I hope I'm not boring you with my long letters about the MTC. If I am boring you, you should be excited because I'm leaving for France in 12 days, and next Tuesday will be my last P-Day in the MTC. Then I will send you long letters about France.
Now, for the fun-tastic happenings in the Missionary Training Center:
Wednesday, Feb. 12 -
We got to teach some church members who had gone to France on missions or just spoke French for some reason or another. At first I was really nervous and un-excited about it, because my companions and I hadn't really had time to prepare much of a lesson. But after we taught some old guys who had gone to France on their missions a while ago, I felt a lot better. It was fun hearing their testimonies and stories, and I felt like some of the things my companions and I said actually helped them, despite their being all knowledgeable and wise.
Wednesday was Elder Teh's birthday, so my companions and I got him some candy from the bookstore. He was really confused by the Watchamacallit I gave him, because he had no idea that was a word and he said it didn't make sense to him why they would call it that. Soeur Ridd, Soeur Rasmussen, and I also all chose out some little candies to give him in a bag. Soeur Ridd loves Fireballs (those hot cinnamon candies) so she thought Elder Teh would like them too. Not so. Elder Teh ate one and he only lasted a few seconds before he spit it in the garbage, telling us he is now sure he does not like cinnamon-flavored candies. We decided maybe he would like Warheads more, so Soeur Rasmussen gave him one of hers. Surprisingly... he didn't like that, either. His face was pretty funny to watch though.
I saw Tayzia at dinner on Wednesday, which was awesome! I was hoping I'd see her, but it's hard to find anyone in the MTC who isn't in your district. We talked for a little bit (well, for a while, actually) but then I had to go get my dinner. I've seen her a few times since then and she seems to be doing well. :)
In class, Frere Kellett asked if anyone had a French Vocabulary book he could borrow, and before I had a chance to say anything, Soeur Ridd grabbed hers (it was actually mine... the thief! :D ) and gave it to him. And he said "Soeur Ridd gets one point!" and wrote her name on the board, and one point under it. I didn't even know we were getting points. I want points... :P
Another Elder Teh moment happened on Wednesday as well. They're sadly happening less and less as he's adjusting to our weirdness. But, anyway... during class I got chalk on my hands and I wiped it on his suit. He went all dictator-mode on me and looked at me with horror/disdain/dictator-ness, and said "Do you know what you have done?! Do not defile me once more!" Then walked away. I'm not sure about his choice of words (but he is from Malaysia, so I'll give him a break), but it was pretty funny.
I had a fun surprise when I went back to my residence... a cupcake sitting on my desk! It was from Erin, and it was supremely delicious. It made my day. (Thanks Erin! :D )
Thursday, Feb 13 -
I can't actually remember anything from this day, and I only have one thing written down on my notebook of remembering-ness, so... apparently the only thing exciting that happened that day was Soeur Ridd got her really-super-extra-thick glasses in the mail. Tee hee. She usually wears contacts so it was amusing to see how blind she was. And Elder Wallace loved it even more than I did. He stole her glasses and walked around the room, running into walls and saying how he wished he had bad vision. Strange child.
Friday, Feb. 14 -
Oh my awesomeness! I got a great surprise on Valentine's Day. I got a bag filled with chocolate and love from my family. :D I'd been waiting for it for a while and it was fun to get notes from my family. And chocolate. So much delicious See's chocolate. Mmmm.
Soeur Ridd got five packages on Valentine's Day, so now she has a drawer completely dedicated to candy in our room. And her aunt sent her a huge package filled with a dozen donuts and 3 roses - one for each person in our companionship. Seriously, her aunt is the best. :D
We taught two lessons in one day, and neither of them went very well. We didn't really feel like we had the Spirit with us, and we were very discouraged. Right after our lesson with Shuang Bai/Frere Kellett, Frere Kellett asked saw that we were feeling discouraged and asked if he could say a prayer for/with us. He did, and it was one of the most amazing, sincere, and inspired prayers I've ever heard. It helped a lot, and I'm so blessed to have a teacher that cares so much about us.
Saturday, Feb. 15 -
Everyone in our companionship finally got rid of our scripts, and we were afraid, but it went well. (Also, Elder Wallace is creepily standing behind Soeur Ridd and I while we write, and he says to say hello, so, um, hello for Elder Wallace... I suppose). Anyway... it was one of the best lessons we taught. We basically just had a rough outline of what we wanted to say, and we taught simply and by the Spirit. We all felt much better about our teaching after that.
