Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Happy Easter and Conference

Hola familia! Como estan uds.? Wow, another wonderful and busy week at the MTC! So, I want to tell about a few experiences I have had lately and then I want to ask a few questions. So, first of all, I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! I love the life I have right here and right now! And I am looking forward with my whole heart to get to Argentina in 3 weeks and teach the gospel to those I've been called to teach! It still sometimes doesn't seem real to me. This life as a missionary is something I've wanted to do my whole life and it's FLOWN by! We've already been here a full transfer- 6 weeks! YIKES! I feel like I have grown so much, and yet there's so much more I can learn and do. Especially with Spanish; I am struggling and struggling. I have to have more faith in the Lord and pray for the gift of tongues. Thanks for Elizabeth for fasting for me again this last Sunday- love you! So, many of my gym-time friends have left and gone into the mission field. So now volleyball isn't AS fun as it was before. But I have been playing more basketball (and out of nowhere I can kinda shoot the basketball fairly well! Are these extra blessings from the mission? :) haha) and I've been running a bit. My FAVORITE exercise time is the morning when we have our exercise classes for sisters. My favorite are step aerobics (which gets intense! who knew?) and kickboxing (a lot like Tae-bo, but even better!). My favorite Spiritual times are when we teach, devotionals, and probably la Junta Grandes (large group meetings). My favorite meals is la comida mexicana because I'm going to miss it!!! And right now I love eating Sourpatch watermelons that we get out of the vending machines! Haha My favorite personal time is when I'm getting a lot out of the Book of Mormon or delving into Predicad Mi Evangelio (Preach My Gospel). I LOVE el Libro de Mormon! I've been reading it again, in ingles, and I hope to be done either tomorrow or Thursday, so I can start it again in Spanish! Hermana Crosby and I had an incredible time teaching in the TEC. We taught Hermano Tidwell once earlier in the week when I was flustered with my Hermanas being sick and things, so the Spirit was not presence. It was a disaster! haha (ok, not THAT bad). Then later that week we prepared well, prayed for the guidance of the Spirit, and felt the peace of the Spirit as we began. The lesson flowed, we used wonderful scriptures, and the Spirit was present! And the greatest part (for me) was that I was able to speak more clearly and much better Spanish with the Spirit! It was truly incredible! The Spirit guided the way and helped me be able to conjugate more quickly and use better sentence structure. I was so grateful! I know I can do this THROUGH the Holy Ghost. I can understand the language of the Holy Ghost much better than I can Spanish, so I will use both as I preach, teach, testify, and commit others unto Christ. Lately I've been really focused on diligence. Austen Archibald talked to me a lot about diligence and as I've been reading the Libro de Mormon again, I've been noticing all the times the word "diligence" comes up. I wasn't feeling completely well this week and I had to try and learn diligence diligence diligence. I was getting a little discouraged towards the end of the week, because I faltered a bit with my diligence. But on Sunday, the mission presidency talked about a lot of things, but President Clegg (the 2nd counselor) turned to the scripture in D+C that says, "Courage brethern (and sistern :-D), on and on to victory!..." And then he made us stand up and sing, "We are all enlisted 'till the conflict is 'ore. Happy are we!" It was wonderful because I realized that diligence requires a smile, courage, and a positive attitude to be successful. I've been thinking a lot about my family- and YOU guys- and about how lucky I am to be born in the covenant, reared by goodly parents who love the Lord, and to have had so many wonderful experiences. Thanks Mom and Dad for everything! And thanks to all those who have touched my life. I am SO grateful for the blessings we have received from the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. And as we celebrate Easter, to know that Christ the Lord is risen and HE LIVES! What a wonderful message that is: I KNOW that my Redeemer LIVES! This is the message I want to share to all the people in Argentina! And I can't WAIT for Conference this weekend! How lucky are we to have living prophets on the earth today. They are incredible men of God; I can't WAIT to here them!

LOVE YOU ALL SOOO MUCH! This church is true! The Book of Mormon is true! Please don't forget about writing me every once in a while! HUGS HUGS HUGS!!!! (just to fam! :) and many handshakes!

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