Stories from the MTC

We went to a devotional a couple nights ago (this is a funny story) and the speaker kept showing us clips from the movie, "The Other Side of Heaven." I kept thinking why is he showing us this? I don’t get it. Turns out, after the devotional, one sister told me that the speaker was the guy who the movie was about!!!!! It was soooooooo embarrassing, I can’t believe I didn’t make that connection!! hahahahaha. But he was a really great speaker. He told us ways that we could bear our testimonies. Through prayer, words, writing, song, deeds, actions (and then I added my own: through laughter) :]

As it turns out, I was feeling like a failure missionary with one of the investigators that we were teaching. Every time we went in to visit her, we just messed around and joked and laughed the whole time and then maybe expressed one or two scriptures or spiritual thoughts. But, when we visited her again, she was telling us that she is losing the ability in her legs, and she has rheumatoid arthritis in her hands so she is really depressed and doesn’t have enough energy to do a lot of things anymore. (Especially since she is a phenomenal singer and guitar player and she always performs for us her spiritual songs from her religion on the guitar whenever we go.) So anyways, she told us that the previous time when we had been in there just laughing and joking all night long, that she hasn’t laughed that hard or that long in so long and that it gave her enough energy to organize her whole office and then walk to her car. And, she was crying because she hasn’t had that much energy in so long!!! So, I decided that you can also bear your testimony through laughter. :] and then I also realized that we weren’t just messing around and being unproductive as missionaries but we were giving her what she needed. So that made me happy. :] Cuz i was feeling like a flop of a missionary for messing around so much when we were supposed to be teaching... 

On Wednesdays, new missionaries arrive at the MTC. The sisters and I were walking out of the cafeteria and saw a group of new missionaries and I meant to yell out to them “welcome!” but when I opened my mouth, the word “happy!” came out instead, it was so embarrassing! I was just like – What?? So for the rest of the day, whenever we saw any new missionaries, I just yelled out “happy!” to them and it was so much fun watching all the different reactions - a lot of confused ones. So now it is an inside joke in our district to just yell out “Happy!”

On a sad day for our district, one of the members or our group needed to go home. But, I think it was a great miracle that she was here at the MTC for a while with us. She and I got super close and I just love her. I think there was a reason she needed to be here with us for a week, but an even greater reason that she needed to be home. It’s been a really spiritual experience realizing how God works with timing and everything. There is just such a greater, intricate plan that God has for every one of us and it’s almost inconceivable the ways that he has everything work. It was just the most special thing, the Elders in our district came together and gave her a blessing and I just love our district so much. I love how incredibly close-knit and tight and strong we have become!. And, the Elders are just the sweetest, most amazing sons of God that I have ever met! They are so immature, but they can just come together and create this incredibly powerful, spiritual experiences.