You cannot imagine how crazy my week has been

After Tuesday: Wow I can't believe ELDER DALLIN H. OAKS OF THE TWELVE came and spoke to us at devotional!!!!  He was right there in the same room as me!  So surreal, and so awesome.  He gave a really good talk.  And how cool that I decided to sing in the choir with my district last minute and got to be ON SCREEN as it was broadcast to EVERY MTC IN THE WORLD.  Like what.  Insane.

After Wednesday: HOLY SMOKES EVERYONE IN MY DISTRICT GOING TO THE COLOMBIA MTC GOT THEIR VISAS THEY LEAVE EARLY TUESDAY MORNING OH MY GOSH DO WE HA--oh me and Hermana Davenport's visas aren't in yet that's cool.

Katie showing her mission

Everyone in the district pointing out where they are headed

After Thursday: HOLY GUACAMOLE HERMANA DAVENPORT AND I GOT OUR TRAVEL ITINERARIES WE'RE LEAVING FOR THE MEXICO MTC 24 HOURS AFTER EVERYONE ELSE LEAVES FOR COLOMBIA THIS IS INSANE and I just got Mom's letter saying she was going to send me warm clothes.  Welp.  And what the heck, MY CYST FREAKING CAME BACK AND IT'S BIG AND IT HURTS WHY also we're all moving to West Campus on Tuesday so Hermana Davenport and I will be there for like a day.

Today: Well I spent my P-day running all over campus after going to the health office to have my cyst looked at again.  (Katie has a boil on her back that we thought had healed.  Obviously it chose a bad time to return) 

The doctor is keeping me here after all, most likely for the whole six weeks.  He lanced it and now I have a gauze bandage on it.  I was proud of myself for not freaking out (too badly) at having a male doctor look at it.  And get this: does the name David Brown sound familiar to you?  I'll give you a hint: he grew up in Hacienda Heights and was friends with Uncle David growing up.  Totally crazy.  Also it was weird because he would talk to me as I was on my side and he was looking at the cyst and I swear his voice sounded just like Uncle David's, it was freaky.  But yeah, so my entire district--which is literally the best district ever and I've already grown to love all of them so much after one week--will be leaving out of the country next week, and I will stay here, in West Campus.  Yup.  

So now that I've gotten those big items out of the way, let me go over some other stuff:

Speaking of funny coincidences, when I first got to the airport and was waiting outside for Nathan to pick me up (what's his address btw? I wanna send him letters and stuff since he's so close), I was talking to this other girl who was going to the MTC.  It turned out she was from Murrieta and we had come on the same flight!  Crazy, right?  Well, after I got moved into my room, I saw her enter the building as I was leaving, which was super cool!  Then it turned out that not only was she in my district, but she was in my room!  Her name is Hermana Clark (in that picture of the four girls in our room that I sent you she's the blond one in the glasses who was standing second to the left, next to me) and she is really great and awesome and funny and man am I going to miss her when she goes to Colombia.  She didn't know a word of Spanish when she got here, nor her companion Hermana Crandall, and they've both done pretty well so far.  But to make all of these similarities even funnier, do you remember that colorful printed skirt we got at Steinmart?  She got the same skirt, at the exact same store.  So I'll have to send you a picture of us wearing them together.

I bought a sweatshirt here at the MTC because I didn't have an actual jacket and I love it.  It's just so comfy.  Unfortunately, I don't really get to wear it very often.  But still, it's great.  I'm glad you'll be sending some more warm clothes though.  The last few days have been pretty nice and sunny, but I'm sure it'll get cold again soon.  Oh, dang I should have asked you earlier, but I was wondering if you could send me the weather forecast here for the next week every Friday, because I think that is the most frustrating thing about not having access to the internet: you don't know what the weather will be like the next day.  

Oh and just so you know our district is so amazing that we have the ability to perfectly harmonize with each other on demand and often will break out into beautiful a capella choral arrangements on the spot.  In fact just the other day the elders were out of the classroom for a moment and I think Hermana Crandall started singing the boys' part of "Love is Spoken Here", the primary song, and I started harmonizing like I do.  Some more of the sisters came in, and a few began singing the girls' part halfway through, and mom it was BEAUTIFUL.  It was amazing how spontaneously we just all came up with that.  The elders were right outside the door and instantly came in and asked how long we'd been practicing that, and we had to tell them we didn't even plan it.  They recorded us trying to do it again, but it wasn't nearly as good.  I'll try to send you the video.  I guess when anyone in the branch leaves, they have to perform a musical number in sacrament meeting before they leave, so we'll all be singing "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" in Spanish (I think).  

Okie dokie so here are the pictures, in order:

1) This was for Nathan, but I don't have his email address

2) the nicest picture our district took on our temple walk on Sunday 

The Provo Temple

Unfortunately, it's not letting me send the video because it's too big.  I'll try to send it separately and see if it works.  It's pretty cool.

Well, I'm just about out of time.  Te amo!

Love, 

Hermana Iverson

P.S.  I freaking loved those pictures of Nathan and Brian.  It made me so happy to see them together again.  It feels like all is right with the world once more haha (btw I told my companion that my brother looked Mexican, and now after seeing pictures of him she agrees with me)