Heyya everyone!
Okay, so this letter might be really scatterbrained and spelled wrong and
grammatically incorrect, because I have exactly 30 min. to email.
Thanks for the dearelder! keep 'em coming!!!
So, the MTC is AMAZING. I love it here. Ive been here 4 days, and I've already learned SO. MUCH.
My companion is named Sister Mumford (yes, like the band :)) and if Jessica
Kleinman had a twin sister who grew up on a farm in Idaho, that would be her. I
love her so much :) She happily puts up with all my scatter-brained-ness (Ive
already lost my PMG, my keys, and my name tag, and she didn't even break a sweat
;)) and is totally fine getting up early with me, and loves lord of the rings
and dancing :) she's great.
Speaking of, Torie.... here's a job for you. get on my facebook and add Lori
Mumford from Weston Idaho. Please and thank you :)
Also, Porter, If you could ask brother Goodman for one of those sheets
people use to practice for centurion award, and mail it to me, that would be
great. thanks mucho.
So far, Ive seen: Elder Bloomfield, Elder Washburn, Sister Nava, and Elder
Claridge. No Kami yet, but Elder Claridge sees her a lot, so he's going to tell
her where my classroom is :)
Porter- the food is.... okay. sometimes. but the DO have the worlds best
chocolate milk. ever.
Speaking of classroom.... We spend SO much time learning and in the
scriptures! its absolutely wonderful! this week, I've been taking great comfort
in the story of Abinadi (weird one to take comfort in, i know, but... Its really
a powerful story!) . In Mos. chapter 12, It talks about how he was taken
in front of the king and priests, where they did everything in their power to
trip him up. That is one thing i was really afraid of from my investigators...
but it goes on to say that abinadi astounded the priests with his reply, and he
was able to convey his message, and change one man, which in turn changed
millions. I've come to learn that that is a gift of the spirit, something you
can pray for. Its kind of a cool thought :)
So, yesterday, sister Mumford and I taught our first investigator. (the thing about role play in the MTC. Its SO. REAL. There is no pretending or silliness here. He is a REAL investigator, with REAL problems and struggles). We spent the entire day before super nervous, and so we decided to do a companion fast. we started that night, right after dinner, and then just spent mealtimes in the classroom studding the scriptures and getting to know each other better. Lemme tell you,fasting in the MTC is incredibly difficult, because it feels like we fit the span of 8 days into one, and you really need your energy for that, but it is so, incredibly powerful. We ended up being the last companionship to be able to teach, and we watched one confident companionship after another walk back into our classroom after another, shoulders slumped and near tears. weirdly enough, the closer we got to the actual lesson, the calmer we became. We walked in to John's house (that's his name) with exactly two goals. we wanted to get to know john, and we wanted to help him build a relationship with his heavenly father. We learned that john is a single parent of a 1 year old boy named Dominic, who he described as his best friend. he's a born again christian from Texas, who just moved to Provo and saw the missionaries walking around, and had questions. we leaned that he hadn't prayed in a long time. we opened the lesson with a prayer, and then explained a little bit about what our church believes about our father in heaven. He had never realized that god actually listens to, and answers prayers. Its amazing how much real, tangible love i felt for this man, who was feeling so lost and alone. Sister mumford and I explained the mechanics of prayer, and then asked him if he would feel comfortable praying. My heart sank when he said no, he felt like it had been too long since he had prayed, he didn't really feel worthy. for half a second, we were stumped. then, the spirit whispered to me, and reminded me of the relationship john had with his son, and I brought it up. I asked how he would feel if Domenic didn't talk to his father when he grew up. It really made the idea of prayer real for john! I re- challenged him, and this time, he accepted! YES! He said a very quiet, very simple prayer, and the spirit was stronger in that room than I had ever felt before. He was really thoughtful when he finished, and said he felt really, really good. he then accepted our challenge to pray every day, and HE set up our next lesson, not us! he was really excited about what he was feeling!
So, yesterday, sister Mumford and I taught our first investigator. (the thing about role play in the MTC. Its SO. REAL. There is no pretending or silliness here. He is a REAL investigator, with REAL problems and struggles). We spent the entire day before super nervous, and so we decided to do a companion fast. we started that night, right after dinner, and then just spent mealtimes in the classroom studding the scriptures and getting to know each other better. Lemme tell you,fasting in the MTC is incredibly difficult, because it feels like we fit the span of 8 days into one, and you really need your energy for that, but it is so, incredibly powerful. We ended up being the last companionship to be able to teach, and we watched one confident companionship after another walk back into our classroom after another, shoulders slumped and near tears. weirdly enough, the closer we got to the actual lesson, the calmer we became. We walked in to John's house (that's his name) with exactly two goals. we wanted to get to know john, and we wanted to help him build a relationship with his heavenly father. We learned that john is a single parent of a 1 year old boy named Dominic, who he described as his best friend. he's a born again christian from Texas, who just moved to Provo and saw the missionaries walking around, and had questions. we leaned that he hadn't prayed in a long time. we opened the lesson with a prayer, and then explained a little bit about what our church believes about our father in heaven. He had never realized that god actually listens to, and answers prayers. Its amazing how much real, tangible love i felt for this man, who was feeling so lost and alone. Sister mumford and I explained the mechanics of prayer, and then asked him if he would feel comfortable praying. My heart sank when he said no, he felt like it had been too long since he had prayed, he didn't really feel worthy. for half a second, we were stumped. then, the spirit whispered to me, and reminded me of the relationship john had with his son, and I brought it up. I asked how he would feel if Domenic didn't talk to his father when he grew up. It really made the idea of prayer real for john! I re- challenged him, and this time, he accepted! YES! He said a very quiet, very simple prayer, and the spirit was stronger in that room than I had ever felt before. He was really thoughtful when he finished, and said he felt really, really good. he then accepted our challenge to pray every day, and HE set up our next lesson, not us! he was really excited about what he was feeling!
I know the success of that lesson was definitely a result of our fast, and
that if we faithfully do all we can to help the lord, he helps us come up with
the rest. It was really an incredible experience. I know that our father in
heaven loves each and every one of his children, so so much. I know that prayer
is a powerful way to communicate with him, and through the spirit, he really
does answer us! The Church is so true!!!
I love you all!
Love, Sister Derrick
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