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Tuesday, February 7, 2012
February 1st, 2012 Letter
This last week has been pretty good. My natural man has been definitely been getting a kick in the pants though. There are so many things I need to work on! It is funny, because I came out on a mission knowing I had certain weaknesses that would be difficult to overcome, but I feel as if I have been blindsided by a bunch of other weaknesses I didn't even realize I had! It has been really good for me, because how can you improve yourself without realizing what you need to improve? But wow! The great thing is that Christ can help qualify us after we give our all, so that is what I am banking on :) He has helped me in so many ways already.
On Friday, all the new missionaries went to the mission office for a New Missionary Training Meeting. It was fantastic! We listened to a few workshops by the APs, and had a few lessons from President Sorenson himself. He is such an amazing man! Mom, can you tell Sister Swallow how incredible he is? He excudes so much knowledge, confidence, and power, and he cries every 5 minutes. You would think the crying would be a tick against his manliness (according to what I hear guys think is manly...) but it is so neat! I love it when guys cry, especially when they are crying because they feel the spirit and aren't afraid to show it. He shared a lot of amazing insights, but what really stood out to me was when he told us how we need to cultivate more love for Christ and the gospel, because then we will have more desire to share. And you know what? That is so true! The best missionaries I have seen so far aren't necessarily the ones who have mastered how to teach, or even those who are scriptorians and know where every verse is. The best missionaries are those who have a passion for the gospel and are excited to share it with others. If the missionary is excited and is sharing the message with love, it seems to transmit directly to the investigator and they seem to realize the truthfulness of the gospel so much faster. It is amazing how little you actually have to know. If you know the church is true, it is enough. That has been a comfort :) Another thing President shared was to be thankful for the difficult days- they are there so that you may better feel the good days. That concept is something I have heard before, but I loved how he worded it and it really hit me hard that day. Those are only a couple of the amazing things I learned at that meeting, but I guess it would get a little long if I shared it all :) I will spare you!
I don't know if I have already mentioned the sad situation in the Hiram ward... the previous bishop had a stroke and was in a coma for a few weeks before opening his eyes. He was showing signs of progress, and the ward was so excited to see that he was beginning to recover. But then on Tuesday he passed away. The funeral was on Monday. Going to the funeral was an interesting experience for me. I never met this man, but I couldn't believe how much I felt like I knew him just because of how much I had learned from him by being in the ward these last two weeks. At just about every members home for dinner, he was mentioned. Everyone spoke so highly of him and how they felt like he was their personal friend. At the funeral, there were so many people that showed up! His family had amazing testimonies that they were glad that he now had a chance to serve a mission (he joined the church when he was 20) and even his youngest son, who came back to Ohio to be at the funeral, decided he wanted to return to his mission and found it a privilege to be serving at the same time as his dad. I couldn't help but feel what a difference one person can make by simply being loving and maginifying his calling. He had touched so many lives! And he had done that not through doing what he wanted to do, but by doing what Heavenly Father would have him do. It made me realize that I don't want to become the best missionary I can be- I want to become the kind of missionary He would have me be. If we are focusing on others and doing His will, we can become so much better than we could become through our own means. It also made me really sad, because he is a month younger than Dad. I can't imagine coming back early from my mission to attend Dad's funeral!! It would be such a difficult time! In fact, I sat there at the funeral and thought about losing each of you individually, and I almost lost it! My family is so important to me, and it made me realize how much I love each one of you. I am glad to know that you are mine forever! (even though that does sound like I am a little possesive... :) )
Sister Lee and I may give our first tour of the John Johnson Farm on Friday. It will be interesting, because neither of us have given a tour there yet (senior missionaries normally give tours there throughout the winter) so there may be a lot of improv! Haha...
