We hade some great speakers for the Fireside and Devotional. Both really applied to my concerns this week. I simply love those little tender mercies. For the Sunday Fireside, Bro. Richard I Heaton, the Administrative Director of the Provo MTC spoke about teaching with the Spirit. There were three comments he made that I really liked and wrote in my journal:
~When teaching, missionaries should say, do and feel what the Lord would say, do, and feel, as if the Lord was the one teaching.
~Because it is hard to know if we are teaching by the Spirit, be ALWAYS SEEKING and NOT WORRYING.
~Payment for serving a mission is knowing how the Spirit answers prayers.
For the Tuesday Devotional, Elder Lynn G Robbins of the First Quorum of the Seventy talked to us about planning and goal setting. He has several good analogies that he used to really make the message clear. He focused on a rowboat out at sea. If we see an island, we are more likely to row and get there, then if we were only surrounded by water. Even if rough currents or strong winds are against us, we strive to reach that far off island. Then, we need to see the rowboat as a lifeboat (such as the story with Titanic when lifeboats went back to help more people who were in the water). We should help others reach the island. Don't arrive at the island by yourself.
~Who set the example for the importance of planning? If God needs to plan, how much more important is it for us to plan?
~Visions (Why?), Goals (What?), and Plans (How? When? Who? Where?) turns our hopes into actions.
I thought I'd spend some time talking about my awesome companion and district. My companion, Sis. Call, is from Bountiful, Utah (born in SLC). She has become deaf from a sickness she had as a baby. She really is amazing. Such an energetic personality and always willing to help any of us learn the language. He had some speech training when she was growing up because he had a coclear implant (it's been broken for a few years now) and her favorite thing to say is "Whatever". We all have so much fun with Sis. Call. The other Sisters in the district are amazing, also. For TRC, we usually like to switch off companions, which our teachers directs. I've been in a companionship for TRC teaching with Sis Low and Sis Holt. It's amazing what we are able to learn from each other. All of us have different qualities that somehow really fit well together and support each other. A great example is Sis. Low's and Sis. Holt's planning schedule. I am awful at planning and goal setting, so I sat in with them one Saturday when we had our planning session and they helped me learn how to better manage my time. I've got a lot of work, but with their help and that fireside talk, I'll hopefully be making some progress soon.
We have less than twelve days remaining at the MTC. Six of the ten people in our district will be leaving. 4 Sisters and 1 Elder to Florida, and a Sister to Sacramento California. That will leave our district with 1 Sister and 3 Elders for a week. Then, we hear that the next ASL district will have 15 missionaries. We are so excited for that! Something is happening with the ASL program in the Church. I'm so glad to be a part of it!
TENDER MERCY: I really feel like I am improving so much with the language. I definitely understand it better than I can sign with correct grammer, but it's exciting to see that improvement. I know I couldn't do it myself. I had three years at BYU and never felt as confident with the language than I do now with only two months of practice. This truly is the Lord's work and He is constantly helping us as missionaries prepare to teach His children. I feel I will never be the same again. I really love this opportunity to help the Deaf, to be able to support the ASL programs in the Church. Not only now, but in the future. What a wonderful blessing the Lord has given me. I am glad I chose to serve Him for these 18 months.
