August 10, 2011
3rd Provo MTC letter
Dear Family,
I just finished my email.
30 minutes goes by way too fast.
But I like writing letters too. I
forgot to mention probably the most important thing—whoops—I think, but I’m not
positive, but I’m pretty positive, that I can call you from the airport. Maybe it’s different for us because we are
going to another MTC, but I doubt it.
So, I’ll likely call you sometime Tuesday Evening…right during one of
Dad’s meetings, probably. Also I thought
of something I could use: another memory
card for my camera. But it’s probably
too late for that. You can send one down
to Guatemala in a letter. Put it between
two 3 x 5 note cards so it doesn’t get pushed out of the envelope by a mail
squeezer thing…I guess I’ll let you know what kind it is.
Hermana neighbor, Hermana Murray
and I are all on the same flight to Guatemala.
When Hma Neighbor first got her plans she was leaving the day before us. But
they revised her plans and we’ll be leaving together, which will be so
nice. Did I mention that my district and
esp. my companions love Nacho Libre?
I’m memorizing the first vision. I have 3 sentences memorized –but they’re
JSH sentences. We’ve had 4 great talks
at the MTC, but 2 stick out to me: one
was on love, and one on faith. Dani said
before that she didn’t pray for charity because she wasn’t ready to receive
it. I’ve decided to pray for it
anyway. Love is so central to everything
the gospel teaches. Every point in PMG is evidence of God’s love. And the only reason the message means
ANYTHING is if we love, sincerely love, our investigators.
Another talk was by the Simmons
- Dennis and Carolyn Simmons. I may have told you about this one. He talked about patience – it being a process
of faith. We all have great potential,
but we have to receive the Holy Ghost and allow ourselves to change in order to
become a great missionary. His wife told
us “missionary work is part of my heart.”
Love your work, love what you are doing. The Lord and His angels will be
with you and around you.
Dad – I feel a lot of things at
the MTC. I feel love for my district, my
companions & investigators. I feel
love for God and the gospel. I feel
frustrated with Spanish and knowing what to say – even in English. I feel excited to teach people about the
gospel. This is what I want to do, but
it is hard, even in the MTC where my knowledge and teaching skills don’t
determine whether an investigator says hello or goodbye to the church. I need to plan my time better, study more of
the sentences in the little red book, keep on memorizing vocabulary. Most of all I need to set goals. I love the MTC even though it’s frustrating
sometimes. I am a little sad to leave
it. I’ll probably call the home phone if
I get to call at the airport. If that
doesn’t work, I’ll just give up and talk to you at Christmas. JK - I’ll try your cell phone, Mom. But I don’t remember Dad’s #... uh-oh
OH! I gave a talk on Sunday. Every Sunday everyone prepares a talk, and
after the sacrament the person conducting calls on 2 people to speak. I haven’t been here that long and I was already
participating by playing the piano, but I gave a talk anyway. It went well.
There is one Elder who took 3 years of Spanish and he is better at
Spanish than I am. Another was in an immersion
program for a while and he speaks more easily than I do, but I know more,
probably. It’s amazing how much you can
learn if you want to. One of the elders
had no Spanish and he has a really strong desire to learn – and it’s going well
for him. Speaking is a struggle –a mental
workout. Dad, my Branch President served
in Guatemala about a year before you. I’m
not sure exactly when, but he knew Pres. Glade.
Mom, thanks for all your letters.
I love, love, love getting them.
Getting mail is so wonderful. I’m
grateful for your prayers and thoughts for me.
I love you. I might be a little
homesick, but not really. I’m happy here
even though sometimes it’s discouraging, but our teachers always tell us: you’re making mistakes HERE so you won’t make
them with a real investigator. We know
you only have a week and a half of Spanish. Just go for it. So we do.
And we survive haha. And so does
our investigator. And we even feel the
Spirit. I hope our lesson tonight goes
well. Don’t worry about me. One of the Hermana teachers lived in
Nicaragua for 3 years and she said they eat the same thing every day: rice and beans. An elder in my district has an older brother
who served in Nicaragua & he said he lived in a house that had bars over the
window and doors. I’m not worried. But I
am a little scared to start to talk in Spanish to Spanish speakers.
I love you. Thanks for your letters and news and
encouragement. Also: this week we launched a water balloon out our
dorm window with a stretch exercise band.
Mom: Thanks for the promise of dried pineapple. Have you talked to Sara Bingham yet or made
yogurt with her? Say hi to Lucia and the
Spanish group and other friends for me.
Gracias
Love, Mb
Also can you send me my
Patriarchal Blessing?
There are a billion more elders
in choir than Hermanas. We sang “Behold
the Wounds in Jesus Hands” yesterday for devotional with organ and it was
beautiful.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANI!
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