Bonus P-Day

With the district in front of the Provo Temple

I have a bonus P-day this week because of the transition to Visitor's Center (VC) training, so I get to write again.

We started VC training on Wednesday and so far I am quite enjoying it. There are seven of us going to Temple Square and six going to San Diego Mormon Battalion. We have a new classroom with chairs that are significantly more comfortable than the chairs in my last classroom. It's quite nice. We jumped right in to working on being VC missionaries the first day. One of the things that we've talked about already is referrals...yes, referrals. My teacher said something interesting to us the other day. She said that as VC missionaries we aren't called to a contained geographical area, but our call is to the whole world and referrals is how we can teach the gospel to the world. That was a really neat way to think about my mission call. Not only did we start talking about referrals, be we have also started asking for referrals. Twice a day we are supposed to do a "picture share" which is where we talk to a missionary about a picture (like a picture of Christ doing something) and talk about things that we can learn from that picture. As we do that we are to ask those missionaries for referrals of friends that they have that would like to hear about the gospel. These are real referrals and we're going to call those people on Monday. So exciting! It is definitely the greatest gift that you could give to anybody.

The VC training program has its own special classroom with a keypad lock on it and we've been calling it "Narnia". There are interactive kiosks in there that will be at Temple Square and a big TV that we can watch films on that will also be shown on Temple Square. So it's basically the place where we learn about the media that will be available to us at the visitor's center. There are definitely some great exhibits there. One of the coolest exhibits, though, is the Christus. We started talking about how to introduce the Christus narration and how to make it meaningful for visitors that will be at the Square. Part of making something meaningful for someone is getting to know them and really come to love them. I'm getting better at striking up conversations with "visitors" but it's still hard to get to know them enough that you can really address the concerns or questions that they might have. When you can get to the "core" of what someone needs, you can talk about those things that will make the greatest impression on them. When you only have five minutes to get to know someone it's kind of difficult, but I'm getting better.

Last night we had our first Teaching Appointment as a VC group. As a group we picked out pictures that depicted principles that we would want to talk about on a "tour" and then we set up our own visitor's center in a big room. We prepared to go through the exhibits as companionships, but there were so many people from the community that volunteered to be "visitors" that we had to give tours on our own. That was a little nerve wracking. It was a really good experience to get to talk to someone about the gospel that way. You can really talk about the things that concern them and then you get to invite them to hear more. It's really important to have the Spirit when you teach because those good feelings that they have is what will help them realize that this is something that Heavenly Father wants for them. I also learned that I have much room for improvement as a VC missionary.

Tomorrow we're going to Temple Square to have a VC experience. It should be neat. I hope that it goes well.

MTC Week Three

Sister DeBoer and me (Sister Smiley....soon to be on the Square)

Hello again! There are so many things to say and so little time to say it all! So it's going to be a little jumbled.

 

Today is my P-day because tomorrow we start visitor's center training and we needed a day to do laundry or else we would start to stink by the time our stay at the MTC was over. I'm excited to see what visitor's center training is like. I here that there are about 50 sisters that are going to be part of that this week. On one of the days we get to go to Temple Square to practice being a visitor's center missionary. It should be pretty cool. I'm most excited about being able to teach so frequently and people come to me! I don't have to go out and find them.

 

On Sundays, after the fireside, we get to watch a church movie. This week the movie was Legacy. I hadn't seen it in a long time and it wasn't as good as I remembered it. The romantic story line was funny to watch with so many missionaries (we were all in the gym).

 

The fireside on Sunday was a musical fireside. The neatest part about it was when all the missionaries were "coached" on how we should sing "Called to Serve". We started out quite, all 2,000 of us. Then we built towards the end when we were all standing and singing full voice. It was cool to be part of that group that has been "called to know the richness of His blessings", as the hymn says. I love my calling as a missionary.

 

Yesterday Sister DeBoer and I taught three lessons. At the MTC you do a lot of role playing and so none of the people we taught were really investigators, but it's good practice. We taught our Zone Leaders (who are going to the Philippeans), a teacher, and our "progressing investigator" Donna (who is actually our roommate, Donna is the investigator she plays). In those lessons we were teaching principles from the third lesson (The Gospel of Jesus Christ). We taught a lot about the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. The Holy Ghost is such a wonderful gift to have. I know that without the Spirit there we would not be able to teach anything. It's a wonderful way to learn.

 

Anyways, we've been teaching Donna since about the first week we got here and it has been really neat to see how investigators progress and come unto Christ. She had some inital concerns about why she needed to be baptized again and then she was confused when her friends told her wierd things about the church. I really enjoyed being able to address her concerns and to show her that God really does love her. She committed to baptism and was willing to do anything that she needed to do to be ready for that. Last night we taught her and had her bear her testimony about the things that we have been teaching her.

 

This morning Sister DeBoer and I had service. Each week you have "service" which means that you are assigned a building to clean for 75 minutes. Today we were in 1M which is the main building on the MTC campus and our assignment was to clean the entrance windows. That wasn't too hard, but after we were done there were a bunch of hand prints on the glass doors again. We've also done vacuuming and cleaning bathrooms in our residence hall (not quite as fun, there's always a lot of hair in girl's bathrooms, especially in the shower drains...ew).

 

The Elders that were in our district also left today. Six of them are on their way to Hawaii and two are going to Calgary Canada. I'm sure they'll all make great missionaries and definitely learn lots.

