HOLA A TODOS!! :D Excuse my writing skills and my English. I have been speaking all week in Spanish, and I'm to the point that my head thinks in Spanish but my words come out in everything but that. If you know me well, you understand what I'm talking about! I always confuse my words, so my district gets a kick out of that. ;)
Well, two things have been on my mind today! FIRST, I can't seem to grasp the fact that I'm writing my first email home while being on my mission!! It is sooooo insane! Second, four years ago from today, my family and I set out on our adventure to Mexico. That move was what started in me my love for Spanish! And who would've thought that 4 years from then I would be sitting here in the MTC speaking Spanish?! Que increible ha estado para mi!
Now to the good stuff. I have had the most chaotic and busy and hectic and stressful and wonderful week of my life while being here at the MTC. My companion is Hermana Nambo (Yes, she is the one who I knew before from Facebook, so when we saw each other, we were pretty excited. ;)) We work absolutely fantastic together!! Not once have we had any problems. I already love her so much. I have begged her to correct me on any Spanish since it's her first language, and she has agreed to do so. She is such an inspiration to me!
So, Hermana Nambo and I, the second night here, were assigned to be Sister Training Leaders. STL's are like Zone leaders, but for the Sisters. I was very overwhelmed because everyone here speaks Spanish much better than I do because most of them have grown up speaking it. But, I know that the Lord has blessed me so much with the Language. I find myself speaking to myself in Spanish! It's fantastic. :) So, Hermana Nambo and I have been in more meetings than I can count, we have conducted personal interviews with the sisters, we have organized relief society with the help of the previous STL's, and this Wednesday, it is our privilege to welcome the new sisters and elders coming in, along with the zone leaders. We give the orientation spill and then give them a tour of campus. It sure has helped the past 6 days here flyyyyy by! ;)
I wish I could write in detail all that has happened while being here! But, sadly, my time does not permit. I have had many spiritual experiences while being here already! One, after Hermana Nambo and I had officially been called as STL's, I've had the opportunity to love, serve, and get to know all of the hermanas within our zone. But, my favorite part has been praying with and for them. Prayer is such a powerful thing. Not only do I have a testimony of the power of prayer, but I am fully converted because of the power of prayer. It has been such a big influence in my life. Anyways, last night, one of the hermanas in my room was having a really rough time. Homesickness. So Hermana Nambo and I sat down and began talking to her. I felt prompted to share a scripture from D&C where the Lord is talking to his servants, telling them to go and serve because He will protect their families. Then, we said a prayer. I offered to say the prayer, but since my Spanish is still iffy, I offered one in English. I can honestly say that I have no idea what I said. I truly took to heart the scripture that promises that the Holy Ghost will put into our mouths the words we should say. I sit and I waited for the Spirit to tell me what to say. As I did, the words that came out of my mouth were personal words that they needed to hear about their family. I could feel God's love and their families' love for them through that prayer. It was such a powerful experience!
Also, we had the opportunity of going to the temple today! Such a beautiful temple! After the session, while sitting reading the scriptures, I had questions in my mind, and I was searching for the answers. I opened to D&C 8, and as I read that section, I felt like it helped me a lot. THEN, as I was sitting reading, the corner of my page lifted. All of a sudden, the page turned. Only one single page. It flipped over to D&C 9, where I read from verse 8 or 9 to the end. Such powerful scriptures for a missionary! I'm "not sure how" the page turned, but I know that Heavenly Father wanted me to read those scriptures.
Now to the subject line! WE ARE AT WAR. Brother Stephen Allen came and talked to us last night, and one thing he said was, "By coming on your mission, you automatically made yourself Satan's greatest enemy. WE ARE AT WAR. You are at war with Satan! But, you are apart of the Lord's army--a soldier in the Lord's army! What better army to be apart of than our Lord Jesus Christ's?" We really are at war! Satan does not love us; he does not want us to succeed! And he will fight until he has nothing else to give. AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE HAVE TO DO. We must fight until we have nothing to give! But, unlike Satan and his army, we have our Savior Jesus Christ and His atonement on our side! There is no way that Satan can win! So as soldiers in Christ's army, we must fight with all of our heart might mind and strength! :)
This MTC stay really has been kind of a blur.. But it's going so well! :) I challenge all of you to follow the counsel of Elder Bednar when he said that Christ never looked inward. He always looked outward in love, service, and compassion. The natural man in each of us looks inward and is selfish, self-centered, and self-absorbed. I challenge all to study the true character of Christ and to try to be more like Him! Learn OF His atonement, not just about it. He is our Savior and is waiting for us with open arms!!
I love you all so much. Thank you for the support! I know that Jesus is the Christ. He loves us. He performed a perfect atonement for each of us. If we act in faith, He will lead us and answer any questions that we may have. Pray. Serve. Look outward and forget yourself. Because the only way to find yourself is to lose yourself in His service so that HE might show you who you should really be. Then, and ONLY THEN, will you ever reach your full potential and become the person HE wants YOU to be. :)
I love you all! Y que todos tengan una buena semana! I apologize if my letters get harder to understand as my mission continues. I have a hard time speaking in english now..;) You should all see my journals.. it goes from English to Spanish, and back to English... ;)
Pues, nos vemos en un rato. :) Love you all!
Sinceramente y con amor,
Hermana Jackson:)
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