This is my last P-day at the MTC!!!
I leave for Bakersfield California on Monday… at 3:30 in the morning… on two 40-minute flights with a 2-hour layover in between. I think whoever made the flight plans just wanted to mess with us. When we got the email with the details of our flight plan we were like “are you kidding me?!” We leave the MTC at 3:30 and our flight from Salt Lake to Phoenix leaves at 7 and our flight from Phoenix to Bakersfield leaves at 10. If they put us straight to work when we get there, all will not be well. It will be me, Sis Jackman, Sis Allan, Sis Woodland, and Elder Toone who fly to Bakersfield. The rest of the elders in our district don’t leave until Wednesday morning, when they’ll fly to San José. Sis Jackman said that it works out well because all the sisters are flying together and all the elders are flying together. Elder Toone was not amused.
Sunday went better this week. It felt more like the Millennium than eternity, so progress is being made. A nap really makes a world of difference! My and Sis Jackman’s lesson went well and we didn’t have to talk in church! I failed to mention last week that every Sunday we have a devotional and a video. The devotionals are ok (Tuesdays are when they bring out the big guns) but the videos I’ve seen so far are awesome! Last week we watched “Characters of Christ” by David A. Bednar (which you can supposedly only see at the MTC) and he said exactly what I needed to hear. At the beginning of his talk he talks about some of the problems or worries we might have and then says, “So what? It’s not about you!” He just said it like it is, and it was a good reminder that I’m here to do the work of the Lord, not the work of Kyra. Every time Sis Jackman or I complain we tell each other “it’s not about you!” and have a good laugh then focus on the work.
Back to this Sunday, we watched a devotional given by Jeffrey R Holland (who I love!) called “Open Your Mouth”. The first half of his talk he focused on how we as missionaries should be our first converts to the gospel, and we should never be the same person after our mission as we were before because it’s supposed to change us. He then spent the rest of his talk saying that as long as we open our mouths and talk to people, the Lord will do the rest. If we don’t talk to people, we can’t convert them. What hit me really hard is when he said he didn’t care if we’re nervous about talking to people (I felt like he was pointing right to me); we just need to do it. Evil wins if good people do nothing. I can’t wait for this Sunday’s video!
Monday was full of laughter, probably more than it should’ve been. We were walking back from class and Sis Jackman was opening some of the many many letters she gets, and she totally let the door slam on some sisters walking behind us. She got angry at some elders for doing it to us a few days ago, so I gave her lots of grief for it (after I was done laughing, of course).
The best though was when we and our sista friends were hanging out in the room after dinner and Sis Jackman told me to get in my top bunk bed because she wanted to try something. I suspected what she wanted to try, but I laid down anyways. Sure enough, she started to push my mattress up and down with her feet, asking me if I could feel anything. I decided to mess with her so I asked what I was supposed to be feeling. She started to push harder asking me again if I really didn’t feel anything. I started laughing because she really didn’t believe that I felt anything. Our sista friends also started laughing at this point because they could see my body going up and down at least half a foot as I denied knowing what Sis Jackman was doing. She eventually caught on when the three of us couldn’t breathe for laughing. We also had a good laugh that night when Sis Allan fell on her bed saying she couldn’t wait to go to bed because “sleep is death without the commitment”. It’s hard to believe that I only have 3 days left with these awesome girls.
On Tuesday we started teaching one of the two new investigators we got on Monday (this week we taught 4 total). Her name is Margaret and she was really fun. She’s an older lady and had some really good genuine questions about the gospel and how to change her life. We only got to teach her twice, but I loved meeting with her. Sadly I didn’t think about getting a picture with her so she’s the only investigator I don’t have a picture with. We continued to teach Chelle and Wan-Yu this week, which I was happy about. Our investigators are the best! Sis Jackman, the weirdo that she is, spent our study time with the strings of her sweatpants tied to the bed. I told her that if there was a fire she would be toast. She told me I’d be right behind her because I would probably be laughing too hard to walk. We said dying together would really show our dedication to being companions. The devotional Tuesday night was with Mark A. Bragg of the Seventy. He gave a talk last General Conference, if you want a taste of what he’s like.
The new missionaries came in on Wednesday and our district got to be hosts! Taking the girls to their rooms and then to class wasn’t super exciting, but it was awesome to see so many missionaries join the ranks. There were over 500 young men and women! By dinner time, I was kinda wishing we could’ve left that day because there were so many people in the cafeteria!
Thursday was really busy because we taught all 4 of our investigators and each lesson is around 45 minutes. We had to rush through our meals so that we could plan, teach, and go to class. By the end of the day we were exhausted and laid in our beds wondering why we chose to do this. We shook it off fairly quickly with a dose of “it’s not about you!” and some Book of Mormon reading. I’m reading in the book of Alma and I admire both Captain Moroni and Amalickiah, but in very different ways. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, go read Alma 43-47!
I’m writing this today instead of Saturday (my normal P-day) because this weekend is General Conference! I’m so excited! I love hearing from the leaders of the church and I’ve heard that their talks are especially powerful when you’re a missionary. The only bummer is that I can’t watch it in my PJs while eating food as per usual. We have to be dressed and in the auditorium (no snacks allowed). Sis Jackman said she’ll probably sneak some food in because “if we ain’t snackin, we nappin”.
Ciao!
Sister Schroeder
Photos:
The flags at the MTC (they’re rotated everyday):
Some cool hanging Earth thing:
Us with Brooke (our investigator with a sweet Texas accent) – not sure why I look a little drugged, but it was 8 in the morning:
Us with Chelle (her head isn’t really that big compared to her body, it’s just the picture):
Us and Wan-Yu (I think I’ll miss her the most out of our investigators) – Sis Jackman’s dressed like a hobo cause it’s P-day:
The contraband Chick-fil-a Wan-Yu brought us:
Sis Jackman, me, Sis Allan, Sis Woodland, Elder Harrison, and Elder Holland. Out of 4 pictures we took, this is the one where everyone looked best (except for me). The hang lose sign is cause we’re going to California and Elder Holland just always looks like that in pictures.
Sis Woodland taking a selfie with a just waking Sis Jackman:
Our district at the temple (what did I tell you about Elder Holland):