 

The food at the MTC is pretty decent...it could be worse. But I suppose feeding 2,000 people three times a day is not an easy task. For lunch today I had maccaroni and cheese with green beans and an apple. It wasn't bad.

Hello Again!

I am one of the luckiest missionaries in my district because I probably get more mail than anyone else. I loved the Valentine's packages and all of the letters of encouragement I get. I'm trying to write back, but it's amazing how little time I have to do so many things!

 

Today is P-day and that means that I get to do laundry (clean clothes! Yay!) and go to the temple (we just got back from doing a session and it was wonderful) and write letters. P-days go by so fast, though.

 

I've been learning a lot at the MTC. One of the biggest things I learned this week is that the Book of Mormon is so amazing! There is always an answer in it for whatever question you have. Sister DeBoer and I were teaching a lesson and our "investigator" asked why the correct preisthood authority is important for baptism. It was a question I hadn't really thought much about before, and it pretty much had me stumped. I gave a half-satisfactory answer. After the lesson I turned to the Topical Guide to search for scriptures about priesthood authority (we've been getting a lot of questions about the priesthood so it was good for me to look it up anyways). I found a scripture in Helaman 10:7 that had an answer to our "investigator's" question. It says that with the priesthood authority from God you have the power to seal on Earth as well as to seal in heaven. THAT is why the correct priesthood authority is important, because our baptism will stand valid throughout all eternity. And that's just one example of how the Book of Mormon teaches the fulness of the gospel. SO amazing.

 

Every Tuesday at the MTC they have a devotional where a General Authority comes and speaks to everyone. Everyone gets really excited because it could be an Apostle, but it there hasn't been one hear since I've been in the MTC. This past Tuesday Elder Kevin Pearson came and spoke. He gave a really powerful talk about how obediance and faith go hand-in-hand. If we want more faith we should be obediant. He quoted 3 Nephi 5:13 which says "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ". That was a really great thought for me. It made me realize that I can be a disciple of Jesus Christ by being obediant and giving my will to the Lord.

 

We've also been talking about the doctrine of Christ at the MTC a lot (as you might imagine because that is what we're going to go teach about). I love 2 Nephi 31 more and more every time that I read it. Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end promises us happiness in both this life and in the life to come. That is the way that we can be an eternal family. I love that I get to share such a wonderful message and bring hope to so many people.

 

I can't believe I'm half way through my MTC experiance. It has really been wonderful, but I'm also excited to get out into the "field" and share my testimony.

First Week!

Hi Everyone! I made it to the MTC despite the terrible weather in Chicago. There is just so much to say and there is a big red timer in the upper corner of the screen.

One of the things that has surprised me the most about the MTC is how much I love it. I thought I'd like it, but I didn't know that I'd like it this much! We have class every day and we learn how to be a better missionary and how to help our investigators come unto Christ more effectively. We also have personal study time, companionship study time and Missionary Directed Time (MDT), and time to eat. In this past week I've grown so much more than I thought I could grow in one short (but felt very long) week. Sister DeBoer (my amazing companion) and I, have been doing our best to prepare lessons to teach to our "investigators". We do a lot of role playing at the MTC which helps you to gauge how well you can help people feel the Spirit. This past Monday we taught three lessons (all the first lesson about the Restoration of the Gospel, but to three different groups of people). We had a major break through when we were teaching our third and final lesson of the day. The first two lessons we taught were a little less effective than we would have liked. Both times we forgot to pray before we started the lesson with our investigators and it felt like we were just almost lecturing them. So when we were trying to prepare ourselves for our third lesson we were really humbled and we didn't know anything about our "investigators" (that turned out to be our roommates). We prayed before we went to teach that we could have the spirit and know those things that we should say. When we started the lesson we finally remembered to start with a prayer and that made such a huge difference in our effectiveness as missionaries. Heavenly Father heard our prayers and we were able to help our investigators feel the spirit stronger than we had ever done before. It was the first time that I've felt like the Spirit was speaking through me to tell me what those sisters needed to know both as investigators and as the people that they really are. It was a really special experience.

Let me tell you a little about my companion! Her name is Sister DeBoer, she's from Irvine, CA, and she's also going to Temple Square. She's shorter than me (believe it or not), but she's really cute. She welcomed me the first night I got there and I knew that I had been blessed with a really special companion. She just got baptized a little over a year ago and has been going to BYU for about the last year. She is the only member in her family. I'm just amazed every day at here courage and the brightness of her testimony. She has been such a support to me, not just by helping me be where I need to be when I need to be there, but also a great example of a missionary.

Sister DeBoer and I are the only sisters in our district (a group of about five companionships that go to class and other meetings together). The elders in our district are just great. They work so hard and really want to be good missionaries. Eight of them are going to Hawaii and two of them are going to Calgary Canada. They are so respectful of me and Sister DeBoer and are quite entertaining, when it's appropriate. Today is laundry day and some of them are still learning how to do laundry so they were asking Sister DeBoer and I what buttons to push and what they should and shouldn't put in the dryer. I'm glad I know how to do laundry 

I really love the MTC and this chance I have to share my testimony of the the restored gospel. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. He watches over us and he is more aware of our struggles and concerns than we'll ever know. He has provided a way to communicate with Him, and that is through prayer. I know that He hears our prayers and the desires of our hearts. He wants us to talk with Him and He will answer. I have experienced that every day.