5th Letter from MTC - December 14
Oh hey family.
This week was muy bueno. Mi español es fantastico. Just kidding.
We taught a lot this week. The MTC is really into practicing and I think
it is super inspired. It's making something really hard turn into something
that is only midly difficult, little by little. In fact, some of my most
powerful experiences in the MTC have been because of role playing. I'll tell
you about one of them if I have time, because it was amazing!
-Thanks so much for the package with the CHEEZ-ITS and all the paper. It
has been fantastic! it has contributed to the 7 pounds I've gained since being
here. Only 50 more pounds until my skirts fit! :D A lot of people talk about
how it has been hard to go from the numerous hours of working out to only 50
minutes a day, but for me it has been a major upgrade so I feel great. I don't
feel guilty playing volleyball at all!
-It was freezing cold on Sunday. I'll try and send you some pictures later
of me rocking the navy blue/black/pink/red outfit I had on. I looked like a
dream.
-HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kate and Callie last week. Sorry that i forgot to put
it on the last email, but I hope they were fantastic!
-Speaking of letters- I have like 5 from last week taht I haven;t sent yet
because I didn't have envelopes or stamps. So a bunch of you will be getting
some this week. So sorry! And my envelopes are huge so I hope you're alll not
too disappointed when there's a giant envelope with a tiny piece of paper in it.
:)
-Time to play the who's who game!
-----Jamie: Sam Vellinga is here. I see her all the time. She's going to
CA
-----Jamie and Callie: Chelsea Clay from the Terrace ward is one of my new
roommates. She's going to Spain
-----Can someone forward this or tell Derek Clement that Hermana
Christiansen from his mission is one of my teachers? I'm pretty sure they knew
eachother.
-So my toothaches did not disappear after that dentist appointment.
They're not in exactly the same place but really close. At first it was just
once a week or so but it has been getting worse and worse. But yesterday one of
the Elders in my district came into the classroom after dinner and yelled "The
toothfairy came!!" and tossed me some Orajel he had bought at the bookstore. It
was so nice! Especially since he and I have bumped heads a little bit because
of my frustration with how he treats study times and cosas como eso so it was
super surprising and nice. I am going to schedule an appointment today to see a
dentist.
-Speaking of which, there have been significant changes in our district, so
hopefully we won't get chastised every single meeting anymore! We actually
utilize our study times now! Woohoo! Seriously, it has been a giant relief.
To everyone. I know they talk about our district in pretty high up meetings in
the MTC because we've struggled so much, but we have finally made the turn for
the better!
-Despite our struggles, I really do love being in the district. I have
learned so much from the people in it, and I have no desire to be anywhere but
my district. That being said, I have tried to keep in contact with my old
district because I love them too and I want to still be friends with them after
the mission. So last week I used some of my additional study time (don't let
dad see this ;)) to create them a scripture crossword puzzle with all their
names in it corresponding to a scripture that described them. I hid it in
Hermana Kenndy's bag at dinner and they Loved it! They made me one too and it
was really fun to do, even though it was super hard. I'm planning on creating
one for this district today or tomorrow when I have some free time. I know that
might sound pagan, but I definitely don't use my personal study time and
sometimes you have to do something else or you'll go crazy. Especailly when we
have class dinner class.
-Can you tell nothing of extreme significance happened this week? That's
what halfway through the MTC looks like. But I want to tell you about a cool
experience I had role playing last night. We were practicing teaching 'teach
people, not lessons' and we split up into threes, with one playing the
missionary, another the investigator and the third playing the observer who
would help promt the missionary like the Holy Ghost might. I know it sounds
terrible to have someone try and play this role, and I can't really describe it
perfectly but the person who was playing that role was just supposed to observe
the lesson and then help the missionary to not turn on the automatic switch and
to try and get them to pause and think and find a question that was from Heaven.
I was playing the observer. the lesson was to try and find out and resolve the
concerns of the investigator on reading the Book of Mormon. And as the lesson
started, I knew right away that there was something going on with Carlos*, the
investigator. Elder Jones* played the missionary and he was saying all the
right things and sharing scriptures and bearing testimony of the BoM, but I
understood pretty quickly that Carlos couldn't read. I tried to prompt Elder
Jones to try and figure out why Carlos wasn't reading the BoM but Elder Jones
just whispered back "he said he did read it" and kept going on with his
lesson. It killed me, because I knew the lesson wasn't effective and I knew
that the lesson could change if he would just ask me or stop for a moment and
petition the Lord, but because he wouldn't, I just sat back and watched the
train wreck. Finally, Elder Jones gave Carlos the Book of Mormon again and
asked him if he would read it and Carlos just sat there for a long time and then
said "no puedo." Elder Jones was shocked. I took pity on him and said "Read it
with him." Elder Jones listened and Carlos readily agreed to it. But then
Elder Jones held the book out for Carlos to read the second verse, and Carlos
just looked helpless, i whispered "Elder! I don't think he can read!" From
that moment, the lesson completely changed and we were all edified. Now, the
lesson I learned from that experience was that the Holy Ghost is a real spirit.
