Hello everyone!

So good news I found out that I'm allowed to email my immediate family and grandparents so here goes! So I am in East Wenatchee Washington. My trainer is Sister Haws from Arizona and she is awesome! I really could not ask for a better trainer. She's been out for 10 months and is pretty good at Spanish. I get to speak less spanish than I thought because the English and Spanish areas are now combined, but it's still fun. It just might take me longer to learn Spanish. So my first day up I went contacting right away and it was awesome, but nerve wracking. We then spent the rest of the day in training with President Palmer. He is so cool! He's from New Zealand so he has an awesome accent. His wife is way sweet and they're both just so nice. Spokane is absolutely beautiful! I love all the trees. We spent the night in some members homes and then the next morning we found out where our areas were and who our companions were. Then I got to drive 3 hours to E. Wenatchee. It's not quite as pretty as Spokane, but it's nice to be by a river.

So right when we got here we were contacting. I didn't even get to finish unpacking until Saturday so we have been busy. The hard thing was though that all of our appointments fell through until Friday. So we got to do a lot of knocking on doors, but it actually went pretty well. They have what they call a Focus Five group in every ward. Which means that every auxiliary in a ward picks five people that are either inactive, recent converts, or investigators that they set up appointments for us to teach. So we did a ton of those for most of the week and got to teach a few investigators on the weekend. Sister Haws and I cover one of the largest areas over here. We cover two wards and a branch (Spanish). Because of this we get a car and we don't have to share it so that's pretty nice.

Christmas Eve was way awesome. I was worried it would be hard because Latinos celebrate Christmas that day and all of our appointments were with Latinos, but they came and we could teach them. One lady Magdela is so golden. I'm pretty positive she'll be the next relif society president because she's just so amazing. And she's so patient with my Spanish. All of them are and they help me out so much it's great. We went to dinner at a members house and it was really good and then we went contacting for a little bit. The first door we knocked on was a man named Miguel and he invited us right in. He has a wife and two kids and he's from Colombia and is a fisherman in Alaska. But he loves God and the Bible. He spent almost an hour telling us how he had been to a ton of different churches, but none of them seemed to teach everything that the Bible does. And he even talked about the gift of tongues and how he believes God wouldn't give it to us unless we were teaching His gospel. He's golden. We teach him and his family again tonight and I'm way excited.

Christmas Day morning was so fun. Sister Haws and I were like little kids running into the living room to open our presents. I needed everything I got and they were all so great! So thank you mom, dad, and family! We go to 3 different sacrament meetings because we cover 3 different wards and I was so excited because we had so many people say they were going to come to church and we really believed they would. It was so nervewracking waiting for them and then not a single one came. Not even the one guy we have for baptism. It was crushing. But I guess this is like my first reality check. After Church we went to Bishop Merrills house and got to call home. This was easily the highlight of my day. It was so good to hear everyone's voices! I love my family!

After that we went and had kind of a Mexican dinner with some members and then forgot that we had another dinner appointment so we went to this familie's house and had heaping plates of spaghetti. We were already stuffed before we got there, but we felt bad because we forgot about their appointment so we ate it all. Ugh. I think I have had enough Christmas goodies and food to last me a long time. From there we were going to go visit some people in the wards who didn't ever get out of the house because they were old and alone or sick. So we took our extra goodies and started delivering. The first person that was finally home was a Sister Cates. Neither of us knew anything about her. She's a smoker and so we could barely breathe when we went in there and we still smell like smoke, lovely. We had just finished chatting, and sharing a spiritual thought and were getting ready to pray when she said there's no such thing as a prophet. She went on and on about how we're all just humans and God wouldn't talk to anyone and we just follow a man and his opinion. I bore my testimony to her about how I knew there was a prophet on the earth today because I had prayed and God had shown me that there was. She then said that I was wrong. There was no way I could know something like that I could only "believe." She said there was no way I "knew" any of this stuff because God does not talk to us. I feel bad to say that I was absolutely furious. I don't get mad very easily, but I was just so shocked and upset that she could tell me that the feelings I received were not true and that I did not know that the Church was true. Any time we tried to testimony she would not hear it. We left shortly thereafter and that ended our Christmas visits and goodies. After we drove away and were talking about it I realized that I was more sad for her than upset. The fact that she wouldn't even listen to what we knew and was bent on convincing us of how brainwashed we were was heartbreaking. Sister Haws told me she still doesn't know how to handle situations like that. I know I'll see this a lot more, but this was my first time and it was so sad. I feel like I may have gotten a tiny taste of what Heavenly Father must feel like when His children do not listen to Him and even oppose Him.

