by Pat
Mother’s Day, June 11, we spoke in our ward sacrament meeting.
Monday we began our week at the MTC. We were there from about 8 (except
Monday was 10) until 4:30. Our
instruction and experience was fun, enlightening, motivating, and inspiring. The young teachers were so prepared,
engaging, capable, respectful, helpful, encouraging—I was in awe of their
abilities and spirit. Our role
play in the teaching resource center was such an opportunity to discover our
strengths and weakness, how we work as a companionship, how the Spirit
testifies of truth even when we’re pretending—powerful! We are so grateful for the privilege of
being trained at the MTC.
The past two weeks
have provided about 12 additional hours of our-mission-specific instruction. Our mission president has assigned a
senior couple to be his assistants over the senior missionaries. Once we’re all called and in place,
there will be about 330 of us serving in the 165 stakes in our mission—what a
bunch of old loose cannons. :) We have also had our first zone
conference and first district meeting.
Last week we had a personal interview with the mission president but
don’t expect to have one again.
He’s pretty busy with 260 young missionaries, so we will have quarterly
interviews with his assistant.
We’ve turned in 2 weekly reports and written 2 letters to the
assistant—so you know we really are missionaries.
We do, however, get
our marching orders from our stake president, so we’ve met with his presidency,
the stake high councilor over missionary work, the young elders who serve in
our stake (and 2 others), and the stake clerk—now our best friend, who has
supplied us with all kinds of lists and maps and charts and statistics so we
can be familiar with the 11 wards and their leaders. We’ve attended 7 sacrament meetings, spoken in 1, attended 2
missionary coordination meetings, and have our Sundays full of attending and
speaking for the rest of the month.
And…we have actually
met a few times with a non-member and twice with a young prospective
elder. We’ve made some visits as
prompted and truly love it when the Spirit speaks.
With all this Merlin
has not felt well for 2 weeks and has been downright sick a couple days, today
being one of them. He has
bronchitis and might have another 2 weeks before it’s gone. We’re finding it’s really hard for the
companionship when one of us is down, but we’re trusting that the promised
renewal of his body will kick in here soon after he endures the trial.
Speaking of—we have
not yet resolved our business issues completely but have done what we can and
now trust the Lord and His timing.
Merlin is not completely free and that is disappointing and stressful,
but how would he function without stress?! Actually, I’m ready to see, and we’re confident things will
work out one way or another soon.
We know it’s our time and place to
serve, and we’ve been blessed that we’ll be able to do some amazing
things. Our stake president has
incredible vision, and we’re trying to see what he sees. We are really loving the work and are
energized by it. We invite you all to be member
missionaries. It’s always
been our call, but now we’re all part of this exciting hastening. We testify
that as we prayerfully ask, we will be led to make this who we are and what we
are about every day—our new way of life until the Savior comes. And Elder Fish and I promise that there
is power and protection and happiness in this work that we each need and will
enjoy in our families and in our individual lives.
