A Voice From the Vineyard: 14 June 2013

Hola,

I can not believe that I have been in the MTC for a month. So much had been accomplished that it feels like much longer and then at other times it feels like I was just with you all a few days ago.
.
Life here at the MTC is as grand as ever. It feels so momentous to be a missionary at this time. My last week has been wonderful. I got my huge package last Friday. Everyone gave me really funny looks and asked what it was and it was really fun. Also, thanks for everything it was like all the things you sent were brand new and it is so nice to have fun shampoo and conditioner and body wash.
.
Classes have just been wonderful this past week I couldn't ask for anything better. Then, on Saturday I got the packages of trail mix. Man that stuff is good and my class was very appreciative. Saturday was just an average day and it was great. It is so fun to learn how to teach better. We mess up a lot but it is nice to grow and develop while we are here. Sunday was amazing. After church I went to the meeting with all the district leaders, zone leaders, and the branch presidency. It was sure odd to be the only sister in a room of all men but it worked out. Then we had Relief Society and our speaker was Anne Clegg. She was amazing. She talked about being a mission presidents wife in Spain and had some really wonderful advice for us. During my study later in that day I was was reading a conference talk and looked up one of the scriptures in the talk to gain more understanding in the footnotes. The scripture was Luke 5:23. I encourage all to look at the footnotes for the scripture because it really cleared things up for me. Then we had choir practice. It was such a fun experience. There were so many people because it was the first practice for the upcoming broadcast. So, to let you all know I will be in the choir for the broadcast [on June 23rd] so keep your eyes peeled. The director is hilarious and we spend half the time laughing, so it was great. That night we had a devotional with Richard I. Heaton who is the administrative director here at BYU. He testified strongly about the investigators and their needs and how divinely created Preach My Gospel is. It is truly the words of modern day prophets and it is the doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then we watched an old devotional by Pres. Utchdorf, which was about how his wife joined the church and what a blessing missionaries are. It is really amazing how we can touch the lives of so many people. The sad part of the night was saying goodbye to the only district older than us. I had become good acquaintances with one of the Elders and as we shook hands he gave me some advice and I just started to ball. It is such a wonderful experience to be around worthy holders of the preisthood. I was sad to see them go, but I know all of them are needed in their missions in Mexico.
.
Nothing amazing really happened on Monday. But Tuesday at the TRC was awesome. We taught two couples and they were so sweet and helpful. It is fun to think of inspiring message for other members of the Church. I truly feel endowed with power to teach and speak when we do TRC. It is always a wonderful experience. In class we learned the importance of making goals. Goals help us to gage how we have been, how we are and what we can become. They are often hard to accomplish, but they are great. Tuesday was a very momentous day because we had our devotional at the Marriott Center it was a little weird to go to place I been so many times before but at the same time it felt normal. I was also in the choir for the devotional and it was a choir of like 2,000 missionaries. It was awesome. Elder Arnold of the 70 spoke and my favorite thing was that we need to know our purpose. No matter our stage in life we need to know. As missionaries we are to Invitar a las Personas a venir a Cristo (Invite others to come unto Christ). We say it everyday in class and yet sometimes I forget it. Whenever I am focused on that goal the work gets easier, I teach more effectively and I miss you all less. It is amazing so find your purpose and keep to it.
.
Then on Wednesday we got to host the new missionaries coming in. Our job is to welcome them, tell them they have a few minutes to say good bye and lead them through a few tasks and then get to their classroom. It was amazingly crazy. 800 missionaries came in this Wednesday and so it is a big job. I hosted three sisters and it was so fun to welcome them and a little sad too. We stand right there and watch them say goodbye to their families and at one point I was at the same station I had got dropped off at, but it was still wonderful. I did see Hermana Moore, which was fun and I have also seen many other people I know as well.
.
The work is really moving forward and I love to be a part of it. The funny thing with class that day was that one of our teachers got a little harder on us. He talked to us about our investigator and he was really direct on the things that we needed to improve on. I am glad to learn because they are necessary changes but it just feels like things are getting down to the wire. Then in the evening I welcome the new Sisters in our zone. We got two new districts and I got 6 new sisters to watch over. It was wonderful
.
Thursday evening we were with the new districts again and it was so fun to learn more about them. We were able to teach them a few things and I got to bear my testimony in Spanish to them. It was so wonderful. Then I got released afterward and now my companion is the new Sister Training Leader, so I will show her all of the ropes. It was so wonderful being the leader, but I don't think I am going to mind having my time back.
.
I have loved my experience at the MTC and I can't even imagine what it is going to be like in the field. I know I still have over 2 weeks, but it is coming very quickly. Well, here is my second to last sign-off from the MTC campus. I know this next week will be amazing. Happy Fathers day to all the fathers out there that have been key in my life, most especially my own. I know this gospel is true and it is so important to share it with others because they need it even if they don't realize. The Lord loves us all and wants us to return to be with Him again. This work is so important and I am glad that I get to help it along.

Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall