Sister Avery Carlson, Boise Idaho Mission: MTC Week 3

Henlo, family!

I heard that y'all were on TREK this week!! That is so hecking exciting, and I'm still expecting to hear all about it from you, Inin and Ivy! Thank you for the emails you have sent thus far, they really do brighten my day and encourage me to keep on truckin'.

So, it's been quite the week. I think I forgot to mention this last time, but the at the end of last week and the beginning of this week, there's been the senior missionary seminar happening which means that the quorum of the 70 and the apostles have been on campus. I didn't get the chance to see any of the 12, but there were others who did and they were freaking out about it.

For our Tuesday devotional, 10 apostles were there and Elder David A. Bednar spoke to us. It was a really amazing experience. We started off with the choir singing Praise to the Man because it was the 173 anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, then it was Sister Bednar and Elder Bednar. He started by talking about Joseph Smith and testified of the truthfulness of the restoration and the Book of Mormon. He gave a really wonderful analogy which was: think of all the English papers you've ever written. You write a draft and edit and edit and then edit some more. Then when it's perfect, you hand it in. And even though you fixed it over and over again, your teacher still found some mistakes and you didn't score perfectly. Now think on this: the Book of Mormon was the first draft. It's been torn apart and looked at under much scrutiny, but no substantial evidence has ever been found that the word is untrue or flawed. Why? Because it's the work of the Lord, not of man. Elder Bednar went on to talk about "the word" and what that means. The word is Christ, it's the scriptures, it's the words of modern day prophets, etc. Then he talked about planting the word in our hearts - planting Christ, planting the scriptures, planting the words of modern day prophets. He talked about changing our very selves from our heart out, changing our wants and our desires, so that we can really represent Christ as we teach and serve. He said it a lot more eloquently than I just did, and I'm sure I missed a couple of things, but those are the big things that I got out of that devotional. It was amazing!

On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to host. Host as in we got to guide the new infant missionaries through sign-in, drop their stuff off at the residence halls, grab materials from the bookstore, and get them to class. We had a small orientation about how to do all that right before, and it was stressed that we really make the newbies feel welcome and excited to be at the MTC. It was so great. I led two and a half sisters and got two elders started because we were shorthanded for a hot second. I say half because my first sister had gotten in from the Philippines the night before and had already settled into her room, but I got to take her to get her books and to her class. She's going to Vietnam for her mission! Then I lead a sister who didn't even cry when she left her family (so strong), and she's from Idaho, I think she's going to Florida for her mission. She was super cute but a little nervous, but I've seen her since and I think he's adjusting nicely. The last sister I lead was so cute. I believe she's going to the Ohio visitor center mission, and she's a soccer player. She's right down the hall from me in the residence, and I think she's doing really well with all the sisters in her room. The whole experience was so much fun! I got to meet a ton of people, both new missionaries, and missionaries who were hosting that day, I got low-key dehydrated and got a wicked sunburn on my neck. Good times!

This week has been really hard as far as growth. I keep feeling disconnected from the Holy Ghost while I study or am prepping for a lesson, but during TRCs and PIs (where we teach investigators), I can feel it and I know the investigators can feel it. In one of our TRCs this week, Sister Woodcock and I went in thinking we would get her to commit to going to church, but about half way through, we both felt like we needed to invite her to be baptized. We asked her and she got all nervous, but she confessed that she knew she needed to get baptized, and said she knew that when she committed to baptism, it would be in the Mormon church. So we didn't commit her to a date, which is always the goal when you ask someone to be baptized, but we got her thinking about it which is a start. I've also been thinking a lot about repentance this week. One of the sisters in my district and I were talking this morning about what we've learned about repentance. When we used to think about it, it was such a scary concept - confessing your sins and feeling awful for what you've done. But through teaching, I've learned that repentance is all about change. When you repent, you recognize what you've done and then you re-commit yourself to live the standards which have been set forth. I think that's why I've had a hard time feeling the Holy Ghost outside of lessons - I haven't been going to bed and waking up on time and I haven't completely stopped being on cute-boy-watch. Exact obedience brings blessings, and I intend to follow more strictly so I can have the blessing of the Holy Ghost in my life.

Those are just a couple of the big things that have happened this week. I also attached some pictures for yall. I didn't do as well as I did last week as far as picture taking, but I have a couple candids and just other fun stuff. Please send me more pictures, especially of TREK!! I'll probably send more this afternoon, but until then, I love you love you love you!

Sister Carlson.

Later that day...

Here are some more pictures! The people in the temple pictures are the ones going to Boise in my zone. There's so many of us! The picture of just elders is the "Boise Boys". We have quite the interesting zone :)