Life has been good! This week we have been focusing on preparing one of our investigators for baptism, so we have been meeting with him three times a week to get all the lessons in before Feb. 12th. On Saturday, he ended up cancelling with us, and Sister Lee and I were getting a little worried because we knew we were already on a tight schedule. On Sunday in Missionary Coordination, the Ward Mission Leader listened to our concern, and said the investigator would be coming over to his place later that night, so we should drop by and give him a lesson at his house. It ended up working out so well! Even though we had a full schedule, we were able to fit in his lesson and I felt like we should have a testimony meeting at the end of the lesson. The members of the ward mission leaders family all bore powerful testimonies of how they knew the Book of Mormon and the Church are true, and then the investigator ended with a powerful testimony himself, which he said he really wanted to share in fast and testimony meeting this Sunday! It was so great! Sister Lee and I shouldn't have been so worried about the cancelled appointment- apparently the Lord had it all figured out and made the situation so much better than it could have been on Saturday with the members there to bear their testimonies. It was a neat lesson on how we need to trust in the Lord.
I hope everyone is doing well! I love you all so much!
Sister Kimber Mahrt
On Friday, all the new missionaries went to the mission office for a New Missionary Training Meeting. It was fantastic! We listened to a few workshops by the APs, and had a few lessons from President Sorenson himself. He is such an amazing man! Mom, can you tell Sister Swallow how incredible he is? He excudes so much knowledge, confidence, and power, and he cries every 5 minutes. You would think the crying would be a tick against his manliness (according to what I hear guys think is manly...) but it is so neat! I love it when guys cry, especially when they are crying because they feel the spirit and aren't afraid to show it. He shared a lot of amazing insights, but what really stood out to me was when he told us how we need to cultivate more love for Christ and the gospel, because then we will have more desire to share. And you know what? That is so true! The best missionaries I have seen so far aren't necessarily the ones who have mastered how to teach, or even those who are scriptorians and know where every verse is. The best missionaries are those who have a passion for the gospel and are excited to share it with others. If the missionary is excited and is sharing the message with love, it seems to transmit directly to the investigator and they seem to realize the truthfulness of the gospel so much faster. It is amazing how little you actually have to know. If you know the church is true, it is enough. That has been a comfort :) Another thing President shared was to be thankful for the difficult days- they are there so that you may better feel the good days. That concept is something I have heard before, but I loved how he worded it and it really hit me hard that day. Those are only a couple of the amazing things I learned at that meeting, but I guess it would get a little long if I shared it all :) I will spare you!
I don't know if I have already mentioned the sad situation in the Hiram ward... the previous bishop had a stroke and was in a coma for a few weeks before opening his eyes. He was showing signs of progress, and the ward was so excited to see that he was beginning to recover. But then on Tuesday he passed away. The funeral was on Monday. Going to the funeral was an interesting experience for me. I never met this man, but I couldn't believe how much I felt like I knew him just because of how much I had learned from him by being in the ward these last two weeks. At just about every members home for dinner, he was mentioned. Everyone spoke so highly of him and how they felt like he was their personal friend. At the funeral, there were so many people that showed up! His family had amazing testimonies that they were glad that he now had a chance to serve a mission (he joined the church when he was 20) and even his youngest son, who came back to Ohio to be at the funeral, decided he wanted to return to his mission and found it a privilege to be serving at the same time as his dad. I couldn't help but feel what a difference one person can make by simply being loving and maginifying his calling. He had touched so many lives! And he had done that not through doing what he wanted to do, but by doing what Heavenly Father would have him do. It made me realize that I don't want to become the best missionary I can be- I want to become the kind of missionary He would have me be. If we are focusing on others and doing His will, we can become so much better than we could become through our own means. It also made me really sad, because he is a month younger than Dad. I can't imagine coming back early from my mission to attend Dad's funeral!! It would be such a difficult time! In fact, I sat there at the funeral and thought about losing each of you individually, and I almost lost it! My family is so important to me, and it made me realize how much I love each one of you. I am glad to know that you are mine forever! (even though that does sound like I am a little possesive... :) )
Sister Lee and I may give our first tour of the John Johnson Farm on Friday. It will be interesting, because neither of us have given a tour there yet (senior missionaries normally give tours there throughout the winter) so there may be a lot of improv! Haha...
