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/mormonhelpinghandsnyc or something like that. it's just like a 10 minute film about the mormon helping hands effort by the missionaries & members of new york, i think it's called "helping hands". try to find it!! it was so so good. it helped me to remember that i'm going on a mission to HELP people. i liked the quote, "everything we can do to help! this is why i came on a mission - to help the people of new york. whether that's by sharing the gospel or this." it reminded me of what elder nelson said that has become like my mantra "We SERVE with the sole hope of making life better for other people" !! :) We really have been called to SERVE and it is SO NOT ABOUT US.

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 :) :) :) :) :)