Last week of the MTC

(updates from 11-2-2010...which seems like an eternity ago)

well. i have a thousand million billion things to update on. so let´s do this list style, yeah?

1. elder scott came to the mtc for our tuesday devotional my last tuesday in the mtc. it was absolutely phenomenal. he spoke to us about following the spirit and gave us each a handout of the things he´s learned about the spirit over his lifetime. i tired to make a copy and sent it home for you to read because it´s so good, but the mtc wouldn´t let me. i really wish you all could read the whole thing because it´s incredible. here´s one of my favorite parts - "if you have not yet gained the confidence you seek, by careful practice, with the application of correct principles, and by being sensitive to the feelings that come, you will gain the capacity you seek." sometimes...okay most times...i feel so incapable of waking up every morning and talking to people about God and religion. it terrifies me. i love that through applying principles i already know and especially relying on the spirit, God will increase my confidence and capacity to do His work.

I also love this - "Have patience as you are perfecting your ability to be led by the Spirit. That is a gift so precious as to warrant a lifetime of effort to perfect it." What a relief! The answer to all things mission (and life) related is to follow the spirit. I remember getting so frustrated at the MTC because i have a hard time identifying exactly what that even means. How the heck are you supposed to know what the spirit is telling you versus thoughts you´re just coming up with on your own!? Here´s what I have concluded. All good things come from God. SO if you have a thought that leads you to do something good, then just do it. It doesn´t matter if you´re ably to perfectly identify the spirit right now. It´s a learning process. Eventually someday your ability to distinguish will increase. Be patient.

2. I´ve been thinking a lot lately about how person the gospel is. Each of us on the planet are so unique and that´s what life is all about - our own personal journeys of growth and learning . the gospel is so universal and applicable to every single person on the planet. it´s the only path to complete progression (aka returning to live with God and becoming like Him). But within the guidelines God gives us, we have the opportunity  to do it our way.

i like to think of it in terms of Lehi´s dream of the tree of life. we all need to hold on to the iron rod and follow the straight and narrow path, but it never says specifics on how long our stride must be, how high we need to lift our knees, which hand we have to use to hold on to the rod, or anything. Maybe some of us will leap or skip or gallop or saunter or twirl. we´ll all get there through obedience, but we´ll all do it in our own style. i love that. i love that we each have unique experiences and personalities and talents. We have so much to learn from each other. We´re all individuals and God loves us for it. We should love each other in the same way.

3. I promise I won´t talk only about churchy stuff  all the time.

4. Hermana Hyde´s mom sent her a dozen cupcakes from the Cocoa Bean Cafe one night at the MTC. I gladly accepted her plea for help eating them. Not getting fat on this mission is going to be tricky. Also.  I love companions who get delightful packages and share with me.

5. Good news. I successfully escaped the MTC without gaining a single pound.          

6. Halloween. I dressed up as the one eyed one horned flying purple people eater. My costume required a bit of imagination aside from the purple dress I wore, but it was awesome. if they would have had a costume contest I would have won. Easy.

7. I gave a sacrament talk my last sunday of the mtc. in spanish. The Paraguayan elder in my district said he was shocked at how perfect my Spanish was. He told me I sounded Latina. The gift of tongues is real!