Needless to say the highlight of Christmas day was definitely the phone call home. But it's all good because we're back to work this evening and there are so many people who are just jumping to get baptized. It is very sad when one rejects the truth of the Gospel, but there are so many others that are eager to accept. I have the best job ever! I can't believe I was only in the MTC last week. I feel like I've been here forever already!

I love you all and hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

My new address is:

606 Lacy Place

E. Wenatchee, WA 98802

Herman Probst

Dear Brother and Sister Probst,

I was pleased to welcome your daughter, Sister Probst, to the Washington Spokane Mission this week. I’m happy to report that she arrived safely. I had the privilege of meeting and associating with her the day of her arrival and note that it is evident that she comes with a great desire to serve Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Sister Probst understands the role of the Holy Ghost in accomplishing the work here in the Washington Spokane Mission and has committed to live worthy of that power.

After prayerful consideration, I have called Sister Haws to serve as Sister Probst’s training companion in the Wenatchee, Washington area. It is our objective to call only the best missionaries to serve as trainers and I believe that your daughter is in excellent training hands. We expect that your missionary will serve in this area for the next 6 to 12 weeks as she begins her mission.

I have attached photographs of your missionary and assure you that Sister Palmer and I will love Sister Probst. Our great desire is that her time here will further establish her on the path of righteousness, as well as bless the many people she will serve.

Thank you so much for sharing Sister Probst with us.

