Hey family!
I hope you had a feliz dia de corazones yesterday. It was quite the event here--almost like Christmas. Virtually EVERYONE had a package. Speaking of which, thank you so much Mom, Dad, and whoever else contributed to my package. The shoes are PERFECT! I'm so grateful that you sent them. I feel much more prepared for the rough roads of Paraguay now. And thank you Grandma and Grandpa Springer for your Valentine's Day card. I got it on the 12th and waited anxiously to open it on the 14th. It was so sweet. Thank you also for the letters Mom, Megan, Dad, Amanda, Sarah, Ashley, Jersey, Leo, and Laurel. You're the best.
LESS THAN TWO WEEKS LEFT AT THE MTC!!! AAAH! I can't believe Paraguay is so close. I am pumped! I just want to go. I just want to work. These next 13 days are going to be so slow. And yet the time is going so fast! yesterday was the very first day that Hna. Y and I only spoke Spanish. We both felt like we still have a lot to learn. And at the TRC this week we taught a native speaker for the first time. We did really well but I did panic a few times when I couldn't understand her. She was Chilean so she dropped all her S's, but once I figured that out I did okay. What I'm really anxious about is the fact that I still know nothing about how Paraguayans speak. Elder Andreasen brought his Guarani textbook to class yesterday adn I looked at it and didn't understand it at all. It really is an ancient language with no semblance of a Latin root whatsoever. I know I'll be just fine speaking Spanish and I'll just pick up some Guarani as I go, but it would still be nice to know what to expect when it comes to the accent and grammar. Oh well! I'll just have to stay on my toes and have fun with it!
So as I mentioned in my letter last week, Hna. Y and I got to be hosts to new missionaries last Wednesday. It was quite fun. Some sisters looked traumatized from their separation from their families, but most were so excited. One came into the hosting area and exclaimed to us all, "I AM SO HAPPY TO BE HERE!!" She'll do well. :) It was fun to remember my own first day, and I was really eager to explain things to the sisters I hosted and put them at ease, remembering how confused I was at first.
Our audition for our district to sing a musical number went really well. I hadn't counted on being reviewed by the MTC Presidency's wives themselves. They were very specific about what they wanted for a musical number before a devotional. Several groups before us were told to work on making their overall message clearer, their words more heartfelt, and their style more spirit-invoking than show-offy. Our district was worried we'd get slammed. We weren't nearly as talented as most of the other groups auditioning, and we didn't even have an accompanist. But after we sang our a capella rendition of "Joseph Smith's First Prayer," the Sisters had nothing bad to say! They said we had a beautiful, sweet sound and they loved how we sang it to the tune of "In Humility, Our Savior." They said we can definitely sing if they can find a slot for us (with only two weeks left here we were kind of late in the game). Either way, we're going to sing in Sacrament meeting for our branch and we'll feel much better about that after being formally reviewed.
Speaking of sacrament meeting, guess who got called up to the pulpit to speak on Sunday? Me. They always call a Sister and an Elder and we'd done the math. It had to be either Hna. Y or me this week. I knew it woudl be me because even though we already wrote talks last month on the Holy Ghost (this week's topic), Hna. Y rewrote hers. I did not. I didn't even reread mine. So I knew I'd get picked. I prayed beforehand that I'd be able to do a good job. Thankfully, I put a lot of heart into that talk when I wrote it last month so it was still great. A few grammar errors but no biggie. I read it in smooth Spanish bore my testimony at the end, and finished in the five minutes allotted. Like, to the second. Everyone said it was great. I felt good about it, but the reality is my district is nwo the most advanced in the branch. Most of the congregation probably didn't even understand what I said, they just heard my good Spanish and my sincerity and assumed it was a good message. :)
My time in the spotlight wasn't over, though. In Relief Society, Hna. Y and I sat front and center and Pres. Brown spoke to us. At one point he wanted some sisters to go up to the microphone and recite our mission objective. His eyes immediately found us in the congregation. "You two! I talked with you at lunch last week! You're speaking Spanish, right? Come on up and recite the Purpose for us in Spanish." I'm glad Hno. Concha makes us recite the Purpose every day in class. We didn't mess up at all. But yeah so now every Sister in the MTC recognizes Hna. Y and me.