Life has been good! This week we have been focusing on preparing one of our investigators for baptism, so we have been meeting with him three times a week to get all the lessons in before Feb. 12th. On Saturday, he ended up cancelling with us, and Sister Lee and I were getting a little worried because we knew we were already on a tight schedule. On Sunday in Missionary Coordination, the Ward Mission Leader listened to our concern, and said the investigator would be coming over to his place later that night, so we should drop by and give him a lesson at his house. It ended up working out so well! Even though we had a full schedule, we were able to fit in his lesson and I felt like we should have a testimony meeting at the end of the lesson. The members of the ward mission leaders family all bore powerful testimonies of how they knew the Book of Mormon and the Church are true, and then the investigator ended with a powerful testimony himself, which he said he really wanted to share in fast and testimony meeting this Sunday! It was so great! Sister Lee and I shouldn't have been so worried about the cancelled appointment- apparently the Lord had it all figured out and made the situation so much better than it could have been on Saturday with the members there to bear their testimonies. It was a neat lesson on how we need to trust in the Lord.
I hope everyone is doing well! I love you all so much!
Sister Kimber Mahrt
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Hiram - First Area in Ohio
So, I will give you the fast version of my last week
Left the MTC on Tuesday morning- we got up at 3am, then got on a bus, and then a plane with about 9 other missionaries going to Ohio and New York (I was surprised there were so many!) I can't believe the MTC is over- it went by way too quickly!
I thought all the missionaries would be scattered throughout the plane so we could do missionary work to the people around us (they stocked us up on missionary cards and stuff :) ) but then on both flights I was only sitting by missionaries. I was sort of relieved that I had an excuse to not hand out cards (is that awful or what? :) ) but then again, I was disappointed I didn't get to put what I just learned to work, and share the gospel with others around me.
The mission president and his wife picked us up and brought us to the mission home. We had dinner there (it was so good!) and we had meetings all night (testimony meeting, orientation, role plays, interviews, etc) We were EXHAUSTED by the end of the day! The next morning they gave us our handouts of our areas and who our companions would be. They took all the new missionaries to the Kirtland temple and met up with Karl Anderson (the author of Joseph Smith's Kirtland. Do you remember that book Mom? The one you showed me right before I left?) He was SO good at Kirtland history. He asked everyone if they had ancestors from the Kirtland era, and he recognized each and every one of them, and even gave a short little bio on most of them. He thought it was pretty funny that I was Heber C. Kimball's descendant, and kept teasing me or asking me to do things (like lead the music) :) He is a goofy guy with an infectious laugh! I never would have guessed
I got your letters that night! Thank you so much for those letters- they helped out so much! I was sort of upset that I didn't get to talk with you on Tuesday, so at least getting to hear from Mom, Dad, and Ray made me feel so happy! Thank you thank you thank you! I love you guys :)
We went to the transfer meeting, we met our new companions, and then we had a short meeting and my trio split up :( It was so sad! I have missed them a lot. The first time I got to see them was yesterday, and I was SO HAPPY to see them! It felt like it had been much longer than a week, that is for sure!
As soon as we got out of the transfer meeting, my companion handed me the keys (the car is a Subaru Impreza Dad. I looked for you because I figured you were probably wondering ;) ). Apparently internationals don't drive the cars in this mission, so I have been the designated driver! It has been crazy- the roads are really narrow here and they are pretty slippery as well. I am so impressed Sister Lee hasn't screamed yet! :) It has been a little scary at times. It is kind of like an amusement park on the roads! But I am being careful and driving slowly, don't you worry. It made all the difference when I almost slid into a ditch one time ;)
We then went to Historic Kirtland, in the school of the prophets and talked about being missionaries and our responsiblity. Everyone left the new missionaries in the room, and we covenanted with the Lord about what kind of missionaries we promised we would be. They also talked about how there are so many prophecies about Kirtland being built up again, and now that prophecy is being fulfilled. They talked about how blessed we are to be able to serve here, especially because we have the sites which have a spirit about them from the early saints. It was really neat, and I guess I am pretty excited about being able to serve in Ohio now :)
I am serving in Hiram, and my trainer is Sister Lee. So far I LOVE the area and my trainer is awesome. She is from Korea, but she speaks English surprisingly well and she is a very hard worker. Hiram is one of the farthest areas for sisters to work from Kirtland, so we only serve at the site on Monday and half of Tuesday. The other days were are doing work in Hiram. So far I have committed one person to baptism (he said yes!), so we have one young lady who was just baptized the week before I got here and two more with baptismal dates in February. The one I committed to baptism has given up smoking, and doing really well with staying away from cigerettes. He said it was easier to quit than he thought it would be. We are teaching him three days a week, so I am getting a lot of practice preparing lessons.