Sincerely,

S. Mark Palmer, President

WASHINGTON SPOKANE MISSION

Hola! So this is my last email from the MTC! Crazy! Hopefully my next email will be from better computers. MOM - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR THE PACKAGE!!!! I absolutely loved it! The clothes are going to be perfect and the fudge was so good! I didn't get it until late last night so I had to use a ruler to cut the fudge, but I was so excited to get it all. Thank you so much! Oh- and tell Lauren that of course we can be sisters, but if she talks about camping with my family without me we may have to have a serious talk ;) jk it was hilarious. So I'm kind of sad this morning because Sister Martina and Sister Clark left. It's so weird not having them here and all our neighbors are gone too. Luckily we'll get more neighbors today. I'm so ready to leave. I'm easily the second worst in my class for Spanish, but it's okay because I know that I've been doing my part and the Lord will make up the difference. And I'm the only one who has never taken a Spanish class before so I don't feel too bad anymore. I'm so excited to be out in the field and can hardly stand it! I got my travel plans. I leave Monday morning at 8:42 and get to Spokane at like 9:40, but I have to be at the travel office at 5 in the morning so it will be an early day for me. Also I'm allowed to call home at the airport! It can only be for a few minutes and depending on how long it takes us to get through security it may or may not happen, but I'm planning on it. In regards to mail if you want to send me another dearelder tomorrow would probably be the last time to send it because Saturday we only get mail half of the day and sometimes those letters take a day or two it get. Also when I get to the field you'll have to pay for postage for dearelders. I'm really not hoping for a decrease in mail especially because it's Christmas time, but I am a little worried about. Maria and Brent - thank you so much for the card. Who speak Spanish? Also I don't know when I'll be able to email again because I don't know when my next pday will be. Tammy - thank you for the letter and I'm sorry about your back. Tell Glade I'm proud of him though. Dad - realize that I'm doing laundry with a bunch of 19 year old boys who many of which have never done laundry before in their lives so you would not believe all the stuff that happens in the laundry room or the machines. I would strongly suggest that mom make all the boys do their own laundry and ironing, and sewing from now on just so they know how. It's amazing how hindering it is to these Elders who don't know how to do it or have no experience doing it. We still don't know if H. Ziegler will get to leave with us on Monday. She has had MRI, EEG, EMG, met with Psychiatrists, neurologists and ENTs and nobody knows what wrong other than she has ADHD. We have on average 5 visits a week and they take up at least half the day. Amazing. Funny stories: when I went to Physical therapy the lady working with me was super hyper and so we had pushup contests. I almost won it was really close, but Hermana Collins won with 21 pushups, but I came up close with 4. So I've gotten closer to a man here in the MTC than at any other dating experience. Elder Hargiss and I held hands. I know we're missionaries, but he's just that persistent. Just kidding, but we did hold hands accidently. Don't ask how it happened, you wouldn't believe me anyway. Another funny story. There was a really short teacher about 4'9 who taught us the other day and gave me a hug. Elder Sanchez was not there to witness it and so when she came back he asked if she would hug me because he heard it looked pretty cool. Everyone's jaw fell to the floor except his because he had no idea how embarassing his comment was. She took it pretty well so it was funny. It's amazing how fast time is going by now. Remember when I had such a hard time sleeping at night? Now it seems like as soon as my head hits the pillow I'm already waking up. I haven't had that problem in year ;) Every day goes by faster and faster and I'm only in the MTC. I can't believe I'm almost finally in Washington, but I can't wait for it. Elder Hargiss and Elder Miller have been able to teach an actual investigator in TRC. Every time they come back it's like a spiritual high for the whole group because they're teaching an actual person with real problems and questions not just an actor. It gets us all super pumped for the field every time they teach them. For all of you couples considering going on a mission - do it. You get to do basically whatever you want for almost as long as you want and you get to do the coolest things ever! We met this couple that is going to Micronesia to canoe through the jungle to locate and GPS the locations of members that are there. They cover several islands and are totally like Indiana Jones! It's so cool! It made me super excited to someday be able to be a senior couple missionary. Also met met this other couple that has already been on 7 missions together! Crazy! They're amazing! We got to hear all about Thomas S. Monson from his daughter Ann Dibb and it was awesome. The BYU mens choir came and sang Christmas songs to us and it was so cool! We also had Elaine S. Dalton come again yesterday and tell us about gifts of the spirit and just trusting in the Lord. It was so powerful! I'm so excited to be out in the world with all the Christmas things going on! I don't know what my assignment will be or what my address will be when I get to Washington. But here is the address to the Mission home and I'll get the mail from there so please please write!

Hermana Elizabeth Probst
Washington-Spokane Mission
820 S. Pines Rd. Ste 101
Spokane Valley, WA 99206

I love you all! Love Herman Probst

Crazy!

Pablo Penalillo said that you mom and dad can call him anytime. Also, have you ordered my bike yet? If you could let the mission office know when you do so that they can pick it up that would be great. Thank you so much for the letters they're awesome!

I'm almost done at the MTC and it's crazy! Also it was the 50th anniversary of the MTC this week. Wow so many milestones. I'm super excited to get out in the field. I think we're all getting a little cabin fever because we've been doing a bunch of DLTs lately Dumb Little Things (sorry Grandpa I tried, but now I know why they do so many).

