October 18, 2012
Dear Daddy, Mama, Spencer, Kaili, Julia, Benson and Natalie (and people that I love that this email will be forwarded to),
I have been dreaming of this moment for the last week. Actually waiting to be able to tell you everything that I have wanted to has kept me awake at night because I just run through everything I want to say or write back over and over again! It's a strange form of detox but the good news is I am still alive and I am actually doing wonderful! How are ya'll?! I miss you all so much and am so grateful for you. I have loved every letter or package I have recieved this week and seriously cannot thank you enough! Mail is like the best thing for a missionary. My companion yesterday said "I LOVE MAIL! I think I'm addicted." Haha I feel the same way. All of the letters I have recieved have been so uplifting and just give me a boost to work that much harder. I have so much to tell you so I am just going to dive right in to the lesson...or the email. :)
First off, I saw Lyndell yesterday! He looked great and seemed to be doing really well! He is so cute! I stalked the incoming missionaries to see if I saw him! Have ya'll heard from Michael? I haven't seen him since the first day. Hopefully he's doing great!
I seriously could not love my companion any more than I do. She is the best. We get along so well and she is just so fun to be around! I think Heavenly Father knew exactly what I needed in a companion. My district is unbelievable. We have the perfect combination of people because we are all way different but we all love each other. The elders in our district are hilarious but such good boys. The second day we were here we were asked to tell why we decided to come on a mission and one of them, Elder Farnsworth, talked about how he wanted to set an example for his little sisters and about gaining a testimony for himself at 15 that the church was true. He then said something that I thought was so cute. He said "I also selfishly want to see the man that gets off that plane in two years. I want him to be awesome." I loved that.
It is seriously so weird to see the MTC from the inside out so I'll tell you a few things about my experience so far. First, the food (my highest priority) is actually pretty good. My companion says our main food group is lettuce because we eat a wrap or a salad every day but it's keeping me from piling on the pounds so I'm grateful! You can make pretty much any kind of wrap you want. They have new 30 minute aerobics classes for sisters every morning at 6 so I have been trying to go to those as well.
The second full day in the MTC they have you teach someone for the first time. The person is a member but they are pretending to be a friend that they know who is not LDS. You have to teach them...in your mission language. It was the scariest, most intimidating thing I have ever done because I literally knew nothing. Our first lesson was a literal train wreck. We were awful. My companion spent 4 of the first 5 years of her life living in Costa Rica so she used to be fluent in Spanish but has forgotten most of it. She's way better with spanish than me but our first lesson was awful. We were fumbling around and couldn't say anything. It was embarrassing and really humbling. We didn't understand anything he said. Hermana Pierce told our teach that we asked Lucas a question and the teacher was like bueno pregunta, que el respuesta? Hermana Pierce was just like I couldn't tell ya. Haha. The next day we had to teach another lesson. We prepared better the second time around and we went in and it was like a miracle. I felt like I was actually teaching. I was able to communicate my thoughts (my emotions not so much yet) and he understood. It was incredible. I told Hermana Pierce I have never known the church was true more than that moment. This is his work and it is my honor to see him work miracles through me.
In Relief Society in the MTC all the sisters are combined and Sunday our teacher was Sister Burton, the general relief society president. It was incredible. Before relief society we watched Music and The Spoken Word. They were singing the line "Give all my life to Him" in I feel my Savior's Love and it hit me that that is what I'm doing is trying to show the Savior that I love him too and because of that I am giving my life these next 18 months to him. We can show our love to him in so many ways though and I want to spend the rest of my life doing that. To open Relief Society a Sister missionary from the Philippines bore her testimony. She said when she was originally introduced to the church she knew it was true and she told her father and he beat her. Years later she was working in a grocery store and two missionaries came in. She prayed that they would come to her line even though it was the longest one. Her prayer was answered and she met with the missionaries and was baptized. She's now on a mission. Her testimony was so humble and so powerful. She said she knows the Lord is mindful of each of us.
In our branch presidency one of the counselor's names is Brother Doman (He is Brandon Doman's brother Daddy ;) and his wife is really sweet. On Sunday she told us something that I really liked. She said that she loves the part in Anne of Green Gables when Anne is leaving and she closes her eyes and someone asks what she is doing and she says "I'm making a memory." I've tried here since she told us that to make a lot of good memories. So that is my challenge to you this week. Make a memory and then tell me all about it! I would love that!
The second day in the MTC I heard a quote that I really loved. It was by Elder Wirthlin and he said "We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today, The Lord sees us in terms of forever." I realized that in terms of forever 18 months is nothing. I am grateful to be able to serve Him. I know that He sees me for what I am capable of becoming with His help and I am so grateful for the way I have already seen His love for me here. I know that I will have the opportunity to live with ya'll forever and that makes missing you right now barable. I want to share with others the hope and peace that I have for that day. Well I'm out of time but I will write letters this afternoon. I love you all so much! Have a great week!
Con Amor,
Hermana Jones
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