Hiram ward is AMAZING! Going to their ward for the first time last week was so neat, becuase just by sitting in the sacrement room you can feel the love and closeness they have. Their bishop has been in a coma from a stroke, so this Sunday they called a new bishop (the father of the first family I had dinner with in Hiram!) We heard news that the last bishop had opened his eyes, lifting his fingers, and recognized his wife, so everyone was really happy. But last night we got a call from someone in the ward saying he had passed away :( Sister Lee was really sad- the missionaries used to stay with his family, and they only moved out a few weeks ago. I feel really bad for the ward- there has been so much concern for the former bishop :( But at the same time, it has been amazing to see how the new bishop came into the ward when he did, and how certain other events played out. You can tell the Lord knows what he is doing. The other bishop was needed for missionary work elsewhere I guess.
Mom and Dad, do you remember Brother and Sister John (or Johns) from the Thunderbird Hills ward? A senior missionary couple said their parents used to live in the Thunderbird Hills ward, and when I mentioned Bishop Pierce they started freaking out and saying, 'That's the one! That's the one! Wasn't he a spectacular man?!' I guess he was really good about visiting them and making them feel loved before they passed away. I don't remember them...
I am learning how important it is to have a balance between listening and taking control of conversations. It is pretty tough! There are so many people who just want to talk and talk and talk... and I don't understand them at all! Why are they talking? But then again, I appreciate that they feel comfortable around me (even though I am a complete stranger) and are willing to share their thoughts. The problem comes when we get on a tangent (which happens approximately every 2.5 minutes) and then it is difficult to be talking about pertinant subjects. It is something I want to learn quickly! The people out here seem so friendly- so far I have loved everything about Ohio! It doesn't even seem that cold yet. ...I hope I didn't just jinx myself there.
There is a recent convert I just met on Saturday who is amazing! She was in a car accident a few months ago where she was hit by an 18 wheeler. She had extensive injury to her back, so she had a lot of x-rays taken. In the x-rays, they found that she had something in her neck. Upon investigation and biopsys, they found out it was a cancer that is difficult to detect, and often fatal. They were able to do surgery to get most of it out, and these next two weeks she is under quarentine for radiation treatment to kill off the rest. And you know what she said? She said she loved how the auto accident was a blessing in disguise. She knew there had to be some sort of reason for the accident, and it ironically has saved her life. She is so optomistic and grateful! So many of these people are going through hard times, but have such a good attitude! I am grateful to be learning so much from them.
I have noticed how for the most part I have been blessed with sleep. I am so thankful for that! I really believe that it has been a blessing to wake up with 8 hours of sleep in the morning. Missionary work is tiring! I mean, I always expected it to be, but really, wow! Overwhelming and tiring, but definitely rewarding and a growing experience. Mom and Dad, thank you so much for making this opportunity a possiblitity for me- I feel like I have already grown, and will learn so much more in the coming months!
