Year 1 - Letter 5 - MTC

Time Flies When You Are Having Fun. . . .

Hola!

Oh my gosh this week has been CRAZY! A big big big thank you to Uncle Chad and Aunt Jennifer and their boys for the darling "Box of Sunshine". It brought a lot of sunshine into my day and is the cutest thing! Thank you so much! Also thank you to Gayelyne for the cupcake! Hermana Blauer and I enjoyed sharing it and it also lightened up my day. Thank you for thinking of me.

I can´t believe that it is already Thursday! Time in EL CCM is so weird! The biggest thing that happened this week is that one of our districts left this week to go to New York and Mexico. It was sad to say goodbye because Hermana Blauer and I got really close with the Elders and Sisters in this district. The only sister in the district lived with us and was kind of like our MTC mom. The night before she left we sat around and talked and I aksed her what was the most important thing that she learned here. Her reply was so powerful! She said that the most important things that she learned is what she discovered about herself. I am growing so much and learning more and more each day but I don't always take the time to really think about it and appreciate it. It is weird when a district leaves but it is such a happy occassion because they are going out to do the work of the Lord. With the district leaving we got new zone leaders and a new coordinating sister. Since Hermana Baluer and I are now the only two sisters in the entire zone we knew it would be one of us. Hermana Blauer was called to serve as coordinating sister for two weeks and then I will have the opportunity to serve the final two weeks. While she is in meetings and things I have permission to be alone with the elders. It is so funny because they are so protective of me. They cater to my every whim. For example, one time I coughed once and they were all so concerend and started offering cough drops to me. Also when we were walking down the stairs two elders walked in fornt of me and then two walked behind me we joked around that they are my sercret service because they were wearing their suit coats and felt so official. So don't worry about me my elders take good care and I honestly love them they are all amazing.

Something funny that happened this week is that the Elders are obbsessed with this non-acholohic wine called Sangria that they sell at the bookstore (yes it is weird that the MTC sells non-alcholic wine). So one night this week we had a Sangria party. It was a funny sight I am sure... a bunch of missionaries standing around drinking out of bottles. Then we displayed the bottles on a shelf in our classroom it took our teachers off guard for sure.

This week Hermana Blauer had a really bad charlie horse in the middle of the night and woke up and could barely walk. So we spent some time in the health center and as I sat there I thought of Scott and how much time he spent there I do not know how he survived living here for so long and having to go to so many appointment. Scott you are a saint.  It is a crazy place to be but I had fun listening to all of the many reasons that people come in.

On Sunday we were able to attend the Brigham City Temple Dedication (broadcasted). It was so neat to attend a temple dedication and have a greater appreciation for the importance of temples now that I have gone through the temple. The talks were amazing and all of them touched on what a blessing the temple would be to the people in that area. President Packer was presiding since he is from Brigham City and so it ws a privilege for him to be there. It was so sad though because he looked so old and had a hard time remembering things. It was a sweet expereince to hear him speak because you could just tell that his time on this earth is short. His remarks were brief but powerful. He mostly shared how much it meant to him to be there and to see a temple in his home town. It made me so thankful for temples in my life and for the Mesa Temple in particular. What a neat experience.

Yesterday we taught the best lesson that we have ever taught. It was incredible. We asked the baptismal invitation for the first time. We should have done it way before now but we finally have the confidence and the spanish abilities that we felt we needed. My heart was pounding the entire lesson. The lesson we taught was on the three degrees of glory and then we tied in how families can be together forever. We had Hermono Ellett come in and act as Lesbia's son. We taught how families can be together forever and then sang families can be together forever. There is something so amazing about sining the hymns in Spanish the spirit was incredible. I could barely get throuh the song because I thought of how much I love and miss my family but I am so thankful that I know we can be together forever. We then each took the chance to testify of this sweet concept and showed pictures of our families. She loved all of this and you could tell she felt the Spirit. Then we taught how in order for families to be together forever we have to live in the celstial kingdom and to be in the celestial kingdom we have to be baptized. Then Hermana Blauer invited her to be baptized. Lesbia asked why she has to be baptized in order for her family to be together forever. We taught her more about the importance of baptism and how it is following Christ's example. Then it came time where I knew that it was time to ask her again but I didn't feel comfortable saying it because I didn't have it memorized perfectly. I looked at Hermana Blauer and said go ahead and she looked at me in the eye and said no you need to say it. I said it perfectly and was so glad that I did because I have never felt the Spirit that strongly in my entire life. What an amazing experience!