So Aaron wanted funny stories and mom wanted spiritual ones so I'll do my best: On Saturday we were being especially goofy. I was standing in the hall waiting for my companions who were in the bathroom. I open our classroom door and Elder Sanchez who is sitting on a chair yells "Hermana Probst watch this!" The next thing I know he flings himself back in the chair and he crashes to the floor and the chair goes flying! We were all laughing so hard we were crying! It was so funny! Apparently he was trying to show me that he could lay flat on the chair, but he did it too fast and so now the joke is that Elder Sanchez is head over heals for me. Oops. Story 2: The other night I had a dream that president Brown was showing our district around and giving all these spiritual insights. Suddenly it sounded like somone was snoring and we were all mad at them. Then I realized it wasn't in my dream it was real! I get out of bed and go to the other bunks and I hear H. Collins giggle and say "I have no idea who it is." It was Sister Martina and she sounded just as loud as dad does! I tried saying her name to wake her up and all she did was roll over and keep snoring. It was so funny we didn't know what to do. Eventually she stopped, but it was pretty classic. Story 3: As coordinating sister I have to go to weekly meetings where our floor representatives basically complain about how loud the elders above us are. I usually study or fill in my planner. But finally I remembered that a recent maintenance report I had issued had not been filled so I commenced to tell the branch president of my complaint. I told him that the toilet seats were broken in our bathroom. He didn't understand the problem. I tried to explain to him that the seats move because they're not properly attached. He still didn't understand. Finally turning bright red and the entire room quietly laughing at me I told him that when you needed to use the toilet it made it difficult because when you sit down it slides all over the place which makes it rather difficult to fulfill your purpose of using that toilet seat. He finally understood and everyone was laughing at me. Yep good story.

So the call of the Ziegler has almost been resolved. We have been going to many doctor's appointments with her lately because if they're in Provo we have to go with her and if they're outside of Provo she gets an escort. Unfortunately most of hers have been in Provo. And they don't really tell us when they are they just send us a message that we have to go right then. One day we had 4 appointments in one day! I was really worried that it would mess with our schedules, but the resource teachers have taken special care to work one on one with us so we really haven't missed much and we've gotten really good at studying in waiting rooms. H. Collins and I get to switch off who goes and who stays and whoever stays becomes a solo sister and the elders from the district are her companions. She just discovered that she has ADHD and her hiccups are a genetic tic that is affected by her ADHD and if she keeps her mind occupied they don't happen as much. Can I just say I called it. We had to meet with District President Brady who was Grandma and Grandpa Probsts stake president and sent Brian on down on missions. I think this was a compliment but he said he didn't think they were old enough to have grandkids on missions. He says hi and he thought you were all great.

My back is doing much better and I only have 2 more appointments with Butler. I think I'll miss it. Two of our investigators are getting baptized but one recently told us that she believes the Catholic church is true and the LDS church. We may have to postpone her baptism. We got to see the Christmas Devo and it was awesome! Also we got a promise from President Brown. He promised that if we read the Book of MOrmon for 30 minutes every day our biggest problems in the mission will dissolve and will be fine. Which is good because last week I was really discouraged about my spanish. I felt like I wasn't learning anything and I couldn't speak anything. H. Forsyth took the time talk to me about it and share D&C 98: 1-3 and it just hit me really hard. I have to be patient with the Lord because he has made us promises. I have really learned to rely on the spirit more because we just need to trust and all will work out for the good. We had a really sobering experience on Sunday. We missed our Sunday temple walk because we were giving our branch president the first lesson. When our whole district went outside there were protesters standing at the gates with massive crosses. They were yelling at all the missionaries coming back from their sunday walks and chanting. I never would have thought that would happen here. It made us all realize more realistically the kind of challenges we're facing and how grateful we are to be protected by the Spirit. Our biggest challenge will not just be learning a language but the opposition we will face from the adversary. I am so grateful to be a missionary. We've had a lot of really good bonding experiences as a district this last week. Almost every single person has is our suffering some major opposition. One elder has to be the example to his parents of being a good member because only the kids live the Gospel and the parents don't. Another elder was basically the father of his younger siblings because his dad is a work-aholic. Another elder has basically been completely forgotten by his family and they never really support him or anything. I have learned so much about how strong our generation is and I'm so proud to be a part of it.

