hello family!!! it's been another great week here at the MTC :) :) I'm still loving it here! I tried to take notes throughout the week haha of things I wanted to tell you so we'll see how this goes :)
I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving!! Thanksgiving here was great. We had a special fireside and ELDER HOLLAND came and brought his family!! they gave some musical numbers & testimonies, and then he and his wife spoke. it was great. we waited in line for like two hours (indoors thankfully) but it was worth it to have 4th row bleacher seats :)
Something Elder Holland's grandson said I thought was interesting - Jesus sacrificed not only so that we could be with Him, but so that He could be with US. He wanted the joy that only comes with family. :)
JOYCE TRAN this is for you - Elder Holland said "This is REAL LIFE. This is as real as your life is gonna get. You will never be closer to God, if you do this right. You will never be as close to the Way the Truth and the LIFE."
He also promised us that there is nothing more important that we could be doing. By definition, this is the most important thing we will ever do. Other things might equal it in importance, but nothing will ever exceed in importance the work of salvation. This is, after all, what God spends ALL of His time doing. Everything God does is devoted to saving His children. It's incredible & humbling to be engaging with God in this His most important work - to bring about eternal life for all of His children.
He also told us that God buoyed up every prophet of old by showing them OUR DAY. Every other dispensation ended in apostasy, but THIS ONE WILL NOT. This time, it is going to work. This time, WE WILL NOT FAIL. We are destined to succeed.
Also Elder Holland & President Brown have both floated guesses that we could very well have 90,000 missionaries come spring. 90,000. in the words of elder holland, "we've never had 90,000 anything!!" hahaha
Elder Holland also taught us the importance of names & taught us that God knows each of our names & that's important because He knows us personally & individually, not just generally or collectively. He knew Abraham's name, Moses, Samuel, & He knows ours. He knows everything about us :)
It's so inspiring to be here with 2000 other missionaries, all preparing to preach the gospel to every nation & in every language. seriously EVERY LANGUAGE hahah it's so crazy!!! & really amazing to be here.
oh also Elder Bednar taught us that "each of you was individually considered & assigned to a mission by a man you sustain as a prophet of God." amazing!! & true!! & often forgotten I think!!
speaking of foreign countries, there's an australian missionary in my zone who just cracks me up. he says "being an australian in americar is the worst because everyone loves you but i don't love everyone!" hahaha. also, i guess in australia they call periods "full-stops"? so he got super confused in grammar class when they were talking about sentences & then all of the sudden periods came up so he raised his hand and asked why they were talking about girls periods hahahaha
also, yesterday at dinner an african-american elder came up & started talking to me in spanish, even after i explained that i don't know spanish. he just repeated things slower. but i know he spoke english because he's from california haha. anyways we finally communicated where we were from & where we were going & how long we'd been here & how long we had left (the only questions anyone asks around here haha) & then he asked if he could take a picture with me so i said sure. and it made me think of LYNDY & ALANNAH :) also alannah i look for you every breakfast but i forget when you work!!! so send me a letter so i can see you!!! i usually eat behind the salad bar by the combo line :) :) i want to see you!
it's weird being here so close to all my BYU friends but not being able to see them. :) we go to the temple monday mornings at 6:50 and we take walks up there on sunday afternoons, so that's nice :) i'm trying to figure out a way to send home pictures!!! haha
also, we get sundaes on sunday. it made me laugh :)
now when we sing "I am a child of God" it has a whole new meaning to me and I think about other people singing it to us missionaries, if that makes sense. we also sing "we are NOW the Lord's missionaries" when we sing armies of Helaman, which is pretty cool :)
another fact - sorry this letter is so scattered - but we learned that 38% of missionaries are out of commission DAILY because of health problems. partly because if you're companion's sick then you can't work either. so be healthy!!
i think being with a companion all the time is more of an adjustment for elders than sisters haha because girls go everywhere with other girls anyways :)
I still love being called Sister Proffit :) Sister kind of sounds like Cece haha so I keep thinking people are calling my first name when they say "sister" :)
It's really cool to watch the elders growing up & maturing & becoming missionaries, & to know that the same growth is happening in myself even though i can't see it. We also have really great teachers here :)
ALSO, someone the other day stopped me and asked me if i was from seattle because i looked like i might be? haha he was going to Seattle & did some research i guess on how we dress...? it was funny haha.
