The first thing
I've noticed since being here is the Spirit (from here on known as O
Espirito Santo) is so strong. The MTC is a sacred and dedicated place
that is filled with almost 2,000 young men and women with the mantel of
Jesus Christ upon their spiritual shoulders and His name branded in
shiny tags above their hearts. His name is sacred. And to have this many
people here learning of Him... it's incredible.
My
first impression here was how shocked I was to see so many relatively
young people. Many of the girls here are 19 with a fall birthday
(meaning that they just graduated high school this year) And, of course,
many many young men are 18. I don't know why this characteristic
surprised me. But it did. But as my "newbie" eyes adjusted I see women
of all kinds of ages being trained to go out into the fields and also
the Elders here range from several years of age. And what a difference
having a year and half on my own has made!! I'm grateful for it. The
mentality it's given me.
My companion is Sister
Bundy. She just turned 19 last month and graduated from Dixie High
School in St. George, Utah. She was Senior Class President and she plays
volleyball like a rock star! She is probably one of the sweetest people
I've ever met. She is so susceptible to the spirit in ways that I
usually never cared for. The language is beginning to show itself to her
as a giant rearing snake. She was incredibly discouraged and
disappointed. We've prayed together, sung together, and finally fasted
together. And I've never seen anyone work so hard in their lives. And
I'll tell you, later in this email I will share how the Lord has blessed
her for it!
General Conference, right?? So
let me tell you what Conference was like in the MTC. It was like
spiritual Christmas! All 2,000 missionaries gathered together in the
devotional hall and on huge screens we watched our modern day prophets,
seers, and revelators bear their testimonies and invite us all to be a
little better today then we were yesterday. Amazing. When the
missionaries all stand up and sing together--the spirit bears witness of
a sacred and truly significant work!!! First of all: HOW AWESOME WAS IT
WHEN PEOPLE GOT TO SPEAK IN THEIR NATIVE TONGUE! I am so proud to
say that, as a world-wide church, we listen to people from around the
world. LANGUAGE IS NO BARRIER TO CHRIST'S ATONEMENT AFFECTING THEM. We
know this especially in missionary work. And it is a beautiful element
to add to General conference! :D
While all
the Elders went to Priesthood meeting the Sisters went to a hall to re
watch the General Women's meeting. Amazing. I'm glad that they did this
because last week I was spending time with my family and getting ready
to leave!! And what an incredibly edifying experience that meeting was!
Please, women, go and watch that meeting. It was awesome.
While
all the Sisters came back feeling pumped and full of O Espirito Santo,
the Elders came back from Priesthood meeting looking like a little bit
of the world was on their shoulders... I guess Thomas S. Monson didn't
crack any jokes and it was unsettling. But one thing was for sure: Our
prophet means business.
I got some meaningful
insights from this week that I got to jot down, so I will share them
with you before I share the rest of my email. God works through people
as angel of comfort. An Elder in our Zone came to my companion
(unbeknownst to him, she was really having a rough time of it) and gave
her a note with a $1 coin with a beautiful picture of Sacajawea on it.
The note said that on the day he left, his Mom handed the coin to him
and said,
"Here. This is for a strong girl." He said that he
was a little weirded out but, in respect for his mother he kept the coin
close to him with a prayer in his heart. In the note he said that as
soon as he saw Sister Bundy, he was prompted to give the coin to her. He
testified that he cannot ever ignore a prompting like that. He told her
that Sister Bundy is "a strong girl" and that no matter what she can
get through anything. It was a beautiful moment. Sister Bundy deeply
loves and misses her family. And that was exactly what she needed at
that time. A simple story when told..... but it seriously was a
beautiful thing to witness. Thank you, Elder Purrirri. You are an
intuitive man.
In a place like this I can
fully understand and respect the phrase: With an eye single to the glory
of God. D&C chapter 4 is one of the shortest chapters in the
D&C. Worth a read. I can testify that God has His eye out for all
His children. And missionary work belongs to Him. I am merely a conduit.
And with a big calling such as this I am determined to keep strict heed
to anything asked of me in order to keep the spirit as a companion.
Everyone
in my district is waiting for a visa. And many many foreign language
speaking missionaries. One thing is for sure: it's in the Lord's
Hands! What better way to insure that I am where I need to be by God
sending to so many places where people have to consistently pray to Him
about where to properly put me. And I received a sweet confirmation the
other night, O Espirito Santo bore witness to me that I am called to be
in Brazil. And I will be going to Brazil. No worries.
(but some extra prayers for all our visas to come through won't hurt a bit ;D)
We were expected to teach our first lesson to an investigator IN PORTUGUESE on our 3rd day. you know... Friday
afternoon. Yeah.... we tanked. His name is Joao. He's from Brazil and
he was super nice...but....yeah BUT!!! We left that meeting with a
refreshed determination to learn our language and teach with O
Espirito Santo!!