What has really stuck out to me this week is how important families are. Even when we have someone who doesn't really want to hear a gospel message from us, or even if the person has been difficult to talk to, they always open up when you talk about families. There is no way families are not divinely inspired. They are a support system with love, and they help us out in this life, especially when times are tough. I am so grateful to know that families can be together forever. It is so comforting, and I am glad Heavenly Father blessed me with such a miraculous family. I feel bad for everyone else though- I got the best one :) There is a less active we met the other day who is living in a nursing home. He had a stroke, so he is paralyzed on one side of his body, but he is very smart. We started talking about families and he got sort of emotional when he was talking about his grandkids. It is amazing- out of the 5 older people we met with this week, they are all so loving towards their grandkids. The LOVE them so much! It seems like they love them even more than their kids! :) But this man was so lonely- his family is close by, but they don't come by very often. While I was glad he was getting taken care of, my heart went out to him. He was so excited to talk with complete strangers for an hour! He was so cool. I think his favorite topic was talking about the game of horseshoes- he says I have the right sort of stature for it, so when I said I hit more people than I do posts in that game, he had the biggest smile and said that was ridiculous and he would teach me the technique so I wouldn't be hurting people anymore. After we read scriptures with him, he kissed our hands and waved to us the entire time as we left. He was such a nice man! It kills me to see how sad and lonely he was though.
Left the MTC on Tuesday morning- we got up at 3am, then got on a bus, and then a plane with about 9 other missionaries going to Ohio and New York (I was surprised there were so many!) I can't believe the MTC is over- it went by way too quickly!
I thought all the missionaries would be scattered throughout the plane so we could do missionary work to the people around us (they stocked us up on missionary cards and stuff :) ) but then on both flights I was only sitting by missionaries. I was sort of relieved that I had an excuse to not hand out cards (is that awful or what? :) ) but then again, I was disappointed I didn't get to put what I just learned to work, and share the gospel with others around me.
The mission president and his wife picked us up and brought us to the mission home. We had dinner there (it was so good!) and we had meetings all night (testimony meeting, orientation, role plays, interviews, etc) We were EXHAUSTED by the end of the day! The next morning they gave us our handouts of our areas and who our companions would be. They took all the new missionaries to the Kirtland temple and met up with Karl Anderson (the author of Joseph Smith's Kirtland. Do you remember that book Mom? The one you showed me right before I left?) He was SO good at Kirtland history. He asked everyone if they had ancestors from the Kirtland era, and he recognized each and every one of them, and even gave a short little bio on most of them. He thought it was pretty funny that I was Heber C. Kimball's descendant, and kept teasing me or asking me to do things (like lead the music) :) He is a goofy guy with an infectious laugh! I never would have guessed
I got your letters that night! Thank you so much for those letters- they helped out so much! I was sort of upset that I didn't get to talk with you on Tuesday, so at least getting to hear from Mom, Dad, and Ray made me feel so happy! Thank you thank you thank you! I love you guys :)
We went to the transfer meeting, we met our new companions, and then we had a short meeting and my trio split up :( It was so sad! I have missed them a lot. The first time I got to see them was yesterday, and I was SO HAPPY to see them! It felt like it had been much longer than a week, that is for sure!
As soon as we got out of the transfer meeting, my companion handed me the keys (the car is a Subaru Impreza Dad. I looked for you because I figured you were probably wondering ;) ). Apparently internationals don't drive the cars in this mission, so I have been the designated driver! It has been crazy- the roads are really narrow here and they are pretty slippery as well. I am so impressed Sister Lee hasn't screamed yet! :) It has been a little scary at times. It is kind of like an amusement park on the roads! But I am being careful and driving slowly, don't you worry. It made all the difference when I almost slid into a ditch one time ;)
We then went to Historic Kirtland, in the school of the prophets and talked about being missionaries and our responsiblity. Everyone left the new missionaries in the room, and we covenanted with the Lord about what kind of missionaries we promised we would be. They also talked about how there are so many prophecies about Kirtland being built up again, and now that prophecy is being fulfilled. They talked about how blessed we are to be able to serve here, especially because we have the sites which have a spirit about them from the early saints. It was really neat, and I guess I am pretty excited about being able to serve in Ohio now :)
I am serving in Hiram, and my trainer is Sister Lee. So far I LOVE the area and my trainer is awesome. She is from Korea, but she speaks English surprisingly well and she is a very hard worker. Hiram is one of the farthest areas for sisters to work from Kirtland, so we only serve at the site on Monday and half of Tuesday. The other days were are doing work in Hiram. So far I have committed one person to baptism (he said yes!), so we have one young lady who was just baptized the week before I got here and two more with baptismal dates in February. The one I committed to baptism has given up smoking, and doing really well with staying away from cigerettes. He said it was easier to quit than he thought it would be. We are teaching him three days a week, so I am getting a lot of practice preparing lessons.