I will send pictures when I can but they don't have USB ports on these computers so it might have to wait until I'm in the field. I'll send out my Washington address next week but I can't remember it now

I love you all and know that the Church is the only true church on this earth!

Love you!

Herman Probst

3 Weeks Left!

Hello everyone!

I only have less than 3 weeks left! I'm super excited, but kind of nervous. My Spanish is not that great so I wish I could be better. Hna Forsyth is one of my teachers and she's from Spokane and she's a saint. I don't think she'll ever get married because no one is as good is she is. She's amazing! Anyway she brought someone in who served in Spokane and she told us all about it. Right after we arrive at the airport we'll be sent out contacting for a few hours. That night we'll be at the mission home and receive orientation. The next day we get our trainer and assignments and then we go out and teach. Crazy! I'll be teaching actual investigators in a few weeks! I'm super excited though.

So Thanksgiving was good. We had Elder Russell M. Nelson come speak to us and it ws way good. We made 8,000 survival kits for people in Sudan. Dinner was okay, but i definitely missed the good food I always get especially the pies and Grandma Dinsdale's rolls. For some reason i couldn't stop thinking about them. We all were pretty homesick but it was definitely the worst for me. Pretty much all weekend I was really homesick. But I got letters from Ashley and Dad so that really helped. (This is a hint that letters really do help so you should all write!)

So my back is doing a lot better. I went to pt yesterday and they said my posture has improved significantly and that my back feels so much looser and less crunchy than before. They started me on all these funny strengthening exercises in the office there and they're pretty entertaining. Funny story: So this weekend seemed to last forever because everything was closed on Thursday, Sunday, and half of Saturday. That meant we could only get mail on Friday. But our floor manager person who helps us clean the bathrooms and keep the toilet paper stocked was gone. She left the toilet paper dispensers unlocked so that we could refill them if we needed. The only problem with this is that they randomly fall down. Yes, being the clumsy person I am, the toilet paper dispenser fell off the wall and smacked down right on the bridge of my nose. It was a rather embarassing moment and my nose is still slightly swollen. Moral of the story is: Don't ever trust your toilet paper dispenser.

Mom and Dad: were you able to send my box up to Washington yet? If not could you add lots of pictures of you all and possibly leg warmers? Also i will definitely need a bike but is there a way to get it with a guard over the tire to prevent mud from splashing up?

One of my favorite scriptures is Alma 26: 35 "Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God, for he has all power all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Bein, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name."

I absolutely love being a missionary. It is very hard and difficult at times, but only when things are challenging are they worth it.

I love you all so much!

Herman Probst (That's what Noah called me in one of his emails and it has kind of stuck).

P.S. I only have half an hour a week to read emails so I never have enough time to read Becky's. If someone could just briefly summarize the highlights of her email and send that to me that would be great so I could still keep up with what she's doing. Thanks!

