's good.  My companion's name is Sister Paul.  She's moved around a lot and her family is currently in Indonesia....cool, huh?  She and I are a near perfect match.  We compliment each other so well.  Last night we gave our first lesson and it was so much fun! Our contacts are fun to do to.  I love being here in the MTC because everyone you contact and teach wants to hear more and wants to get baptized!  hahahahaha, it might be giving us a false sense of security, but we don't mind!  Sorry there aren't any paragraphs, the "enter" key on my keyboard doesn't work :( oh well.  I enjoy the schedule here, I usually feel very well rested, and it's so cool, at 6:00 am the Sisters get to have the gym for exercise classes.  I usually use the time to work on vocab and scriptures while on the elliptical.  And this week the gym is closed due to training for new mission presidents, so we go out to the field...Sister Paul like volleyball...yeah, I play volleyball...yikes!!!  But she's going to teach me how to be better...yeah...yikes again!  I got to go to the temple this morning.  It was so great.  My whole district and a couple other Sisters from our zone was in the same endowment session and we all went to the cafeteria for real breakfast (meaning not MTC cafeteria food) afterwards.  I absolutely LOVE my district and zone. I'll be sending pictures soon.  We got to go take pictures at the temple on Sunday.  I'm singing in Sacrament meeting this Sunday.  The topic is knowledge...I'm not quite sure what I'll sing yet, but I'll think of something.  I'm going to join the MTC choir.  The practices are Tuesdays and Sundays.  I'm so excited.  Oh, we got to sing Called to Serve on Sunday at the Sunday night devotional...life long dream of singing that song at the MTC: accomplished!!!  It really has been a blast here!  I can't really believe I'm actually here!  The Spirit is
so strong everywhere and everyone is so happy and so full of such great energy all the time.  it's absolutely fantastic to be able to see that everyone around you is here for the same reasons and wants the same thing: to bring all souls to Christ!  I wish I could share more, but I really didn't realize how short 30 minutes is (the
computer has a countdown clock in the corner and it kicks you off right at 30 minutes...Davis, sorry for giving you such a hard time.) There's just one more thing I want to say before I get kicked off. PLEASE PLEASE "dear elder" (go to dearelder.com it's self explanatory. I'm at the Provo MTC and going to the Seoul Korea mission...it's
easy!) me and/or send me letters.  My address is on facebook and on my blog (thegreatlifeofmissamanda.blogspot.com) and letters are really great in boosting confidence and getting over frustrations.  Tell me anything!  I would love to be able to leave the MTC with at least a small handful of letters from friends and family...plus I can spend more time reading those and I'll see them more than just during my 30 minutes on P-Days.  I love you all and hope you are all doing well. Love, Sister McClellan  P.S. Mom, Dad, Evan, and Danny, I'm writing you another letter today...one with more detail and that's more personal.  I love you all so much!!!!  Stay awesome!!!!!!!  P.P.S. Sorry about any typos...no spell/grammar check >.<

So...I'm leaving on a mission!

Tonight I get set apart as a missionary!!!!  It's actually happening!  (finally)

I had a big ole concert last night...all sacred music.  It was fun.  I did alright, not my best, but not too bad.  And it's over!  That's a pretty cool thing!  Afterwards we had a bunch of people over for ice cream sundaes which were delicious.  We then pulled out my mom's birthday cake and had her blow out the candles.  (it was yellow butterscotch chip cake with homemade chocolate frosting...I burnt the butterscotch a little, so it sounds better than it tastes...unfortunately).

Today I'm going to be finishing up my packing, tying up loose ends, getting the last few things I need for the mish, and getting set apart.  Then tomorrow at 1:20 I board a plane for Utah, and I then MTC it up starting Wednesday!  I'm so incredibly excited!

I'm going to have my parents keep up my blog and my facebook for me while I'm gone...so hopefully it gets done!  I'll put all my mission info on here today so it'll be here and on facebook.

I honestly can't wait to go!  It's going to be fantastic, I just know it!

~Manda

If my family were all played by actors in the movie of my life.

I got sent home from work today for being sick. It hasn't been fun.  I'm not sure what I have but I'm congested, have a cough and a sore throat, have chills and am rather nauseous.  Overall, I feel rotten.  So I decided to start the casting for when they finally decide to make my life into a movie...and I started with my family.

This was hard, but I think I ended up with a good cast.  Now, they're not really chosen based on looks (my brothers are all blond and all the actors I have are brunette, I know), it's more cuz I felt like they'd be awesome playing that person in my family.  So, with that said, here you are, the McClellans celebrityified:

Davis Cleveland as Daniel McClellan

Zachary Gordon as Evan McClellan

Anton Yelchin as Davis McClellan

 

Ellen Page as Amanda McClellan

Robert Downey Junior as David McClellan

And Sandra Bullock as Lynda McClellan

So yeah, that's the cast I have so far for the movie of my life.  It's pretty exciting.  That's all, back to my sick bed.

~Manda