First night in the MTC!!
Mission district at the Temple!

It's hard to believe that it is P-day already and that another week has passed! I've been here for 3 and a half weeks, and in some ways that feels like forever, but the last few weeks have sped by. Tomorrow is Halloween! I don't think anything will happen here, but it is cool that it is a holiday!
This last week we were really fortunate to have Elder L. Tom Perry to come talk to us for our Tuesday devotional. It is amazing just the spirit that comes with apostles. He talked about teaching, and refered back to a Worldwide training given by Elder Holland, I think in 2000. It is called "the gift of teaching". I had actually watched that training video Sunday night, so it was cool to know exactly what he was talking about! If you don't remember that, I would recommend you re-watching that training. I really liked that Elder Perry emphasized that to be a good teacher, you have to be a good student! How many times do the scriptures say that you must obtain the word before you can preach it?! That really is such an important principle. He also talked about letting the student assume some of the responsibility- as they are more involved, they will become more motivated and better able to apply what they are learning to themselves. That is something we have been working on this week- teaching in a way that helps people to apply the gospel to themselves and their own lives, not just giving a historical and factual presentation.
Each week we have a "big deal" practice lesson in the TRC on Thursday morning. This week, my companion and I were randomly selected for testing out a new evaluation process- you are in a room that has a camera that an outside observer watches, and then at the end of the lesson you receive evaluations from the investigator, observer, and do a self-evaluation. It was kind of need to be able to get many perspectives on a lesson to know what others think of it as well.
Not too much else has really happened- life can get rather repetitive at the MTC. I am blessed to have two Awesome teachers. The portuguese is coming along, though slowly. But I know that this is where I am supposed to be, and that I have a purpose here. I am learning a lot, and am so grateful for this opportunity to represent the Lord. Sometimes I can still not believe that I actually am a missionary! But I am grateful that I can be, and that I can share what is most important to me- the gospel of Jesus Christ. He truly is each of our's Savior and Redeemer, and it is only through Him that we can learn, endure, and have joy!

This week has passed by so quickly, I'm not really sure where all the time went and what all we did! We had a lot of really good big group meetings though. On Sunday, our fireside was given by Richard Heaton, who talked about teaching with the Spirit, and having faith and confidence in the Lord that as we do all we can to prepare and teach, the Spirit will be with us. It was a really good talk, and encouraging because trying to teach with the Spirit is probably the hardest part for me.
On Tuesday the devotional was by Lynn Robbins from the Quorum of the Seventy. He gave a really good talk about planning, and the importance of planning in having success. I loved that he said "success is not luck, it is planned" because that really is true! We don't just have lucky mistakes that work out well, we must plan and prepare and then we will be blessed with success. He talked about planning each day being an act of faith, and as we do such, God will bless us to be successful. It was good.
So, the way the MTC works is that the main event of each week is the TRC, which means that each Thursday morning we have an activity where we contact in Portuguese and then teach a lesson in English. Most of our language study and lesson study focuses on the upcoming TRC. Yesterday we door knocked in Portuguese and then taught the first lesson about the Restoration of the Gospel in English. My companion and I had been preparing all week, and really praying that we could have the Spirit and be able to have an impact on the volunteer investigator. It is amazing how prayer really does work. We had such a good lesson yesterday, and it wasn't at all because of us. The Spirit was really strong, and the whole thing just flowed as we taught. I am so grateful that we do not have to do this work alone! The Spirit is very much the Senior Companion in all companionships.
Today being P-day, we got to go to the temple, and it was so good. I love the feeling of cleanliness and peace in the temple. I am so grateful that we have the gift of the Holy Ghost, so that we truly can always have that spirit to be with us. I know that that Spirit blesses our lives.