Hna. Y and I are still having a blast as companions. We find something to laugh about every day, and this week we've been particularly happy because it's been so sunny and warm lately. We've had class outside twice. (It'd better snow hard right before I leave for Paraguay or I'm not gonna want to part from this awesome weather). Anyways, we had an especially hyper time at service this week where we were assigned to clean the elevators. Remember how a long time ago I mentioned that they don't want us to use teh elevators except if we're injured or needing to haul luggage? We quickly learned that many missionaries ignore that rule. Part of our job was to keep the door open on each floor and clean the runners. This got interesting as people kept pressing the call button on various floors. At first we just exercised patience and let the door close, then waited ten minutes or so for it to come back. In the end, though, we were getting so desperate to clean the stupid runners that I was bracing my back against the door and shouting, "Faster, Hna! Faster!" as the door tried to force itself closed and beeped angrily at us. Hna. Y was on her knees, furiously scrubbing at the runner. Then the instant she finished she dove past me into the elevator and I jumped out of the way and we rode it calmly to the floor where it had been called. The missionaries waiting for it seemed a little concerned to find two dishevelled sisters on the floor when the doors opened. It made that awkward elevator moment all the more enjoyable.
The Elders are doing great, too. They're amazingly dedicated, as always, and so sincere about their desire to serve. Earlier this week I was feeling the need for a little spiritual boost (long story) and my branch president told me to ask my Elders for a blessing. I finally worked up the nerve and they didn't hesitate to accept, though they both seemed a bit nervous. They didn't have experience exercising their Priesthood power, but they had faith in it and they knew teh Lord would help them. He did. They didn't even ask me why I wanted a blessing, they just went right into it and Elder Croft (giving the blessing) said EXACTLY what I needed to hear. It was almost word-for-word what I'd wanted to hear. My Elders are just amazing. They truly listened to the Spirit to know what I was asking from God and give me the answers and comfort I needed. It was perfect. I felt a thousand times better and so at peace. They strengthened my faith in the powers of the Priesthood that much more.
Teaching has been going great, too. I learned this week to teach less by a planned, orderly lesson and more by my own convictions. I often feel like I don't have any grand experiences to share to convince people that the gospel is true, but I do have a testimony. I DO know, and I've seen the change that has come over me throughout the years as I follow Christ and strive to be with God again. Every tim I talk to investigators about my own relationship with God, Christ, and the Spirit, not only do those i teach see the goodness of the gospel themselves, I also feel my own conviction and faith grow and strengthen little by little every day. We've made such great progress with Marcos and Pablo this week as we've just shared experiences from our own lives and felt those stirrings in our own hearts. Marcos is so much more at ease with us and his prayers are so sincere that I almost tear up every time he asks God for help. I think he's really starting to see that God does love him because he's sent us to teach him (and in real life Hno. Alder has said that our district's teaching does help him remember God's love for him). It's amazing. I can't wait to see that kind of change in real investigators.
Less than two weeks left until then! Wow. I CANNOT wait. This work is so important. Sometimes I worry that I'll be devestated when people reject the gospel and I'll want to give up, but this week I was promised that every single person that I talk to, I talk to for a reason, even those who just say "not interested" and walk away. God knows every single one of us. He puts people in MY path for a reason. And He has promised me that there are people out there who are looking for my help. I must work with all my heart, might, mind and strength to find them without passing anyone by or ever giving up. Everyone needs the gospel whether they think so or not. To not work my hardest is to deny people their agency to choose to accept or reject the truth in this life so they can both be happy now and in the eternities. How selfish it would be of me to do a shoddy job, to assume that people will reject God without my ever asking, to hoard those blessings and assurities for myself.
I used to daydream a lot. I used to make long lists of things i wanted to do, paintings I wanted to collect, places I wanted to visit. Now, though, I know not to do that. The reality is that this earth, this mortality, is NOTHING compared to even the lowest kingdom of heaven. If we spend our lives trying to fulfill our dreams and gain more riches and have more happiness for ourselves in mortality, it won't be worth it in the end. We'll lose it all in death. But if we forget our own wants and isntead give all we have to help others find eternal happiness, I know taht God will give us greater things than we could even dream of in mortality.
Well, that's my rant for this week. Thank you all again for writing to me and reading my letters. I hope you enjoy them somewhat. :) Don't forget that if you send me anything after the 24th I probably won't get it because I'll be heading to Paraguay on the 28th. I don't even know if DearEdlers will make it to me in Paraguay (you'll have to look that up) so just play it safe. Thanks again for all your support and love. I am constantly reminded as I talk to other people just how INCREDIBLY blessed I am to have such an amazing, unified family. Stay awesome as I work to deserve such a great gift, okay? I LOVE YOU!!
Love, Hna. Springer
P.S. Your commitment this week is to tell me if you've been doing these commitments and/or how they've helped you if they have. I haven't heard anything and I'm really curious.
P.S.S. I still want pictures of at least Dad, Chase, and the dogs before I leave for Paraguay. Photos of the extended family would be nice, too. Thanks!
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