Hiram ward is AMAZING! Going to their ward for the first time last week was so neat, becuase just by sitting in the sacrement room you can feel the love and closeness they have. Their bishop has been in a coma from a stroke, so this Sunday they called a new bishop (the father of the first family I had dinner with in Hiram!) We heard news that the last bishop had opened his eyes, lifting his fingers, and recognized his wife, so everyone was really happy. But last night we got a call from someone in the ward saying he had passed away :( Sister Lee was really sad- the missionaries used to stay with his family, and they only moved out a few weeks ago. I feel really bad for the ward- there has been so much concern for the former bishop :( But at the same time, it has been amazing to see how the new bishop came into the ward when he did, and how certain other events played out. You can tell the Lord knows what he is doing. The other bishop was needed for missionary work elsewhere I guess.
Mom and Dad, do you remember Brother and Sister John (or Johns) from the Thunderbird Hills ward? A senior missionary couple said their parents used to live in the Thunderbird Hills ward, and when I mentioned Bishop Pierce they started freaking out and saying, 'That's the one! That's the one! Wasn't he a spectacular man?!' I guess he was really good about visiting them and making them feel loved before they passed away. I don't remember them...
I am learning how important it is to have a balance between listening and taking control of conversations. It is pretty tough! There are so many people who just want to talk and talk and talk... and I don't understand them at all! Why are they talking? But then again, I appreciate that they feel comfortable around me (even though I am a complete stranger) and are willing to share their thoughts. The problem comes when we get on a tangent (which happens approximately every 2.5 minutes) and then it is difficult to be talking about pertinant subjects. It is something I want to learn quickly! The people out here seem so friendly- so far I have loved everything about Ohio! It doesn't even seem that cold yet. ...I hope I didn't just jinx myself there.
There is a recent convert I just met on Saturday who is amazing! She was in a car accident a few months ago where she was hit by an 18 wheeler. She had extensive injury to her back, so she had a lot of x-rays taken. In the x-rays, they found that she had something in her neck. Upon investigation and biopsys, they found out it was a cancer that is difficult to detect, and often fatal. They were able to do surgery to get most of it out, and these next two weeks she is under quarentine for radiation treatment to kill off the rest. And you know what she said? She said she loved how the auto accident was a blessing in disguise. She knew there had to be some sort of reason for the accident, and it ironically has saved her life. She is so optomistic and grateful! So many of these people are going through hard times, but have such a good attitude! I am grateful to be learning so much from them.
I have noticed how for the most part I have been blessed with sleep. I am so thankful for that! I really believe that it has been a blessing to wake up with 8 hours of sleep in the morning. Missionary work is tiring! I mean, I always expected it to be, but really, wow! Overwhelming and tiring, but definitely rewarding and a growing experience. Mom and Dad, thank you so much for making this opportunity a possiblitity for me- I feel like I have already grown, and will learn so much more in the coming months!