Frere Kellett is pretty good at seeing when our district needs help, and he knew we'd all been getting discouraged lately, so he had us all take out a piece of paper, write our name on the top, then pass our papers around the room and have everyone write positive, encouraging things about each person in the class on their piece of paper. It was really helpful, it cheered me up and helped me feel closer to everyone in our district.
Everyone in our zone is supposed to write a talk for sacrament meeting on the topic assigned to us, in French, then a few random people are called on to give a talk in sacrament meeting. I was worried I was going to get called on, so I worked hard to write a talk about our topic -- enduring to the end. Soeur Anzi, one of the French sisters, walked by and kindly offered assistance in correcting my French. There were many scribbles/corrections on my talk after that. French is scary. :P
Sunday, Feb. 16 -
Guess what. I was called on to give a talk on Sunday. Quel suprise. People said I did well, but I can hardly remember it because I was so scared.
Relief Society was really good this Sunday. The Young Women's General President, Bonnie Oscarson, came and spoke to us. She had had all of her children and other family members who had gone on missions write to her about their missions and advice they would give missionaries. Her talk made me want to work harder, to give my whole effort to serving the Lord. She spoke of how the Lord can make us better than we can make ourselves, and how he can help us change our hearts.
For our devotional on Sunday night, President Matthew S. Holland came and spoke. Which was great in and of itself, because his talk was amazing (more about that later) and he's Elder Holland's son. One more added thing of awesomeness was that I was in the choir and we got to sing Praise to the Man at the end, which was a great experience. Another awesome thing was that a special choir came in and sang throughout his talk, which really brought in the Spirit. Yet something else that was awesome was that his mom came because it was her birthday, and we all sang happy birthday to her. The last piece of supreme awesome-ocity was that, since his wife came, Elder Holland came as well. And he is the best ever. :D As soon as he came in the room, I felt the Spirit. Then when he spoke - and he spoke only to introduce his son - the Spirit was so strong tears came to my eyes. I know he truly is called of God.
Now for the talk that President Holland gave: it was one of the best talks I've heard. It was about Joseph Smith and really strengthened my testimony of his role as a prophet. What impressed me was how he stayed true to the Lord even through the many, many trials that came all throughout his life, and how those trials shaped him to be the great man that he was. It struck me that some of the best people are usually those who have struggled the most. It makes me realize that our Heavenly Father really knows what's best for me, and all the hard things I go through are helping me to be a better person, a happier person, and most importantly, closer to him and to the Savior.
Elder Wallace finally asked Soeur Rasmussen if she wanted a blessing for her insomnia, because Soeur Ridd and I had told him we thought it would really help her, but she wasn't going to ask anyone for help. I could tell Soeur Rasmussen was really grateful for the offer, and hopefully she will get that blessing soon. She wants Frere Kellett to do it, but we're waiting to see if that's allowed.
Monday, Feb. 17 -
I love teaching without a script. Siliane's lesson was amazing. She had some fears about being baptized. She said she didn't feel like she knew enough, and she wasn't sure if she was getting an answer to her prayers. Soeur Rasmussen got some inspiration as she'd prayed for Siliane the day before, and she mostly guided our lesson. We all bore our testimonies to Siliane and tried to help her with her concerns, then knelt down with her as she prayed to know if this is the true church and if she should be baptized. After the prayer, we asked her how she felt, and she said she felt peace and comfort. I testified to her that that was how I had felt when I'd asked to know if the church was true. I told her I hadn't heard any words in my head or seen any visions, but I'd had an undeniable feeling of peace and love, and I told her I knew that was her answer. It was really powerful and increased my testimony of the ability of the Spirit to guide me to say what I need to. Siliane is going to be baptized on the 1st of March. Soeur Chard said that lesson was our best lesson we've ever taught.
I'm so grateful for the blessing I've gotten to be on a mission. I have times when I'm discouraged, but unlike when I'm at home, that discouragement doesn't last even a whole day. The Lord always does something to help me feel happy and feel his love. I'm so grateful to be doing this work.
Thanks for reading my rambly-ness! Also, thanks for all the letters and emails I've received! I really appreciate them. When I get them, they make my day better.
Au revoir!
Soeur Williams
Ok. Pictures... one is Elder Wallace wearing Soeur Ridd's glasses. The other is Tayzia and I. :D
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