MTC Pictures

Week 5 (last email from the MTC)

Hola!!

Can´t believe I will be leaving next Tuesday!! Time really does fly!

So this week was a fantastic week!! So last P-day we went to a market down the street, much smaller than the one 2 weeks ago. However, we were able to get candy and all sorts of junk food!! I ate Oreos and peanut butter :)

We have had some pretty awesome devotionals lately! We had one about Enduring to the End and it was amazing! As a missionary our purpose is to *Invitar a las personas a venir a Cristo al ayudarles a que reciban el Evangelio Restaurado mediante la Fé in Jesucristo y su Expiación, el Arrepentimiento, el Bautismo, la Recepción del Don del Espíritu Santo y el Perseverar hasta el fin. (sorry you might have to google translate that... We have been reciting that since day 1). My favorite part is the end. Although, I have adopted Sister Stanfill´s aproach and in my head I change it to "Enjoy to the End." Life is meant to be enjoyed! And although sometimes we might feel like there are so many rules or expectations for us, when we follow Christ, we will ALWAYS be happier in the long run!!

So this week we had a meeting with one of our teachers about our lesson that we have been having. We have these meetings often so we can improve. At this meeting he decided to have us do a practice, and that coach us throughout the practice. Well he had me be the investigator... and lets just say I had to consistently ask him to repeat... and after a little bit he just looks at me... and then he says "How is it that you can talk so much during the lesson, understand everything I say, and then now when we aren´t in a lesson you are having a hard time?!" We all knew the answer. But then he said "It is a miracle." The gift of tongues is real. God is real. He loves us, and wants to help us succeed when we are trying to do what is right. I am so thankful I have Him on my side.

My ponderizing scripture this week is Acts 10:34-35. It has really made me stop and think before judging those around me. And I really need to remember that NEXT WEEK when I will be out in the field!

Well sad news, we don't have any roommates right now :( But it has been nice to sleep with the extra pillows in our room :) We love our new Latinas at the CCM!! Meals are way more enjoyable now that I can understand more of what they are talking about!

Well last Tuesday Elder Alonzo of the 70 came! What an amazing devotional. I was asked to say the closing prayer.. yes in Spanish.. and you know what the closing prayer means.. It means you are the only one that gets to shake hands with and talk to the Presiding Authority! Well he told me my Spanish is really good :) that was great to hear!

Then I had to give a talk on Sunday.. it was super stressful. They just call out names at the beginning of the meeting, and then you come up and talk... ahhh. I gave my talk on Faith.

We have a new investigator.. His name is Alex. He doesn't believe in God, Jesus, and doesn't really want to change.. Well after 2 powerful lesson, he said the prayer, and said that he wants to believe all the things we have taught. I use Alycia´s picture of Christ in just about every lesson. Everyone loves it. It always brings the Spirit to the lesson. Thank you for being amazing Alycia!!

So some funny things that have happened:
-The Elders in our district like doing scripture bashes.. It can get pretty hilarious! Shows how much time we have together, and how much we study the scriptures!

-There is one Elder that has a hard time rolling his R´s, and so one of the other Elders made a paper ball with the letter R all over it, and he said, here is this for when you are having a hard time "rolling your R´s!" It was hilarious!

- Our Elders love making paper airplanes.. Alex would love it! And sometimes the ariplanes go out the window... makes for fun times! Well our teacher comes in and joins in on the fun, and then throws one right at my face... He felt so bad, but it was so funny!

-Yesterday was a holiday.. but nobody knows why.. we asked our teacher and he was like, nobody has work today.. but there isn't like a specific reason why.. It is just a holiday! :) how odd!

-The wind lifts up the ceiling tiles in our rooms sometimes, and at first we thought there was a person up there... we RAN out of our room sooooooo fast!! :)

-Every morning we say "Fire Up" or "Fuego Arriba." Our CCM president had a lesson about being PSYCHED every morning! Because being a missionary is the best!! :)

Well love you all!! Can´t wait to tell you all about Guatemala next week!!
-Hermana Garrett


*Translation: Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

Week 4

Hola Family and Friends!!

I am overwhelmed with love right now for our family. Although I am sad that I have to witness our new addition to the family via pictures, I am so much more grateful for the blessing of the Gospel in my life! The blessing that we know where beautiful Alina came from. That she has not only a loving earthly father, but an ever loving Father in Heaven that will be looking out for her in every single aspect of her life, as he does for each and every one of us!

God really does love all of us. All the time.

Well we have had some amazing lessons with our investigators this week! I have felt the Spirit so strong in every single one. We are getting so much more comfortable with teaching without notes, and by doing that we are showing our faith, and letting the Spirit not only guide us in what we say, but fills in the gaps in what we don't say. 

Our latina roommates left this morning, and we will be getting our last wave of new missionaries tomorrow! I cannot believe that we are the oldest folks here! It has flown by!!

So here are some of the funny things that have happened this week!

