This Tuesday I was a little more prepared to get Emily's email. So as soon as I received her email--I wrote her right back! We emailed back and forth a couple of times. It was mostly to ask questions about her blog. She said for me to just add the good parts of her emails. Well--here it is (and it was ALL good!)
Hola mamma!
Tuesdays are so good cause I get to tell you all -(*or at least the ones I can remember 0.0) of the amazing things that have happened this week. Time is really weird here because during the first week the days were sooo long and the week was fast, and now the days and the weeks are going fast. It feels like I've been in Mexico for EVER and also not long at all.
I can't believe you've gotten so many snow days this week. Have you been making cinammon rolls the whole time? I've gotten sunburn a few times and now it's sorta turning into a tan from playing volleyball and service projects and studying outside all of the time. Mexico es MUY bonita. I feel so blessed to be here. It's amazing to me how well Heavenly Father knows me – waaay better than I know myself. Like one night this week I was playing signs with my zone (they are all awesome people) and I looked up and I saw on the TV moniter a picture of a Monet painting with the water lillies and in that moment I just knew that Heavenly Father knew that I needed to see that. And it was such a small thing, I wasn't yearning for comfort or anything, but it was a huge relief and testament to me that Heavenly Father is aware of me and where I am and what I'm doing and becoming. He knows us so well, we just need to trust Him at every moment. Anyways the real reason I was telling you that is becuase I just feel so plainly right now at least that I'm where I'm supposed to be. I have moments where I can't believe there was a time where I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be a missionary – this is exactly what I want to be doing.
One thing that I love here so much (besides the palm trees and the food and the people) is the LOVE that is here. Sometimes love is a hard concept to understand, well maybe all the time, but when you feel it you can't deny it. It's definitely something divine, it doesn't spring up from the natural man but from God and the divine nature we have inside of us. Moroni had it right when he said that charity is the pure love of Christ and by it we are purified and sanctified. I thought about how you said the MTC is like bathing in the spirit and I was thinknig that being with the Holy Ghost straight for so long was the purifying force that helped us to be good missionaries, but really it is the LOVE that God has for us and shows to His children through us that does the purifying. And the Holy Ghost is a huge part of that.
I love my compañera! We get along so well. I was on splits with the STL today and we were talking about how we are so simillar in our work ethics and the way we think and do things, but how inspired it was for us to have the companions we have. Sister Sorenson is such a blessing to me here! She has the insights and habits and experiences that totally fill in for when I'm lacking in one of those things. I love her a tonn. She and I both have a thing with crayons, we both went to BYU studying simillar things, she doesn't get lost when I go off on a crazy physics-gospel analogy, AND she has an innate sense of direction, that I really don't have haha. We have had some really powerful experiences this week with prayer as we pray for each other, our district, and our investigators. Also to learn spanish.
The language is coming quickly to me. Puedo entender nuestos miestros y investigadores muy bien, pero hablar es dificile – tengo fe que it will come. El don de linguas es real y estoy muy agradecido a mi Padre Celestial. Yo sé que Él me recorde siempre – y ustedes tambien.
I won't type any more spanish :) oh – casa means "house"its our apartment. #15.
We had an AMAZING experience this week with our investigador Jorge. All week long we felt like we were decreasing in our ability to give good lessons and that frustratiion peaked hard core on our second to last lesson. But after a lot of prayer and after realizing our need to humble ourselves and seek the spirit (the companionship of the HOly Ghost is sooo essential in this work) we put together our last lesson. We asked him to say the opening prayer and he speaks REALLY fast spanish, but I totally caught him saying "please let me understand what these sisters are saying, i'ts really difficult". Yeah, the language is still a coming. The Spirit was so strong and I KNOW it was Him who taught Jorge that last lesson. We taught him with a little picture board (with the spanish words written out) and we taught him about faith. He understood it and I could see that he really had the desire to learn and excersise his faith. I had the opportunity to invite him to prepare for baptism and the spanish came really easily (maybe because I had it written down right in front of me?) and I don't think I've ever felt the same kind of joy as I felt when he said he would comit to the baptismal date. After praying and thinking and studying and ïnvesting"in Jorge, I really came to love him. This work is so sweet.
My teachers are WONDERFUL. I love them a lot too. They are such great examples of Christlike love and teaching and I feel so blessed to have them be my teachers.
