Friday, April 5, 2013

Last MTC letter - (wk. 6)

Hey Family!

Hope you aren't too disappointed about my last letter! love you to pieces!

Parentals, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE EASTER PACKAGE!!!! 
- whoever thought it would be a good idea to buy me scarves; how is it possible that even when I'm so far away and have so little communication that you can still read my mind?? you are wonderful! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful, Christ centered Easter!  Here at the MTC we were all SURE that we were going to have someone SUPER special at our Easter Morning Devotional because most of the time, members of the quorum of the 12 will come speak to us missionaries at the MTC.  SO, my district and I sat outside the auditorium on the floor in the hallway for almost 2 hours waiting for them to open the doors just so we could get into the same building the speaker would be in and hopefully get good seats. Turns out it was some member of the Presiding Bishopric. It ended up being REALLY good though! EXACTLY what I needed to hear... it's like he was inspired or something weird like that ;). By the time Sunday evening devotional rolled around Hermanas Housely & Phelps, my companion and I had had quite enough waiting around for getting into devotionals. So without a second thought, we just went straight into the over flow building to watch the broadcast. We sit down and the broadcast starts and we realize that for the evening devotional it was Sheri Dew! It was definitely one of those "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" moments! But we just sat there and laughed about it. Both the Easter talks were great and both were inspired and much needed.

We started teaching a new practice "investigator", his name is Zach... aka Elder Masters. I also have had the opportunity to be an investigator for sisters in our district. It is actually a super cool experience! It's amazing how much the Spirit can testify of truth, even in role playing!  Elder Scott said at one of the seminars for training Mission Presidents "We know sometimes it can be embarrassing and uncomfortable to do role playing, but that is how the Lord teaches his missionaries."  Every one who knows me knows that role playing was one thing I was NOT excited about  and actually dreading about coming to the MTC.  I have since, really learned the truth in Elder Scott's words.  The Lord really does teach us through role play and he blesses us with His spirit for being obedient and trying to learn through these things. By doing role plays and being sincere about it, the Lord really  can teach us through the Spirit.  It's way crazy (and just a TAD scary) to think that I'll be experiencing all this for REAL in like 4 days... yikes! I didn't know it was possible to be so EXCITED and SOOO nervous at the same time! lol

This week FLEW by! I can't believe I'm leaving already! This week on Wednesday we got to Host. Hosts are the Elders who help get the luggage and carry into the MTC for you, then the host Sisters help take the incoming sister missionaries to their rooms to drop off their luggage, then go with them to get their books and show them to their classrooms and pass them off to their teachers. Let me just say hosts are heaven sent and very much needed!  If I hadn't had a sister with me from the moment you drove away, until they passed me off to my teachers I would have lost it!  So a lot of what we do as Sister hosts is escort them and talk with them, try to give them encouraging words and keep their minds busy so they don't break down. It's awesome! You learn to love the sisters you host instantly and they love and adore you instantly as well!  I remember until the day my host left the MTC I looked up to her and just thought she was the most loving, charitable thing anywhere!  She helped me SO much, and I hope I was able to help my sisters just as much!  They were all wonderful! IN FACT, the first sister I hosted was from Australia! HOW COOL IS THAT?! She was a crack up and she said she didn't like America.  She said people here are mean! lol The poor girl's first experience with Americans was in LAX, no wonder!!!

Yesterday was "In-Field Training" for like 500 hours!!!! ... OK, maybe it was only like 10, but still it felt like we were in there for 3 days!! lol  It was really helpful and enlightening and even spiritual, but like I said, it was LONG and honestly over whelming because you realize all the things you will be doing as a missionary and the pressure of contacting and talking to EVERYONE is pretty scary when it suddenly dawned on me that I will be doing this in 5 days ... in a foreign language!!!  What an adventure, eh??  I really appreciated something one of the teachers said though! He said, "you are going to be nervous for like the first 100 people you talk to, SO you can talk to one person everyday and be nervous for the next 100 days, OR you can talk to 50 people a day and only be nervous for 2 days... your choice!" It just makes me think of that quote from the movie Emperor's New Groove, "Let me guess, we're about to go over a big huge waterfall?"
"Yep!"
"Sharp rocks at the bootom?"
"Most likely!"
"...Bring it on!"
I am about to embark on the craziest adventure of my entire life and I couldn't be more exscareited!!!!  Really though, I know there are going to be some TOUGH things!  Especially in the next couple weeks where I realize that Chileans speak so fast and say things so differently that I won't be able to understand a thing! But I also know that I am going to experience the most joy and contentment in these next 17 months than I will ever again in my life, and that is because I know that the Lord will be with me, watching over me because I am doing His work, and His will, and I am standing as His represtentative!  SO, "... Bring it on!" :)

Love,
Hermana Davis

p.s. Mom, I probably won't get another chance to email you before it's too late, and you never know if letters and such will arive in time soo... HAPPY BIRTHDAY (next week)! I love you SO much!!!

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