Yesterday, Monday,
we taught our second lesson with Joao. It was.... phenomenal. So
spiritual!! Joao said he could feel the spirit and we got him to say the
prayer!! Our lessons are in very broken Portuguese and half of it is a
big game of Charades. But I know one thing for sure!!! We have the
mantel of Jesus Christ upon us. And language is no barrier to getting
his love to His children. The ONLY thing we need in our lessons/lives is
O Espirito Santo!!
Wednesday
(sorry going back and forth) my first day was a crazy long day. we were
all shuffled around and as soon as we had 2 seconds to get ourselves
settle we were sent off to our first day of class! Irmao Read is our
teacher. He truly is called of God to teach our class. He is incredibly
in tune with the spirit. He teaches our class with divine inspiration.
Many many things from Spanish are coming back to me. the blessing
President Burton sealed on me stand SO true for me. "Blessed with the
gift of tongues. And the ability to retain, learn, and speak the
language" YES. My companion and I finally got to bear our testimonies in
Portuguese in that special second lesson. Sister Bundy's face filled
with tears while the beautiful (and broken) language poured out and O
Espirito Santo bore witness of her words. Words that I knew she had a
hard time with. It was incredible.
Thursday:
Missionary work is NOT a statistical competition. It is not a game of
persuasion or an attempt to prove that anyone is wrong. Missionary work
is to "invite people to come unto Christ through His restored Gospel" I
know it is true!! I'm understanding what that means more and more!
Friday:
Our first lesson in Portuguese... yes. Joao is an actor. BUT!! this is
how the Lord has proclaimed that we teach his missionaries. So we are to
treat his as a real investigator. And... like I said, our first lesson
Tanked. Joao was very nice, but a huge fear of the lack of language
prevented O Espirito Santo from being there. Sistger Bundy and I
were.... triste. :( but that night we bonded as a companionship. We
talked about our testimonies-- and we opened up about our insecurities
concerning missionary work. And it was incredible. It was a tender way
for the Lord to let us become good friends.
SATURDAY WAS CONFERENCE WOOT
SUNDAY WAS CONFERENCE 2.0
Monday.
Yesterday. you all thought it was P-Day! but, nope! But! I'll only get
the computers for a few hours in the morning. So PLEASE email me on
Mondays and Tuesday
mornings so that I can get a n accurate time-frame. (I promise that my
next email will be better organized and hopefully I'll have more time)
Remember that! Tuesdays. If every single 2,000 missionaries here at the
MTC had the same P-Day there would be mass chaos.
okay...my notes are leading me back to our dear Joao.
When
Sister Bundy and I taught Joao again... it truly was incredible. I KNOW
that even thought the man playing Joao is fake-- Joao... our
pesquisador, is real!! Many of the actors use their own conversion story
to play out or a loved on while they portrayed an investigator. But you
should all know that bearing my testimony in Portuguese is one of the
most precious things EVER!!
FINALLY: TUESDAY: Almost made it to a whole week!
I
love my companion. The second I met her I knew we were meant to be
companions. She is such a sweet person with a spirit that is so
susceptible to the Holy Ghost, I love to hear her simple and firm
testimony. She loves Disney and Disney land. And whether missionaries
have the gift of tongues or simply the entitlement to God's inspiration
due to bearing our Savior's name on our hearts: GOD HELPS HIS
MISSIONARIES EITHER WAY.
Sister bundy runs
into many many people per day that she knows. this is a blessing because
of how much she misses her family. For myself...I've only seen 2 people
that I know. Ethan Vehar who said a brief hello our first day. And
(drum roll please) BRIAN CLYDE (Clyde??? I think that's his last name.)
For all my Rockwell friends receiving this email. BUT Brian was wearing a
WHITE tag signifying him as a volunteer and not an Elder ...yet. really
interesting!
My cold! Yes, I'm much better. :)
Thank you for your inquiry. I am pleased to say that I'm on the healing
end of it! And I'm glad that i got it at home rather than here...
because it's running rampant here at the MTC.
My
watch broke my first night here D8 I loved that watch. Tell Aunt
JoDeene that I love her and I threw it away with a fond memory of the
night she gave it to me. :) Miss her. Hope she's okay.
now
I have a new watch that I bought at the MTC. It's nice... doesn't have
an Aunt JoDeene bling to it that I'm used to but I like it. :)
SO
many notes!! I'm going through notebooks so much! SO!! if any one you
want to know what to send me (because I CAN receive packages at the
Provo MTC) you can never go wrong with Headbands, scarves, notebooks,
and moleskin. ;)
Love my District. We laugh
together, we bear our testimonies together and we all speak in broken
Portuguese together. My favorite thing by far that I've witnessed here is
looking into a private study room and seeing two 18-year-old boys with
furrowed brows and their faces in the BofM. We all have the same
investigator, Joao, but all our personal experiences with Joao are
different according to the needs of the Lord.
WHAT AN AMAZING WORK I'M A PART OF! I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!! PLEASE EMAIL ME!!!
We
missionaries all thirst for words from home almost as much as we thirst
for righteousness. If you have a minute... take the time.
LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!!! GOD BLESS!!! AND REMEMBER THAT DEUS VOCE AMA! <3
love,
Sister Hennefer
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