Army of Helaman

It is hard to believe that I have been at the MTC for 10 days now. Time moves oddly at the MTC. Hours can fly by, days go on forever, and then suddenly a week has passed! But I am grateful for the time I have already had here.
One of the most power moments this week was actually on Sunday, before the Sunday fireside. Because they ask you to get there 20 minutes early, they start singing prelude songs about 15 minutes before the meeting begins to give you something to do. The last song that we sang in prelude was "Army of Helamen" from the Children's songbook. I have always loved this song, but it hit me so much harder. They changed the words in the chorus to "we are NOW the Lord's missionaries to bring the world his truth", and it hit me like never before that I truly am a missionary of the Lord and have a duty to bring the world His truth and the good news of the atonement. Having 2500 plus missionaries singing that song was truly like the Army of Helamen, and I felt the Spirit as such a strong force as never before. It is amazing how music can bring the spirit so strongly.
This week we have begun teaching a lot more lessons, focusing on the restoration of the Gospel. We had a big practice event, and then had an evaluative meeting afterwards. The teacher talked about how many missionaries teach the first lesson as a history lesson about the church. Rather, it is a lesson about the restoration of the GOSPEL, which is the ability to be able to be cleansed and redeemed from our sins through faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, the holy ghost and enduring to the end. As missionaries, we need to focus on how we can help people to change their lives by being freed from the burden of their sins. Only in this way can they truly find happiness. It's not really about the church per se, but about how we can be changed through the atonement. I don't know if that makes sense the way I explained since I'm typing as fast as I can (!), but it was a major mind shift for me in how I approach teaching.
We also got introduced this week to the Referral Center, and made outbound calls following up on products ordered. Most people I called weren't home, but some that I talked to tugged so hard at my heart. One was an older middle-aged lady who had ordered a bible. She said that she had lung cancer and was going to Birmingham, Alabama for treatment. I talked to her about the Book of Mormon and sent the missionaries to her, but when she asked me to just pray for her, my heart about broke!! That is why I am serving a mission- to be able to help people like understand the purpose to their lives and how to make it better.
Today was Preparation day, and we got to go to the temple, so that was really nice. It is only P-day until 6 pm here, so you furiously try to get as much done as you can! It is interesting living life with every hour planned- you get a lot done and you always know what you need to do!

Hello Everyone!

It has been a crazy busy, but rewarding first few days in the MTC. After being dropped off on the curb (literally!) I was given my materials, orientated, and met my district and teachers. I have two teachers: Sister Secrist and Irmao Schlappi; they are both really good. I have already learned how to pray and testify in Portugues, and I taught lesson 1 from Preach My Gospel (about the restoration) to an investigator this morning.
There are 10 people in my district, most of them Brazil-bound and waiting for visas. That is the case with my companion, Sister Steinbeigle. I am lucky to have a companion for now, but I am not sure how long it will last. When she gets her visa, I will probably become a "solo" sister. We get along really well and complement each other, so I'm hoping it's a long time before she can get her visa!
Thursday night we met together as a branch to meet the Branch Presidency. There are three districts in it, and ours is the only district with sister missionaries. This doesn't really bother me, except that when Sister Steinbeigle volunteered to play the piano and I to lead, I didn't realize that I would end up singing a solo sister part with all the Elders there! Oh well, it went fine, and it doesn't really matter anyways. It's just kind of funny.
The spirit is often very strong here; the first time an Elder prayed in Portugues, it was amazing how strong it was. I think learning a new language makes you re-realize the meaning of words and gives a new sincerity to your speech. I may not know how to say much in Portugues, but I mean every word that I say.
Today we had a half P-day, and we had "Saturday softball", where the whole zone plays softball. It was really fun and so nice to just be outside on the grass, in the sun, by the mountains and temple. We are inside all day long, which makes me miss the sun and outdoors, so that was a perfect treat for me.

I love you all and miss you! I hope that things are going well and that you always remember that God loves and I love you :)

Into the MTC

Juliana went into the MTC this afternoon!!! We love her and will miss being able to see and talk to her so easily, but are so glad she gets to serve a mission. Hopefully she'll keep us posted often!!