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| Me and Äldste Radford |
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| Our Swedish pride. (Yes, that's a Swedish Fish holding up the flag) |
August 17, 2017
Over the past couple weeks I have come to really appreciate the MTC. It's pretty amazing to have all day to study, prepare to teach, and learn a language. Last Saturday I ran into a senior missionary who is going to Sweden. He was standing next to me in line for lunch, so I started talking with him, and it turns out he and his wife are only in the MTC for a week. They've been "learning" Swedish for a month or two, but the extent of their instruction was a 1 hr Skype call to the MTC each week. Long story short, they really don't know any Swedish, but they are so excited to serve and they won't let the language daunt them. After that conversation I began to be even more grateful for my time at the MTC and the time I have here to prepare.
Sunday was probably the best day I've had here at the MTC so far. I'm not sure I can really explain why, but the spirit was strong all day and it was just a good day. The devotional on Sunday was broadcast to all the other MTCs and M. Russell Ballard came and spoke to us on the importance of staying completely focused on the work. It was a fantastic devotional and afterwords we watched the talk "Open Your Mouth" by Jeffrey R. Holland. Towards the beginning of his talk he mentioned how he used to preside over all the European missions and said that the missionaries in the Northernmost reaches of Norway would take comfort in the fact that every time they knocked on a door, somebody was getting baptized in Chile... I can definitely relate to that... :) He also reminded us that God can only work through us if we act on our promptings. He pointed out that Satan cannot take a life, so when Joseph Smith prayed to know which church he should join Satan did the next most limiting and destructive thing he could. He tried to bind Joseph's tongue. He tries to do the same to all of us today, but we must open our mouths and speak the words God would have us say.
For the devotional on Tuesday, Elder Neil L. Andersen came and spoke to us. Our branch presidency told us that it has been months since an apostle has come to the MTC and now we've had three in the last three weeks. What an amazing time to be in the MTC. Elder Andersen said that miracles occur through goals, hard work, prayer, and a blessing from heaven. I can testify that that is true. When we pray to God we must listen for his answer and then we must be willing to act on it. If we do, our Father in Heaven can bless us and our capacity for recognizing spiritual promptings will increase.
On Wednesday we got to Skype Pia, a member in Sweden, and teach her a lesson. It was amazing to talk with a true Swede even though it was a little difficult to understand. I am so grateful to live at a time when technology can give us such opportunities to grow and spread the gospel. The lesson went really well and it made us even more excited to arrive in Sweden. It's coming really fast, and we get our flight plans tomorrow! It's crazy to think we're leaving so soon, but we couldn't be more excited :)
I am truly grateful for my time here at the MTC and the things that I have learned. It's truly incredible to see how much we've all grown, and to see the how the Lord has truly made weak things become strong. I love this gospel and I testify that the peace and strength we receive when we follow Christ can come in no other way.
Äldste Sirrine