Hola!
So the letters and emails have all slowed down considerably. What's with that?! Happy Thanksgiving!
Mom - Thank you so so so so sooooooooooooo much for that awesome package. I was bouncing up and down when i got it it was perfect. I absolutely loved the turkey with all the notes! It's on my wall right now. I love notes. The Reeses were so good and the socks were perfect. So keep the packages coming! My companions especially loved that Luke loves that I love "Hores play" :)
Family - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be close to the home phone or dad's cell tomorrow. And answer it wherever you are please! I can't remember anybody elses phone numbers so please answer those two.
Dad - could you use whitepages and find me Tammy and Glade Young's address in Bozeman and my Grandpa Garn Christensen in Boise. I've done it before and it should be pretty simple. Thank you!
Also I need my box for Washington sent up within the next week and the bike ordered. You should have instructions on all of that but because I'm leaving a week earlier than I thought it needs to be sent earlier. Also in the package if I could include a scarf and my pillow. I forgot to put my pillow in the box when I left. And Tons of letters! I carry them with me and read them when I'm discouraged so they're the best!
So we got twice as many missionaries last week and so the cafeteria is constantly packed! Who would have known. We got two new rommates who are going to Virginia. Sis. Martina from Salt Lake and Sis. Clark from Ashton, ID (I know someone who actually lives there who doesn't work at the gas station). They're way awesome and make it fun because they have the same sense of humor as I do. Sis. Martina is way homesick, but I think she'll be okay.
Funny stories: So We were in the residence hall and I heard Sis. Clark trying to unlock the door so I rip open the door to surprise her. What I ddn't realize was that her key was attached to a lanyard that was still around her neck. Basically all I saw was her face come flying towards me and a loud squaking noise! It was so funny I couldn't stop laughing! Her first day here and I almost rip her head off, oops.
So I told my district about one of my most horrible awkward dates that involved zombies. Now it is their favorite thing to quote and they even wrote me a pretend letter from this former date. I will have to forward a copy to my roommates as they will appreciate it the most.
Another story: So Hermana Z has "sporadic, chronic hiccups." They are very high pitched and loud. During Sunday's fireside she set a new record and had 85 in one hour. Afterwards a member of the mission presidency came and asked if she was faking. The next day we find out that our mission president, President Brown, had set up a doctor's appointment for her. Oops. I was dying of laughter. The doctor set up another appointment for her to see a neurologist in Orem next week and she had to interview with Pres. Brown. It was pretty funny and awesome because we got to meet him too. He's awesome!
So this last week has been awesome! I have been so hyper it's ridiculous. My Spanish is coming along great! All my teachers are quite surprised by how much I can understand. They say my main problem is that I lack courage in speaking. I need to open my mouth more and just trust in the Lord to fill it. Sorry about all the typeos my keyboard is horrible.
I'm so excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I wasn't really homesick about it until one Elder started talking about home and then it made me really homesick. Oops.
Okay now from the ridiculous to the sublime:
Elder D. Todd Christofferson gave our devotional talk last night. It was so absolutely incredible! First he thanked us for being Christ's companion in the work and the Quorum of the 12 and asked us to forgive them if the 12 let us down in the work. He told us that now is the time to serve our Lord with everything we have. He had regrets from his mission and we should live so we have none. He told us that when we return home we should not expect any blessings or rewards for our service. The Lord owes us nothing and He is giving us even more than we had by allowing us to represent Him and enjoy the enormous blessing of serving Him. Elder Christofferson said so much, but he ended by giving us a promise and blessing. He blessed us that anything we suffer, any challenge we have, any discouragement, frustration or anything we endure while on our mission will be swallowed up in the joy of Christ and will be as nothing to us. He said we have no reason to fear or be discouraged because we are companions with our Savior Jesus Christ. If we but yield our heart to Him we can be in His presence and enjoy His blessing.
My heart is so full. I have no reason for doubt or to complain. I finally feel like the joy and love I feel inside is being used in the way it is supposed to and to it's fullest capacity. I know that my Savior, Lord, Redeemer saved me from my sins. He made it possible for me to return to live with my Father in heaven. What joy this brings I cannot even describe. I feel so overwhelmed by the Spririt I cannot put into words how I feel. This is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and I love it with all my heart. I am so in-debt to Him to be priveleged to bear His name and preach His word.
I love you all so very much! Please keep the letters coming because we think a lot about home during this holiday season and it's nice to know we're thought of too!

LoveHermana Probst

Hola to the world!

I am in week 4! That means on Sunday I am half way there! Who would have thought. So today we finally get two new roommates. There are going to be almost 1,000 missionaries brought in today because they're not bringing any in during Thanksgiving. This means that all the rooms are going to be packed! We almost found out why they're doing so much construction on campus which means that our power is always going out and the security is super intense. Right now there are about 52,000 missionaries in the world. In Januray of 2012 there will be 56,000 missionaries! That is 4,000 more than they originally anticipated! Isn't that incredible! I'm so excited! The Lord's servants are about to conquer the earth. Because of this they are trying to make as much room on MTC campus as possible so they can cram in as many missionaries as possible. I forget the exact numbers but the statistics for the increase of missionaries in just one year is astounding! I feel pretty popular now being in the in-crowd because everybodies doing it ;)

