Oh man time is really flying by here
at the MTC. We are already half way through our MTC stay! CRAZY! This
week has by far been the hardest week of my life, in every sense of the word;
but I know it won't be the hardest thing I do in life. It's been an
emotional roller coaster! But oh man Heavenly Father loves us!
Every day when I feel discouraged, inadequate and that all hope is lost he
blesses us with miracles. I have not been here a single day without
experiencing a miracle of some sort. First off I'll tell you about my
incredible district!!! We have seven Sisters and five Elders in our
district. All the sisters are going to NH and all the Elders are going to
Portland Oregon. When we first got here everyone said that your
district would become your family and that you would grow super close to
them. Not going to lie I had my doubts! But I was wrong! I
LOVE MY DISTRICT. We have had so many incredible, spiritual,
learning experiences together and we all help build each other’s
testimonies and encourage each other. I know for a fact that I am in
the best district here. I'll give you all a little break down of life in
the MTC. Wake up at 6 for gym time! Personal study for an
hour, breakfast and then class for three hours. We then usually do
some sort of teaching for an hour or so and then have lunch. Then back to
class for three hours where we do A LOT of role playing...which I
have grown to love. Then we usually teach some more have some
dinner, have companion study, and plan for the next
day....Repeat. Of course it varies a little everyday but that’s
the general idea.... It took a lot of getting used to
being inside a classroom all day, but I can't even explain how much
I have learned already. I'll tell you a little about my
companions Sister Bowns and Sister Kotter. Sister Bowns is from Orem and
is 21 years old. Sister Kotter is our youngin from Layton and she is 19.
They are both incredible!!!! We have gotten along really well
as companions and I am so grateful that I have been able
to be in such a great companionship. We also have some incredible
teachers here at the MTC. The thing I have learned the
most this week is that you have to teach by the Spirit. There is no way
this work would be possible without it. They focus so hard
on teaching us to focus on the investigator and their needs and to love
them, and to teach people rather than lessons. This means that you
basically go into a lesson with a lesson idea planned out, but then
totally follow the Spirit and the direction that it leads you. This is a
little stressful for me because I kinda like to plan, and know how
things are going to go, but that is not possible here ha ha ha. We
have had some really neat experiences when we follow the Spirit
and our minds are enlightened to the things we should say and
the way we should direct the lesson, but we have also had some not so great
lessons where we just don't know where we're going. We are teaching three
investigators right now. Melanie, John and Jose. All three of them
have very different needs and it has been really cool to see how they
progress through the lessons. We don't have much time to email, but
I wanted to share a few of the 'miracles' I have seen throughout this
week. The first one was when we were role playing and me
and Sister Bowns were the missionaries, and Sister Kotter was the
investigator. I don't even remember what they were having us
role play, but I do remember how I was just scared out of my mind. I
had no idea what I was going to say and my mind was just racing. Sister
Bowns is an incredible teacher and just had the lesson flowing so
well, then she paused and waited for me to chip in, and my mind was
completely blank. It felt like an eternity as I sat there trying to think
of something to say! Finally the thought popped into my head to open
my mouth and it will be filled. I had no idea what I was going to say,
but I opened my mouth and started talking and in that very moment it was
filled. The Spirit was so strong, and my testimony of that principle grew
so much. One more quick kinda similar story. So it was
with one of the Elders in our district who is really great, but he
also has a really hard time talking in lessons. He just freezes up and
doesn't know quite what to do. The teacher asked him to be his companion
for a role play, as they 'taught' Sister Kotter. I'm pretty sure we, as a
district, were all praying for this Elder. Our teacher started off
the role play and got the ball rolling. Sister Kotter, who was
Paula in the role play asked a question to the missionaries and our
teacher left it up to the Elder to answer. He sat there for a few seconds
and then boldly he said "Because it's true!" BAM the Spirit filled
the room so fast. What an incredible experience that was! So moral of the
story is, it doesn't matter the amout of teaching experience,
confidence, level of ability you have to teach a lesson, it is ALL
THE SPIRIT. Well I really am running short on time and I wish I
would have been able to grab my journal before we did emails because I had a
lot more in there that I have been writing down, but we came straight from the
temple. Oh and the temple was GREAT. I am really going to miss
going for the next 18 months, but oh it will all be worth it! I am
so grateful to be here and to be a missionary. I just want to bear my
testimony that I know that this is where I am supposed to be. I know that
Heavenly Father is listening and answering my prayers. He is completely
and perfectly aware of our circumstances and our struggles, and he loves us
unconditionally. I know this church is true and I am so grateful for all
the experiences I have had this week that has increased my testimony so
much! I love you all so so so so so much and miss you. Onward and
upward friends and family! I love you all!
Sister Dixon! :) :) :)
No comments:
Post a Comment