Our district had some really fun moments this week. One night we were all so tired everything was funny. I felt bad for our teacher, but we had just reached that point. Poor Hermana Limb xD
This morning another funny thing happened. our alarm went off at 6:00 and we were laying in bed for a little while (aka basically still sleeping"( when the doorbell rang. Hermana LImb was like, "someones at the door" and me in the dream like state i was in said "no way, the door bell just likes to ring"completely convinced that it was true. We got up after the second ring and answered the door and there is a latino there from the MTC recepcion speaking spanish asking for a few other hermanas in the house. We stumbled around and found them, one of them was sure her family had died, but we were all so asleep nothing wasmaking sense. The man says that those sisters had to come to a meeting 6:30 to get their visas. And we're like okay... sure. Sounds good. And then he goes, in a little bit of english"wait. This isn't until jueves (thursday) Sorry hermanas."" and it was the funniest thing when we actually woke up and remembered what had happend.
Uhm. Theres a LOT more that I learned this week. Like about the importance of families, the miracle of the atonement (always this), faith and patience and action, enduring to the end (read D^C 20:37 – that is the conversion we need in order to endure to the end and recieve all lof the blessings Heavenly Father soo wants to give us.)
But one more thing is that my understanding of the Restauracion has grown so much. I had a testimony of it before, but teaching people and studying it has deepened my gratitude and awe at that sacred occurance in the history of time. Besides the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the Restauracion is the most incredible thing to ever happen. Read Nephi's vision startin in 1 Nephi 11 and look specifically for verses about the restauracion and the ending of the apostasy. It is beautiful!
Here are some pictures, we have a lot of fun here in the MTC. I love it so much and I LOVE being a missionary and most of all I love my Savior. When it gets hard, and it does get hard because we are not perfect servants and our weaknesses get in the way of the people we want to be in this work, I know I can cast my burden on the Savior because He wants to carry it for me so much. His love and life is what I want to emulate, and is the motivation I have to keep going when it gets rough.
"be ye therefore perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect"
"the Lord God giveth no commandment unto the Children of men save He shall prepare a way for them to"do it. I don't remember the verse correctly but it's in 1 Nephi 3:7.
Basically when there is God's will there is a way.
I love you guys so much! Thanks for your prayers :)
Separate emails are great, I have an hour to write but I take pictures of all the emails and then read them in my casa. Send pictures please! The food is really yummy most of the time.
I love you mom!
Hermana Ogden.\
And yes, still hearing the jokes. Most of the time people just ask sarcastically öh, are you from ogden?"and the look on their face when I tel lthem thats where I'm going is actually growing on me xD.
Love Love Love :)
so happy!!!
these are lego hands and we are waiting to ask our teacher who knows all (he is the coolest person ever besides ben ;) and we love him a lot) what the heck these are but we call them lego hands.
Hola mamma!
Tuesdays are so good cause I get to tell you all -(*or at least the ones I can remember 0.0) of the amazing things that have happened this week. Time is really weird here because during the first week the days were sooo long and the week was fast, and now the days and the weeks are going fast. It feels like I've been in Mexico for EVER and also not long at all.
I can't believe you've gotten so many snow days this week. Have you been making cinammon rolls the whole time? I've gotten sunburn a few times and now it's sorta turning into a tan from playing volleyball and service projects and studying outside all of the time. Mexico es MUY bonita. I feel so blessed to be here. It's amazing to me how well Heavenly Father knows me – waaay better than I know myself. Like one night this week I was playing signs with my zone (they are all awesome people) and I looked up and I saw on the TV moniter a picture of a Monet painting with the water lillies and in that moment I just knew that Heavenly Father knew that I needed to see that. And it was such a small thing, I wasn't yearning for comfort or anything, but it was a huge relief and testament to me that Heavenly Father is aware of me and where I am and what I'm doing and becoming. He knows us so well, we just need to trust Him at every moment. Anyways the real reason I was telling you that is becuase I just feel so plainly right now at least that I'm where I'm supposed to be. I have moments where I can't believe there was a time where I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be a missionary – this is exactly what I want to be doing.
One thing that I love here so much (besides the palm trees and the food and the people) is the LOVE that is here. Sometimes love is a hard concept to understand, well maybe all the time, but when you feel it you can't deny it. It's definitely something divine, it doesn't spring up from the natural man but from God and the divine nature we have inside of us. Moroni had it right when he said that charity is the pure love of Christ and by it we are purified and sanctified. I thought about how you said the MTC is like bathing in the spirit and I was thinknig that being with the Holy Ghost straight for so long was the purifying force that helped us to be good missionaries, but really it is the LOVE that God has for us and shows to His children through us that does the purifying. And the Holy Ghost is a huge part of that.
