Week 2 - Fun, learning, and snow

Friends and Family,
Bonjour! It's been a week since I've written last, but it feels like it's been longer. And shorter. If that makes any sense at all. If not... oh well. I shall update you on my oh so exciting happenings at the MTC. :D
Thursday, 30th -
I learned lots of French. Lots. And lots. It made my brain melt a little. But I do feel like I'm improving pretty quickly. Well, until I talk to the district of missionaries that just came in from France. When I talk to them, I feel like I've been learning the wrong language for the past five years. They speak so quickly! But they're really nice, and they're trying to learn English, so we help each other.
My companions and I taught Quentin, and it didn't go as well as we'd hoped. He did accept our invitation for baptism, but we confused him with one of the scriptures we gave him that said something speaking with the tongue of angels, and we didn't know how to explain what it meant in French... I felt like I could've done better at teaching with the Spirit.
It snowed on Thursday, and Soeur Rasmussen was way excited because she's lived in Provo all her life. She grabbed some of the snow and threw it up into the air with a look of pure amazement on her face. Awesomeness. Also an elder in our district, Elder Teh, who's from Malaysia, was excited about the snow too. I also love snow and I was distressed by our not-the-best lesson, so I built a 'lil 6" tall missionary snowman to release my stress. :D He even had a name tag.

Soeur Ridd was also unhappy about the lesson, and her progress in French, so Elder Wallace gave her a pep talk about how learning French was  like Mt. Everest and she had to climb a little and then rest on a plateau to get used to the air, and eventually she would be a sherpa doing jumping jacks on the top. Very inspiring. Now we have a mountain drawn on our chalkboard, Soeur Ridd climbing it, and me belaying her.

Last thing I remember from Thursday... I think I told you one of our elders (Elder Amaya) was advanced to a different district because he was so amazing at French. Well, Elder Wallace was his companion, and he used to ask him a lot of French questions. Now that he can't do that anymore, he uses his French/English dictionary and has named it Elder Amaya. We told Elder Amaya this and he didn't seem too happy about it for some reason... :D

Friday 31st -
During gym time Soeur Rasmussen was in a not-fantabulous mood, so Soeur Ridd and I cheered her up with jokes. Also, we took pictures of ourselves while we were doing service cleaning the bathroom. And we took a picture with my poor melted snowman.

I really felt the Spirit while my companions and I were preparing our lesson for Quentin. Ideas and feelings kept coming to us and we knew exactly what we needed to teach him. Sadly, "Quentin" revealed himself to be our other/new teacher, Frere Kellet, and he told us he would stop playing Quentin and be a different investigator named Shuang-Bai. I know it's kinda weird since Quentin's not real, but I'm gonna miss him. :)
Frere Kellet is awesome, though. He taught us how to use our personal studies better so that they would carry on into our companionship studies and help us prepare for our lessons. While I was studying with our other new investigator (Siliane) in mind, I had random scriptures pop into my head, and all sorts of ideas to help Siliane with what she needed. I know Heavenly Father was helping me know her needs and what to say to her. Then we talked as a companionship and everyone had amazing ideas about how to teach her.
So, I don't know if I've told you peoples how awesome/hilarious Elder Teh is. We now have a book of Teh, a notebook with his funny sayings/situations in it. One that happened on Friday was when my companions and I looked through one of the windows into a room where Elder Wallace was playing the piano and Elder Teh was looking out the window with his hands behind his back. (I took a picture if I can figure out how to send it :D ) It looked very dramatic, and we told Elder Teh he looked like a dictator. Later, when we were leaving, Elder Teh looked out the window one last time and said, "The world is a beautiful place." Then he walked out the door, looked back at us and said, "But I, Hitler, must destroy it."

Saturday 1st -
I felt pretty crappiflapnasty (maybe ask Gabrielle if I spelled that right) on Saturday. I felt like I wasn't very good at teaching with, following, or feeling the Spirit. But then we went to a Zone Teaching Conference and we had to get to know someone in 5 minutes, then pray to know their needs and prepare a lesson for them by the Spirit. Well, the sister I was with pretty much asked me questions the whole time, so I didn't really get to find anything out about her. So I prayed and asked the Lord to help me know what she needed the most. I felt like she was really worried about how well she was doing at French and that she was so stressed by all of the things required of her each day. I felt prompted to look at where I'd been reading in the scriptures and I found some amazing verses nearby. (In Doctrine and Covenants). I had her read them and asked her questions that I wouldn't have thought to ask without the Lord's help, and she thanked me because she said that was exactly what she needed to hear that day. I'm so grateful for the Lord and for his love for me, that he knows what we need, what I need, and gave me the opportunity to teach that day so I could feel better about how I was doing, and rely on him more.

