Last Week in the MTC!

I got my travel plans! By lunchtime next Tuesday (Jan. 12) I'll be in sunny Arizona! Yippeee!! This has been a wonderful (intense) experience, and I have learned so much, but I'm definitely ready to move on to the next step. If staying here didn't mean sleeping in dorms, eating in a cafeteria, and keeping within a one square mile boundary, I'd want to live here forever. It is such a powerful atmosphere being surrounded with thousands of people with the same beliefs, values, and goals.

Hermana Taylor and I had some teaching opportunities this week that have made me so pumped to get out into the field and start teaching REAL people with REAL needs. The Gospel has blessed literally every aspect of my life: family, friends, school, work, etc. and I can't wait to help other people feel the same joy it brings me.

I finally feel like Arizona is the RIGHT place for me. I meet tons of missionaries every day headed to places all around the world, but I can't imagine serving anywhere else but Tempe, Arizona... I can't wait to start meeting the people there.

New Year's Eve was nothing "normal" but still way fun. All the sisters in our zone (about 12 of us) got together in one room and had a mini-party with everyone's stash of food. We even had Martinelli's in paper cups! We still went to bed at 10:30 of course, although I guess a couple of people set their alarms for 11:58 to count down til midnight. It didn't seem worth it to me because 6:30 comes way too early! It was weird to think that literally all over the world people were at parties, or at least with friends and family celebrating the New Year (except for my family - I'm sure they were all asleep by 9!). We are so isolated here that it's hard to imagine anything else. BUT there's nowhere else I'd rather be... Ok.. I'd rather be in Arizona... Almost there!!! I'm going to work extra hard this week, and get the most I can out of this experience!

Happy 2010! Make the most of it!

Love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

FAMILY NOTE: We were NOT in bed at 9:00. We were at a "party" at the city of Rochester, NY with fun (FREE!) games and bouncy castles for the kids, and fireworks at 10:00. Rochester is celebrating 175 years, hence the "Party". We raced home, played a fun game of Farkle, and then had our own bottle of Martinelli's as the ball dropped in Times Square! Hey, Chelle, we'll send pictures!