Ariel's First Email!

August 27, 2012

It's Monday, 3:15 pm. Our P-days should be every Monday, but the time that I get on the computer will probably be different every week.
You can start a blog, but I don't have much to say! I have half an hour of Email time while in the MTC and I don't get time to write letters during the week, except on P-days.

Roommates at the Provo Temple

This morning we went to a temple session at the Provo temple. I went with my companion, Sister Zeiner (Diner with a Z, that's how I remember it!)  and another Solo sister in our residence hall, Sister Bown. We are in a trio companionship on Sundays because Sister Bown is a Solo sister, which means that she doesn't have a companion. She is the only sister in our district going to Poland, so she's alone. She lives with us and we see her during the week though; if she's not with us, she is either with the elders in her district or the other 2 sisters in our residence hall who are going to Croatia. Anyhow, we went to the temple this morning and I have been a crybaby lately. I cried during the first couple of minutes of the endownment session! When it is talking about the creation and showing space and the earth. What a funny thing to cry about, huh? I just feel the Spirit so strongly sometimes and haven't gotten used to the overwhelming feeling. I just felt that everything in the endowment video was so true. And I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father had a plan and knew who we were and what the earth would be before it was ever created.
The MTC is completely wonderful. If you have any questions, you can ask, but there are basically just classes and personal study times throughout the day. I am not so sad about missing school anymore, because there are so many things to study here! Sister Zeiner and I have taught two first lessons to "investigators" so far. The teachers put on personas and act like real investigators that they have known and we go through the entire act of meeting them. It seems like it might be cheesy because you know the person, but I get nervous every time. They stay completely in character and I feel as though they are completely different people. I love teaching investigators so much! Sister Zeiner and I completely loved our first meeting with an investigator named Carson. We challenged him to baptism that day and he said Yes! Afterwards we heard that Carson is one of the most difficult investigators to teach, so we were so thrilled. Our other teacher, Brother Lester, told us that Carson sent him a message in capitol letters saying, "THESE SISTERS KNOW CHARITY." Our second investigator was named David and I had such a difficult time preparing to meet him. We got a message about his background and what his situation was. Basically he was a 22-year-old who didn't have much motivation or think that he had any purpose. He had absolutely zero background knowledge of God or pray or anything religious, basically. I thought of my primary children and how I might teach them basic and simple concepts. I cried so much, feeling the Spirit, just knowing that I had to teach him about Heavenly Father's love. When we got into his "home," I was so full of love for him. I feel the Spirit just thinking about it now, but I cared about this person so much that I had never even met. We talked to him and he was basically a brick wall but by the end of the lesson, he admitted that he was feeling the Spirit. He had never prayed before but he said his first prayer in front of us. He started it off by saying, "Dear Heavenly Father... It's David." My companion and I broke down. It was so completely wonderful. I love to teach the gospel. It is a wonderful message that makes me so happy and hopeful. And AH! I just.. I just love it.
I was called to be the Coordinating Sister. I am the only sister in the District Meetings, ha ha. I will tell you more about it later because I hardly have any Email time left.
Feel free to WRITE ME LETTERS (Hint Hint! ha ha).