11 August 2009
Hello Family!
Things in the MTC are going pretty well.
Last Wednesday two new sisters came who are going to Milano. They're pretty fun girls. We like having them around.
Our zone is tiny, only 21 people. And our districts only have 3-5 people. Which is pretty weird when you compare it to some of the Spanish districts that have 15 in a district, and HUGE branches. Our teachers were both gone last week, so had substitutes. We've still been working hard though.
Sorella Jones came back yesterday and we had a two-hour discussion about the Book of Mormon, and how it's REAL and the people in it were real people, and how it can relate to all of us. She pointed out Alma 10-11 when Amulek is talking about how the gospel has blessed him and his house, and then Alma 14 where they burn all the believers---that Amulek's family was probably killed and he was told that he shouldn't stop it even though he knew that he and Alma could have. It was really crazy/intense. Then we just discussed different people we're related to and why, and it was a really neat lesson.
We also taught at the TRC, that's where the volunteers go in and we teach them. That was also pretty cool. This week we decided to stop taking a section each, but instead to know the whole lesson and only say a few sentences at a time, which gives everyone, including the investigator, more chances to share. It's gone WAY more smoothly so far. We don't have as much pressure on us and if we forget something then someone else fills in the blanks.Plus we also know where to go with the lesson and it transitions from topic to topic better. We're glad we discovered this.
Last Tuesday President Bateman spoke to us. It was a really good talk. His wife spoke first and told us that we will probably be the only Standard Work most ever read, so we need to look and act accordingly. We don't want to be responsible for anyone having a negative experience. And we need to go out and flavor the world with the deliciousness of the gospel.
President Bateman talked about teaching by the Spirit, and explained why it's so important for missionaries to go through the temple. He compared the endowment to university endowments, which last forever---you use the interest so it never ends. The temple endowment is also a gift that keeps on giving. And it gives us a fulness of the Holy Ghost and power to bear witness, to resist Satan, and to know what to do.
We learned Thursday in a snippet from an Elder Holland talk that if people don't read the Book of Mormon assignments, we should be DEVASTATED, because if we aren't passionate about it then there's absolutely no reason for an investigator to be.
It is a great experience. You learn to live with all different personalities and how to be patient and how to say what you mean and KNOW what you mean.
It feels like autumn here. I need to see if they have any cute sweaters in their dress shop because I get cold a lot.
The biggest complaint from sisters is that they haven't changed their how to dress pictures in the booklet for nearly 20 years, so we get here and realize that we are allowed to wear t-shirts and such, and nobody really knows now-to-dress rules except by word of mouth. We're even allowed (and encouraged) to have jeans---we kind of need them for service. It's a little frustrating.
I like the temple. We all stayed awake! That probably means we won't be incredibly awake for devotional, but that's okay, I guess. We're singing "Consider the Lilies" today. Our District Leader bets that we're having a General Authority so they're breaking out the good songs. We'll see I guess.
Anyway, life is good. Except that the photo printing things here don't do flash drives, so pictures I took from my computer to print cannot be printed. Sad. Oh well.
I love you all!
Eliza
Things in the MTC are going pretty well.
Last Wednesday two new sisters came who are going to Milano. They're pretty fun girls. We like having them around.
Our zone is tiny, only 21 people. And our districts only have 3-5 people. Which is pretty weird when you compare it to some of the Spanish districts that have 15 in a district, and HUGE branches. Our teachers were both gone last week, so had substitutes. We've still been working hard though.
Sorella Jones came back yesterday and we had a two-hour discussion about the Book of Mormon, and how it's REAL and the people in it were real people, and how it can relate to all of us. She pointed out Alma 10-11 when Amulek is talking about how the gospel has blessed him and his house, and then Alma 14 where they burn all the believers---that Amulek's family was probably killed and he was told that he shouldn't stop it even though he knew that he and Alma could have. It was really crazy/intense. Then we just discussed different people we're related to and why, and it was a really neat lesson.
We also taught at the TRC, that's where the volunteers go in and we teach them. That was also pretty cool. This week we decided to stop taking a section each, but instead to know the whole lesson and only say a few sentences at a time, which gives everyone, including the investigator, more chances to share. It's gone WAY more smoothly so far. We don't have as much pressure on us and if we forget something then someone else fills in the blanks.Plus we also know where to go with the lesson and it transitions from topic to topic better. We're glad we discovered this.
Last Tuesday President Bateman spoke to us. It was a really good talk. His wife spoke first and told us that we will probably be the only Standard Work most ever read, so we need to look and act accordingly. We don't want to be responsible for anyone having a negative experience. And we need to go out and flavor the world with the deliciousness of the gospel.
President Bateman talked about teaching by the Spirit, and explained why it's so important for missionaries to go through the temple. He compared the endowment to university endowments, which last forever---you use the interest so it never ends. The temple endowment is also a gift that keeps on giving. And it gives us a fulness of the Holy Ghost and power to bear witness, to resist Satan, and to know what to do.
We learned Thursday in a snippet from an Elder Holland talk that if people don't read the Book of Mormon assignments, we should be DEVASTATED, because if we aren't passionate about it then there's absolutely no reason for an investigator to be.
It is a great experience. You learn to live with all different personalities and how to be patient and how to say what you mean and KNOW what you mean.
It feels like autumn here. I need to see if they have any cute sweaters in their dress shop because I get cold a lot.
The biggest complaint from sisters is that they haven't changed their how to dress pictures in the booklet for nearly 20 years, so we get here and realize that we are allowed to wear t-shirts and such, and nobody really knows now-to-dress rules except by word of mouth. We're even allowed (and encouraged) to have jeans---we kind of need them for service. It's a little frustrating.
I like the temple. We all stayed awake! That probably means we won't be incredibly awake for devotional, but that's okay, I guess. We're singing "Consider the Lilies" today. Our District Leader bets that we're having a General Authority so they're breaking out the good songs. We'll see I guess.
Anyway, life is good. Except that the photo printing things here don't do flash drives, so pictures I took from my computer to print cannot be printed. Sad. Oh well.
I love you all!
Eliza
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