Thursday, June 18, 2015

First Email from the MTC!

First off, I LOVE THE MTC!!! This has been the best week ever! It is so different from how I pictured it, and I can honestly that my life has been forever changed. My first day was insane! I got all of my stuff and took it all to my room and then went to my classroom and met my district. Then that night, we all went into a classroom with other new missionaries and began teaching! I was terrified. Some of the "investigators" at the mtc are real and some are just members pretending... But it felt so real. And my whole perspective changed in one instant where I felt such a strong love for these people! And I didn't even know them! But Heavenly Father gave me a glimpse of His love for them, and now I will never be the same. My companion is Sister Pattillo, and I love her! We just clicked like instantly and have become best friends! My whole district is awesome, its so incredible that through learning together and having all of these spiritual experiences together that we could form such a close bond with each other. Our classroom has become holy ground.(: Plus, we have a lot of fun! My other roommates include Sister Thompson and Sister Mauss, and we've had so much fun together. Then there is Elder Klingler, Elder Coleman, Elder Barton, Elder Leach, Elder Burrell, Elder Perkes, and Elder Randall. Three of the Elders are going to North Carolina but all the rest of us are going to Fort Collins. The next few days were a lot better! We met our Branch Presidency and their wives, and Sister Pattillo and I were called as the Sister Training Leaders of our whole zone! I was so excited to receive this awesome responsibility and chance to serve others. As the week went on, our schedule started to become the same every day which has made it a lot easier. I never knew the meaning of planning out my day until now haha. Every single minute of every day is planned, and I love it because it helps us focus and accomplish our purpose!
Sunday was amazing. My first time taking the Sacrament as a missionary was a great experience.(: And then Monday, we received three assigned investigators and have been teaching them every day. I used to be TERRIFIED of role play! But guess what? It's now my favorite(: The reason why is because the Spirit is so strong while we role play. It's real! The feelings I have during role play are real, and this is because role play is the way that Heavenly Father trains His missionaries. And I just love it so much(: Another awesome thing that I have learned is that my purpose is not about teaching lessons, it's about teaching people! I've learned the hard way that when I'm focused on me and getting through a lesson with an investigator, it doesn't work. It's an awful feeling actually. But when we let the Spirit direct the conversation and when we are actually focused on the PERSON and not the lesson, that's when the magic happens. That's when the conversation feels natural, is when we are teaching with the Spirit. He is our third companion! How fortunate is that?? I never knew that before! My purpose as a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ by HELPING them receive the Restored Gospel. By LOVING them. By focusing on bringing them closer to Christ, not by focusing on me teaching them everything. I've had incredible experiences and feel so much love for my investigators here at the MTC and also my future ones in Colorado. It's awesome(: I know now that I have been called to a people, not a place. "When your call of duty changes to a call of love, your whole perspective will change."
I've only got a few minutes left, but I just wanted to say thank you to you all!! I am so sorry that I haven't responded to any letters I've received, there's just no extra time here. But I am SO grateful for them! Getting mail is like the BEST thing ever!! Dear Elder is such an awesome thing! Please keep doing that, it boosts me up and gives me strength!(: I love hearing about funny things that have happened in your lives and just anything really. Thank you so much for all of the support and prayers, they are helping me so much. God is good, Christ is the center of all of this, and I am loving every minute here. Of course there are hard things too but when I'm being spiritually fed so much, it blocks out all other trivial things. Thanks again and I love you all dearly!!!Black heart (cards)
Love,
Sister Thomas

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