Dear family and friends,
The past ten days have absolutely FLOWN BY and I can't believe that at 5:30 tomorrow morning I'll be leaving the MTC and on my way to Pennsylvania!
Wednesday I played a violin musical number for the new missionary welcome meeting. I couldn't believe that just 7 days prior, I had been sitting in those exact seats with my little "dork dot" sticker on my name tag. It's pretty funny actually that our time here has gone so fast -- we went to a "new sister" Sunday meeting and then a "departing missionary" meeting all in the same day. Anyways, the musical number went well (probably due to my pianist who will be serving in Australia, speaking Tongan, and is a piano performance major) but I hope it added to the spirit of the meeting and the excitement of all the new missionaries. We had a lot of fun welcoming all the newbies as they walked past us, and of course, BYU Creamery's ice cream was a special welcome treat. :)
This week in addition to teaching investigators (some of them are members, but we've had the opportunity to teach a lot of non-members as well this week) we started special Visitor Center Training in preparation for serving at the Priesthood Restoration Site, which has been absolutely amazing. We went to Temple Square in Salt Lake City (my tripanionship and 2 other sisters)
I think the overall highlight of my entire week though was last Sunday as we watched "The Character of Christ" which was an MTC devotional given by David A. Bednar. I can't even begin to explain how amazing it is and how it has changed my outlook on missionary work, and really everything! The gist of his message was that Christ always turned outward. Even in his darkest, hardest, most trying times, he never focused on himself, but turned outward and thought of others. "There would have been no atoning sacrifice without the character of Christ." Think about it. We as imperfect human beings, as natural men, tend to turn in to ourselves. It's hard to completely forget about you and think only about others, but that's exactly what the Savior did and does all the time. I've starting think more about "turning out" instead of "in." Thinking not, "What do I want for (insert name) as a missionary," but "What does Jesus Christ want for (insert name)." Charity is key. It is through Christ-like love and service that I will be able to turn others to Christ.
The past ten days have absolutely FLOWN BY and I can't believe that at 5:30 tomorrow morning I'll be leaving the MTC and on my way to Pennsylvania!
Let me tell you about my week! Sorry for any mis-spelling, etc... half the letters on this keyboard are missing... but I guess that's a cool thing to know that so many missionaries are writing home! I'll try to hit on a couple things that happened this week, but there really is so much to talk about!
We had an awesome devotional on Tuesday night with the entire MTC. Elder Larry J. Echo Hawk of the Seventy spoke on decisions and how conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ is not a one time thing but a process. I was asked to give the closing prayer so my companions and I got to sit on the stand with him and talk to him, his wife and our MTC presidency afterwards. And I have to say that singing "Called to Serve" with 850 missionaries and being able to look out at all of them is an experience I wouldn't trade the world for. I got some serious "truth bumps" that we are each called to do this amazing work for a specific purpose. It's really amazing how much love they have for us missionaries, even though they hardly know us. (Also, a girl from my BYU-I EFY group in 2012 is the step-granddaughter of Elder Echo Hawk and came to watch him speak. We happened to bump into each other after the meeting... so Heather, EFY reunions really do happen!) I have also run into a million people from high school here, which is always super fun!
Wednesday I played a violin musical number for the new missionary welcome meeting. I couldn't believe that just 7 days prior, I had been sitting in those exact seats with my little "dork dot" sticker on my name tag. It's pretty funny actually that our time here has gone so fast -- we went to a "new sister" Sunday meeting and then a "departing missionary" meeting all in the same day. Anyways, the musical number went well (probably due to my pianist who will be serving in Australia, speaking Tongan, and is a piano performance major) but I hope it added to the spirit of the meeting and the excitement of all the new missionaries. We had a lot of fun welcoming all the newbies as they walked past us, and of course, BYU Creamery's ice cream was a special welcome treat. :)
This week in addition to teaching investigators (some of them are members, but we've had the opportunity to teach a lot of non-members as well this week) we started special Visitor Center Training in preparation for serving at the Priesthood Restoration Site, which has been absolutely amazing. We went to Temple Square in Salt Lake City (my tripanionship and 2 other sisters)
and went on a tour from two sisters who are serving there. It was different experiencing a Visitor Center tour with different eyes. One thing that my VC teacher said that I love is, "People think they are coming in to see a statue of Christ, but they don't realize that they are actually going to be leaving knowing Him." And that's our goal! As VC sisters we do the exact same things as normal missionaries and our purpose is exactly the same. At Temple Square we met with Brother Billings who is over all the VC's and church historical sites in the entire world, and fun fact, there are only 24... and I get to serve in one of them! I feel so blessed! He said that next week we will be training in the center with 7 other sisters and our directors. We most likely will set up training programs for future sisters who will be called to serve in the Priesthood Restoration Site. So we really get to set the bar... and we plan on setting it high! I am so excited to be there TOMORROW!!!
Another thing that we've done in VC training is mormon.org online chatting. VC sisters play a HUGE part in chatting with people who come to mormon.org with questions about the church. We get time almost everyday to go online and either type and chat or there is a call option as well, so we get to wear headpieces like people at call centers, which is kind of fun.
Even in only the few short days my companions and I have been chatting, we've answered questions as broad as "I want to know about Mormons," to "How can Christ's atonement help me let go of anger?" We've had some different and interesting experiences with chatting so far, but our goal is to bring everyone we talk to closer to Christ. We share Mormon Messages videos (available here https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages/topics?lang=eng), scripture links, and testimony. Just like normal missionaries we get to know people and try to reach their concerns through Christ. We set return appointments, commitments, etc.; everything missionaries do! It's pretty amazing what technology can do when used for good.
I think the overall highlight of my entire week though was last Sunday as we watched "The Character of Christ" which was an MTC devotional given by David A. Bednar. I can't even begin to explain how amazing it is and how it has changed my outlook on missionary work, and really everything! The gist of his message was that Christ always turned outward. Even in his darkest, hardest, most trying times, he never focused on himself, but turned outward and thought of others. "There would have been no atoning sacrifice without the character of Christ." Think about it. We as imperfect human beings, as natural men, tend to turn in to ourselves. It's hard to completely forget about you and think only about others, but that's exactly what the Savior did and does all the time. I've starting think more about "turning out" instead of "in." Thinking not, "What do I want for (insert name) as a missionary," but "What does Jesus Christ want for (insert name)." Charity is key. It is through Christ-like love and service that I will be able to turn others to Christ.
Thank you to all you have sent me "Dear Elder" letters! I love reading those at night when our district leader brings us mail at the end of the day... It is like the cherry on top after a long day of practicing, teaching and studying! Pray for charity and Christ will help you begin to turn outward. He is always there. 1 John 4:19 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/1-jn/4?lang=eng. Hurrah for Israel! Much love to you all! Talk to you from PA next time!
Love,
Sister Larsen
Thanks for your time and effort in keeping us up to date Sister Larsen. God bless you abundantly with health and success. Much love, sister Randall
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