Well this is it, the last P-day in the MTC, and the last I'll have here in America! Sadly, that is not the case for my companion, Äldste Radford, and two other missionaries who haven't received their visas yet. They have been temporarily reassigned to the Phoenix Arizona mission, although we are still crossing our fingers that they get their visas before we leave. Apparently the visas have been known to come the morning of departure, so we hope that's the case. It's been pretty hard for them because we are all getting so excited to go to Sweden, and now they can't go. However, they know the Lord has a plan for them and are excited to get out in the field wherever that may be. We got our flight plans last Friday, and it looks like we get to leave at 3:30 am on Monday! Normally such an early departure may not be the most exciting prospect, but if it means we are going to Sweden, we'd do just about anything :)
On Saturday we got to help with the MTC open house tours again. It has been such a unique and wonderful opportunity to do so, and I loved getting to talk to countless people who had been here many years before and had such fond memories. To see their excitement at coming back made me so happy and grateful to be here. It was also fun to see a few familiar faces come through, including Tanner Mangum and a few other BYU players. That made me feel really small.... Over the past few weeks I have gotten used to the MTC, and seeing the wonder and amazement on everybody's face as they walked through was just a good reminder of how unique and special the MTC really is.
On Monday we watched the solar eclipse and it made me think of Alma 30:44 "But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." I testify that the very existence of the earth and planets is truly a witness of God. There is no other way they could move in such perfect relation to each other, or even exist. For the Tuesday night devotional Weatherford T. Clayton of the Seventy came and spoke to us. He talked about the eclipse and related the moon to Satan. Through our choices in life we may allow Satan to "block out" the influence of Christ in our lives. However, even when the eclipse is at totality, you can see a ring of light around the moon from the aura of the sun. Likewise, even if it feels that Satan is completely covering Christ in our lives, He cannot block all the light. There will always be light, and if we focus on that light and have faith, it will begin to grow until we can once again feel the full influence of Christ and his spirit in our lives.
On Wednesday our district got to be Hosts for the new missionaries that came in! I can't tell you how weird it felt to see missionaries being dropped off and to think that was six weeks ago for me... It feels as though it's been about a week. It brought back so many thoughts and feelings from that first day, and it's amazing to see how much I've grown. I also got to attend the meeting for all the new missionaries because Äldste Radford was performing a musical number along with Äldste Wayment and Eldste Cribbs (Eldste Cribbs is going to Norway). I am so grateful I got to go to that meeting. It was truly a unique experience to go a second time, and I wish all missionaries could have that experience. It was such a good reminder of how much excitement, energy, and enthusiasm new missionaries have when they come in. Sadly, that enthusiasm and energy fades over time for a lot of missionaries, and I wish they could go to that meeting to learn from the example of all the new missionaries, and rekindle their enthusiasm and desire to serve.
Well that's all for this week, and next time will be from the great land of Sverige! I love this gospel and the happiness that it brings to my life, and the lives of countless others. I am grateful to be a part of God's glorious work on the Earth at this time, and I know he will help me and bless me as I seek to bring others to Him.
Äldste Sirrine