also nathan i met a district full of elders headed to Fort Worth & told them to watch out for you!! they seem great :) you should be excited :) :)
EVERY PROSPECTIVE MISSIONARY SHOULD READ PREACH MY GOSPEL BEFORE THEY GET HERE. you really really need to read it BEFORE you enter the MTC because they assume you've already read it. also, they sell little tiny ones with the full text for less than $5 i think! get em get em :)
"We do not take counsel from our fears." Neal A. Maxwell
John 3:30 - He must increase but I must decrease. Also John 15:5
Pop quiz - who restored the gospel? nope, not Joseph Smith..... JESUS CHRIST did, THROUGH Joseph Smith :) important distinction!
Also they remind us here that WE are God's investigators, & that everything we want for our investigators (pray with real intent, read the scriptures & seek answers, etc) GOD wants for US.
Teaching has been going really well!! it reminds me of how far i have to go haha. Sometimes when I pray to feel charity God teaches me by showing me my weakness & reminding me that we all sin & fall short of the glory of God. I'm too busy worrying about my own weakness to be judging other people for theirs. Anyways the lessons are definitely humbling. the way they teach here it's like HERE GO DO IT and THEN they teach us how haha so sometimes in class it's like WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS EARLIER BEFORE I MESSED EVERYTHING UP???!?!?!?? hahaha. it's really SO humbling to think that I am who God has chosen to do this His most important work. I see my teachers being so great and i'm like well why don't YOU go on missions haha you already know how to do it! you'd be great! why did God choose me! i'm no good at this!!! but really, it doesn't matter about me. I need to not rely on myself but on God. which is really hard but really essential & rewarding. :) THIS is God's most important work. & who does He ask to do it? TEENAGERS. and young adults. let no one ever doubt that God loves His teenagers, & that he works through the weak things of the world. & praise be to God for that & for His loving mercy & grace <3
Also they take such good care of us here!! they even have sweet old lady tutors to help some of the elders & sisters with their reading & comprehension skills :) God works in all of us!
Something I love that we do here is prelude singing! we sing 3 or 4 hymns before every devotional, & it's awesome :) also, i saw one of my efy babies! he got a picture :) crazy haha.
also a video you should watch - GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD. it's on biblevideos.org :)
also Elder Phelps in my district told me i reminded him of his mom......... hahaha
also I need Uncle Robert's address!!! i met one of his french students & he really wants to write uncle robert!!!! :) :)
Thanksgiving was amazing. I just realized I didn't finish writing about it haha. so after the fireside we had thanksgiving "lunch" which was okay for what it was... i'm not really a huge fan of thanksgiving food but it was nice of them to try haha. i felt kinda bad for the international missionaries though. :) then in the afternoon we put together hygeine & education kits to send to - and this is a real place - OUELESSEBOUGOU. we-less-ee-boo-goo hahaha. but that was fun & nice. we had a lot of down time which was weird, and the low point was probably eating a sack lunch hoagie in our room for thanksgiving dinner haha, but afterwards it got really great. we had a HILARIOUS program where we watched a "first thanksgiving" skit & the characters would say something (the same thing) every time they were mentioned (if that makes sense) puritan preacher would shout HALLELUJAH & pretty soon ALL the missionaries would shout AMEN afterwards hahaha & it was just so great. there were some great musical numbers & fun stuff & we sang hymns about what we are thankful for & then they handed out POPCORN & we watched 17 miracles which was SO GREAT because it reminded me that i really am just SO THANKFUL every day to be here, to be doing the Lord's work, & to know that this is where I'm supposed to be. I LOVE wearing the name of Jesus Christ on my nametag & i just love Jesus Christ so much. He truly is my Savior & my best friend. I'm grateful every day to know Him, to love Him, & to be serving Him.
also praying with investigators is THE BEST. when they're praying to know if God is there & what they should do... SO GOOD. we taught a less-active sister & the Spirit was so strong & she was so grateful & it was amazing that all she needed was someone to come in & bring the Spirit back into her home & help her see what she should be doing to bless her family.
I wish i could write more but my time is almost up!! IMPORTANT: i get to call home on tuesday from the airport!! we got our travel plans! we leave 5am december 4th & we'll be in milwaukee by 3 in the afternoon :) I'll write next monday. also THANK YOU to everyone who wrote me letters :)
ALI my efy bby chicken <3 love you. thank you for your letter dear!!