I encourage all of you to not be afraid to shre the gospel. When you open your mouth the Lord will bless you! In the devotional this week the speaker quoted President Monson when he said "Whom the Lord calls He qualifies". This is so true! I see it's truth manifest each and every day. We are all called to bring others unto Christ even though you don't wear a name tag. I know that the Lord will qualify each and every one of you to share His word.

Thank you all for all of your support and prayers. I feel so loved.

Oh and we got three new Hermanas yesterday! It is so fun to show them around.

Love you all,

Hermana Hillary 

More photos from the MTC - Sept 2012

Hermana Andrews & companion, Hermana Blauer at the MTC map
This is where we are preparing to go!

Here I come California Santa Rosa Mission.

Silly companions!

With Elder Mortensen who is on his way to the mission field.

With Elder Wright who is also on his way.

District at the MTC map.

District with our teacher at the MTC.

Hermana Blauer and I with Elders Frame and Hales before they left.

Year 1 - Letter 4 - MTC

One Month Down = Insanity

Hola everyone!

 

So as the title says I have been in el CCM for one month as of yesterday. I can't believe it. After living here for one month I am definitely insane. If you thought I was weird before I am totally insane now. There is something about being around 19 year old boys all day that gets to you sometimes and you just do weird things. Yesterday we started skipping and singing songs from enchanted with oh about 50 people staring at us. The weirdest thing that I have seen an elder do was last night after gym when an elder had on his pajamas and robe under his white shirt and pants. He looked really fat and you could see it all bunched up. His reasoning was that it was easier because then he did not have to change into his pajamas later.

 

This week one of the best thing that happened was that I got a wonderful surprise of Shirley's cinnamon rolls from Aunt Janette and Uncle Gregg. It made my day and they were so good! Thank you for thinking of me!

 

Also Sheri Dew spoke at Relief Society this Sunday. I have always loved her and she was incredible. She talked about the importance of knowing who we are. I loved how she didn't just talk about ho we are daughters of God but she also talked about the importance of knowing our heritage. I am thankful that I have grown up hearing stories of my ancestors and I know that they are watching out for me. The fireside this Sunday was also incredible it was all about the Book of Mormon and how the Lord wants to protect his book. The speaker is the director of proselyting for the mission department, Brother Watson he served as the President of the Mesa mission in 2004-2007. He showed us a clip of the Book of Mormon Broadway play it very cynical and it was amazing to feel the Spirit leave the room. He then talked about how the church put up Mormon.org billboards all over New York (in the subway stations, on street corner, everywhere) and they also put up jumbo trons in Times Square. The playbill even had Mormon.org adds in it. The Lord works in mysterious ways because even though the play is a terrible representation of the church it has been an amazing opportunity to share the real Book of Mormon with the world. After the fireside I had a greater desire to read the Book of Mormon every day because I know without a doubt that we will all be blessed if we do.

 

Also on Sunday we watched a talk that Elder Callister gave on the apostasy. It is incredible. He is so amazing and so smart. I wish I could tell you all about it but he talked about 10 points that are evidence that the great apostasy occurred. The one that sticks out to me the most is that the bible ends. It seems simple like duh the bible ends but if there was no apostasy and the apostles weren't killed the bible would have still been written and it would not have ended. This is also evidence of the need for a restoration because imagine life with out the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Christ.