Sunday 2nd -
Okay, my email time is quickly depleting, so I'll have to talk about this briefly. But we had Mission Conference on Sunday. It was fantastic. We also had our devotional and watched the Joseph Smith movie. Throughout it all, I felt like I needed to give my whole heart to the Lord, to trust him more and put the Savior more in the center of my life.
Our zone walked to the temple on Sunday. We took a plethora of pictures. My face hurt from smiling so much. On the way to and from the temple, Soeur Rasmussen threw snowballs at us. She's still not tired of the snow. We shall wait and see if that changes...

Monday 3rd -
We taught Siliane and Shuang Bai. Siliane committed to baptism if she felt and knew that what we were teaching her was true, even though it was our first lesson. Shuang Bai was a bit more difficult to teach because he had no religious background. At all. So we started at the basics. I think we did pretty well, but I always think I can improve.
We had companionship inventory, and we went around saying what we liked about each other. I think it helped us grow closer as a companionship.

Well, that is all I can write for now! I love and miss you all! Live long and prosper! :D May the Spirit be with you!

Soeur Williams

I will send pictures later. This computer is not the awesome.

Yay, we finally heard from Cathryn!

Dear Family & Friends,

I hope this letter makes some sort of sense, because I am SOOO tired! :D My days are definitely very full here at the MTC, but I love it. So I don't forget anything, lemme just go through the days one at a time...

Wednesday, Jan. 22nd -

So, when I got to the MTC, it was crazy-overwhelming. They herded me around and I had no idea what was going on. I was a little bit late because someone (*cough* mom *cough*) wouldn't let me go. :D I have two companions, Soeur Ridd and Soeur Rasmussen. They are both amazing and I've come to love them so much even though we're all very different. (Me = nerdy/weird/shy, Them = outgoing, sporty, AWESOME!) They're both from Arizona, so they knew each other a little bit before they came here. Like I said, I love them. It feels like I've known them for years instead of days. We're already good friends.  I also love my district! We get on random tangents (like one day I asked Soeur Ridd how she felt when she repented, so she could bear her testimony about it in French, and she said "I feel happy!" And we got off on a random Monty Python tangent). Anyway... on Wednesday, we had a teaching experience thing where all the new missionaries contributed and tried to teach an "investigator". I remember feeling unhappy that I didn't participate. Wednesday was confusing and I only got 3 hours of sleep on our hard bed. I prayed fervently for comfort and help from the Lord until I fell asleep.

Thursday, Jan. 23rd - 

It's amazing how Heavenly Father answers prayers so quickly sometimes. On Thursday I felt 1,000 times better! I felt the Spirit so strongly when we went to a purpose workshop where we talked about how we're supposed to invite others to come to Christ, not convince or manipulate them. And that everyone has some sort of connection with God, that he is in everyone's lives, whether they realize/believe it or not, and that we are supposed to help them see that connection and help it grow stronger. As a district, we learned a lot of French. Soeur Ridd had only taken Spanish before, so she was worried about how she would do. But she's progressing really quickly. There was actually an elder in our district who did so well at French that they gave him a test and moved him to an advanced language district. They gave me the same test, but I'm still in my same district, so I'm thinking I didn't pass. Which is okay with me, because I love my companions and my district so much. Plus I help them know how to say stuff in French. :) Besides learning French, we prepared a lesson for our first "investigator" (someone who speaks French, playing someone interested in the Church), Quentin. We also met our branch presidency and their wives. I can tell they love us so much.

Friday, Jan. 24th - 

On Friday, we did our service project. My companions and I did some cleaning in the main building, which reminded me of my janitorial job at Smith Optics. And that was actually a good thing, because I loved working there and I seriously miss it (especially the people there!). Which seems kind of strange, but it's true. We also taught Quentin, and it went better than I thought, considering we didn't know French very well. We taught him about how Heavenly Father loves each of us, how he is our literal Father, the father of our spirits, and that he has a body like we do. We also taught him how to pray. The most amazing part of the lesson was that I felt an instant love for Quentin and wanted him to have the pure joy that the gospel brings. I know the Lord loves him so much and can help me love those I teach. (Even though Quentin is a fake investigator, we're supposed to treat him as if he were a real investigator, so I am, and it's working pretty well). After teaching Quentin, we were much more united as a companionship. We were a lot closer and more comfortable with each other. I was a little bit less shy. It was fantastic.