What has really stuck out to me this week is how important families are. Even when we have someone who doesn't really want to hear a gospel message from us, or even if the person has been difficult to talk to, they always open up when you talk about families. There is no way families are not divinely inspired. They are a support system with love, and they help us out in this life, especially when times are tough. I am so grateful to know that families can be together forever. It is so comforting, and I am glad Heavenly Father blessed me with such a miraculous family. I feel bad for everyone else though- I got the best one :) There is a less active we met the other day who is living in a nursing home. He had a stroke, so he is paralyzed on one side of his body, but he is very smart. We started talking about families and he got sort of emotional when he was talking about his grandkids. It is amazing- out of the 5 older people we met with this week, they are all so loving towards their grandkids. The LOVE them so much! It seems like they love them even more than their kids! :) But this man was so lonely- his family is close by, but they don't come by very often. While I was glad he was getting taken care of, my heart went out to him. He was so excited to talk with complete strangers for an hour! He was so cool. I think his favorite topic was talking about the game of horseshoes- he says I have the right sort of stature for it, so when I said I hit more people than I do posts in that game, he had the biggest smile and said that was ridiculous and he would teach me the technique so I wouldn't be hurting people anymore. After we read scriptures with him, he kissed our hands and waved to us the entire time as we left. He was such a nice man! It kills me to see how sad and lonely he was though.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Cleveland Ohio
Kimber with President Sorenson
Kimber is now in Ohio serving in the Hiram Area which is south east of Cleveland.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Just Before Leaving the MTC
Our district left. It is so weird being here without them, and it was really sad to see them go! It is strange how attached you get to people, even only after 3 weeks. My companions had an even harder time than I did- they were downright depressed on Wednesday when they were gone. They were really awesome elders, and it is a comfort to know that they are out there helping people with their lives. The branch president kept saying how lucky they were to have sisters in their district, but I think I learned so much more from them.
We also were able to get priesthood blessings from them before they left. That was really neat. My blessing talked about how I don't need to worry at all about my family because He will be watching over them. That was a huge comfort, and it was interesting that both my setting apart blessing and this blessing mentioned that. I am so glad to know that you will be watched over while I am here- it is a tremendous comfort. It is also really amazing to see these 19 year old boys rise to the occasion to use the power of God to bless others. The power of the priesthood is incredible.
Last night we gave tours to people who volunteer at the TRC. Among the volunteers was a pair of sisters playing the part of a member and her less active friend. We were talking by the Christus and I kept thinking of a scripture, but I didn't want to share it because I figured I kept thinking about it because it was just the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the Atonement. But it came my time to talk and I decided to just share it anyway. It turns out that Alma 7:11-12 (I think that was the scripture...) was the members' favorite scripture, and she bore a powerful testimony of Christ. Then the less active sister began to cry and said she had received the answer of how to help her less active friend. So neat! The spirit was so strong.
We also were able to get priesthood blessings from them before they left. That was really neat. My blessing talked about how I don't need to worry at all about my family because He will be watching over them. That was a huge comfort, and it was interesting that both my setting apart blessing and this blessing mentioned that. I am so glad to know that you will be watched over while I am here- it is a tremendous comfort. It is also really amazing to see these 19 year old boys rise to the occasion to use the power of God to bless others. The power of the priesthood is incredible.
I was able to go to Salt Lake on Wednesday morning! It is still so strange to go off the MTC campus. Salt Lake was so neat though! Some sisters brought us on a tour, and it was amazing how well they brought the spirit. I am excited to be able to do the same thing over in Ohio. I am beginning to appreciate the challenge of being called to a visitors center. I used to think being in a visitors center was like getting the cush job on a mission. But in our exercises I am beginning to realize it is just a whole different challenge. We are currently working on how to talk to people and give them a personalized tour based on getting to know them for 5 minutes. It is pretty difficult! I have definitely had to rely on the spirit non-stop! Thank goodness I don't have to rely on my own resources!
Last night we gave tours to people who volunteer at the TRC. Among the volunteers was a pair of sisters playing the part of a member and her less active friend. We were talking by the Christus and I kept thinking of a scripture, but I didn't want to share it because I figured I kept thinking about it because it was just the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the Atonement. But it came my time to talk and I decided to just share it anyway. It turns out that Alma 7:11-12 (I think that was the scripture...) was the members' favorite scripture, and she bore a powerful testimony of Christ. Then the less active sister began to cry and said she had received the answer of how to help her less active friend. So neat! The spirit was so strong.
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