 

One more thing about the Book of Mormon this week one of my teachers encouraged me to make the Book of Mormon come to life for my investigators and I apply the stories to their lives. I would encourage all of you to always ask yourselves how can I apply what I am reading in the Book of Mormon to my life. It is powerful!

 

Lesbia and Diego are doing great. Diego went to "church" which is exciting! We are teaching them lesson 2 which is difficult but exciting.

 

The devotional this week was my favorite my far. It was Elder Koeliker of the 70. He was just so humble and sweet. He encouraged us to listen to the Spirit and split our paper in half and put his words on one side and the words of the Spirit on the other side. I have done this before but doing this that time was so powerful because I minutes before the devotional began Hermana Blauer and I had got into a little argument and I just didn't feel the Spirit at all. I prayed to my Heavenly Father and plead for the Spirit to be with me and that I would hear something in the fireside that would help me change my attitude. That night I received so many wonderful promptings that changed my life. Please take time out of your busy lives to listen to the spirit. It is amazing. He also talked about the importance of the temple and how it is a protection for us. He also said the our service in the temple is the only way we can truly serve as Christ did. (As I heard that comment I though I bet Papa has thought of that before because he is so smart).

 

This week I have decided that I must take the advice of President Bawden and be vulnerable. I have been sharing so many personal comments in class and randomly it is crazy because that is just not me. On Sunday Hermana Blauer and I got to teach a lesson in district meeting about the atonement. I felt like I should share about how when I had back surgery Dad wrote me a letter and that included Alma 7:11- 12 in it. That letter changed the way that I think about the atonement and it helped be get through that difficult time. I also bore a powerful testimony about the atonement and the spirit was so strong. Being vulnerable is hard but worth it.

 

My Spanish is coming along great. I am working so hard to Speak Your Language it is hard but worth it. Oh and we go to to the Teaching Resource Center (TRC) where we teach members lessons. It is really fun and not scary at all.

 

I am doing great besides the fact that I am weird but oh well.

 

Thank you for your prayers and support.

 

Hermana Andrews

Year 1 - Letter 3 - MTC

Subject in e-mail: Mi vida en el CCM es muy bien

Hola! What a wonderful week. I have felt so loved as I have recieved many letters and packages. I love you all and wish I could write you all back and thank you right away and hopefully I will eventually but for now shouts will have to do. Aunt Abby thank you for the funny note, the awesome cd, and the mints. It was such a fun suprise and I will enjoy using all of the gifts. I enjoyed getting a letter from Granny and Granpda. Thank you for sharing the missionary experience and for the updates on everyone. I also recieved darling cards from the Manning girls. That was such a suprise and it made my day! Aunt Janette thank you so much for the postcard from Hawaii. I loved hearing about all of the changes Your family has gone through recently  they are all for the good! Like ten minutes ago I recieved the cutest letter from Brynn Schults a long with a drawing of me holding a book of mormon and the best thing is that she looked at the pictures on the blog so I am wearing one of my outfits. I will try to take a picture so you can all see it.

Thank you again for all who wrote me a long with all who keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Letters are great but I also feel the support.

On to the week....

So last week I somehow forgot to tell you that I got called to be the Branch Music Coordinator. I was shocked because I have no musical talent but all I have to do is pick out the hymns we sing and ask people to lead, play the piano and be in musical numbers. A fun fact is that in the MTC we are not set apart for callings because we are set apart as missionaries. Makes sense, huh? I am finally seeing improvement in my Spanish and it is due to the fact that I have been getting help from the Zone Resource teacher Hermano Ellett. He is great and his job is to help us with our Spanish outside of class. I love the additional help in a more private setting. I also say all of my prayers in Spanish which is the neatest experience because I feel like a child again because my vocabulary is so basic but the spirit is still there and I know Heavenly Father speaks Spanish too so my prayers are still answered.

Every Saturday we do service around the MTC this week I cleaned 26 toilets. My back hurt so bad after but it was worth it because "when we are in the service of our fellow beings we are in the service of our God" Mosiah 2:17.

