MTC first week pictures

First week at the MTC

Hello Everyone! 

So one week down here at the MTC and 2 more to go! I have been loving it so far! I lucked out with my companion and district! I love them all so much! My companion's name is Sister Thunell (pronounced Tunell, kinda like Chanel, the H is silent). She is also going to Everett Washington English speaking, so hopefully we could be companions again some day! She is from Ventura, California area. She also did a year at BYU last year and lived in Hinckley Halls so we were super close, but just never met! We get along super well, and she has been a huge blessing as I have adjusted to the MTC! We laugh probably a little too much together, but also have really deep spiritual talks with each other. I have 12 missionaries (6 sisters and 6 elders) in my district! We are all English speaking, but are all going to different places throughout the United States, so it will be sad when we leave because we all have become very close and have a great time together! 

On Sundays we are split into branches made up of multiple different districts. In my branch we have three languages, English, Spanish, and ASL, which is pretty neat. Another thing that's really cool about my branch is that my Branch President and his wife (President and Sister Bonham) served at Mission President in the Washington Everett Mission, so they've been telling us all about it!

We have class every day in the morning and night with the district. I love both of my teachers. They both have very different personalities and teach in very different styles, but I have been able to learn a lot from both of them. In the morning Sister Farley teaches us and Brother Watson teaches us at night. 

We have devotionals on Sundays and Tuesdays, so I've had two since I've been here and they were both amazing! On Sunday Michael and Lee Ann Hemmingway spoke. They spoke about the importance of studying Preach my Gospel. And Tuesday Patrick and Jennifer Kearon spoke. Elder Kearon is in the presidency of the Seventy. They talked about a lot of things but somethings that I loved from their talks were:

-Sister Kearon applied the story of the Brother of Jared and the 16 stones to the idea that when we put in our best efforts the Lord is proud of us and magnifies our efforts. In the story of the Bro. of Jared he used ALL of his knowledge to make stones into glass, but it wasn't until the Lord touched them that they began to glow. When we put in our best efforts and rely on the Lord, He will bless us for our efforts and will simply "touch" our efforts and make them shine. 

-Stop worrying. Worry causes you to look inward. So, "forget yourself and go to work." (story about President Hinckley)

-Become the Message

-Teach the message of the gospel with JOY

-Christ is constantly reaching out with open arms and his arms NEVER GET TIRED!

-Baptism is the GREATEST gift!

I also got the opportunity to sing in the choir at the Tuesday devotional which was amazing! We sang a song called "Hurrah for Israel!" Mom I know you'll love this, it is written about/for the missionary that the movie The Other Side of Heaven is about. And He was at the devotional and heard us sing His song which was cool! One line in the song that I love is "Who (talking about missionaries), though rugged be the path, join hands with the Savior of Mankind." It is only when we join hands with the Savior that the miracles happen and we are able to have success. 

We also have had a lot of workshops this week. They are pretty much just classes taught by different people that work here at the MTC. I've loved all of the messages that were shared in them and have learned a lot from them. 

Another thing we've had the chance to do is something called TRC's. This is when we get the opportunity to teach real people, however some of them are members of the church and others are not, but we don't know whether they are or not, and so we treat them all as if they know nothing about the gospel. But it has been amazing to see the Lord's hand in these lessons. I've learned to really rely on the Lord through these. All I can do is just prepare as much as I can and then give it over to the Lord because He is the real teacher, not me. This is His work, not mine. And as I've done this I've been able to see His guidance in the lesson. I will be given thoughts and direction of where to take the lesson or scriptures or thoughts to share. There are times when the lesson goes in a total different direction than is planned, but it's always what the person needed. The Lord is the only one that knows what they need and therefore is the only one that can teach them and make the difference in their life. Our job as missionaries is only to invite and help them, and the Lord does the rest. 

Sorry this is kinda a novel! It's been a jam packed week! I just wanna end with some things that I have learned and have stood out to me in my classes and other experiences. 

-"The Lord is already preparing specific people to receive you in every area you will serve throughout your mission"

-Rely on the Savior! Turn to Him for everything! 

-Comparison is the thief of joy

-None of us are serving the same mission

-Working harder doesn't make you better, working alongside the Lord makes you better

-The Character of Christ: "Look outward when you want to look inward" -David A. Bednar

-Phillipians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

-"care enough to not let people pass you by" 

-Christ is constantly reaching out to us with open arms, and His arms never get tired! 

-When you try to be perfect you are forgetting the role of Jesus Christ in your life. 

-Don't just read the Book of Mormon to get through it, read the Book of Mormon to get through you

-Heavenly Father doesn't care how many times you've read the Book of Mormon, He cares how well you understand it

As you can tell I've learned a lot since being here! I just want to testify that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ hear and answer your prayers. They are there for you every step of the way. Turn to them! Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can accomplish and get through all things! 

Love you all tons and tons!! 

Sister Carlson :)