I can't believe this is the last time I'm writing from the MTC!!! It's a little surreal - I still feel like I'm going to be here forever. But SO MUCH has happened in these past nine days. I'll just include a brief little summary and then all the pictures from my time here at the MTC.
The biggest thing was my whole district leaving. So, starting with last Friday: we had in-field orientation all day where they helped us learn important things like how to find people, how to work with members, and similar things that we haven't been able to practice here. It was all day so that was kind of crazy, but it sped by and it was a lot of fun. It got me really excited to leave...and then I realized I was still here for another week and a half haha. But it taught me so so much. Sunday was a little different too - our district all sang "Come Thou Fount" en espanol during sacrament meeting as a little farewell. We also went to the departure devotional for all missionaries leaving the next week and performed again - Elder Reeder was asked to sing his song again so I accompanied him. I saw Hermana Willis there and we took a picture together because she was leaving the next day.
Monday was a weird day - it was our last day of classes but we didn't do too much. Both of our teachers ended up talking about their missions and giving us some last minute advice. We didn't see much of each other throughout the day because people were packing and doing laundry and all that stuff but we all sat down to dinner together. The first people to leave were Elder Hatch and Elder Christiansen (for the D.C. North mission) - they left Monday night around 8pm. We all sang Hasta Ver (God Be With You Til We Meet Again) right before they left and almost everyone was crying. I didn't expect to become such good friends with all of these people in only nine weeks. I know they are going to be such great missionaries - and it was so cool to watch their testimonies and their enthusiasm to share the gospel grow.
The next morning, the rest of them left: Hermana Riter, Elder Reeder and Elder Redd, all going to Reno NV. We all had to walk Hermana Riter to the travel office so that her companion didn't have to walk back alone, so we said goodbye to all of them at that time. And then there were three: Hermana Johnson, Hermana Ivey and myself. Tuesday was pretty chill - we didn't have a class anymore so we just studied and went to the devotional. We also took a shuttle off the MTC campus and went to the DMV that morning - Hermana Ivey had to get a copy of her driving record. We talked to a lot of people there, but mostly just members. We talked to a guy that was not a member, but he was in a hurry and wasn't really interested. It kind of gave me a small taste of what it's going to be like when I get to San Fran next week.
We started visitor center training Wednesday by going to Temple Square and receiving a tour from the sister missionaries there. It was a normal nice tour - and then our instructor kind of ripped it to shreds. Visitor center missions get a really bad stereotype in the church usually because they act like tour guides. I thought that before my mission but that's not what it's supposed to be. They expect us to give people converting experiences in ten minutes sometimes - it usually took me a couple lessons before I got to that point with any of my investigators that I taught here at the MTC. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, but I know that the Lord knows I can do this. We had class afterwards, and practiced role-playing greeting people at our visitor's centers which was really difficult. We're expected to get to know someone and ask thought-provoking, inspired questions in the first five minutes, before we even start the tour, so we can recognize their needs and how we can help them. It's going to take a lot of practice, but I'm excited. I'm happy to know that working at a visitor's center isn't the "easy way out"; it's still going to be a real mission. From what I've heard recently and from my instructors, we spend half the day at the center and the other half proselyting. So it's going to be busy.
On Wednesday night, we also started working as online missionaries. We were given emails to respond to from real people, and we were on chat for an hour answering questions. I didn't have any investigators on chat that really wanted to know - they just had questions and one called our church "bold and arrogant" because we believe in a living prophet. So...no success yet. But it was a really cool experience and it made me really excited to start sharing the gospel todo dia, cada dia (all day, every day). Today's my P-day, but I might just get on chat anyways and talk to some people if I have some time.
Last thing, really quick: yesterday was probably the best Thanksgiving I've had in a few years, probably since I've been away from home. My first Thanksgiving away from home was in St. George with family but I got dreadfully sick after dinner. I don't really remember the next Thanksgiving, but I was probably in Pleasant Grove with family. And then last Thanksgiving, I hung out with my ex-boyfriend after my parents didn't come out to Utah like they were going to. That all being said, this Thanksgiving was GREAT - I didn't expect it to be so good. For starters, Elder Holland came to speak to us - we knew he was coming because Hermana Ivey has a friend who is a security guard here and he told us, so we got a really great seat. We were in line all morning, from 7:30 until 9:30. He brought a lot of his family - his theme was helping us feel like a part of his family since we're away from ours so his grandkids performed musical numbers and bore their testimonies and things like that. His wife spoke and then he talked about a few things he was grateful for - it was amazing, like always. After that, we had Thanksgiving lunch/dinner but it was pretty much the same food we have every Sunday - I'm not a fan of Thanksgiving food anyways so I wasn't disappointed. We got to do a service project, assembling health and education kits for people in Mali. Then we had a little Thanksgiving program which was much less formal than most meetings - we were able to clap after musical numbers and just have fun. There was a little Thanksgiving skit which was corny, but it was nice having this big relaxed meeting. And then to end the day, they gave everyone a bag of popcorn and we watched 17 Miracles, which I had never seen. I bawled, as expected.
This Thanksgiving, I focused mainly on my gratitude for the gospel; the blessings it has given me, the faith of the pioneers who came before me, the faith of the prophets today and in the past, the Book of Mormon, and mostly my Savior. Sharing the gospel is not easy, but when I recognize all the blessings that have come to me through my knowledge of the gospel, I am so grateful. Sister Holland shared a story of when she finished reading the Book of Mormon on a train one day and after she finished, she turned to the man next to her and just kept saying "This book is true!" They talked about it for awhile, and he was later baptized. When we recognize all the blessings that come from what we know, we will want to share the gospel with everyone. We have what they need, and we need to learn to share it with everyone.
Next time I write, I'll be in San Francisco! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day!!!
Hermana Hunsaker