I have forgot to mention that here at the MTC our investigators are really teachers at the MTC but they are pretending to be an investigator that they taught on their missions.

Right now our investigators are Lesbia and Diego.

This week we had really neat experiences with both of them.

Diego- When we went to teach him he seemed very sad and then he told us that his sister was very sick and in the hospital. I told him that we would pray for her and then I had the strongest feeling that we needed to teach about how families can be together forever instead of what we had planned on teaching. The spirirt was so strong and Hermana Blauer and I both knew that was what we were supposed to do. At the end of the lesson I said the closing prayer and as I prayed for his sister I almost began to cry because I felt God's love for her and Diego. It is so weird how this is a fake situation but it is real and so it makes me so excited for the field when it will be real!

Lesbia- We have had a hard time getting Lesbia to commit to praying out loud and with us in lessons. We brought Hermano Ellett with us as a member and he was able to testify and share an experience about prayer. We then taught about the first vision and how that was Joseph Smiths first vocal prayer. At the end of the lesson we asked her to pray and she was hesitant but then I asked her again and told her that she could use the pamphlet to help her. She then said that she would pray! It was so exciting and such a beautiful prayer. We were all so excited and I again felt so much love for her.

This week we have had amazing devotionals and firesides. The fireside was by Brother Heiton who works in the administration at the MTC. From him I learned that I don't need to worry or get nervous before my lessons because the lesson is in the spirits hands. This gave me so much peace because sometimes I stress out a lot (nothing new). At the devotional Elder Carlson talked about obedience and being 100% obedient. I have seen how obedience can bless my life. The mission life has so many rules but they are all so important. I am so thankful that I have made the choice to be obedient and that I had parent who encouraged me to be obedient.

Also this week another district in our zone left and they were all on their way to Chile and two elders from our district left to go to the MTC in Guatemala. Every Sunday when someone leaves the whole zone goes into their classroom and we all sing God Be With You Till We Meet Again in Spanish and then on the fourth verse we sing the chorus really loud and all of the Elders hug and pile on each other and us Hermanas stand in the corner and just laugh and make sure that an Elder doesn't touch us!  It is a fun tradition and not a sad goobye because you can tell they are ready for the field.

We also got a new district in our zone and it has been fun getting to know them. Unfortunately there aren't any Hermanas but 11 Elders they enjoy talking to the three of us Hermanas and we love giving them advice. It is like getting 11 new baby brothers because we really are all a big family and watch out for each other.

I saved this last tidbit for the end because it is bitter sweet. I said goodbye to Scott (Elder Andrews) this week. I was so happy he was able to go out in the field but I already miss him so much but know that he is where he needs to be. I may or may not have hugged him twice (shhhhh.... don't tell... I did look both ways first and the coast was clear). He will be awesome!

There are a million things I still want to say but I need to end sooner than later. I love you all! Thanks for everything.

Love,

Hermana Hillary

Photos from the MTC

By our door on the first night at the MTC. 8/22/12

Sister Blauer (my great companion) and I on our first temple walk.

Our district in front of the Provo Temple.

My companion, Sister Blauer, took this picture of the five hermanas before two left.
Elder Mortensen, in our zone, snuck in.

The three hermanas
Hermana Blauer (LA Baton Rouge Mission), Hermana Keannini (NY North Mission) and Hermana Andrews

Year 1 - Letter 2 - MTC

Hola!

 

Como esta? This week has been great. I am adjusting to the schedule and realizing that this work is my life. Every Sunday we do this weekly progress assessment and we are 25% done with our stay at the MTC! It is crazy. First of all just want to thank a few people. Aunt Abby thank you so much for your letter and the transcription of my setting apart. This week definitely had it's ups and downs and it was so nice to remember those profound words. Papa I love getting your letters each week it is so nice to get all of the details from the "outside world". My companion thinks it is amazing that you write such detailed letters and she refers to you as my grandpa who writes the "novels". :) Receiving mail is the best part of each day and it gives me strength to keep going so please feel free to write even if it is short. Oh and also I never thanked Joyce Stokes for making me those beautiful earrings but I love them so much and wear them almost every day they go with anything so thank you to her.