ALYSSA GREEN you are a treasure & so is your letter & i am writing you back today!!
& thanks for the news article gramma :)
i love you all!!!
1 Cor 15:5 -- thanks be to God, who gives us the victory :) :)
I'm SO GRATEFUL for such a loving & supportive family :) I love you all so much & pray for you every day!!!! keep writing me - i love letters!! i love to hear just what's going on in your lives, what music you're listening to, whatever. i just love to hear from you guys :) let me know what you want to hear from me!! i'll send home my schedule after i'm done here at the mtc :)
love you!! God bless :)
xoxoxoxo SISTER PROFFIT
Monday, November 26, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Week 1 :)
first of all, I AM SO HAPPY HERE :) :) I LOVE being a missionary and i LOVE being called Sister Proffit :) it's the happiest. the mtc is like disneyland only 21934889345789 times better :) :) it's been so so great. i hope i can get it all down in the 30 minutes they give us to email, and if i don't i'll send a letter with more :)
also, if everyone could write me using DearElder.com that would be great - i'll get a hard-copy delivered to me the same day so I can read it and keep it with me and i won't have to spend any of my email time reading, just writing :) also, thanks to those who have sent me letters!!
Shaney - you're so sweet & i'm so happy you're loving BYU :) i love you!
Shaelyn - I LOVE YOU AND YOUR LETTER WAS PERFECT i'm writing you a super long one back today :)
Robyn - I'm so excited for you to serve a mission!! You will love it :) :) & thanks for your letter!
SISTER TRAN if you're reading this SEND ME A LETTER so that i can send you my love :) :) you will LALALALALALLOVEEEE THE MTC!!!!!!!
So the MTC started off GREAT, seeing Ren seriously made my whole life, it was God's way of saying WELCOME and YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE IT HERE and THIS IS WHERE I WANT YOU TO BE and I LOVE YOU and it was so so great so THANK YOU elder ferguson :) Also I've seen ren quite a few times and it's been awesome! he's doing really really well, still the same hilarious great Ren but there's a spiritual maturity about him now & it's great to see him as Elder Ferguson :) he's doing great, learning the language well and i know he'll be a great missionary :) Also I've seen Elder Peterson a few times, he seems to be doing well too :)
the cafeteria food is great! they feed us really well, there's a different salad option for lunch & dinner every day so i usually get that & some fruit or soup or something. it's been delicious. they really do take SUCH good care of us here, it's a top-notch training center and i'm loving it.
i also LOVE LOVE LOVE my companion. There are 4 sisters in our district & 6 elders. All 4 of us sisters and two of the elders are going to wisconsin; the other two elders are bound for arcadia california. Also Nathan - I met some elders going to your mission! they were excited & i told them to watch out for Elder Proffit :) :) I'm so so so excited for you.
My companion is Sister Stuart and she's amazing. I love her so much already, she's such an example to me in the way she really works hard & LIVES what we're learning. Last night we watched the most AMAZING devotional by elder bednar "the character of Christ" (LOOK IT UP) and we learned that a mission is NOT ABOUT US and that we need to serve way more, and then afterwards instead of just walking back to our residence Sister Stuart noticed some missionaries putting away chairs so we stayed and helped and LIVED what we LEARNED. :) that's how she is. also we get along wonderfully and our unity is really coming across in our teaching, even though we're still learning and struggling haha. We learn through our struggles! Elder Scott (i think) said "Essential personal growth will come to you as you STRUGGLE" and we're definitely finding that to be true :) it's a good struggle though, and it's teaching us that God truly is in this work. It is His work, and he definitely has a hand in it :)
The focus in our MTC training is much more on how to teach, not what to teach, and this is a change they made in the past few months. We're expected to come already knowing the doctrine of PMG ch 3 and they started us teaching THE VERY FIRST DAY. it was crazy & a great learning experience. Sister Stuart & I have also taught two lessons on our own already, to our teachers role-playing "Ben" & "Joe," based off people they already know. We do a lot of role-playing here & we try to base it all off of real experiences, real people we know, & real feelings. We've spent a lot of time talking about our Purpose - "to INVITE others to COME UNTO CHRIST by HELPING THEM to recieve the restored gospel through faith in JESUS CHRIST and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." "Others" means EVERYONE - companions, teachers, strangers, investigators, EVERY ONE, member or non-member, so it doesn't really matter if the people we're role-playing with are already baptized or not. We can invite them to come unto Christ where ever they are in their walk with Him & we do that by inviting the Spirit. It doesn't matter what we say, it matters what THEY feel. It's not about us :) what we say only matters so far as it INVITES and HELPS them to feel & come closer to Christ :)
Also Mom - thank you for that scripture. It was perfect :)
I love the other sisters in my district too - we share a room and they're lovely :) Sister Christensen is wonderful, so caring and such a good example. she's 24 and from sacramento. & Sister Edwards is 21 & from Mesa. she's wanted to be a missionary since primary like me :) Sister Stuart is 21 too and from bountiful. The Elders are great too... I forgot what it's like to be around 19 year old boys though haha. But they're trying hard & learning too, & the Lord works through all of us in our weakness as we give ourselves to Him.
