Sunday, January 26, 2014

Email home #1

(Sent January 25th. P-days at the MTC are Saturdays.)

This is me. Sister Wen. I got both of your Dear Elder letters. They were great, but could've been better. But I didn't get them until after I put my own letter into the mailbox....So, they might be overlapping. But, yes, first things first. MY LIFE IN THE MTC.

Today's my fourth day here so I honestly don't remember much from the first day, which is why I've pulled out my handy-dandy journal! So after you guys dropped me off at the MTC with tears in my eyes and whatnot, my host, Sister Manley (going to Russia) led me to my room and to get supplies. Everything happened SO fast. She brought me here and there and I had a bunch of things in my arms. It was cray. Then, right after, I was dropped off at my classroom where I met my companion, Sister Mills.

Sister Mills is Black and Mexican, but I like to call her Blaxican. She's from LA and she's pretty cool but still isn't used to cold weather hahah. But we're basically the same person, she and I. She's just so funny!

The first night at the MTC we began actual training! We all sat in small rooms with missionaries and collectively taught real investigators! It's interesting though b/c they're actual investigators but they're hired to work at the MTC as an investigator...it's fun stuff. It was really cool, though, because we heard the stories of each investigator as to why they were suddenly looking to come unto Christ. One is a Southern woman who wondered why her childhood was so hard. She didn't know why God let her father domestically abuse her and her family. We all tried to explain to her that we go through trials to make us stronger. Trials may scar, but they shall give us experience. And if we keep an eternal perspective, we will realize that each trial will be for but a small moment.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Farewell!

This is the farewell talk I gave in my church service last Sunday, January 12. It's not word for word what I said, but I tried to write down the gist of what I did say.

This talk is based on the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants, section 4, verse 6: "Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence" (D&C 4:6).

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters! Thanks to the missionaries for that musical number! But if I'm gonna have to sing like that on my mission I better brush up on my singing....
         
And thanks to Brother Payne for that insightful talk, though I realize now that I shouldn’t have asked him to speak before me because of how insightful he is. All my insights are probably going to sound even more unintelligent.
         
Anyway, this is it! I am the last talk of the day meaning this is supposedly the talk you have all been waiting for. And, as my father said, I will be serving in the Colorado Denver North mission and I enter the Provo Missionary Training Center on January 22.
         
So, I want to talk a little bit about why I am serving a mission. It all began on a chilly, October morning. I was at college so I turned on General Conference on my computer next to me.

President Thomas S. Monson, our current living prophet of God
       
President Monson made an announcement concerning the lowering of the age requirement for boys to serve missions and I was like, whoa, can he do that? Then I figured, yes he can, because he is a prophet of God and all. Then he started talking about sister missionaries. Then, of course, right then, my Internet stopped working and I freaked out. Maybe he was going to lower the age for women? My heart was racing. I clicked refresh and I was freaking out! By the time the video reloaded, he had already made the announcement so I had to rewind a whole 10 seconds back just to hear the part I missed. It was a real first world problem.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Missionaries gon mish

Welcome to my blog! Whether you're preparing for a mission yourself or if you're just curious about what a Mormon mission is like, check out this amazing blog I sorta put effort into!

Every week, I'll have the opportunity to write an email home and my sister will be graciously helping me out by posting those emails on this blog. I'll just be writing about what missionaries, like me, do on a real-life mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

But, in the end, it really is just serving the Lord. That is why I'm serving a mission. "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17).

This mission isn't about me. It's about all the people I will serve in Denver, Colorado and inviting them to come unto Christ.

Because missionaries gon mish.