1/13/2022
I can’t believe it has been four days already! These past four days have been filled with excitement, nerves and fun. Home MTC is going so much better than I ever thought possible. Going into this I pictured it to be boring, hard and awkward. I truly feel the opposite. I’m not saying that it has been a walk in the park but it has just been an enjoyable experience so far. I’m so grateful I have been able to sit in front of my computer for countless hours, I was most worried about that. I have a wonderful district, awesome teachers and I absolutely love my companion. Her name is Sister Bevens. She is from Canada! I feel so bad for her because she is living in Georgia for a short time and the time difference is a few hours! She is running off less sleep than anyone in our district. That being said, she is the sweetest and is engaged in this great work. I’m so grateful we are companions! I get excited to have one on one time with her.
I have two teachers. One morning teacher and one afternoon teacher and then I attend different workshops and devotionals throughout the week. Sister Haws is the morning one, She is such a tender teacher and has been teaching at the MTC for a while now. My afternoon teacher is Sister Filfred. She is so much fun and has the best glow to her. The first day of MTC was basic orientation stuff and getting to know the other missionaries in my district but the last three days have been so spiritual.
Sister Filfred shared a touching story from her mission to us. She explained that a mission is hard, leaving friends and family is not easy. Hearts can feel broken at times. I know my heart has felt broken at times! She said, I was broken a few months into my mission and was considering coming home. My mission president’s wife pulled me aside and taught me this. ” Heavenly Father has crushed your heart these last few months with change and challenges. I understand that, I know it’s hard. I can tell you this is the best kind of heartbreak there is! Heavenly father will piece together those broken pieces, you are here doing his work! Once something is broken it has cracks right? He not only is going to put those pieces back together he is going to fill those cracks with his love, His people’s love, and with experiences you will never forget.” I love this story about Sister Filfreds hard times as a missionary, and I am so grateful she shared it with us. Going on a mission was never a hard choice for me but it has not always been easy. I know my broken cracks are going to be filled with the best kind of love and the best experiences I could ask for.
Sister Bevens and I got to teach our first lesson yesterday. I can’t believe that that has already happened! It’s called helping hands, so basically we don’t know if they are members or not but we can schedule an appointment with someone who needs to hear from us. It gives us practice teaching and being specific to their needs. It was a wonderful experience. We planned a very simple lesson and we loved actually being able to talk with her. She completed a survey afterwards to give us feedback and it was great! Sister Bevens and I were in shock because we felt it was not as meaningful as it was to her. I will say that this idea of already planning lessons and teaching them scared me! I thought I have only been a missionary for three days… but I knew exactly what to say and I wasn’t scared at all.
MTC has been amazing. I have felt the spirit in so many ways. I have learned a lot and I can truly say that I am so excited to learn, to go to my classes and to teach lessons. I can say that I feel happy and calm. I have fears and I’m nervous going into the unknown and saying goodbye for a while but I have felt happy and calm. I know that my Heavenly Father is telling me I’m doing good and it’s going to be okay. In a workshop I attended this morning this stood out to me. “We are all going to have feelings of unworthiness, feithings of doubt and feelings of frustrations. But know that God is on your side. He will forgive you and make you whole again,” Remember that God is on our side.
MTC District Roster
