Cool thing: On Sunday we will be singing "Army of Helaman" for our district's "farewell." I just thought that was really cool since we kind of sang that at my farewell at home! Everything is coming full circle. :)
Alrighty, this week nothing too crazy happened. We're all getting more and more ready to leave... but it's good! I am soaking up every last bit of the MTC experience!! This place truly is amazing!! The Spirit of God is so strong here and you can feel the power of having so many missionaries in one place. It's amazing!! So yeah, I think I will miss the MTC. At least I will miss the people, and the spiritual strength and support here. Both from the environment and from the missionaries around me. And I'm so grateful I was able to experience coming here and learning and growing through the Spirit. It's amazing what a great teacher the Holy Ghost is, even in things like learning a language. I know that the Spirit really can bring things to our remembrance like it says in John 14:26. Especially when it has to do with the work and will of God. That reminds me of something one of our teachers told us this week. She said, "You can never fail at missionary work because it's not your work." And it's true! This truly is God's work and we are just instruments in His hands. And He will use us to fulfill His purposes if we are willing to let Him.
Friday we finally got our travel plans!! We will be leaving on Monday the 21st at 1:45pm and flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam!! Then, we will fly from Amsterdam to WARSAW!!! I am so excited!! Everything started getting/feeling really real starting on Friday and everyday since then has had more moments like that. It's coming so fast!
Saturday we had a fantastic surprise waiting for us in the classroom... That's right! It's the MINTS!! THE MINTS ARE BACK PEOPLE!!! :D :D (Haha sorry, this is like the only drama we have here, so I hope it's entertaining for y'all.) Turns out, it was the Albanians and they were just playing a joke on us....... at least they gave it back!! We decided to take it down yesterday since we're leaving soon. But we got our last picture with it and then took it down. The grand total was...*drumroll PLEASE!!*.... 75 MINT CONTAINERS!!! Hahahaha.... not sure how many were ours and how many were added... haha. But yeah! That is also the equivalent of $187.50.... no shame. ;) It's been a monument to the long 9 weeks we have spent here at the MTC. XD Fun times in the life of a missionary... :)
On Sunday we got a new MTC presidency and so our devotional was with them!! And on Monday, we said goodbye to the Bulgarian District! They entered the MTC the same day as our Polish District and so we basically "grew up" with them here at the MTC. And soon it'll be our turn! :)
On Tuesday, during choir and the devotional, Sister Marriott sat right behind me! Before we started, she actually asked me if I would come and sit by her and help her sing again!! I was so excited! But before I could, another senior sister sat by her (not knowing the situation) and we didn't say anything else about it. But it's okay! I was able to talk to her more after the devotional and get a picture with her. :)
On Wednesday night, we had our last class with Sister Theriault ("Tario" in previous emails, and Barney in even more previous emails...). So she of course gave us her final words of advice as we prepare to head to Poland. One thing that stuck out to me was this: The purpose of the gift of tongues isn't for us to speak perfect Polish, but to have us speak and be able to convey Heavenly Father's love for His children. So when we focus on that, loving the people, that's when our Polish will be the best.
Another thought about learning and growing...and changing and improving. I was half watching the film "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration" while I was exercising. In this scene Alvin Smith is talking to his younger brother Joseph about a snail and how it makes its own shell layer by layer and eventually outgrows it. Alvin then says, "Maybe God intends for us to outgrow ourselves too." I've felt that a lot here at the MTC. God doesn't intend for us to always stay the same. He intends for us to be so much greater than we imagine. And in a way, He wants us to outgrow ourselves and become greater than we are. It might be hard because God is easy to please, but hard to satisfy. Think about it like this: when babies take their first steps, the parents are pleased because it's exciting! But they aren't satisfied because they know that someday that baby will run. God isn't satisfied with only a few steps because He knows we can run and do so much more. He knows our potential! If we ever want to know what that potential is, all we have to do is ask. We need to ask God specific questions to get specific answers.
Hope you all have an amazing week!! Next time I write y'all, I will be in POLAND!! :D
Cześć ya later!! Kocham was!!
Siostra Shaylin Carroll
Funny "missionary meme." We have many of these...
Sister Hunt (Macedonia), Me, and Sister Warren (Bulgaria).
Me and Sister Saunders (Bulgaria).
Me and Sister Asay (Belgium/Netherlands).
I LOVE Sister Asay!!
Maya Bolander (Latvia- Russian speaking).
Maddy Paskett!! She came to the MTC TODAY!! for a job interview and I was able to take her around, show her some cool murals, and talk for a bit. :) Made my day!!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.