 

So the stress of the schedule here kind of got to me and Hermana Blauer this week. We were short a teacher which means we did not have a set investigator either and so we never knew what was going on and so we never had much time to prepare for anything. We were also frustrated because we also felt like we were not really progressing. We had a few times where we just broke down into tears and the whole time I was thinking we can't let this bring us down so I tried to be positive but sometimes it is just best to let it out. All is well now. The only reason I am sharing this is because I had a point that really changed my point of view. One of the time when we broke down one of the teachers that was substituting our class was trying to comfort us and he told us that we should not get down on ourselves because we do not know the language we must remember that the most important thing that we can do is to invite the spirit to be with our investigator. Sometimes I worry so much about what I am going to say and that I don't speak spanish but all that matters is that the Spirit is there. As I have applied this I have had some very powerful experiences with investigators.

Also our teacher Hermana Cutler also comforted us through this rough time and encouraged us to read D&C 121. It is so powerful and gave me so much comfort. I know that we are given trials for a reason and they make us stronger. If you are going through a hard time right now read D&C 121.

 

Then on Monday we finally got a new teacher Hermano Ferguson. He is brand new at the MTC but he is great and his teaching style is really helping me progress. It is an answer to my prayers and making everything a lot easier. This Sunday for the fireside we watched Pres. Monson's birthday celebration. Oh mu gosh it is amazing if you haven't watched it do it asap i is on lds.org on the home page right now. I loved all of the music. The song form phantom and bring him home were my favorite. Such beautiful singers. Loved it!

 

On Tuesday we lost the oldest district (including Elder Shreeve he was in my zone not my district) and so we got new zone leaders. Two of the hermanas were in that district so now there are only three. Hermana Keannini is a solo which means she does not have a companion because they moved up to intermediate spanish or went to the peru MTC. She lived with the other hermans but she now lives with us and it is really fun. She is from Hawaii and is going to the New York North mission. We woke up at 4:30 to say goodbye to everyone it is crazy how close you can get to people in two weeks they will all be amazing missionaries.

 

This weeks Devotional was really good. Elder and Sister Kopischke from Germany spoke. His talk was really good on repentance but her talk stuck out to me the most. She is from Germany and speaks very little English but she spoke with so much enthusiasim and the spirit was strong. She said Heavenly Father speaks every language and it is true. It gave me hope that even though my spanish is a struggle at times I can still have the spirit with me.

 

I can't believe I haven't mentioned how much I love gym. We go use the machines and I love the elliptical. This week I met the cutest elderly sister that is going to Washington D.C. We were like best friends after gym and it helped me realize that I have some Ruth Andrews blood in me. I am so glad I know it will come in handy.

 

I love studying the book of mormon with a specific question in mind. On Tuesday I was read in 1 Nephi 15 and in verse 8 the footnote on inquire led me to the Topical Guide (I love the TG it is wonderful I never understood the importance of it but it is awesome) under Problem Solving (who knew there was a section on that). All of the scriptures listed were incredible and gave me such strength. I know that the Lord will help me through my trails and He is the ultimate Problem Solver.

 

One last thing I loved hearing about the testimony of Brynn Schults. It made me think of all my wonderful beehives. So a little shout to you great beehives. I love you and think of you often. I hope you are doing well and I would love to hear from you. Continue to look for opporunties to share the gospel and if you pray for these opportunities Heavenly Father will bless you with them. Also read the Book of Mormon it has the potential to answer any question or problem you have. You are all incredible. Love, Sister Hillary:)

 

Overall, everything is going well. Spanish isn't perfect but it is never going to be but I do my best and remain my happy self and life is good.

 

Thank you for your prayers they are powerful.

 

Love,

 

Hermana Hillary