Surprise!

Hello, humans!

Whenever missionaries are about to leave for the field from the MTC, we're allowed to have a sort-of P-Day the day before we leave. However, I leave on a Monday, which would mean my P-Day is Sunday. But that's the Sabbath! So I'm packing and writing e-mails and doing laundry today as my P-Day, which is why you get two e-mails from me this week. 

I would like to start off by saying Sister Maughan's mom seems to have found my blog! As I know my mom will be posting these weekly e-mails to that blog, I'd like to say hello, Sister Maughan's mother! Your daughter is a wonderful companion, and very sweet! You did a great job. 

Oh! There was one thing I forgot to mention last week! We got zone callings last week, and my companions and I were called as Sister Training Leaders. This means we help new sisters coming into the MTC adjust and we also teach lessons at church! 

We received two new companionships in our zone this week! They're all such sweet girls, and one of them is even from Colorado! They're excited about the gospel, and definitely ecstatic to be at the MTC. Two of them are going to North Dakota, and the others are going to Canada! Wow! I'm so excited for these sisters and the blessings they're about to receive!

Speaking of blessings, this week proved to be tougher than the last. It went by so quickly, and I've struggled with some things I'm learning; and as I get closer and closer to leaving for Mississippi, I have a lot of worries about what is going to happen while I'm serving. 

BUT, I have (had. She's getting married, so she left us early. BUT SHE'S MOVING TO MISSISSIPPI) a teacher named Sister Wiser. She's been such a testimony builder over the past few days since Brother Ahlstrom left class (I mentioned that last time, right? I forget. It's all a blur). On her last day with us, she asked us to write down the fears we have about serving a mission. Needless to say, there were a lot. Things like, not knowing enough about the gospel, getting rejected, losing motivation, losing faith, and so on were thrown up onto the whiteboard. While Sister Wiser wrote, she just nodded and smiled, like she had expected all of this. 

She then had us begin a new list: blessings we get from serving a mission. 

Things like, love, compassion, energy, knowledge, strength, faith, and so on were thrown onto the board. When we were done, she turned to us and had us look up Doctrine and Covenants 67:1-3. (For my non-member friends, Doctrine and Covenants is a book of revelation that was given to us by the first prophet of our Church in the Latter-days.) It reads: 

"Behold and hearken, O ye elders of my church, who have assembled yourselves together, whose prayers I have heard, and whose hearts I know, and whose desires have come up before me. / Behold and lo, mine eyes are upon you, and the heaves and the earth are in mine hands and the riches of eternity are mine to give. / Ye endeavored to believe that ye should receive the blessing which was offered unto you; but behold, verily I say unto you there were fears in your hearts, and verily this is the reason that ye did not receive." 

This was such a straightforward answer to all of my prayers about my fears and my insecurities and my infirmities as a missionary. I am not perfect, nor will I ever be in this life, and I have concerns about my family, friends, my insecurities, and so on. But if I do not fear what is about to happen, and if I push forward knowing that my Heavenly Father has everything worked out, then I have no reason to fear. I have no reason to doubt what is ahead of me. I have been given so many promises, and my brothers and sisters reading this, so have you. 

My stay here at the MTC has had plenty of ups and downs over the past week. My companions and my district and I have grown so close. The Elders can be distracting sometimes, but we really do have some strong testimonies in district 64-B. I'm going to be sad when I leave them. My time here just flown by, and I can't believe I leave in two days. If any of you are considering a mission -- or if any of you already have your calls and aren't sure how you're going to make it through the MTC, just remember to make it till Sunday, and you'll be in the field before you know it. Even if your companion(s) sucks, even if you don't know what you're doing, even if you can't learn your language, even if you can't sleep or eat -- you can make it. Just remember why you're there, take a breath, and press on. 

I leave for Mississippi on Monday at 3:00AM. It will be hot. It will be sweaty. It's supposed to be 99 degrees when I land in Jackson. It will be gross, but I will be spreading the love of Jesus Christ to everyone I meet. The Lord has touched my life, and it is because of Him that I am proudly serving in the south. I cannot tell you how truly grateful I am to have this opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father. 

I'll try and send some photos if I have time today! I love you all, and I hope that everyday is lovely and fantastic for you! Find every reason to smile, and if you haven't found one yet, shoot me an e-mail and I'll be sure to give you a huge list of reasons to make the corners of your mouth twitch. 

I love you all! Godspeed!

Sincerely, 

Sister Rose

We had two birthdays in our district this week! Up first is Elder Cunningham, our district leader, who turned 19! So we drew him a cake on the board, and he blew out the candles. c: 

the next birthday we had was Elder Webster's! Who is also 19! (I'm the oldest in our district, which is so weird!) We sisters thought this was a fitting way to celebrate 

I also drew a cartoon Elder Webster and his companion, Elder Clark. Elder Webster is going to play football for ASU when he gets home, so he has some intense arm muscles that Elder Clark jokingly squeezes now and again to annoy him, so I thought I'd capture that in the drawing. ;)

It's a tradition at the MTC to take a photo next to the world map and point to your mission. I am pointing at Jackson, Mississippi!!!