I love my compañera! We get along so well. I was on splits with the STL today and we were talking about how we are so simillar in our work ethics and the way we think and do things, but how inspired it was for us to have the companions we have. Sister Sorenson is such a blessing to me here! She has the insights and habits and experiences that totally fill in for when I'm lacking in one of those things. I love her a tonn. She and I both have a thing with crayons, we both went to BYU studying simillar things, she doesn't get lost when I go off on a crazy physics-gospel analogy, AND she has an innate sense of direction, that I really don't have haha. We have had some really powerful experiences this week with prayer as we pray for each other, our district, and our investigators. Also to learn spanish.
The language is coming quickly to me. Puedo entender nuestos miestros y investigadores muy bien, pero hablar es dificile – tengo fe que it will come. El don de linguas es real y estoy muy agradecido a mi Padre Celestial. Yo sé que Él me recorde siempre – y ustedes tambien.
I won't type any more spanish :) oh – casa means "house"its our apartment. #15.
We had an AMAZING experience this week with our investigador Jorge. All week long we felt like we were decreasing in our ability to give good lessons and that frustratiion peaked hard core on our second to last lesson. But after a lot of prayer and after realizing our need to humble ourselves and seek the spirit (the companionship of the HOly Ghost is sooo essential in this work) we put together our last lesson. We asked him to say the opening prayer and he speaks REALLY fast spanish, but I totally caught him saying "please let me understand what these sisters are saying, i'ts really difficult". Yeah, the language is still a coming. The Spirit was so strong and I KNOW it was Him who taught Jorge that last lesson. We taught him with a little picture board (with the spanish words written out) and we taught him about faith. He understood it and I could see that he really had the desire to learn and excersise his faith. I had the opportunity to invite him to prepare for baptism and the spanish came really easily (maybe because I had it written down right in front of me?) and I don't think I've ever felt the same kind of joy as I felt when he said he would comit to the baptismal date. After praying and thinking and studying and ïnvesting"in Jorge, I really came to love him. This work is so sweet.
My teachers are WONDERFUL. I love them a lot too. They are such great examples of Christlike love and teaching and I feel so blessed to have them be my teachers.
Our district had some really fun moments this week. One night we were all so tired everything was funny. I felt bad for our teacher, but we had just reached that point. Poor Hermana Limb xD
This morning another funny thing happened. our alarm went off at 6:00 and we were laying in bed for a little while (aka basically still sleeping"( when the doorbell rang. Hermana LImb was like, "someones at the door" and me in the dream like state i was in said "no way, the door bell just likes to ring"completely convinced that it was true. We got up after the second ring and answered the door and there is a latino there from the MTC recepcion speaking spanish asking for a few other hermanas in the house. We stumbled around and found them, one of them was sure her family had died, but we were all so asleep nothing wasmaking sense. The man says that those sisters had to come to a meeting 6:30 to get their visas. And we're like okay... sure. Sounds good. And then he goes, in a little bit of english"wait. This isn't until jueves (thursday) Sorry hermanas."" and it was the funniest thing when we actually woke up and remembered what had happend.
Uhm. Theres a LOT more that I learned this week. Like about the importance of families, the miracle of the atonement (always this), faith and patience and action, enduring to the end (read D^C 20:37 – that is the conversion we need in order to endure to the end and recieve all lof the blessings Heavenly Father soo wants to give us.)
But one more thing is that my understanding of the Restauracion has grown so much. I had a testimony of it before, but teaching people and studying it has deepened my gratitude and awe at that sacred occurance in the history of time. Besides the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the Restauracion is the most incredible thing to ever happen. Read Nephi's vision startin in 1 Nephi 11 and look specifically for verses about the restauracion and the ending of the apostasy. It is beautiful!
Here are some pictures, we have a lot of fun here in the MTC. I love it so much and I LOVE being a missionary and most of all I love my Savior. When it gets hard, and it does get hard because we are not perfect servants and our weaknesses get in the way of the people we want to be in this work, I know I can cast my burden on the Savior because He wants to carry it for me so much. His love and life is what I want to emulate, and is the motivation I have to keep going when it gets rough.
"be ye therefore perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect"
"the Lord God giveth no commandment unto the Children of men save He shall prepare a way for them to"do it. I don't remember the verse correctly but it's in 1 Nephi 3:7.
Basically when there is God's will there is a way.
I love you guys so much! Thanks for your prayers :)
Separate emails are great, I have an hour to write but I take pictures of all the emails and then read them in my casa. Send pictures please! The food is really yummy most of the time.
I love you mom!
Hermana Ogden.\
And yes, still hearing the jokes. Most of the time people just ask sarcastically öh, are you from ogden?"and the look on their face when I tel lthem thats where I'm going is actually growing on me xD.
Love Love Love :)
so happy!!!
these are lego hands and we are waiting to ask our teacher who knows all (he is the coolest person ever besides ben ;) and we love him a lot) what the heck these are but we call them lego hands.