MTC Week 5

Hola Familia!

I can't believe it, but we're going on week 5 en la CCM, it's some ways it's gone by SO but in others, it for sure feels like a month OR MORE! My Mom asked me to clear up my Visa situation, I currently don't have one.. As soon as I get a visa clearance for Spain then they purchase plane tickets within a few days. That's all I know!  Wow, this week, I am most grateful for the love of my Heavenly Father. Without it, I wouldn't be able to make it, and with it I feel like I can do anything, or at least all that is required of me. I've got a couple experiences to illustrate my point, first off. Just wanna let you know some fun things.

So while i was leaving my Temple Session this morning I ran into 3 beautiful ladies from the Grandview 6th Ward, Hermana Bosco, Hermana Salmon and Hermana Lori Nelson.. What a treat, I told them not to let out my temple session time because well I don't want to purposely run into my family, ha but it was SO good to see some familiar faces. And then, there's more, we went down to the Temple Cafeteria for breakfast and I'm standing in line next to this Brother who works in the temple and he was asking me where I'm going on my mission and so i was like, yeah Spain, then I asked him how long he had worked in the temple and he said since 1998 but he took a break 3 years ago for a MIssion. So I asked him where he served.. Wait for it, SYRRIA, DAMASCUS. Okay, maybe only Jonny and Michelle Nabrotzky and Aunt Karyn and Uncle JIm will appreciate this. But Syrria is a neighboring country to Lebanon and there is currently only one active member of the church in Syrria, the Assouad brothers, Karim and Nabil would occasionally take the Sacrament to her on weekends when it was safe enough to venture across the tight border control.  I asked this Brother Morgan (temple worker) if he by chance knew this lady, I forget her name, but he's like, "Yes, I know her, I had the opportunity to baptize her." So what are the odds right? That I bump into this guy at this exact minute on this temple morning.. So, he asked me if he could come sit by us during our breakfast and so he ate with me and my companions and told us of many more miracles he saw in Syrria and how during this lady's confirmation blessing that he offered he blessed that her country and other neighboring countries would be open to the LDS church and it was just super cool. Brother Morgan of course knows the Assouads and many other members in Lebanon. I consider this a sweet little tender mercy from my Heavenly Father, this week I was thinking a lot about Lebanon and some of the experiences I had there and then I get to end my week this way.

Also, I met this Elder that's one of the Atwoods' neighbors in Vegas, Elder Tippetts is his name. he says he had sushi with Curtis just a couple days before he left for the MTC, kinda fun. 2 more dork moments of this week, one relating to this Elder Tippetts. Mi companera, H. Maxwell, and I were playing basketball with these Elders and I got my face slammed when one of them were coming down with a rebound and i was bleeding in my mouth... MY first concern was, "do I still have all my teeth?" LUckily, I did and I still do, but I was left with a beautiful fat lip! The Elders felt SOOO bad.. I gave em a hard time for it, don't worry. When I showed up for class the Elders in my District, particularly Elder Lolohea (tongan) were concerned about my face and what the heck happened to me. elder Lolohea, "Who hit you?!! What's his name?!" Instantly, he really wanted to get some revenge. i was like, Elders, really it's not a big deal. Ha, but I have pictures.. It really wasn't that bad, just kind of hard to smile and talk/eat for a few hours.. Second dork moment, I vowed before my MIssion that I would not make this Spanish mistake, anybody remember? Robbie? You should. Ha, fish and sin are very similar in the Spanish and it would seem that it's some sort of rite of passage to mix them up. Of course, I did! Our teacher was telling us about how he was going to make fish tacos for his dinner group that night and he was a bit nervous.. So as he was leaving I was like, "Bueno suerte con sus tacos de pecados Hermano Barton!!" " Good luck with your sin tacos!" Phew, glad I've got that over with.

Moving on, to the real stuff, okay I was so so blessed this week. As of last Tuesday the MTC has been up and running for 50 years and so we got to celebrate this awesome anniversary with Elder Holland and Elder Nelson and many previous MTC Presidencies and so forth during our Tuesday night Devotional. We heard rumors of the First Presidency showing up so half of us skipped dinner to go wait in line for awesome seating. Ha, we were jam packed in line, it was terrible because by the time we got to sit down and prepare for this spiritual feast, we were already exhausted. Ha, but wow what a miracle to sit at the feet of an apostle as Elder Nelson offered a Dedicatory prayer for some of the new building on the MTC campus, I don't remember the last time I got to hear an apostle pray, it was incredible. Elder Holland and Elder Nelson both spoke and bore powerful testimony of missionary work of course. I loved what Elder Holland emphasized, "YOu are OBLIGATED, I can't think of a better word, OBLIGATED to do your best. To pray the way you should pray, act the way you should act, be the kind of missionaries that Church thinks you are."  You all know the power and spirit that accompanies jeffrey r. holland's conviction and it was amazing. Elder Nelson also talked about how the Book of Mormon is thee most powerful converting tool and she shared an experience I recalled from Conference when he gave a BOM to this couple during some war he served as a surgeon in. They returned the book the next week, kind of flippantly, and thanked him for the gesture. And Elder nelson's like, 'What do you mean thank you?! You obviously didn't read it, did you?" Ha and so he encouraged the couple to read it again, prayerfully and of course they got baptized. And now they can attribute 309 other people as members of the Church because of their conversion. Super cool.

Anyways, we're so lucky to be here in the MTC, every day, if I apply myself and do my best, I am showered with the Spirit and the love of God.

We had one of the most powerful lessons yesterday, we were teaching our teacher, Brother Barton, as himself, instead of him pretending to be an investigator like they usually do. We didn't have more than 15 minutes to prepare becuase we found out right before, but we came together as a companionship to pray to be able to discern his needs and all reached the conclusion and found different scriptures all relating to the same point, "you can do it, endure to the end." Haha and so we were able to visit with him, sort of ask some more thought provoking and personal questions and then we began with a prayer. The spirit was so strong during this lesson, there was one point where I felt the need to bear my testimony but I didn't know what for or what I wanted to say in English... Let alone SPANISH. Ha but I cleared my throat and took over the silence and I honestly can't recall what I said, but I was overcome with this powerful feeling of my Heavenly Father's love for me and for Brother Barton. Nothing like it, I feel like I work so hard all week and sometimes it doesn't feel like it pays off, sometimes I'm literally just memorizing vocabulary or conducting weak conversations in Spanish with my District/whoever or sometimes I'm really just studying for what feels like forever.. But we get to a lesson and everything falls into place, and as we try to follow the Spirit and trust in God, it all works out. After our lesson Hermano Barton really helped me learn a powerful lesson. He was like, "how do you feel right now? How do you feel in there?" And i really thought back on how everything flowed and worked in our companionship and things and he was like, "Hermana Nelson, I'll be honest, I can't remember a word you sisters said in there, but I will never forget the way I felt when you bore your testimony." So what I learned from this is the power of letting myself be vulnerable, that is the point where the Spirit steps in and it becomes the Lord's lesson and not my own. I am so grateful for this experience and the boost to be better and to know that there is hope. Heavenly Father is aware of my needs and my efforts and desires to serve Him.

However, I still have many selfish motives and am working to purify myself and my heart so that my love for Christ motivates each of my actions. It's a work in progress, of course. But I feel so happy here, it's hard, long, and at times a bit too routine-istic, but this is a powerful place and I Know that everything I learn here will help me in the field. Thank you everyone for your support and your prayers, I am so grateful for this time in my life and for the support I have from family and friends.

Love,

 Hermana Nelson