Time is flying by here at the MTC. I love it and I am getting over my cold! :) We are teaching 2 progressive investigators regularly now (my teachers) and at the TRC every Monday. I love it and I am learning so much.
Mom in response to your last letter I have been talking in
my sleep, according to my companion. The first time was last Tuesday. MY
companion was studying and practicing bearing her testimony in Italian when I
started talking from the top bunk. I said "I love you. I would die without
you. I would die for you. I like you more than the Anziani." all in
Italian. And then I started to bear my testimony in Italian before I stopped
short and fell back asleep. I didn't even know I knew how to say all those
things in Italian. The second time I spoke in English. In the middle of the
night Sister Bradford woke up to me saying," We can help you with that.
We're sister missionaries. No we can definitely help with that" She kicked
my bunk and ended whatever I was trying to help someone with :)
Our older districts left for Italy this Tuesday. It was a
bitter-sweet moment. I love them all so much but they were ready to go.
Two of the Anziani are already stationed in Palermo :) I am excited to maybe see the Rome bound missionaries when I arrive in Rome. And I will see all the Milan missionaries at reunions and such. All
of us Italian missionaries that are stil have 5 weeks sang to them "come, come
ye saints" before they got on the bus shuttle to the airport. I am excited
for when I get to leave but I am very glad I don't have to leave yet because I
am not ready :)
This past Sunday my companion and I watched another talk by
Elder Bednar titled "Recognizing the Spirit" given here at the MTC.
It was amazing as well. He talked about how members of the church worry about
whether they are feeling the Spirit prompting them or if it is themselves. In
his words, "Quit worrying about it!! Quit fussing". He went on to
relate 3 experiences one when he was a 20 year old missionary, 40 year old
stake president, and last as a 56 year old apostle. All three times he only
realized looking back that he had been prompted by the Spirit. In the first
experience, He as a young AP gave Elder Boyd K. Packer a 20 Marx note in case
Elder Packer and his wife were hungry on the train.
The second experience meant the most to me. He left a priesthood
training meeting to go with an Elder’s quorum president in his stake to see
both their sons play in a basketball championship. He had felt horrible and as
if he had rationalized just to see a basketball game. He later found out, after
the Elder Quorum President's son died suddenly 6 months later that it had been
a prompting. At the end of his talk he gave the missionaries an apostolic
blessing. He said (I paraphrase) "If you be a good boy/girl, remember and
honor your covenants, and keep the commandments, as you press forward your
steps will be guided, your utterances will be inspired, and you cannot go
amiss." This promise meant so much to me. I personally have often worried
about whether I am feeling a spiritual prompting or not. This message helped me
and eased my mind so I wanted to share it with you.
Elder Neil L Andersen came and talked with us this Tuesday
and He shared with us 10 things the prophet, President Thomas s. Monson, has
advised us to do. I just want to share 3. One he said was, "Let the Lord
shape your back", meaning the Lord will shape our backs to bear the
burdens placed upon on them. Second, he said, " Never ignore a
prompting". And lastly he said, "witness the power of the
Savior". I loved this talk. At the end Elder Andersen bore his testimony
as a witness of the Savior. It was then that I realized that is what I am too.
I am a WITNESS of my savior, and like the Apostles it is my calling to share
His message with the world. That is why I do not need to fear ever, but to
speak boldly and surely because He will not leave me and will support me. One
of the Sisters in my zone shared D&C 31 with us. It is a beautiful section
when I read it and I realize that it is talking to me, and the blessing are
promised to me. I sometimes feel worried about arriving in Italy but the
Lord has promised to bless me with peace! So I don't need to worry :)
I love you all! I wish I could express it better but I only
have 30 minutes. The above mentioned events are the ones that stood out this
week and I apologize for any grammar or spelling errors :) I love you all and I
will write you next week.
PS
Side note I forgot to mention. My group of 28 missionaries is the largest they have seen in 5-6 years :) I knew we were big but I did not realize it had been that long since a group as big as us came in. In 3 weeks another group of 17 Italian missionaries will be coming in. I am very excited and I hope to help them as much as the older districts did for me. I have my work cut out for me but I love it.
PS
Side note I forgot to mention. My group of 28 missionaries is the largest they have seen in 5-6 years :) I knew we were big but I did not realize it had been that long since a group as big as us came in. In 3 weeks another group of 17 Italian missionaries will be coming in. I am very excited and I hope to help them as much as the older districts did for me. I have my work cut out for me but I love it.
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