Also I've adjusted REALLY well, it's surprising actually & a great blessing haha. It's been easy to wake up at 6:30 every day & just turn on the lights, get dressed, and get to work. I was thinking the other day about how EVERYTHING we do is to invite others to come unto Christ - even the way we dress & do our hair. It's pretty awesome :) these have been the LONGEST DAYS OF MY LIFE, they feel like weeks or years, but they've been so so so so good :) :) :) I really do love every day here and i never ever ever get tired of being called "Sister Proffit" :) :)
Also I forgot to give Nathan his boots!!! I'll watch out for Kelley. Also I saw Kristen Lavering at the front desk!! That was fun :) I've seen Elder Price here too. It's just such a great place to be :) :)
Some funny things that reminded me of you --
They posted some scripture from Job about "clean hands" next to the purell machines haha
We sing the hymns so fast!! love it :) :)
they also said no wrestling haha
We're the largest group they've had in at least two years - 111 missionaries came in on wednesday!! but soon we will be dwarfed when the new age missionaries come in january :) :)
They've had more sisters submit their papers than there are currently serving!!!! :) :)
Oh yesterday was Sunday - we all have to prepare a talk every week (just 5 minutes) and then they call on you to speak from the pulpit haha. "We will now here from... you! followed by you, and you" haha. it's good practice though!
I'm sorry this is so out of order haha i just have a bit of time and i'm trying to remember everything i wanted to tell you :)
I'm so glad I'm here now!!! I'm so glad I didn't want until January to be available, it's just so clear to me that NOW is when I'm supposed to be here, not any sooner and NOT any later. Our Branch Presidency said that they're training US to be the trainers of the new younger missionaries heading out in January. Crazy!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!! We'll be doing humanitarian work all day and having some special devotionals :) I'm so happy I'll be in the MTC for thanksgiving because THIS is what I'm grateful for. I'm grateful for this Gospel and to BE A MISSIONARY. there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be. I love you all so much & I'm so thankful for you & your support :) i can't say it enough how much i love you & am grateful for you.
We watched the most amazing video yesterday!! I want you to try & find it & watch it & post it on facebook haha. I think you can find it at facebook.com/groups/
elder bednar in that "character of Christ" devotional did an impression of Cookie Monster that has CHANGED ME FOREVER haha he said that cookie monster is like the natural man "ME WANT COOKIE NOW" and that we can't be the "natural man" as missionaries - none of this "ME WANT BAPTISM NOW. ME WANT INVESTIGATOR NOW. ME WANT DISCUSSION NOW" business. we need to develop the character of Christ. turn OUTWARD and SERVE when the natural woman wants to turn inward & think about herself.
we pray like 2938057349875 times a day but it never gets repetitve because we REALLY mean it & we're REALLY asking for the Lord do bless us. we CAN'T do this just us, it literally just WOULD NOT WORK & it's so humbling that God has called US to be His Hands in doing His great work. :) :)
also we've been practicing the invitation to baptism on the first lesson because really it's a way of inviting people to learn more & to be blessed by following the example of Jesus Christ (see 2 ne 31 :13!!!) & it lets them know you care... our purpose is to invite them to come unto Christ through baptism so if we don't INVITE them to do this great happy thing then we must not want them to be happy! haha
Some verses that have stood out to me - 1 Tim 4:14 neglect not the gift that is in you
2 Cor 2:1, 3-5, 13. Don't try to be eloquent in speech, it won't work. demonstrate the Spirit of Power. we don't teach by our wisdom, but His.
