WEEK 6: Just Go With It

HOLA!!!

I can't believe I leave on Tuesday! this will be my last email from the MTC! Crazy how the time has just flown by! We started packing today, and it's just sooooo weird. But it was such a great week!

So last Sunday was fast Sunday! It was super great and surprisingly easy to fast mainly because there is no food, but also because everyone else is doing the same thing with you. Also my first 24 hr. fast, which was hard, but we did it, and it was so worth it! Also we got to watch the 1st presidency Christmas devotional which was AMAZING! I loved how all the speakers on spoke for a little bit, and they had A LOT of music, which is my favorite. Also me and my companion were obsessed with the song that was "Unto Us A Child is Born." We literally sing it all week, all day, and listen to it everyday. It's great!

So on Monday we had our service in our residency in the morning and we were supposed to take out the trash on all the floors. But for some reason all the trash bins were SUPER full. So by the time we were done with one floor, our bin was literally filled to the ceiling. It was super funny! Anyway. On Monday night we did this thing called "Pracitcamania!" it's where we draw from a hat and get a new companion, or were an investigator, and we did this with our district and 2 others. It was super fun and interesting to see other people's teaching styles and learn things from them. Unfortunately I never got to be the investigator, but that's fine.

On Tuesday at choir practice, we got to sing "Jesus Once of Humble Birth" which I love that song because it reminds me of "Savior of the World" which my family is in right now! So it was so nice to sing that song at our last time to perform in the MTC choir. My family should know I was thinking of them and SOTW the whole time and how they're probably singing it too right now! I just love. I felt the spirit way strong when I was singing it. Then for our devotional we got to here from Bonnie L. Oscarson, the Young Women General President! It was really good. She talked a lot about making the most of our mission and that it is tailored specifically for our lives, and we need it for things that we go through after our mission. She showed this video and I think it's called "The Gardner" or something like that, but it's from one of Elder Christofferson's talks (who I recently LOVE his talks and stuff), and it was just super good. So definitely go watch it!

So on Wednesday we got to teach Daniela for the last time, and it was an interesting lesson because the lesson before we challenged her to read 2 Nephi 31, but she read chapter 32 instead, so we decided to "Just Go With It" and it went surprisingly well! But Hermana Thomas talked with us after ward and she said that was our best lesson we taught so far. So it was most definitely the spirit teaching and not us. Then we got to host AGAIN on Wednesday, but we only had to host 1 missionary because this is the last bunch coming in before Christmas. But before we started, Stephanie Nielson and her husband asked to take a picture with us! If you don't know who she is there is a mormon message on her called "My New Life" which you should DEFINITELY watch, because her story is amazing! Also she is a famous blogger, which is : nieniedialogues.blogspot.com. So go check that out too!

On Thursday we had our last class with Hermana Thomas and Hermano Clark with our whole district. We still have class on Monday, but some of the people from our district our leaving on Monday and others are leaving on Tuesday. We had a great class. In Hermano Clark's class that day we read the parable of the talents, which is definitely one of my favorites if not, my favorite parable. We just talked about finding the talents that we have, and taking those and putting them in our mission and making them most about them. Because with the servant who does nothing with the one talent he is given he is called "a wicked and slothful servant." Which I don't know about you but, I do not want to be a sloth. Especially while I'm here on my mission. I just have to remember that I am on the Lord's time and he knows exactly what I can and can't handle. And he will give me whatever talents and abilities I need to teach and bring the people of Arizona closer to Christ.

We got to do TRC skype on Thursday and this time we actually got to teach someone! Her name was Ruth, and she lives somewhere in the United States, but she's from Chile. It was really cool to take to a member and just kind of teach them, but also see what they can teach you. 

On Friday we had In-Field Orientation, which is where they teach you everything you didn't learn in class. It was soooooo long, we had it from 8 am to 5:30 p.m. I was really dreading the whole thing but it turned out to be really good! We learned a lot about planning, and working with members and stuff. But I met some really cool people because they make you teach with people other than your companion. So we were doing this practice and I was the missionary teaching another sister. And it turns out she's a convert to the church and she joined just about 2 years ago. So when she told me that I was just hoping my teaching was as good as the missionaries were when they taught her. But she said I did a good job though! She was super awesome and so good to get to meet her. It was really weird in all our practices because we had to teach in English, because a lot of the people their were going English speaking. So it was a little weird to teach in English because all we've done is teach in Spanish, but it went fine. At the end of the day it felt really good to speak Spanish again. I just have really grown a love for that language, and it's just so beautiful and it makes way more sense than English does, so I can't wait for the day when I can speak fluently!

Anyway, we get to go to the Provo temple for the last time today and I am muy animada!!! And next time I go to do a temple session it will be in Mesa, where my grandparents got sealed!!! I still think that is sooooo cool. Thanks for everything and I love everyone! Leaving the MTC is going to very bittersweet and it's going to be hard to say goodbye to my companion, because we are literally the bestest of friends and it's only been 6 weeks! But we're going to stay in touch for sure! Gracias por todo! Hasta Arizona!

-Hermana Brown

 I decided to draw a Christmas countdown on our chalkboard in the classroom because we wanted it.

My companion and I have matching scriptures! So cute!

So they have these little peepholes on every door of the classrooms and for some reason I just love to look through them and see what the other classes are doing. My companion calls me a creep, but I like it sooooooooo... it's a really cool picture though!

  

Classic picture in the mirror pic w/ Hna. Mickelson. It's actually a window that we love to look out and see the real world.

Random picture of Elder Johnson and Elder Hoffman, which I did not take by the way.

District G with Hermana Thomas (in the bottom right) She is the greatest, and my companion and I are gonna be best friends with her when we get back.

Our district with Hermano Clark (also bottom right) He is seriously such a great teacher and we will miss both our teachers so so so much!