Over Three Weeks in the MTC

November 12, 2010

Subtitle: O Melhor Dia de Minha Missao (every day)

Ola!

Oh my goodness! I'm a missionary. And it's awesome! I can't believe I've been here for over three weeks! I love being in the MTC and learning and strengthening my testimony, but I also can't wait to be in Cape Verde and sharing that testimony with EVERYONE I meet!

I don't think I've told you much about our Branch. (Or I told you all about it in my last letter, because that sentence sounds familiar.) But it's the largest in the MTC and composed of both Portuguese and Italian-speaking missionaries. We have a lot of Brazil-bound missionaries waiting for visas. Our two roommates just got their reassignments, one to Spokane, WA and the other, who's already gone (!) to Houston, TX. It's pretty crazy that even what seems like a mistake (no visas) is actually just part of God's plan for us. I know that if these two sisters hadn't had visa problems, I would never have met them and my first weeks at the MTC would have been SO much harder. It's so wonderful to see all the ways Heavenly Father shows His love for us.

Okay, now to the good stuff. It was an incredible week! Zone Conference last Friday and Mission Conference on Sunday. Wow. Both were amazing. Then on Sunday night, for the MTC fireside, Sheri Dew was the speaker! It was really great though and we had front row seats. She spoke about how little time we really have on this earth and how we can't afford to waste it. She also told us never to forget who we really are -- sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father who loves us! It was really wonderful.

Fast Sundays are really awesome here. I love hearing testimonies from the missionaries in Portuguese and Italian! It's so sweet. Even though I understand very little still, the Spirit still testifies to me of the truth.

Okay. I know you're all excited to hear who the speaker was this Tuesday. Any guesses? No? Okay, I'll tell you. Elder Bednar! And his wife. What an incredible experience. Elder Bednar spoke about the doctrines of the gospel. The answer is always in the doctrine! You can come up with a million gimmicks and tricks to get someone to stop smoking (or do their home teaching), but until they understand the doctrine and then the principle behind it, they'll never gain a testimony of their own and have spiritual independence. We can't always be there to keep our investigators doing what we want them to do. They have to know the WHY of what we're asking them to do. It was such a great talk. I'm going to have all my notes printed and bound when I get home because I've learned so much here!

Also, we were part of the choir for the devotional (mostly because we wanted good seats). The song we sang though was sweet. It's called “Look at the World,” I think, by John Rutter. It was a lot of fun, though, and we'll probably keep going.

I hemmed one of my skirts this week. I felt pretty proud of myself.

This week we had another TRC visit. We picked up our "investigator" and took him to church and had to talk to him on the bus. It was really hard, but great practice. And our lesson on the Plan of Salvation went pretty well. Unfortunately, we forgot to ask him to be baptized and he said he totally would have accepted. It was awesome.

I got a letter from my two favorite cousins this week! Thanks, Lisa and Julia!

Well, I'm running out of things to say. I'm not sure if I repeat myself every week or if there are a tons of things I should be telling you and just forget.

We've started playing basketball with a few Hermanas who are awesome! It's a lot of fun. We also go to this early morning sister workout every day (they don't want us getting too fat) which is pretty cool. Though I'm not very coordinated and some of the fancy, aerobics steps are way beyond me. Yeah.

Well, I love you all! Keep doing what you need to be doing.

Geronimo!

Sister Brooks