MTC Week 2: The Hallway Hermanas

Hola! 

Another P Day!  This week went by MUCH faster than last week. Spanish is starting to come along really well.  My companion has learned so much which is great because we have a new investigator to teach!  This teaching experience is going much better than the first. We’ve figured out how to better invite the Spirit to our lessons. It’s not by having every possible Spanish word and question and answer written down on a cheat sheet in our laps, it’s by being sincere and trusting in ourselves and in God to help us say what He wants us to.

Thanksgiving was amazing.  Elder Bednar came and spoke to us in the morning and he may be my new favorite apostle. I just love how direct and straightforward he is.  We watched a movie called Love, Kennedy in the afternoon.  It’s a little cheesy but has SUCH a good message so I suggest everyone watch it.  All of our elders were weeping by the end. Then we had a devotional with Sharon Eubank and the CEO of Feeding Children Everywhere and he has the most amazing conversion story I’ve ever heard!!  Always listen to the Spirit, guys. You never know what kind of impact you’ll have.  After the devotional we had a service project and we made over 350,000 meals!  It wasn’t Thanksgiving dinner at home, but it was definitely an amazing experience. 

Missionaries at Provo MTC prepare 350,000 meals

In other news, Hermana Lund and I have matching sweats now 🎉🎉🎉 best purchase EVER. The sisters in our residence have started to call us “The Hallway Hermanas” because every night when we get home we chill on the couches in the hallway in front of the vending machines and eat food and talk to everyone. It’s so fun to meet people from all over the world and hear about where they’re serving. Our particular favorites are a group of Polynesian sisters that like to do group singing.  It’s like our own mini concert because they’re AMAZING.  It’s funny to see people’s faces when I tell them I’m a Poly, too. 

Today we went to the temple and that was SO GREAT.  I feel pumped up for the rest of the week now.  But that’s also partially because all the new missionaries are coming in today. There weren’t any newbies last week because of Thanksgiving so my group has been the newbies until today. My roommates decorated the room next door for the new sisters coming in and we can’t wait to meet them! 👍🏻

Overall, this week has been one of progress.  I was sitting in our lesson with our investigator yesterday thinking about how crazy it is that Hermana Lund and I can have an actual conversation in Spanish now, and not only that, but we can teach the Restoration!  Granted, it’s rough and still marred with a bit of Spanglish, but I’m amazed at the progress we’ve made together and individually. The gift of tongues is real!!  

I’m learning that exact obedience and humility are ESSENTIAL in the MTC, and while I’m struggling with things I never thought I’d struggle with, I know that God is on my side. One thing my teacher told us on the first day here was that God called us to speak Spanish because He knows that we can do it.  But it’s not through ourselves or our intelligence or our willpower that will help us to learn, it’s through Him and His divine help. 

Speaking of which, if anyone’s up for a spiritual challenge, read three of President Monson’s most recent general conference talks...A Sacred Trust, Principles and Promises, and The Power of the Book of Mormon...and look for the common theme between all of them. 

Life. Changing. 

- Hermana Thunell