This week sister Michelle Liu shared the following...
BALLARD/ TENDER MERCIES/ SISTER TRAINING LEADERS :)
BALLARD/ TENDER MERCIES/ SISTER TRAINING LEADERS :)
HELLO EVERYONE.
Each week at the MTC just keeps on getting better and better.
1/19. monday. Day 13: P-DAY. Our district went to the temple together. It was a much needed temple trip, just what I needed to start off my week :) The temple is seriously the most peaceful place, I am so grateful that we are able to go once every week. Then just normal P-day things, laundry, bookstore, going over lessons.
1/20. Tuesday. Day 14: M Russel Ballard came for tuesday night devotional!! Two apostles in a row now :) He gave us a lot of advice on becoming a better missionary. One thing that stood out to me was a piece of advice he gave us: if you are ever feeling discouraged or have any negative thought, take your mind back to liberty jail, and write a letter to Joseph Smith to cheer him up, and you will realize that your problems really aren't that hard anymore. I tried it and realized that it is so true, what Joseph Smith went through is nothing compared to any of my so called "hardships". Taught a new investigator Wang Jie Mei. (Oh and for those who don't know, our "investigators" are just members who volunteer to role play as investigators so that we can practice teaching.) We got a gold tag investigator though! A gold tag investigator is a real investigator, who isn't role playing anyone. We have our first lesson with her next tuesday!
1/21. Wednesday. day 15: Experienced a tender mercy. Woke up feeling tired, and unmotivated for some reason. The day was long and I felt like I couldn't get through the day. Then Heavenly Father blessed me with a tender mercy that I am going to remember forever. One of my close friends from BYU, Effie, walked into my room later that night. I almost cried. It was so nice to see a familiar face, and talking to her was just what i needed. She arrived at the MTC that day, and is not only living in the same building and same floor, but she lives in the room right. next. to. me. Ahhhh wednesday was wonderful.
1/22. Thursday. Day 16: Did service in the morning. Cleaned toilets. 'nuff said. Taught Wan Jie Mei. She agreed to pray about the things we were saying to see if they are true :) Lunch time I saw another friend from home, Dallin Slavens, it was seriously so nice to see another familiar face, the days just kept on getting better as the week went on. Night time was bonding time with Sister Graham, we are getting so close. I have 7 weeks left but I am already sad just thinking about us being separated.
1/23. Friday. Day 17: Just normal classes on friday. Nothing too exciting. But still learning a lot. Oh Elder Chen had brought in two bananas to class. When he left the room, we taped them to the bottom of his desk. I kid you not, he spent the next 30 minutes looking for his bananas. Highlight of the day. As you can see, sometimes we get bored in class... But still, overall, a good day.
1/24. Saturday. Day 18: yay!! Saturday was wonderful! We taught our first TRC lesson. TRC lessons are with members of the church, they aren't playing a role, like some of our "investigators". TRC lessons are just inviting and helping members come unto Christ. They are usually RMs (return missionary) who speak your mission language. We taught 2 sessions, each 20 minutes each. The first one was an RM who served in Australia, mandarin speaking, and the second one was actually companions with the first one back when they were both on missions! It was cool to share a message with them, I could really feel the spirit in both lessons.
1/25. Sunday. Day 19: Sundays are wonderful. Played the piano for sacrament meeting. What's new. haha no but it was good. Also accompanied the leaving district who sang a song together. They all leave today :( So we will only have 2 districts in our zone once they leave :( Oh some semi big news. Sister Graham and I got called as the new sister training leaders. Which means we look over/take care/ train all the sisters in our zone. It's going to be a busy calling with LOTS of meetings, but I'm excited :) Being STL also means we get a phone! Don't get too excited, it only has one capability: calling the front desk. When we got it, we hadn't held a piece of technology in our hand for 20 days, that Sister Graham and I just kind of put it on the desk and stared at it.. we didn't even want to touch it haha....
Well that was the week! Our district grows closer and closer each day, well that's what happens when you spend 16 hours together. Every. Day. MTC life is great, but I miss you all! Hope everyone has a great week!
Love Always, Sister Liu