Spring came to the MTC!!

Hey hey hey!!! How's life for everyone?? Man life is so good, especially since it's finally getting warm. At the MTC there are flowers literally everywhere it is fantastic! Sister Jeffords and I like to sit on the grass and read scriptures as often as possible since we can't in Nauvoo...there are chiggers!

  

  

Well this week I did a ton of stuff! I hope I can get it all in this email, because I love telling you all what I've tone as a missionary! I love it so much I can't even express enough gratitude to Heavenly Father for this opportunity. I have been learning so much about how not only to connect with other people as a missionary, but as a person in general. It's fascinating that I can apply these skills to my everyday life even after my mission is over. This week Sis. Jeffords and I got 2 new investigators. One is a guy named Benjamin. He's from Kansas and is here living with his friend to get away from home for a little bit. He really just wants help and doesn't know where to go. This whole week we taught him how to pray and how the Holy Ghost works. He has SO many questions and I love it more than anything! You can see the light in his eyes when we teach him and the desire he has to get closer to the Savior. He was such an incredible investigator, but we taught our last lesson to him on Saturday morning. He promised he would keep reading the Book of Mormon because he's loved reading the stories we've shared with him. The Book of Mormon has an incredible power to bring us closer to Christ, I urge and plead with you to read it as often as you can! I promise it will bless your life in ways you didn't know you needed it to bless you. 

Our other investigator is named Adhieu. She is from Kenya and came to Utah because her family got rescued by the US. She really has an interesting story. She is Catholic, but wants to get closer to Christ and doesn't know how. She goes to BYU and has taken lots of LDS classes to find out our history as Mormons, so she was pretty solid on that. We felt impressed to teach her as much as we could about the Book of Mormon. Again it is AMAZING! I can't even describe how wonderful this book is. For our last lesson, Sis. Jeffords and I felt that we should invite her to church. We were feeling really good about it, but on the way to the lesson I had this crazy prompting to invite her to be baptized. At first I was like no way she's not ready she's only had 3 lessons! Now's not the time. But the feeling came back, stronger this time. I knew it was the Holy Ghost. I knew I had to ask her. I told Sis. Jeffords and she said we should pray about it really quick. After we said Amen, both of us felt it. It was burning inside of me. When we walked into the room for the lesson, I've never been so excited and terrified at the same time. At the end of the lesson, Sis. Jeffords just stared at me. I knew I'd have to ask. I said, "Adhieu, will you follow Jesus Christ's example by being baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God?" I said that straight from memory and with the power of the Holy Ghost. I've never been on such a spiritual high it was incredible. She said no. I didn't back down, I asked her why and she said she'd already been baptized. I asked her how and she said when she was a baby her priest baptized her. I then went on and told her that we need to be baptized the way Jesus Christ was baptized. I bore my testimony about how I know the church was true and that Heavenly Father wants us to get baptized so we can return to Him. We sat in silence for a minute and then she started nodding her head and said yes! She's getting baptized !!!!! I don't get to teach her anymore, but her next missionaries get to continue helping her prepare for baptism. I learned so much from this experience. The main thing is that we don't need to be afraid to follow God's will and follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Fear is the opposite of faith. I was terrified to ask her, but why should I be? Baptism is wonderful! The Holy Ghost knew she was ready and I needed to rely on his judgement rather than my own. I'm so grateful to have him with me! 

Last Wednesday my zone got to help host the new missionaries coming in. I got assigned to help the people who came in vehicles that wouldn't fit in the parking garage. Only 5 people came and there were about 8 of us there to help. I didn't get to help anyone that day, but it was so nice to sit on the grass and talk with the other missionaries there. They're all so friendly!

I got to start my visitor center training and we got to FaceTime my mission president! He's so nice I can't wait to meet him in person! He is starting a brand new idea and wants to try it on us Sisters. He wants us to memorize scripts and take on the actual characters of the women who used to live in Nauvoo! I'm so excited! I'm not very good at acting though, so I'll have to practice a lot, haha!


I have grown to love the Sisters in my room so much, I don't know how my heart can love them anymore! They are literally like family to me and I can't wait to experience Nauvoo with them! 

There are so many sisters in my zone now!! It's so crazy! Most of us are all going to Nauvoo and we leave next Wednesday ahhhh I can't wait I'm so excited!
I'd like to leave some advice for you, and don't just bypass it because I'm a missionary and everyone tells you to do this. I honestly mean this! Heavenly Father loves you. He knows you. He sees you for who you can become, not for who you used to be. He loves you so much He gave His son Jesus Christ. He went through all pain and sorrows you have ever felt and ever will feel. I promise you don't have to go through your trials alone. Turn to Him in prayer. Ask Him to help you. He will! He wants to and pleads for us to come to Him. I have felt the love of my Savior so many times I can't even count.

I love you all from the bottom of my heart! I am so grateful for all the love and support you have all shown me. Thank you so much to my sweet Mom for sending me candy, and Sis. Brems and Alejandra for sending me Chip cookies. You have no idea how awesome it was to go get a package full of giant cookies! Ahh everyone was my best friend that day haha!! 
Stay strong and carry on!!
PS: I get another P-day this week on Friday because I will be busy packing next Tuesday woot woot! So don't think I'm being naughty and sending emails when I shouldn't haha!!