Jersey Shore or...?

March 5, 2016

Hello lovelies!

I just want to say thank you all for emailing me and keeping me in your prayers! It honestly means the world!

So on Saturday we went to the temple and I got to do the work of a woman named Mrs. Gurbakhash Singh Gill...oh my...It was awesome though and she is from India so that's pretty awesome too! We also had our first lesson with Pablo today. He has two brothers that he does not get along with and the same with his parents. No one in his family gets along so that's great...but nonetheless I see some huge potential in him! He also doesn't like organized religion...but is totally open to new ideas!

Sunday was way fun! I got to go and watch one of Elder Holland's talks about how Missions Are Forever. It is one of the greatest talks EVER! Some of my favorite things said in it was: "Do everything you can to make this(meaning mission) a part of your soul," "Man's extremity is God's opportunity," and "Bring a little thunder into their life." I love him sooooo much!

On Monday I had my very first TRC. That means we go to a building where the MTC has hired members and nonmembers to be investigators and then we of course teach them. We had two people in the one room. It's normally only one person, but they wanted to give my companion and I two. Their names are Nicholas y Adrianna. During and after that lesson I could feel the spirit and that they are progressing! Yayayay! This lesson was particularly cool because Hermana Doxey and I prepared a lesson for someone else thinking he was going to be our investigator when in reality that wasn't the case. We planned a lesson for a man named Brian and the lesson we planned was about the Book of Mormon because that's what he had questions about and then when we got into the room with the other two the spirit directed us to stick with the Book of Mormon plan! YES!

Tuesday equals awesome day! We had another with Sergio! I honestly believe this was the best one yet! Hermana Doxey and I were so in sync and so intune with the spirit I could hardly believe it! Our questions were just right and whenever she wanted to say something the exact words would come out of my mouth and vice versa! We also shared Alma 37:6 with him and I asked what he thought of it and he said that the only thing he understood was the, ..."by small and simple things.." and I literally started laughing my head off. He started laughing his head off to the point of almost breaking character and asked me why I was laughing and I told him that that was the part I wanted him to understand! He's one of the teachers here so it's fun to see him like Sergio!

WELCOME TO THE MTC! Today my District got to HOST! Which means that we have been at the MTC for at least 3 weeks and know the place well enough to help the noobs get around. Haha! I had sooo much fun! We were waiting for a while for the missionaries to get here because only 277 came today. That's waaaayyy low! SO when I finally got the chance to get a missionary, I walked up to the van and asked,"Who's my sister?" and then immediately started screaming because it was Kayla Carruth! I went to highschool with her! What a sweetheart! I felt so happy to be her host and help her feel welcomed! By doing this assignment today, so many emotions were brought back from my first day at the MTC. It felt so nice to help these missionaries feel welcomed!

As for Thursday....It was a serious day of learning. Today in class with Hermano Ah Sue we talked more about questions and listening. If we are asking the right kinds of questions to sincerely focus on their needs it should only take us ten minutes....OKAY! It's not as easy as it sounds, but that is why we need to wholeheartedly rely on the Spirit. He shared two questions with us that really impressed me: "If you could ask God one question, what would it be?" and "If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?" What powerful questions! What I love the most about these questions is that you're basically asking what the investigator needs without just coming out and asking them what they need. It's allowing them to think deeper.

P-day eve was the greatest day ever! I WON THE SPOON!! Four square is LIFFFEEEE! Adrianna has really been softening her heart towards the prophets which makes me happy! As for Pablo, today was lesson number 5 which went so much better than it has been going lately! We had fantastic questions and we really nailed him with baptism today, but not in a forceful way, just of the importance of it in his life. Hermano Ah Sue had us do that question activity that we did on Thursday and this time we CRUSHED IT! His character's name was Raul and I remember asking him what are some things that brings him happiness and he proceeded to tell me that he loves the outdoors and being in nature and then I proceeded to ask him why which in respondance to that he said that he likes the peace and tranquility that he feels. He said it was nice to get away from the chaotic city which then allowed me to ask him if he wanted to know more about something in our gospel that can bring him those feelings wherever he may be! YES! After that Hermano Ah Sue came out of the room we were previously in and said,"THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE!"

I just want to invite you all to ask yourself this question: "If you could ask God one question, what would it be?" and then think about what you can do to achieve it and then do it for reals. Ask God. Talk to God. And then wait and listen. If you don't hear anything or feel anything yet then get to work! If you want something in your life to change you have to be willing to do something about it and God will make up the rest. I love you all!

P.S. I will most likely be getting a new companion this week because as you all know Hermana Doxey has been cleared to go on Monday, but now a sister in the district that came 3 weeks before me now has to be reassigned to a stateside mission because a visa policy law in Trinidad has changed and so now she has to stay a week longer in the MTC so that they can reassign her to a mission for only 3 months while they figure out the Trinidad situation...CRAZY! She found out all of this yesterday and she was supposed to be leaving on Monday too...AHHHH! Oh and her name is Hermana Peterson.