I don't blame Elder Jones for not noticing the signs that were to me, very
obvious, because he was trying to do so many things at the same time. But I
learned that the Holy Ghost cannot help us when we do not petition Him for help,
especially when teaching. In the lesson, I wasn't going to shout at Elder Jones
was the issue was, but I was waiting for him to seek guidance from the real Holy
Ghost.
How many times have I just gone on with a lesson or with any decision in
my life without consulting the Lord!? There he is, waiting to help me,
wanting to help me, but I just plow on. Yes, maybe the Lord trusts me
to make many decisions on my own, but by asking, by petitioning, I remember my
complete dependence on the Savior. And then the spirit can make those small
course corrections that He is perfect at. We cannot do anything
without the Lord! We can't! I cannot know of the struggles of everyone i
meet in Antofagasta. But the Lord know. He knows us each individually! And He
can help us to know too. This work is that important.
I love being here. I love learning about this gospel every hour of every
day. And i LOVE having one purpose in my life. There is nothing that is more
important for me to be doing right now.
I LOVE you all!
Hermana Catron
P.S.: Hermana Batista ancetdote of the week: Mom sent me some pictures of
some families in Antofa via a girl who served there to motivate me when I am
tired. I was cutting them out in the room and Hna. B says "Oh, is that your
family?"
Me: "Oh yeah! Want to see?" I bring the picture over
H. Batista: "Is that your mom?" (Keep in mind that this family is
clearly Hispanic.)
Me: "yeah!"
H. Batista: "So then this is your dad?"
Me: "yeah"
H. Batista: "Wow, you look a lot like your dad!"
Hahahahahaha. I died. "Hermana! This family is Chilean!" She was so
mad. :D
This week was muy bueno. Mi español es fantastico. Just kidding.
We taught a lot this week. The MTC is really into practicing and I think
it is super inspired. It's making something really hard turn into something
that is only midly difficult, little by little. In fact, some of my most
powerful experiences in the MTC have been because of role playing. I'll tell
you about one of them if I have time, because it was amazing!
-Thanks so much for the package with the CHEEZ-ITS and all the paper. It
has been fantastic! it has contributed to the 7 pounds I've gained since being
here. Only 50 more pounds until my skirts fit! :D A lot of people talk about
how it has been hard to go from the numerous hours of working out to only 50
minutes a day, but for me it has been a major upgrade so I feel great. I don't
feel guilty playing volleyball at all!
-It was freezing cold on Sunday. I'll try and send you some pictures later
of me rocking the navy blue/black/pink/red outfit I had on. I looked like a
dream.
-HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kate and Callie last week. Sorry that i forgot to put
it on the last email, but I hope they were fantastic!
-Speaking of letters- I have like 5 from last week taht I haven;t sent yet
because I didn't have envelopes or stamps. So a bunch of you will be getting
some this week. So sorry! And my envelopes are huge so I hope you're alll not
too disappointed when there's a giant envelope with a tiny piece of paper in it.
:)
-Time to play the who's who game!
-----Jamie: Sam Vellinga is here. I see her all the time. She's going to
CA
-----Jamie and Callie: Chelsea Clay from the Terrace ward is one of my new
roommates. She's going to Spain
-----Can someone forward this or tell Derek Clement that Hermana
Christiansen from his mission is one of my teachers? I'm pretty sure they knew
eachother.
-So my toothaches did not disappear after that dentist appointment.
They're not in exactly the same place but really close. At first it was just
once a week or so but it has been getting worse and worse. But yesterday one of
the Elders in my district came into the classroom after dinner and yelled "The
toothfairy came!!" and tossed me some Orajel he had bought at the bookstore. It
was so nice! Especially since he and I have bumped heads a little bit because
of my frustration with how he treats study times and cosas como eso so it was
super surprising and nice. I am going to schedule an appointment today to see a
dentist.