1 Cor 13 - it doesn't matter what you've got if you haven't got charity
Ether 3 - be a shining rock!! also elder bednar gave a REALLY GREAT & LIFE-CHANGING LESSON from this chapter but i'll let you find it in his "character of Christ" devotional :)
D&C 15:2 - His arm is over all the Earth :)
1 Cor 16:14 - let all your things be done in charity :)
2 Cor 12:10 - when i am weak, then i am strong. when i recognize my own weakness, i rely on the strength of Christ (see also alma 26:12)
the Elders here are so nice & always holding door for us & calling us "Sisters" and i just really NEVER GET TIRED of that haha. We took pictures on our sunday temple walk yesterday that i'll try to send you!!!! also we went to the temple this morning & it was so good, i didn't think i'd miss it as much as i did haha but it came just in time :) & so did letter writing time.
anyways it's been amazing here, i'm glad it's p-day haha but i'm loving the work & i'm loving it here :) I'm so so so happy. i love this work! the church is true. God is our loving Heavenly Father. Jesus is the Christ. He lives, & He lives for us. He loves us & is not far from us (acts 17:27) The Book of Mormon is God's truth. It testifies of Christ & it changes lives. It's changed mine for good :) The Bible is a record of Jesus Christ. We can learn of them, we can know them, we can love them, & we can be in a joyful relationship with them as we obey & follow the doctrine of Christ - faith, repentance (returning, changing), following the example of Jesus Christ & being baptized, & recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost - a gift God gave us to help us know Him :) anyways I'm so so so happy & i'm sorry this letter is crazy & weird haha, i can't say everything i want to in half an hour but i love you guys!!!!!! i can't wait to recieve your letters, they're the light of my life :) :) i love you all!!
also mom you can post whatever parts of this you like to the blog. let people know i'm happy & loving it here :)
ps please send my green skirt & sports bras mom :)
I love this Gospel!!! read the book of mormon!!! be baptized!!! be a missionary!!! follow Christ!!!!!!
love you all -
also Julia Green the scripture you wrote at the end of your letter to me was perfect & if i could remember it exactly i would write it here.
basically,
I love you all & I hope you're feeling God's blessings in your life :) The church is true. Christ lives :)
all my love forever ---
SISTER PROFFIT :) :) :) :) :)
also, if everyone could write me using DearElder.com that would be great - i'll get a hard-copy delivered to me the same day so I can read it and keep it with me and i won't have to spend any of my email time reading, just writing :) also, thanks to those who have sent me letters!!
Shaney - you're so sweet & i'm so happy you're loving BYU :) i love you!
Shaelyn - I LOVE YOU AND YOUR LETTER WAS PERFECT i'm writing you a super long one back today :)
Robyn - I'm so excited for you to serve a mission!! You will love it :) :) & thanks for your letter!
SISTER TRAN if you're reading this SEND ME A LETTER so that i can send you my love :) :) you will LALALALALALLOVEEEE THE MTC!!!!!!!
So the MTC started off GREAT, seeing Ren seriously made my whole life, it was God's way of saying WELCOME and YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE IT HERE and THIS IS WHERE I WANT YOU TO BE and I LOVE YOU and it was so so great so THANK YOU elder ferguson :) Also I've seen ren quite a few times and it's been awesome! he's doing really really well, still the same hilarious great Ren but there's a spiritual maturity about him now & it's great to see him as Elder Ferguson :) he's doing great, learning the language well and i know he'll be a great missionary :) Also I've seen Elder Peterson a few times, he seems to be doing well too :)
the cafeteria food is great! they feed us really well, there's a different salad option for lunch & dinner every day so i usually get that & some fruit or soup or something. it's been delicious. they really do take SUCH good care of us here, it's a top-notch training center and i'm loving it.
i also LOVE LOVE LOVE my companion. There are 4 sisters in our district & 6 elders. All 4 of us sisters and two of the elders are going to wisconsin; the other two elders are bound for arcadia california. Also Nathan - I met some elders going to your mission! they were excited & i told them to watch out for Elder Proffit :) :) I'm so so so excited for you.