I kind of enjoy being from Utah because several times a week I run into people I know. It's pretty exciting. Yes, I do eat a ton of ice-cream here. Amazingly I haven't gained any weight which I can't really figure out how that works out because I love BYU ice cream. Everyone tells me that Latinos love to feed us and get offended if we don't eat a ton so we're supposed to be prepared to gain like 20 pounds! I'm going to die or make up some kind of stomach condition so that I can not eat so much. Actually I don't have a gall bladder so it's okay (Alexis I hope you noticed this).

My back is doing so much better. Apparently getting several massages a week helps it out. Who would have known? Just kidding, they do help, but there is a ton other painful stuff that i have to do that helps out too.

I get very exhausted every day and we often fall asleep while studying, but it's the best. It helps us know that we truly are doing everything we can to learn the language and learn how to teach. If we are working the hardest we can then the Lord will make up the rest and He does in so many ways.

I love this work with all my heart. I know that it truly is the work of the Lord. It is so amazing to be surrounded every day by people who feel so passionate about this Gospel like I do. Yo se que La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias es verdadero. Yo se que Jose Smith y Thomas S. Monson es une profetas. Yo se que nuestro Padre Celestial mucho amor por mi.

My Spanish is very broken. I do not conjugate or put the words in the right tense in order. But the Lord has blessed me to be able to speak enough that I can convey my message and He does the rest. It is the most incredible experience not being able to properly speak a language and watching the power of the Lord take over and testify to our investigators the truthfulness of what we say. I love being a missionary!

I love you all!

Hermana Probst

Hello Family!

Thank you so much for the letters and package! There is nothing better than getting letters. They can make a horrible week or day turn out amazing just because I can read of what you're doing and feel your love. Last Thursday I was having a particularly horrible day. My back hurt so bad I could barely get out of bed, our lesson to Noemi went absolutely horrible, I was frustrated with not knowing Spanish and Hermana Z was driving me crazy. There were many tears shed that day not just by me. The next day made everything better though because I got a letter from my beloved ASHLEY! She got her mission call and she's going to the West Indies mission English speaking and leaving in March! It's amazing how just that one letter of encouragement and love made everything better. It seems like everytime I get letters it's always when I have the worst days and it's perfect timing because it makes everything so much better. I have also learned to rely on the Lord so much more. He is truly teaching me that I cannot do anything as a missionary without help from him. It's a very humbling lesson.

This whole week has been pretty rough, but there have been silver linings. On Sunday I saw Dr. Seamons! He's a branch president here on the floor right below me. We did brake a mission rule though because he automatically gave me a hug, oops. We had to shake hands after that. It was so good to see him. I also heard Zac Kroff from Bozeman play his cello for the fireside (I thought the Bozemanites reading this would appreciate that). And on my temple walk that afternoon I saw Brittany and Seth! She's having a baby! It was way exciting.

So I went to the Doctor's on Friday for my back. It hasn't been this bad in years. He sent me to Dr. Brent Butler at the Utah clinic the physical therapist I got ASTYM from. I saw him on Monday and it was a real run-around. The driver dropped us off at the hospital even though I told him it was the wrong place. It was weird to be there and not be able to go see Grandpa Dinsdale. When we finally got to the clinic they didn't have us scheduled. Luckily Dr. Butler just loves me so he helped me out ;) (Actually I think he cares more about dad because he kept asking about him the entire time). Apparently my back is a lot worse than I thought. They did a ton of procedures on me and want to see me at least twice a week. I have tons of exercises and stretches I'm supposed to do in between. He wants to get me all better before I leave in December. I think it will actually happen so I'm excited. I just feel bad that I have to waste my companions time.