-we started playing 4 square during sports (it is normally between basketball, volleyball, and the stationary bikes) and I have rekindled my elementary love for it :)

-We play a lot of "destresser" games throughout the day.. And this week we played "ráton y gato" with the Elders ties! Basically there were 2 ties that started on opposite sides of the circle and you had to put it on and then pass it on, until the cat caught up to the rat! It was super great, and almost more stressful than helpful!!

-In one of our lessons our investigator (who is also hands down the best teacher here) said when we asked him if he read, he said no, and then said "Es Chiste" and I thought he said "Es Triste" which means it´s sad, and the first means it's a joke! I was like yeah, it is sad!! And then he started laughing.. it took me a moment to realize, and then when I did I had to laugh at myself!

-During class when we were roll playing, the teacher asked an Elder for a name, and the Elder said "Colton" and our teacher looked at him like he was crazy! Our teacher tried a couple times to say it and then was like " Never mind, let´s just go with Aurellio" We were all like, "how is that any better?!"

We are going to a "strip mall" today! It is so nice that we get to leave every other week! It also hasn't rained in over a week here! It´s like we are having a drought! They had to turn on sprinklers outside the other day! 

So, here is my basic day:

6:30Am- wake up

6:40-sports

7:25-get ready

8:00-breakfast

8:30-language study

9:30-class or teaching

12:45-lunch

1:30-more classes and teaching

5:45-dinner

6:30-Classes

7:30-Snack

8:00-Personal Study

9:00-Planning

9:30- Sisters devotional

10:00-Get ready for bed

10:30-BEDTIME!!

And then we wake up and do it again! It's the best! :) I actually really love it! We have 2 of the greatest teachers here, and my companion is amazing! We have had a little more variety lately with some devotionals in the evening, but that is pretty much my day!

My "ponderizing" scripture for this week is Matt 11:28-30. Those verses are so applicable to my life right now! I am reading the New Testament, and I am going to finish before we leave the MTC. I love learning about the Savior´s life. I am constantly in awe of his unconditional love. I hope that I can also have that kind of deep love for the amazing people here. 

After our temple session this morning, there was a little girl with her mom in the lobby. She was the cutest!! We tried to get her to talk to us so we could practice our Spanish, but she just kept asking her mom why we were girl missionaries! She couldn't get over that :)

I know that there is no better place for me to be right now than here. I am so very grateful for this opportunity. I am learning more about myself, and so much more about the Gospel. I know that Jesucristo died for each of us. I have become more fond of the phrase "one by one". He loves, one by one. Heals one by one. We are all important to him. He knows EXACTLY how we feel. It isn't easy to be a missionary. There are hard days, and there are times when I have absolutely no idea what is going on. But there is One who knows exactly how I feel. That is my comfort. That is how I can continue to be happy. That is where I draw my strength. 

Love you all! Let me know if there is anything else you would like to know about the CCM (MTC)!! Got 2 more weeks!!

-Hermana Garrett

Week 3

Hola!!!

Well we were set free last Tuesday!! :) We had to all leave because they had to clean before the new missionaries came! We got to go down to this HUGE market!! It was INSANE!! Their "Food Court" was super sketch! They had all this meat just hanging out! And they had all of these like small kitchens and dining areas where you would go and eat. Like you were eating inside a house. It was pretty neat! Then after that we went out to this big common area across the street, and we passed out copies of the Book of Mormon!! It was fantastic! Although I couldn't understand most of the things they were saying, it was super fun! Then there was a guy that came over and talked to us! In English! Then after we ate lunch at Wendy´s! :)

Well we had our last lesson with Victor, he is getting "baptized" on Saturday! :) And we are really getting far with our other investigator Joel! We feel like we finally "broke the ice" at our last lesson with him. we laughed and we were really able to connect and teach to his need. And really, that is what this is all about. And we weren't allowed to use notes, so it was intense!!

We also have had the wonderful opportunity to practice teaching with the Latinos here! ...it is so hard! They speak sooooo fast and with different accents, and it is practically impossible to understand everything they say!! Although after every lesson they say things like "one day you will be speaking better Spanish than us"... lets hope that day comes soon :)

Our District Leader and Zone Leaders are the best! They are hilarious and provide plenty of comic relief when we are all stressed!! We have the best district! :)

Wasn't General Conference the best?! Is Vern Stanfill related to Jan Stanfill from Indiana? My favorite was Elder Stevenson´s testimony! I loved when him and Elder Runlund quoted "the fullness of the Gospel will be proclaimed by the weak and simple." That is 100% me right now! And he also said "Focus not on what you can´t do, but focus on what you CAN!" That was exactly what I needed to hear!

I also loved the talk about "ponderizing!" My verse for this week is Matt 4:10:

      "Then saith Jesus unto him, get thee hence Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

This Gospel is true! And I am appreciating it more and more every single day that I am here.

Love you all!!

-Hermana Garrett

Oh and we had our first full day without rain this week... it was crazy!!

And we got new missionaries! Tons of Latinas! And we have the sweetest new roommates! :)