August 30, 2013

"Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand."

-- James 5: 7-8

Okay so there is a lot to write about, and I'm taking things from my journal because I am trying to obey all the rules. I love all of the letters, but I can only write back on Fridays. So the reason I haven't written back yet is because we only have time on our P-day. 

August 24, 2013

We mainly learned how to teach the apostasy and that was very interesting learning the different ways that you can teach that without going into too much detail. It was a really trying day because I found out that my companion hadn't read Preach My Gospel, so it has been a little slow with that. We made some different studying plans to help her out. I also got the package of doughnuts which was soooo needed and Sis. Blair (the other girl that I share a room with ate) her first doughnut ever!

Erin's MTC District... three of the Elders are named Brandon, Jake, and Joshua, and they act just like my brothers!

August 25, 2013

Today was Sunday, and it was really weird but great at the same time. We had sacrament meeting in a classroom, and I got called to be the Branch music coordinator. Only for this Sunday so all I have to do is pick out the music and also get someone to play the piano... not that hard. I also had to come up with a special musical number for the departing districts - which is us. We are singing "Come Thou Font of Every Blessing" with a piano and violin accompaniment. Later today for Relief Society we had Sis. McConkie who came and spoke to us. She is the 1st counselor in the Young Women's General Presidency or whatever... she gave a great talk about laboring with all you heart, might, mind, and strength. Also about obedience. We also attended music and the spoken word which was awesome! Later that night we had a devotional with Bro. Allen who taught us that we are never alone and that Satan will do everything in his power to push our buttons. It was really a great talk. And then later that night, we went to another devotional that was video taped by Elder Bednar who talked about the Character of Christ. I will try later to write more about it.

Erin's roommates at the MTC- Sisters Blair and Chadburn

August 26, 2013

Monday was sooooo fast! I got the homemade treats which were delicious, and I loved all the notes that were in the package. Letters are the best... let me tell you!!! Today all the girls in my district had a breakdown moment and got blessings from the Elders. I can't explain the Spirit or the feeling that goes on when they gave those blessings. It was amazing!!! They all felt a lot better afterwards and you know, always talk to me about how everything went or what is going on in their brains. We taught a new investigator today which gave Sis. Little and I a lot of experience and also taught us what we needed to learn more about.... Which is basically everything to say the least haha!

Erin with her companion, Sis. Little

August 27, 2013

"WOW" was the first word in the journal. I started the day off breaking my silver watch (so mom if you could send me a new one that would be great!) I spilled chocolate milk down my skirt and had to take it to get spot cleaned, then I forgot to put perfume on. While I went back to go get it, I dropped my jewelry box and everything went flying everywhere. There were a couple other things that happened, but I remained calm and got through the day. It helped to just laugh about everything honestly! But I also had some time to go running so that let off a lot of steam. And that was just the beginning of the day. Sis. little has had a hard time and has had the feeling to go home. We did a lot of talking the night previous, but she said she prayed about it and had the feeling that she needed to go home. Well, after breakfast we went and called the branch president, and she ended up meeting with him later that night. (Don't worry she is still here.) We also had a devotional at the BYU campus tonight which was great. Neil L. Andersen came and spoke to us, and then we sang a lot because it was pouring outside. After 30 minutes, they told us to walk home safely, and all the elders in my district gave us their suit coats so that we could stay as dry as possible. It was so sweet! And now they have this thing where they walk us home at night "so we don't get mugged," so for the past week they walked us the whole 100 yards to our dorms. It's quite nice.

Erin saw Nichelle Yazzie from the home ward at the MTC. Nichelle said, "She's loving [the MTC]! She is the mother hen of the district . She has amazing confidence, and she is anxious to get to work!"

August 28, 2013

Today we had class a lot, and then when gym came around, our district had a 4 square competition. I won ;) hahaha! After gym, we went and practiced our special musical number for Sunday and then went to class. That night was a great night. We had a new teacher come in, Bro. Christensen, and he taught us the importance of teaching people, not just lessons. So for the role play, we were going to be teaching our companion and not a fake investigator. I had the opportunity to talk to my companion about some problems that she has had. I don't want to go into too much detail, but I will say there was a point today where I was done with her... she wasn't wanting to teach anybody, and we have to teach a certain amount of people before we leave the MTC. She was not up for it. I got really frustrated because she is just not as prepared as I would have liked... I was reading my scriptures and again had the prompting to read my patriarchal blessing. In it, it told me what I needed to do whatever my responsibility was, and that was to teach. Well, I didn't know how to do this until Bro. Christensen told us that we would be teaching our companion. Long story short, I got to see my companion through the eyes of Christ, and it was a humbling experience. There were a few scriptures that I shared with her that really helped her out, and I'm grateful for the Spirit in guiding me on what to say. 

I had the same experience just last night with Sis. Blair because we did the same thing but with someone else. I am pretty good at reading people, but apparently God gave me the same opportunity to see her as He does, and I was able to say some things that she needed to hear. 

I want some more time because the Elders are going to show me how to send pictures to you guys. So I need to leave for now, but I want to say that I love you all so much and am grateful for every letter and gift that you guys send me! I know that the Holy Ghost is there to guide, lead, and comfort us. I know that this is the true gospel and that the Book of Mormon can help us no matter what situation we may be in. I know that Christ is our Savior and loves me and you! I am so grateful for this knowledge because I don't think I would be at peace without Him. I love you all so much.

-- Sis. Gale