I survived the second week at the Missionary training Center(MTC)! So much has happened in this past week it's crazy. So last Tuesday during devotional we had Elder Rasband of the Quorum of The 12 apostles come to speak to us. That was like a treat here at the MTC. He spoke about the process of assigning mission calls.So basically deciding where the missionary needs to go on their mission. It was really nice because he asked the audience questions and interacted with us. Also it was broadcast to MTCs around the world and i got on film! so i am basically famous. But he talked about how the call comes from God and even though he could have been the one to write the place down on the mission call it is where God wants you to go. He also talked about how there is a special purpose in why we are going to our certain areas. I learned that i am going to Eugene, Oregon because someone there needs to hear from me. God has prepared that person to hear his gospel from me and that they are now waiting to hear the message i will bring to them. I thought this was amazing because it gives me so much purpose also comfort to know that God prepared someone to hear his message. I have been learning a lot about that this week and it makes me so happy that they don't know it yet, but i am coming for them and they are already ready to hear Gods message. Sister Rasband also spoke at the devotional and she is an amazing woman. She told us that it does not matter if we were athletes or smart in high school or college, but it matters that we have the light of Christ. This was amazing to me because it's so important to remember that we walk with light not accomplishments. Getting to connect with someone because of sports is awesome and i will totally do that, but i hope my light can shine more than anything. One of the members of my branch presidency told us that 10 out of 100 converts knew the church was true just by looking at the missionaries. Because they had so much of the light of Christ in them. i really am going to strive to carry that light throughout my mission, and even after.
Okay so on a serious note I was in the cafeteria the other day, and i was getting my dinner and i looked to the dessert line, and they had angel food cake! Which for those who don't know ( although you should) that is my favorite cake and yes it was really delicious. My District (which is a group of 10 missionaries) got to wake up before 6:30a.m. and do some cleaning! Sister Rhees (my companion) and i were fortunate not to clean the bathroom, and we cleaned the entry ways and the water fountains. While we were cleaning the water fountains they gave us vinegar to spray them down with. Which was great because every time we went to get a drink all you could smell was vinegar and all i thought about was Herrs salt and vinegar chips. But it was a really great service to do because it was giving back to the MTC and i can't repay them enough for all that the people here have done for me.
Sister Rhees and i taught with our investigators four times this week. As we met with them i really felt the love i already had for them grow, and i wanted them to gain that testimony that God loves them! So our first investigator is Erika and she is amazing. She is 26 living in Provo. She moved from Iowa and met with the missionaries while she was living there and now she wants to hear more! So She has been coming here for two and a half months to meet with us and learn more about the gospel. She was really interested in the temples and i told her about the Philadelphia temples and how it will be dedicated in September of this year! She was so excited and loved hearing about the history of how much went in to getting us that beautiful temple, and her Boyfriend is from Pennsylvania so it was special to them. It was so much fun getting to know her, but she had a really hard time with her testimony of God and his love for her. Also she brought up the fact that everyone in the LDS church is perfect and she couldn't fit in and i told her that we are not perfect, but we are trying to be like Christ and he was perfect, so we are just doing our best. She already goes to church and loves to read the scriptures. I know that God will work with her to help her gain that testimony she is looking for. We also were privileged to teach Katie. She is about 20 and going to BYU. She is From Portland, Oregon so we all bonded over the fact that soon we will all have lived in Oregon! Katie is Christian so she had some knowledge of the bible. She was so open to listening to us and accepting what we had to say. She had a fear that if she prayed to know if this is the true gospel and if she got the answer yes then she would not know what to do. We asked her to say a prayer to eliminate the fear that she had. and she did with us sitting right there! it was amazing because from that point on i saw her faith grow and she is now going to church on Sunday, and she reads the Book of Mormon all the time!
Wow what a week. we also were able to teach Agatha who is an atheist and my fist thought was "how on earth do i talk about God and his plan when they don't even believe there is a god!" It was on of those moments. But let me tell you she was the most amazing person i have met. Her smile could light up the room and i was like oh yeah she definitely has the light of Christ already she just doesn't know it yet! I'll admit it was difficult when we fist started because we had to get her to understand somewhat that God is real. It took a couple lessons with her, but Sister Rhees and i got her to pray! We taught her how to pray, and then she said a prayer with us! She was a little nervous because she had never prayed before and she didn't understand yet that she was praying to her heavenly father, but i say that counts!
The next time we met with her She asked us a question that i believe comes up a lot even in the lives of lot of members today. And that was "If God were real why would he leave me for my whole life and not speak to me until now?" I was able to share with her my thoughts. I told her that She may not have seen God in her life because she was never looking for him. She didn't think he was real so she could not see him, but when she gains that testimony and really knows that God is real she will be able to look back and see the times when he was standing right by her side and cheering her on. It's important to remember that God never leaves you alone. Even during our trials he is constantly looking out for us. I asked her to share when she felt joy in her life and she told us about a scholarship she just received which she was afraid she wouldn't get and that her family is going through a hard time and if she did not get that scholarship then she would have a really hard time getting through school and supporting herself. I believe that was in Gods hands and he blessed her. I love witnessing the miracles in others lives and feeling the spirit in the room. I would not be doing anything without the Holy Ghost helping me touch these peoples hearts.
So crazy things have been happening! We had our In field orientation last Friday and that basically got us ready to leave the gates of the MTC and go out in to the real world. We learned a lot about members and how much of an influence they have on investigators and also other members. The impact is huge so all you members better help those missionaries! I now understand why Kyra always pushed for them to come over for dinner. Members make a difference! Also we do need food so dinner is a really good idea :)
On Saturday we had a skype session with a member! and it was the coolest thing. So we were supposed to skype someone from our mission, but she was sick so we skyped a m,an named John from Alberta, Canada. He was the nicest guy. We taught him a lesson on keeping the Sabbath day holy which we ended up incorporating in to all of our lessons for the rest of the weekend. But we talked about how Sunday is a day of physical and spiritual rest. I brought up Russell M. Nelsons talk which i advise everyone to read it. It's called " The Sabbath is a Delight" he just sums it up really nicely. Sister Rheese talked about the importance of the Sacrament and that the sacrament is something which we can do for ourselves every week. It is a way to renew our covenants with God and also Strive to do better throughout the next week. I am loving Sundays!
Sister Rhees and i taught Relief Society on Sunday. We taught on Obedience which is always an important lesson. We shared experiences of when we were obedient and saw the blessings come from that. the spirit was definitely present in the room and the girls all shared amazing testimonies and experiences from their own lives. I shared how obeying my parents and staying in my Sunday clothes helped me to better feel the spirit and keep the Sabbath day holy ( like we have been talking about all weekend) and how i was able to do that when i was away from home, so thank you mom and dad.
I saw a guy from my public speaking class here last week and he is going to North Carolina! I love seeing familiar faces. Speaking of that the elders in my District left today for Washington. It was great getting to know them and they will be amazing missionaries! I am off tomorrow morning for Oregon! I'm so excited and sad to be leaving the MTC. I Learned so much from being here and my testimony has definitely grown in the past two weeks. I can not wait to find those people who have been waiting for me. Don't worry I am coming! I hope everyone is having a fantastic week and i love you all!
With Love,
Jenna
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| Jenna and her MTC companion |
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