Thank you so much for sending this email on Monday. Some of the Hermanas here were worried that since we were doing our P day this Thursday, they wouldn´t have letters from their family. However, I wasn´t concerned. I knew my family loved me. =)
I´m sorry Dad´s not been feeling well. There must be a spring bug going
around. Some of the missionaries here have caught something, myself
included. Tell him to drink plenty of orange juice and to get plenty of
rest. He must stay in bed and watch the entire Star Wars....or Lord of
the Rings trilogy (Whichever is preferred) and cannot get out of bed,
except for potty breaks and snack trips, until the entire series is
over. Hermana Parslow´s orders. =D
I´m glad the funeral for Sister Graham went so well
and that Dad was feeling well enough to sing for it. She was so strong. I
admire her very much, I was very sad to hear about her passing.
We actually didn´t get to see the Women´s broadcast, however,
we´re apparently going to watch it in the evening while the Elders watch
the Preisthood session. We´re all really excited. We get to spend the
WHOLE DAY at Main Campus. It´s going to be AWESOME! We all can´t
wait.
So, life here at the CCM (West Campus version of
the MTC) is pretty good. It was a rough week at the beginning however I
got a good lesson out of it. I learned this week that Satan really does
not want me on a mission. I thought before, "If I can just get to the
MTC...everything will be fine." I don´t think I could´ve been more
wrong! If anything he´s tried harder while I´ve been here. He tells each
of us in all of our lives that we´re inadequate. We´re not good enough.
We´re not qualified. We think that we´re just not enough. WRONG! The
truth is that honestly, when we feel that way, it is a sign of just how
adequate and good and qualified and strong we are. Satan would not try
so hard and the Lord would not let us be driven so low if we weren´t
strong enough to pull ourselves back up. The Lord knows us better than
ourselves and will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. I
got taught that this week that we should never feel less that someone
else just because their strengths are different from ours.
I have such wonderful leaders here. Right when I was struggling, I
got to have an interview with my District leader and my Sister Training
Leader (that´s the equivalent calling of a Zone Leader for a sister).
They´re actually Hermana Ramirez and Hermana Wells. The other district
in our zone left for their missions at the beginning of this week so
we´re all alone. A lone little Sistrict. Yeah. I know. Sad. Anyways, I
got to meet with them and they were so kind and somehow knew exactly
what to say to bring me back up.
I also got to meet with my Branch President yesterday, President
Stewart. He´s such a wonderful man. He´s like a mix of Gordon B.
Hinckley and Grandpa Buttars. I´ll have to make sure I get a picture
with him before I leave here. He came all the way to the CCM just
because I asked to meet with him. He was so kind. He told me that he was
surprised I was struggling because all of the reports he had gotten
about me from my teachers and my companion were all great. Aren´t they
all just so sweet? He told me that he could tell I was going to be a
great missionary and that although he would rather have me for 18 months,
he´ll gladly take the 6 weeks. I´m sure he says that to everyone but it
still makes one feel pretty awesome. =)
Oh! I almost forgot! Guess what? So on Sunday,
there was a "Going away" devotional for all of the missionaries leaving
the following week. At that devotional, the President of the MTC told
everyone that the Sunday
devotional that week would be one you would seriously regret forever if
you missed it. Of course word got around and naturally so did the
rumors. Everyone thought it would be an apostle speaking to us or even
President Monson. Well....we were all kinda disappointed when we got
there and the board read Richard Elliot. Atleast, we were all
disappointed until he started the devotional. He´s the organist for the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir and is absolutely amazing. He played songs and
talked a little about the reason he was playing that individual song
right before he played it. He played a song mostly with his feet! What?!
I know! It was amazing. Then as icing on the cake, guess who showed up
having gotten home from his mission not the Wednesday before? Go ahead guess....David Archuleta!! Oh my goodness, he was just
as amazing as Richard Elliot! They performed "Be Still My Soul"..oh my
goodness, it was so beautifully done. It was a devotional to remember!
We get to watch a "movie/film" after a devotional on Sundays and
this last sunday we watched "Legacy". It´s an older pioneer film that
was actually really well done. However, you can definitely tell that all
of us missionaries are media deprived because everyone would cheer and
clap and "Ooo" and "Ahh" and just the right parts. Yeah...I know... it´s
kinda sad really.
Let´s see, what else....Oh! We were talking in class the other
day about Christ and why He is an example to us. Elder Christoffersen
said, "God gave you your agency and Jesus showed you how to use it."
Powerful right?
I don´t know if you were told but I got a letter from Candace and Becca yesterday. Becca had been in primary on Sunday
and the lesson had been Missionary work. She walked out of class with
two pictures and said, "Mommy look! It´s Me and Carlie as missionaries!"
Oh my goodness, that just melted my heart. Candace sent both of the
pictures to me and they are now hanging up on the wall of my bedroom.
I´m tempted to put them on the fridge however, I wouldn´t want the other
Hermanas to be jealous of my niece. =) If you get to see her before I
write back to her please tell her that I am sending a letter to her as
soon as I can.
Our Tuesday
devotional was done by Elder Scott Whiting of the Seventy. He talked
alot about missionary work, being obedient, and power vs authority. He
was a really good talk. My favorite thing he said though was "Focus on
the Wonders of the Work". I think that when any of us are having a bad
day we should just focus on the wonders of the work. Whether it´s God´s
work and his creations or the work He has call us to do.
The last thing that just crossed my mind as I was about to finish
writing was, remember, when the Lord asks you to do something hard,
it´s not just because he wants that hard thing done but it´s because he
wants a better you. He asks you to do hard things because they will make
you better and stronger and exactly what the Lord needs.
I love you all! Good luck Camille! You´re going to be amazing at your games this weekend! Please give my dog my love! You´re all amazing!
"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1 with JST Translation.
Hermana Parslow
P.S Please tell Camille that the cookies were absolutely delicious and everyone loved them.
Oh, btw, guess what?! We get 4 new elders added to our zone this coming Wednesday!
Yaaaay! We´re all super excited! We´ve decided to give them the "Bubble
Salute" when they arrive! =D Thank you Madre Parslow and the Parslow
family for providing the bubbles!
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