Week 2

September 3, 2012
So last Tuesday, my companion, Sister Zeiner, wanted to go to practice for the MTC choir and we ended up singing at the Devotional. We sang "Jesus Once of Humble Birth" and it was a really good experience. I didn't want to be that bummer companion, so even though I can't sing, I went anyway. But then I was punished! Because right after we sang, I started to lose my voice. And on Wednesday morning I woke up with a cold! I've been a raspy mess all week. It is just a cold, though, nothing too serious. I've taken Tylenol cold and had a million cough drops. The other night, my teacher, Brother Bunton, and two of the elders in our district, Elder Sommer and Elder Beech, gave me a priesthood blessing. I haven't completely healed but I am feeling better mentally, I think.

Elders Beech and Sommer with Sister Zeiner and I

 The new sisters arrived on Wednesday. Since I'm the Coordinating sister, I went to their orientation and a few of their district's other meetings to explain the rules and procedures of the MTC. I also visit the sisters in their residence hall each night and it sort of feels like I am an EFY counselor again! The first Sunday I had a bunch of meetings so I was nervous about the calling, but there are less meetings now and so I love it! It's nice to get to know them and be like a little mama bear and make sure that they are okay! 

District Photo with Bro. Lester

We had some really good meetings with "investigators" this week! Sister Zeiner and I have 5 different investigators right now that we prepare lessons for. Brother Lester isn't our teacher anymore, or else we might have 6 (His investigator was named David). The investigators we have right now are: Carson (our district teacher Brother Bunton), Katie (our district teacher Sister Bostwick), Sandy (less-active), Hely Meza (Progressing Investigator at TRC), Angie Perkins (Referral at TRC). I was having a super hard time with our investigator, Katie, this past week. She had a lot of experience with the church because of her member friend and had gone to all kind of church activities like girls camp and EFY. Sister Zeiner and I thought that it would be a fairly easy lesson, but our first time meeting her went terribly. She opened the door with, "Oh. I didn't know you would be sister missionaries." Immediately we thought that she hated us. She talked about a lot of politcal and random stuff that she didn't agree with the church about: Prop 8, men having more authority in the church than women, one church containing all of the truth, etc. We went into the meeting hoping to answer all of her questions but it was the complete wrong approach. Afterwards, my companion and I vented to each other and then felt completely terrible. Sister Zeiner and I are so similar. We feel the same about a lot of things and it makes complete sense that we are companions. The next time we went to teach Katie, I broke down and started crying like a half hour before hand. I was sick and also feeling inadequate. These are the thoughts that were running through my mind: 'What if I can't teach her? I can't teach her. I don't know how to talk to her. She hates us. If I can't teach her, the Lord will send someone else to teach her. If the Lord will send someone else to teach her then why am I here?' Ugh. It was completely terrible. My companion talked to me for a while and then we went into the lesson and explained the Book of Mormon and how it talks about Jesus Christ in the Americas and Katie was super responsive. She was really excited about that information because no one ever explained the book to her before; they just told her to read it and then kept asking her to be baptized. She said the closing prayer that night. Our third visit went really well too. She had been reading the Book of Mormon and felt good about it. She was willing to pray and sincerely ask if the Book was true. She felt the Spirit. She talked a lot and we got to know her thoughts and concerns. I felt a prompting and asked her if she got an answer to her prayer that the church was true, if she would be willing to be baptized. She said that she will be baptized if she gets an answer that the Church is true. We had a lot of other good meetings with investigators, too. I only have five minutes left of email though, and I don't know if I can tell you about them all!

In other news, I bore my testimony at our sacrament meeting with the zone. I bore my testimony of the Atonement and referenced the second verse of "I Stand All Amazed" where the lyrics say, "I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine, to rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine." I am so thankful that Christ left his perfect kingdom so that he could live and die for me. I am weak and inadequate and rebellious, but he is willing to justify my life and my actions. I love Him so much and cannot appreciate his sacrifice enough.

Also, I have memorized Joseph Smith- History 1:16-17, the First Vision and I recited it in my practice lesson the other day! 

Waiting to leave for our day at Temple Square

We are doing visitor's center training at Temple Square and I think we are going to Park City sometime in our missions but we don't know yet

I am still sick today, so feel free to send me cough drops or Tylenol or popsicles! Pk Pk!
I love you! Hopefully you get all of my letters soon! Can't wait to receive your mail!

Love and miss you!

Bye!

Love, Sister Wall!