Family!
I didn't know if we would ever get to this point, but we are half way through the MTC! Sometimes it feels like I was born in the MTC. The weeks are going by more quickly though now that we are use to how things work.
This week we technically got a new companion. In the district below us there were only two sisters and on of them just left to go to the Spain MTC since she is serving in Novisebirsk (no idea how to spell it). For some reason missionaries in that mission only spend 2 weeks in the Provo MTC then move to Spain. So now the other sister is a solo missionary. During class, meals, and devotionals she stays with the elders and during everything else she will come with us. We now have the power of the tri-panionship! We can see around corners and do other awesome tri-panionship stuff!
On Sunday a majority of our zone sang "Be Still My Soul" during our sacrament meeting. I'm obviously not a singer, but I love to sing Russian hymns with our zone on Sunday. It just gets a little tricky when it is a song where no one knows the tune. On Sunday all the Sisters where able to go to a devotional with Mary Ellen Edmunds who is amazing. She told us to read the hymns and to not just sing them. There is so much that we can get out of them when we are focusing on the words. Some time this week read hymn 185. She is hilarious and is often quoted in the MTC for saying, "DON'T touch the Elders... but write down the ones you want to touch" and then to keep in shape for you mission reunions. If it's been said over the pulpit, I guess it's gospel ;). She also showed us the journal from her first mission, which was over 700 pages. The point of this was to show how much she would have missed and would not have been able to do if she when home. Imagine how much experiences she could not have had or people she would not have been able to meet.
The random section of this letter: The Elders that were at 4 weeks when we got here left for St. Petersburg on Monday (at 3 a.m.). We were all really sad to see them go. The MTC is not as exciting with out them! This week our zone decided to go and play volleyball at the field by the temple since it was nice outside. It was really overcast, but still warm. We are all focused on the game and having a good time then the sun comes out. One would have thought that our entire district was the Wicked Witch of the West. We all freaked out and felt like we were melting. Good thing we are all going to Russia!
I'm looking through the journal I bring to devotionals and I write down spiritual thoughts (a.k.a the small plates) and I came across something that Brother Clark said this week, which says "You are not called to plant seeds, you are called to harvest." He proceeded to talk about how missionaries who go to places like Europe or where there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in the gospel are told that they are not going to baptize or only help 1 or 2 people be baptized. This is a lie. As missionaries our purpose isn't to plant seeds. We will be throwing seeds left and right as we go about the Lord's work, but our purpose is to "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel..." It doesn't say anything about just planting seeds. We are there to invite others come unto Christ through baptism. The field is white and ready to harvest even in Vladivostok.
I love you and hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Sister Merrill
P.S We are giving our first 40 minute lesson tonight at TRC, so I'm sure I'll have stories to update you on about that next week!
I didn't know if we would ever get to this point, but we are half way through the MTC! Sometimes it feels like I was born in the MTC. The weeks are going by more quickly though now that we are use to how things work.
This week we technically got a new companion. In the district below us there were only two sisters and on of them just left to go to the Spain MTC since she is serving in Novisebirsk (no idea how to spell it). For some reason missionaries in that mission only spend 2 weeks in the Provo MTC then move to Spain. So now the other sister is a solo missionary. During class, meals, and devotionals she stays with the elders and during everything else she will come with us. We now have the power of the tri-panionship! We can see around corners and do other awesome tri-panionship stuff!
On Sunday a majority of our zone sang "Be Still My Soul" during our sacrament meeting. I'm obviously not a singer, but I love to sing Russian hymns with our zone on Sunday. It just gets a little tricky when it is a song where no one knows the tune. On Sunday all the Sisters where able to go to a devotional with Mary Ellen Edmunds who is amazing. She told us to read the hymns and to not just sing them. There is so much that we can get out of them when we are focusing on the words. Some time this week read hymn 185. She is hilarious and is often quoted in the MTC for saying, "DON'T touch the Elders... but write down the ones you want to touch" and then to keep in shape for you mission reunions. If it's been said over the pulpit, I guess it's gospel ;). She also showed us the journal from her first mission, which was over 700 pages. The point of this was to show how much she would have missed and would not have been able to do if she when home. Imagine how much experiences she could not have had or people she would not have been able to meet.
The random section of this letter: The Elders that were at 4 weeks when we got here left for St. Petersburg on Monday (at 3 a.m.). We were all really sad to see them go. The MTC is not as exciting with out them! This week our zone decided to go and play volleyball at the field by the temple since it was nice outside. It was really overcast, but still warm. We are all focused on the game and having a good time then the sun comes out. One would have thought that our entire district was the Wicked Witch of the West. We all freaked out and felt like we were melting. Good thing we are all going to Russia!
I'm looking through the journal I bring to devotionals and I write down spiritual thoughts (a.k.a the small plates) and I came across something that Brother Clark said this week, which says "You are not called to plant seeds, you are called to harvest." He proceeded to talk about how missionaries who go to places like Europe or where there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in the gospel are told that they are not going to baptize or only help 1 or 2 people be baptized. This is a lie. As missionaries our purpose isn't to plant seeds. We will be throwing seeds left and right as we go about the Lord's work, but our purpose is to "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel..." It doesn't say anything about just planting seeds. We are there to invite others come unto Christ through baptism. The field is white and ready to harvest even in Vladivostok.
I love you and hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Sister Merrill
P.S We are giving our first 40 minute lesson tonight at TRC, so I'm sure I'll have stories to update you on about that next week!