A Voice From the Vineyard: 24 May 2013

Mail & Package From Jeff & Reesa

Well, I have officially completed a little over a week here at the MTC, but it has felt like much more time due to all the changes and developments I have made in this time with myself and those around me. It has been quite the roller-coaster, but all is wonderful - great even. I definitely was feeling tired after my p-day, ironically. The schedule is intense and I was definitely noticing it start to effect me. It is funny because you go to sleep every night exhausted and you kind-of wake up exhausted. It is hard, but now after a week I have really gotten used to the schedule.

We taught our first "investigator" on Friday after I wrote you. It was a crazy experience to teach someone about a gospel I don't know well in a language I don't know at all. It was hard, but my companion and I really tried to speak from the heart. It was amazing how the gift of tongues would just work on us. Now, I must say my perception of what the gift of tongues does compares to what it actually is is very different. I always assumed that the language would just come in the midst of my studying, but the problem is you have to put the work in for it to work. It does not just come and it definitely doesn't come immediately. Well, back to our "investigator" his name is Tito and he is very spiritual, but not very religious. He knows and prays to God but does not agree with organized religion. It is amazing to really hunker down and focus on teaching this person. From my last letter you could see that they were definitely teaching us to focus on the investigator and that is what we tried to do. My companion and I combined all these different ideas and tried to make a cohesive lesson. It definitely took work. We also were the first ones to teach Tito, which we volunteered for, but we just did it and it went ok. We struggled really feeling the Spirit let alone communicating our thoughts. It was a good experience, but I realized that I had a lot of work to put in.

On Saturday I was still tired and we had to teach Tito again. I was feeling horrible about this next lesson. I was frustrated on what to teach, I was frustrated on trying to have unity with my companion. Then right before the time we had to teach we decided to play rock-paper-scissors as a zone to decide who goes first. Of course I lost and so we had to just go and teach him. I did not have the right mind set and I was too worried about me to really have a good experience. Needless to say the lesson did not go so well. I felt like I didn't talk at all and that I couldn't do it. I talked to one of our Zone Resource teachers, who is a teacher that comes to help us when they don't have a district of their own, and he said that we, as a companionship needed to practice. I was so excited because this was the hope I had been needing. That there was something I could do to feel more confidence.

Then Sunday came - I was told it was a very enjoyable day and they were right. The weirdest thing was the schedule. So, to keep with our missionary time we had church at 7:30 in the morning. It was so weird to have it that early, then after Sacrament we had breakfast, then we had study time, then we had Relief Society which is for all the Sisters at the MTC. Sacrament was interesting because a lot of it is in Spanish and we all have to prepare talks for every Sunday because we could be called on to speak. Relief Society was wonderful because they have guest speakers come to speak to us to teach our"lesson". The cool things was that the week before Janice Kapp Perry came to speak and she introduced two more verses to As Sisters In Zion and she actually changed the title to The Sisters In Zion. They are very missionary oriented and we got to sing them in the meeting and it just made me feel empowered to be supported through song as a missionary. Then we just have study time, doing anything we want and it was nice to not be pressured to do anything in particular. The evening was filled with two powerful meetings - the first was the Devotional. Mary Ellen Edmunds spoke to us and she was so funny and spiritual. She has served on the RS board and has served 4 full-time missions. She was the perfect person to talk to us. She made us all feel really optimistic and to try to be optimistic about our missions and that Jesus is the perfect boss. Then we watched a talk from Elder Bednar on Christmas from here at the MTC about the character of Christ. I wish I could give you every detail but the summary of it was that we should be focused outward not inward. Our natural man wants us to focus on us when we are out on a mission, but in order to be a better missionary we must be like Christ and focus on others and what they need. That is the definition of Christ and it will take a long time but it will be worth it in the end. The best part is that he helps us to be better and so he just helps us all around.

We taught again on Monday and it was amazing. We felt the spirit and spoke the language to the best of our abilities and just felt great about it. The whole day I had just felt empowered that I was doing well. Then we had the lesson that night with Hermano Ferguson. After it I felt discouraged and Homesick but I talked it out with my companion and it was so nice to let her know what I was feeling and she was so understanding and empathetic. Companionships really are divinely instituted and I definitely got one of the best ones out there.

On Tuesday I was charged and ready to go. We had an amazing class with Hermano Ferguson on the doctrine of Christ. It was in English and it was so nice to be able to understand what was going on and to be able to say my thoughts. Most days I don't feel like the oldest girl in my district but I am definitely one of the few people that are willing to bare their soul in class. It has taken me all three years of college to be able to comment on what is going on so I don't blame others for not being as talkative about things. The lesson was amazing. I really felt encouraged by it all. Then we had a devotional by Elder Nash of the 70 and his wife and he spoke on the doctrine of Christ. I wish I could write everything he said because it was amazing but my general thoughts of the whole meeting were that the Lord knows what I am doing even if I don't and that I would feel incomplete if I didn't fulfill my personal call to serve. The talk was amazing and I truly needed it. Then we had a district testimony meeting that was so sweet. After that, by request all of the Sisters got blessings from the Elders. Each one of the Elders gave one of us a blessing and each of them were in the circle for ours. It was such a powerful and wonderful and bonding experience. I am so glad to be surrounded by worthy priesthood holders and to be able to partake of the blessing of the priesthood.

Wednesday was more of down day. Our lesson with Tito went well but we didn't improve in any way and the language was hard again but all was well. Then yesterday, Thursday, we had a wonderful class with Hermano Ferguson and a little surprise for our evening class. We got a new teacher. His name is Hermano Hepworth and it was one of the best lessons yet here at the MTC. Probably because most of it was in English. I am so excited to work more with him. He helped us out so much with really using our time and resources and building our testimony.

Life here at the MTC is amazing. Everyday brings ups and downs, but it is truly the perfect preparation to be out in the field. I realized on Thursday that I am so excited for the next 5 weeks and I am so excited for all the things I am going to learn. Thank you for all of your love and support. You all are the greatest. I think of you all every day and cannot wait until we are all reunited again.

Love you with all of my heart.

Hermana Cornwall

p.s. Thank you for all of the notes and emails, especially Jeff and Ressa for the package