Mom, Dad, Tyler, Brandon, Bryson, Alyssa, Ethan, and Ashlyn,
I love you all!!!!!!!!!
First off, I totally forgot to send something for Bryson's talk.... please don't kill me haha. Did he give it already? Could you use anything for the last email? The theme is just missionary work? I will try to say something in here for him.
This week has been pretty good! On Sunday, me and Hna. Smith were called as the "Sister Training Leaders" (Hna. Nelson is the music chair). That is kind of like a zone leader for sisters. ..... but don't be too impressed, because there are only 9 sisters in our zone, and 4 of them are leaving for Guatemala on Monday. Also this week, our trio was chosen for a little first-day training activity. On the first day, you have a workshop where you go to meet with "investigators" with a huge class of new missionaries. They let some other MTC missionaries do a 'how to begin teaching' demo (knock on the door, get inside, get to know the person, bring up the gospel), and then they turn it over to the new missionaries to practice. So we got to be those missionaries that come in and do the demo! It was kind of cool because they only let like 12 companionships do that a week.
I finally have met Orlando missionaries!!!!!! There are a ton of English speaking ones, including Elder Whittaker from high school (I don't think you would know him). Anyway, I am excited to get my travel plans today and at least I know I won't be alone on my flight! :) The sisters going there are very nice. :)
Maybe Bryson can use this in his talk if he hasn't given it. I found out the reason why a mission is so hard!! Don't get me wrong, I have loved it here. But I won't lie -- It has also been the hardest thing ever. And I think that that is necessary because our purpose as missionaries is to "invite others to come to Christ." We can't do that unless we ourselves are as close to the Savior as we possibly can be. I think the times we get closest to the Savior are those times when we feel so down; like there is no one else to turn to. It is in those moments that we rely wholy on the Lord and come to know of His true character. When we experience that humility and love, we can be molded into who He wants us to be. We can let the Spirit guide our thoughts, questions, and words. Also, we develop a burning, deep, and abiding testimony of the Atonement that will shine from our faces when we testify of its reality. That is something that has really been becoming part of my person. I am discovering new facets of the Atonement every day, and my testimony gets deeper and deeper. It is a wonderful thing! I know that the power of the Atonement can save us from anything. It saves us from sadnesses, annoyances, angers, regrets, guilt, sin, and depression. We just need to trust Him enough to give it all to Him. And what a release that is!! He is the Healer, and I am excited to share that message of hope, relief, and healing to all the people I meet!!
Ready for my weekly challenge? We watched a talk that Elder Bednar gave at the MTC a couple of weeks ago. It was a lot like the things he said in his book and to us last summer. He challenges us to get to know the character of Christ. I have started a list in my personal study time that I write a characteristic of Christ that I have read about or experienced (e.g. "He is the Savior, He is the Perfect Friend, He loves me"). Underneath that, I write a couple of quick sentences saying how that applies to me or what I know about it. I challenge you all to start a list, just add one a day or a couple a week. It keeps your thoughts on the Savior and helps you to really understand who He is. Getting to love Him is just like getting to love anyone else - you have to get to know Him first. Good luck! Maybe one of these days I will send you some of my list. :)
Missionary work is awesome. We really have the best teachers in the MTC. Hno. Snyder said that on his mission he literally ran from appointment to appointment...... I laughed and rolled my eyes because that is exactly what Silas is doing. Anyway, we feel the Spirit so much every day.
I had a gift of tongues experience this week!! I always experience the gift because I am actually learning Spanish, but this was special. We were doing TRC, where you teach a real member. We were teaching Richard, who we actually taught last week too. He is a student at BYU and his wife is expecting their first baby in a couple of weeks (we freaked out because we are children deprived). Throughout the whole lesson, I could say exactly what I wanted to say with ease!! It wasn't perfect Spanish, but I wasn't thinking about Spanish, which is probably the hardest thing to do. It was awesome!! Spanish is not a barrier to the Spirit - when you teach with your heart, the investigator will understand the message. However, it can be hard to not let Spanish become a distraction that takes you away from the Spirit. That is something that can be hard for me, because I try so hard to remember the words and grammar to talk that that is where my focus is. But the work is good, and all blessings will come with time!
Anyway, I love you all so so much. Please keep praying for me; I always pray for you. Thanks for being examples to me and for teaching me to do what is right. I will try to send some pictures now, and see you soon! ;)
Love love love, Hna. Allred
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