-Speaking of which, there have been significant changes in our district, so
hopefully we won't get chastised every single meeting anymore! We actually
utilize our study times now! Woohoo! Seriously, it has been a giant relief.
To everyone. I know they talk about our district in pretty high up meetings in
the MTC because we've struggled so much, but we have finally made the turn for
the better!
-Despite our struggles, I really do love being in the district. I have
learned so much from the people in it, and I have no desire to be anywhere but
my district. That being said, I have tried to keep in contact with my old
district because I love them too and I want to still be friends with them after
the mission. So last week I used some of my additional study time (don't let
dad see this ;)) to create them a scripture crossword puzzle with all their
names in it corresponding to a scripture that described them. I hid it in
Hermana Kenndy's bag at dinner and they Loved it! They made me one too and it
was really fun to do, even though it was super hard. I'm planning on creating
one for this district today or tomorrow when I have some free time. I know that
might sound pagan, but I definitely don't use my personal study time and
sometimes you have to do something else or you'll go crazy. Especailly when we
have class dinner class.
-Can you tell nothing of extreme significance happened this week? That's
what halfway through the MTC looks like. But I want to tell you about a cool
experience I had role playing last night. We were practicing teaching 'teach
people, not lessons' and we split up into threes, with one playing the
missionary, another the investigator and the third playing the observer who
would help promt the missionary like the Holy Ghost might. I know it sounds
terrible to have someone try and play this role, and I can't really describe it
perfectly but the person who was playing that role was just supposed to observe
the lesson and then help the missionary to not turn on the automatic switch and
to try and get them to pause and think and find a question that was from Heaven.
I was playing the observer. the lesson was to try and find out and resolve the
concerns of the investigator on reading the Book of Mormon. And as the lesson
started, I knew right away that there was something going on with Carlos*, the
investigator. Elder Jones* played the missionary and he was saying all the
right things and sharing scriptures and bearing testimony of the BoM, but I
understood pretty quickly that Carlos couldn't read. I tried to prompt Elder
Jones to try and figure out why Carlos wasn't reading the BoM but Elder Jones
just whispered back "he said he did read it" and kept going on with his
lesson. It killed me, because I knew the lesson wasn't effective and I knew
that the lesson could change if he would just ask me or stop for a moment and
petition the Lord, but because he wouldn't, I just sat back and watched the
train wreck. Finally, Elder Jones gave Carlos the Book of Mormon again and
asked him if he would read it and Carlos just sat there for a long time and then
said "no puedo." Elder Jones was shocked. I took pity on him and said "Read it
with him." Elder Jones listened and Carlos readily agreed to it. But then
Elder Jones held the book out for Carlos to read the second verse, and Carlos
just looked helpless, i whispered "Elder! I don't think he can read!" From
that moment, the lesson completely changed and we were all edified. Now, the
lesson I learned from that experience was that the Holy Ghost is a real spirit.
I don't blame Elder Jones for not noticing the signs that were to me, very
obvious, because he was trying to do so many things at the same time. But I
learned that the Holy Ghost cannot help us when we do not petition Him for help,
especially when teaching. In the lesson, I wasn't going to shout at Elder Jones
was the issue was, but I was waiting for him to seek guidance from the real Holy
Ghost.
How many times have I just gone on with a lesson or with any decision in
my life without consulting the Lord!? There he is, waiting to help me,
wanting to help me, but I just plow on. Yes, maybe the Lord trusts me
to make many decisions on my own, but by asking, by petitioning, I remember my
complete dependence on the Savior. And then the spirit can make those small
course corrections that He is perfect at. We cannot do anything
without the Lord! We can't! I cannot know of the struggles of everyone i
meet in Antofagasta. But the Lord know. He knows us each individually! And He
can help us to know too. This work is that important.
I love being here. I love learning about this gospel every hour of every
day. And i LOVE having one purpose in my life. There is nothing that is more
important for me to be doing right now.
I LOVE you all!
Hermana Catron
P.S.: Hermana Batista ancetdote of the week: Mom sent me some pictures of
some families in Antofa via a girl who served there to motivate me when I am
tired. I was cutting them out in the room and Hna. B says "Oh, is that your
family?"
Me: "Oh yeah! Want to see?" I bring the picture over
H. Batista: "Is that your mom?" (Keep in mind that this family is
clearly Hispanic.)
Me: "yeah!"
H. Batista: "So then this is your dad?"
Me: "yeah"
H. Batista: "Wow, you look a lot like your dad!"
Hahahahahaha. I died. "Hermana! This family is Chilean!" She was so
mad. :D