One Month....

March 30, 2010

Tomorrow I will have been in the MTC for 4 weeks. That's so great and so crazy at the same time. I still walk around surrounded by incredible missionaries, and then find myself so humble to be wearing that same nametag. I love this work.

This week my companion and I taught our first progressing investigator. This is a teacher who acts like an investigator and we teach them for many weeks. They never give feedback and they never break character when we see them. It's pretty neat because it gives us a taste of preparing lessons based on the needs of our investigators. His name is Jax, and we love him already...even after only a visit. It is amazing to me to see how much love a missionary can have...it always sounded a bit cliché to me, but it is so real. The mission is a great place to really learn about love and Christ-like charity.

Also this week, our teacher Hno. Rosales (de Mexico) brought us Mexican paletas (suckers). These were called Zumba Picas, and they were gross, yet strangely addicting. Every time I licked it, I made a face, but I could not bring myself to stop eating it! It was way funny! We love our teachers so much. They are so great, and have pushed us hard, but it is easy to see that it is very worth it, as we are able to learn much faster than if we had taken it easy.

This week my comp. and are finally starting to get the hang of effective planning. Things that were once easy for me are a lot harder to do when it involves two people instead of just me. For example, studying, planning, running errands, etc. But we are really starting to get the hang of it, and it has been a good week. I love my companion so much. We are so different, but the Lord knew what he was doing when He assigned us to serve together... we have such a good time and we learn a lot from each other.

Sunday was fast and testimony meeting, and I bore my testimony in Spanish. I can testify that the Lord helps us share His message in whatever language we are assigned to share it in. It was really cool to be able to stand in front of my zone and share my feelings in a language that is still so new to me. I was able to say most of what I wanted to say. It felt so great. It certainly didn't gracefully rolled off my tongue, but I think I was able to get my feelings across, and that was such a blessing.

Yesterday I was thinking a lot about how grateful I am to have this opportunity. How grateful I am that the Lord knows me better than I know myself. He wanted me to have this blessing in my life--the ability to think about nothing but this work all day long. I am so excited to have the opportunity to serve the people of Chile. I am growing to love them already. I spend all day thinking, learning, and studying for them. I am so grateful that my thoughts can just be consumed with this work. It is tiring sometimes, but it is so beautiful.

At night I get to go back to my apartment and look at my pictures of friends and family and think of you all. I hope everything is going well. I think of you all often. I hope and pray for the very