Bona Ziwa!

Hey!! Happy Independence Day yesterday!

So I have a bunch of sisters going to Romania in my branch so I've been learning a little Romanian. The subject line is hello...in case you didn't already figure that out =]. Thanks to all who wrote me emails and letters! I don't have a whole lot of time to write you back, but I do love hearing from home and getting something of news from the "outside world". This week hasn't been as exciting as last week, but it's still been good. I'm almost done with the tape I'm gonna send, so be looking for that.
Since yesterday was the 4th, they let us out of class 45 minutes early for a "special fireside" which consisted of all the missionaries sitting in 19M (where we have all our firesides and devotionals) playing patriotic songs with chimes that were randomly distributed throughout the hall. After that they let us go outside and watch the fireworks from BYU (as long as we stayed on the MTC grounds), which meant we were all up and outside till 11. I didn't get to sleep till midnight cuz the sisters in my branch and a few others got together for a "party". We take any excuse we can get to eat a bunch of sugar for half an hour together...it's not like we need sugar, I mean the food here makes you fat enough! ...although a package would be nice (wink wink nod nod haha jk =]). I do have to say though that watching the fireworks really made me miss the fam. I haven't missed anyone until then, and I'm sure some of you got together for a pool party or bbq, or both. As long as someone ate 3 hamburgers for me than it's all good =]. I'm pretty sure between Mark and.....Mark it all got taken care of =D.
Our devotional on Tuesday was from a man named Cree-l Kofford. His talk was amazing! He spoke about prayer, and it was pretty deep. At the beginning he said "I usually don't write my talks, I just rely on the spirit to tell me what to say and it usually comes in concepts, unless I'm required to write it for something like general conference, but tonight I want you all to know that the Lord gave me this talk word by word instead of concept by concept, so the things I will tell you tonight are things the Lord wants you to hear." He proceeded with one of the best discourses on prayer I have ever heard. I don't have my notebook right in front of me so I can't tell you everything he said, but a few really poignant (sp??) things were that prayer requires work not only for understanding the answers, but for the asking as well. If you don't know Heavenly Father then you will not receive eternal life. The key to teaching is the spirit, the key to the spirit is prayer. I hope you all pray daily if not hourly. I pray so much here! Even here in the MTC I feel satans influence and desire to stop the work from progressing. Prayer is essential to keeping the spirit with you at all times. If you have the spirit, everything else will come as it may but you will be happy.
I love and miss you all! Keep the good times coming =]. I would write more but I have no time left, so don't forget to write me! and tell the Sitts sisters thanks for their letter.
~Sister Witbeck~

P.S. The atonment is not only part of the gospel, but it is the gospel =]