My companion is Sister Stuart and she's amazing. I love her so much already, she's such an example to me in the way she really works hard & LIVES what we're learning. Last night we watched the most AMAZING devotional by elder bednar "the character of Christ" (LOOK IT UP) and we learned that a mission is NOT ABOUT US and that we need to serve way more, and then afterwards instead of just walking back to our residence Sister Stuart noticed some missionaries putting away chairs so we stayed and helped and LIVED what we LEARNED. :) that's how she is. also we get along wonderfully and our unity is really coming across in our teaching, even though we're still learning and struggling haha. We learn through our struggles! Elder Scott (i think) said "Essential personal growth will come to you as you STRUGGLE" and we're definitely finding that to be true :) it's a good struggle though, and it's teaching us that God truly is in this work. It is His work, and he definitely has a hand in it :)
The focus in our MTC training is much more on how to teach, not what to teach, and this is a change they made in the past few months. We're expected to come already knowing the doctrine of PMG ch 3 and they started us teaching THE VERY FIRST DAY. it was crazy & a great learning experience. Sister Stuart & I have also taught two lessons on our own already, to our teachers role-playing "Ben" & "Joe," based off people they already know. We do a lot of role-playing here & we try to base it all off of real experiences, real people we know, & real feelings. We've spent a lot of time talking about our Purpose - "to INVITE others to COME UNTO CHRIST by HELPING THEM to recieve the restored gospel through faith in JESUS CHRIST and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." "Others" means EVERYONE - companions, teachers, strangers, investigators, EVERY ONE, member or non-member, so it doesn't really matter if the people we're role-playing with are already baptized or not. We can invite them to come unto Christ where ever they are in their walk with Him & we do that by inviting the Spirit. It doesn't matter what we say, it matters what THEY feel. It's not about us :) what we say only matters so far as it INVITES and HELPS them to feel & come closer to Christ :)
Also Mom - thank you for that scripture. It was perfect :)
I love the other sisters in my district too - we share a room and they're lovely :) Sister Christensen is wonderful, so caring and such a good example. she's 24 and from sacramento. & Sister Edwards is 21 & from Mesa. she's wanted to be a missionary since primary like me :) Sister Stuart is 21 too and from bountiful. The Elders are great too... I forgot what it's like to be around 19 year old boys though haha. But they're trying hard & learning too, & the Lord works through all of us in our weakness as we give ourselves to Him.
Also I've adjusted REALLY well, it's surprising actually & a great blessing haha. It's been easy to wake up at 6:30 every day & just turn on the lights, get dressed, and get to work. I was thinking the other day about how EVERYTHING we do is to invite others to come unto Christ - even the way we dress & do our hair. It's pretty awesome :) these have been the LONGEST DAYS OF MY LIFE, they feel like weeks or years, but they've been so so so so good :) :) :) I really do love every day here and i never ever ever get tired of being called "Sister Proffit" :) :)
Also I forgot to give Nathan his boots!!! I'll watch out for Kelley. Also I saw Kristen Lavering at the front desk!! That was fun :) I've seen Elder Price here too. It's just such a great place to be :) :)
Some funny things that reminded me of you --
They posted some scripture from Job about "clean hands" next to the purell machines haha
We sing the hymns so fast!! love it :) :)
they also said no wrestling haha
We're the largest group they've had in at least two years - 111 missionaries came in on wednesday!! but soon we will be dwarfed when the new age missionaries come in january :) :)
They've had more sisters submit their papers than there are currently serving!!!! :) :)
Oh yesterday was Sunday - we all have to prepare a talk every week (just 5 minutes) and then they call on you to speak from the pulpit haha. "We will now here from... you! followed by you, and you" haha. it's good practice though!
I'm sorry this is so out of order haha i just have a bit of time and i'm trying to remember everything i wanted to tell you :)
I'm so glad I'm here now!!! I'm so glad I didn't want until January to be available, it's just so clear to me that NOW is when I'm supposed to be here, not any sooner and NOT any later. Our Branch Presidency said that they're training US to be the trainers of the new younger missionaries heading out in January. Crazy!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!! We'll be doing humanitarian work all day and having some special devotionals :) I'm so happy I'll be in the MTC for thanksgiving because THIS is what I'm grateful for. I'm grateful for this Gospel and to BE A MISSIONARY. there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be. I love you all so much & I'm so thankful for you & your support :) i can't say it enough how much i love you & am grateful for you.