I had the most incredible experience yesterday. We were in the TRC and just interviewing random people. Our objective was to try and feel the love that our Heavenly Father had for them. None of the people I met with were LDS and two spoke Spanish so fast I couldn't understand. Even though I couldn't understand their Spanish I knew what they were saying. I knew that God loved them so much and that He was trying to reach out to them. I could feel so strongly what they were saying even though I couldn't hear it. All of us were crying by the time we were done. It was such an indescribable feeling and experience because I knew what God wanted and felt toward these people.

My branch president is now aware of our struggle with Hermana Z. He's trying to work with her and help us. It's good to be heard.\

I love you all so much and I absolutely love getting your letters. And I miss you all so much!

Love

Hermana Probst

Dad! Mom! Eli! Noah! Aaron! Luke!

How's it going?! I'm so excited to write you all! The MTC is awesome! I spend pretty much all day in a classroom with 8 other missionaries studying. I wake up at 6 and go to bed at 10:30 with no breaks in between because we have so much we have to do and need to do that we really don't have any time to ourselves. P-day is on WEd and I'm only allowed 1/2 an hour to write. We get an hour of gym time almost every day and it is easily everyone's favorite time because we get to get out of our desks and run! Meal time is short but there is so much food that nobody could complain. Pretty much I can eat and drink whatever I want at whatever meal. It's all very heavy and rich though so mi companeros and I have come up with a system of how to eat healthy so we don't gaina ton of weight. The first few days were crazy because they only spoke to us in Spanish. I am the only person in my district that has never had any Spanish, but luckily I'm learning fast. It's only been one week and I can already do so much.

My companions are Hermana Collins from Kansas and Hermana Ziegler from Illinois. I definitely click more with Hermana Collins, but i'm getting to know and love Hermana Ziegler more. There are 6 elders in my District and us 3 Hermanas. All the Elders are awesome and definitely feel like little brothers because they act like it. They're a lot more mature than a lot of Elders here though so I'm grateful for that. With all the time we have to spend in the classroom together we have a lot of bonding time and all of them are great. There are 38 missionaries in my branch and my companionship are the only sisters. All 3 of us are going to Spokane and one of the Elders is. The others are going to Peru, Arizona and Boise. One elder has a break down Saturday night and ended up in the hospital but he's doing great now.

Thank you so much for the Haloween package! It was so exciting! Letters are like gold here and it's the most exciting time of the day! Packages are priceless and so exciting to get. If you create an account on dearelder.com you can send an email to me for free while I'm in the MTC and I get it the same day so that you can write me everyday for free. This also gives me more time to think about what I'm going to write back to you since I only have a half an hour. Please do this!

Apparently MTC time is different. According to the MTC I've already been here for a week and half because they start over on Sundays. Because of this I will actually leave the MTC December 19. I will need my backpack because I have a ton of books and backpacks are so expensive here. I don't need it right now so I'll write later with more details.

How is dad's eye? How's Grandpa Dinsdale? How's Alyssa?

I've already taught 4 lessons with our progressing investigator Noemi. Everything is in Spanish, but our lesson yesterday went for 30 minutes! There have definitely been many hard times here, but the Lord is so receptive to missionaries that the highs are incredible. I have learned so much about faith, prayers, and how to be humble. I love my heavenly father so much and know that he answers my prayers.

I apologize if I don't make much sense,but I'm startying to think in Spanish so it's hard to write in English. Everytime we complain about learning Spanish our teacher always tells us we can go up a floor and try Chinese. Nobody wants to learn Chinese because it's so hard. (i thought Dad would enjoy that fact). We all think the English missionaries have it so easy, but we're learning alot.

Got to go! Ashley is the winner in sending me the most letters so far so you should all keep up!

I love you all so much and think of you any time I can!

Love forever

Hermana Probst

P.s. Eli should be working on letters of recommendation now

So I'm going on a mission to Spokane, Washington, Spanish Speaking! I might be in Washington, Idaho, Montana or Canada, it's a big area.