Saturday, Jan. 25th-

We went to a workshop about using scriptures in lessons that helped me know how to teach Quentin better. I know that if I study the scriptures, and do my best, that the Spirit will bring them to my mind when I need them. We also studied a flapjack-load of French on Saturday. That was the day we got distracted by Monty Python. And a Flight of the Conchords song got stuck in our heads because Elder Wallace and Elder Amaya (he's the one who is in the advanced district now) started singing it. 

Sunday, Jan. 26th -

This was an amazing, wonderiffical, fantabulous day. A sister in our branch/zone gave a talk in French, and I can tell she'll be an amazing missionary, because I felt the Holy Ghost so strongly during her talk. Even my companion who didn't understand her felt the Spirit. Janice Kapp Perry came and talked to the sisters for Relief Society. That was a great experience. We sang some of the songs she'd written, and I felt the Spirit. I knew without a doubt that this is where the Lord wants me to be, and I had a greater desire to be more like Jesus Christ in my everyday actions. The best part of the day was when a man from the Quorum of the Seventy came and talked to us. He said he didn't have a talk prepared and that we should pray to have questions answered, and that he would follow the Spirit and answer them. I felt the Spirit so strongly. I felt peace and had my testimony confirmed that God really is there, that the Savior loves me, and that this is his true church. There was no doubt in my mind and no way I could ever deny it. That feeling was stronger and more effective for me than any physical evidence would have been. My questions were answered that day.

Monday, Jan. 27th-

On Monday, I had to... um... poop in a cup. 'Cause in order to go to Belgium we had to be tested for parasites. It was a distressing/traumatizing experience. That is all.

Also, we taught Quentin about the Restoration, and it went pretty well.

Tuesday, Jan. 28th-

Yesterday we (my companions and Elder Wallace) flew to San Francisco at 3 in the morning to go to the Consulate and get our visas. Then we went to Ghiradelli Square, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Chinatown.

I hope you guys are doing fantastic! I'm actually taking way more time than I should to write this, so I gotta go!

Love, 

Soeur Cathryn Williams

I'll send pictures later when I figure out how.

Dropped off at the MTC

Well, we dropped Cathryn Soeur Williams off at the Missionary Training Center in Provo a few days ago (Wednesday, January 22nd at 1:50 PM to be precise), and we already miss her plenty.  Particularly since we haven't heard a peep from her since then.  We're not sure when her preparation day will be, when she will be able to send us e-mails, but hopefully it's soon!

We had a "last supper" of take-out Thai food the Tuesday night before, then the stake presidency and bishopric came over to set her apart. We had an awesome little meeting in our living room where the stake president, then me, then Sandi, then the bishop and the two stake counselors all bore testimony.  After that all the Melchizedek Priesthood holders stood in a circle around the seated Cathryn with our hands on her head while President Cook set her apart to serve as a full-time missionary in the France-Paris Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. After that, Cathryn bore her sweet sincere testimony of the church and her desires to serve the Lord.  It was a wonderful, special evening.

The next day we had a going-away lunch for her at Famous Daves, with Ribs and burnt ends and all sorts of tasty barbecue.  We took the two younger girls out of school, and began the long journey to Provo.  We got there plenty early, so we took a break at the University Mall to pick up a bunch of chocolate at Kara Chocolates at half price (store closing sale).  The chocolates were good enough to remind me of chocolates we'd had in Belgium, and got me thinking a lot about where my baby would be in 6 weeks!

We made it to the MTC with a few minutes to spare (we were supposed to be there at 1:45, got there at 1:40), so we went across to the MTC park there and took a few photos as a family.  Cathryn was worried because we were now a few minutes late, but when we got there at 1:50, there were a bunch of missionaries waving us in, a couple with a lot of style, enjoying their job.  We were told we had 2 minutes to park, unload, take a picture, hug, and get out of the way! We unloaded Cathryn, took a few pictures, and tried to leave, but Sandi wouldn't let go of Cathryn in her hug, so we had to pry her apart.  Then we left my baby in the able care of a nice sister missionary who took some of her luggage (she was packed to the maximum limits!) and off we went. :(  But I felt enough joy and excitement at what Cathryn has to look forward to, that the sadness wasn't too overwhelming.  I know she'll be a WONDERFUL missionary with her sweetness and sincerity, and come back an even better person for this service she is giving to our Heavenly Father.