We watched the most amazing video yesterday!! I want you to try & find it & watch it & post it on facebook haha. I think you can find it at facebook.com/groups/
elder bednar in that "character of Christ" devotional did an impression of Cookie Monster that has CHANGED ME FOREVER haha he said that cookie monster is like the natural man "ME WANT COOKIE NOW" and that we can't be the "natural man" as missionaries - none of this "ME WANT BAPTISM NOW. ME WANT INVESTIGATOR NOW. ME WANT DISCUSSION NOW" business. we need to develop the character of Christ. turn OUTWARD and SERVE when the natural woman wants to turn inward & think about herself.
we pray like 2938057349875 times a day but it never gets repetitve because we REALLY mean it & we're REALLY asking for the Lord do bless us. we CAN'T do this just us, it literally just WOULD NOT WORK & it's so humbling that God has called US to be His Hands in doing His great work. :) :)
also we've been practicing the invitation to baptism on the first lesson because really it's a way of inviting people to learn more & to be blessed by following the example of Jesus Christ (see 2 ne 31 :13!!!) & it lets them know you care... our purpose is to invite them to come unto Christ through baptism so if we don't INVITE them to do this great happy thing then we must not want them to be happy! haha
Some verses that have stood out to me - 1 Tim 4:14 neglect not the gift that is in you
2 Cor 2:1, 3-5, 13. Don't try to be eloquent in speech, it won't work. demonstrate the Spirit of Power. we don't teach by our wisdom, but His.
1 Cor 13 - it doesn't matter what you've got if you haven't got charity
Ether 3 - be a shining rock!! also elder bednar gave a REALLY GREAT & LIFE-CHANGING LESSON from this chapter but i'll let you find it in his "character of Christ" devotional :)
D&C 15:2 - His arm is over all the Earth :)
1 Cor 16:14 - let all your things be done in charity :)
2 Cor 12:10 - when i am weak, then i am strong. when i recognize my own weakness, i rely on the strength of Christ (see also alma 26:12)
the Elders here are so nice & always holding door for us & calling us "Sisters" and i just really NEVER GET TIRED of that haha. We took pictures on our sunday temple walk yesterday that i'll try to send you!!!! also we went to the temple this morning & it was so good, i didn't think i'd miss it as much as i did haha but it came just in time :) & so did letter writing time.
anyways it's been amazing here, i'm glad it's p-day haha but i'm loving the work & i'm loving it here :) I'm so so so happy. i love this work! the church is true. God is our loving Heavenly Father. Jesus is the Christ. He lives, & He lives for us. He loves us & is not far from us (acts 17:27) The Book of Mormon is God's truth. It testifies of Christ & it changes lives. It's changed mine for good :) The Bible is a record of Jesus Christ. We can learn of them, we can know them, we can love them, & we can be in a joyful relationship with them as we obey & follow the doctrine of Christ - faith, repentance (returning, changing), following the example of Jesus Christ & being baptized, & recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost - a gift God gave us to help us know Him :) anyways I'm so so so happy & i'm sorry this letter is crazy & weird haha, i can't say everything i want to in half an hour but i love you guys!!!!!! i can't wait to recieve your letters, they're the light of my life :) :) i love you all!!
also mom you can post whatever parts of this you like to the blog. let people know i'm happy & loving it here :)
ps please send my green skirt & sports bras mom :)
I love this Gospel!!! read the book of mormon!!! be baptized!!! be a missionary!!! follow Christ!!!!!!
love you all -
also Julia Green the scripture you wrote at the end of your letter to me was perfect & if i could remember it exactly i would write it here.
basically,
I love you all & I hope you're feeling God's blessings in your life :) The church is true. Christ lives :)
all my love forever ---
SISTER PROFFIT :) :) :) :) :)
Saturday, November 10, 2012
write me letters!
Hello my internet friends :)
On Tuesday November 13, 2012, I'll be turning off my phone & logging out of all my {many} social networking sites for the next 18 months.
On Wednesday November 14 I'll report to the missionary training center where I'll be for about three weeks.
My address there is:
Sister Cecelia Proffit
MTC Mailbox # 215
WI-MIL 1204
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793
& my address there will be
Sister Cecelia Proffit
Wisconsin Milwaukee Mission
Wisconsin Milwaukee Mission
5651 Broad St Ste 1
Greendale, WI 53129-1889
United States
United States
I'm not sure yet exactly where I'll be serving but that's the "mission home" address & they'll forward anything to me :)
Write me write me write me! I promise to write back & include illustrations :) Also send me pictures. I'll send you some back :)
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| this will be my face if you do not send me letters |