Hey family!! It's Pday already! All the sisters in my residence hall are super jealous that we have a P day after being here for barely 2 days, but it's awesome, because I'm already exhausted. We were told we couldn't send pictures in the MTC, but I don't know how true that is so I will send some if I find out more.
The days are incredibly long here, but the spirit is so strong. I just can't believe I'm a missionary! I have a tag and everything! So cool.
Like I said, the spirit here is so strong and everyone is so nice. We walk around and people just say hi to you, sometimes even in another language. So far I've had Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Bulgarian, and one today that sounded like "hey shawty" (I promise that's not really what they said, but that's what I heard. They had some funky nametags so it was for sure another language.) But my companion is Sister Pugh, and she is so awesome. We get along great, and she is seriously the funniest person here. We have four sisters in our district going to Cleveland/Kirtland, and we all room together in a 6 person room, which is nice because it's not super crowded. Sister Smith and Sister Newren are the other sisters and they are also super sweet. I can't imagine anyone having any problems with each other. They all have strong testimonies and I know they will be great teachers. We also have 6 elders in our district. Three are going to SLC South, and the other three are going to Fresno. I am going to try and remember all their names by Sunday :)
The first day we had a class right after orientation where we were able to meet three different investigators and mass teach them. It was cool because the principle we were learning wasn't how to teach a lesson, or how much we knew about the gospel. It was about knowing the investigator and their individual needs. If we go in with a lesson planned and talk their ear off they aren't going to be receptive. But if we are able to see them as Christ sees them, we will be able to see their spiritual needs and know what to teach from there. For example, one of the investigators had had a really spiritual experience already, while another one didn't even know who/what God was. Every investigator is different, and they all need the gospel, but how/what we teach depends on what experiences they have had in the past and where they are willing to go in the future.
The second day we spent 4 1/2 hours in a classroom. And this, from what I understand, is typical. We had some really incredible lessons from our teachers Brother Morris and Brother Nate, who just returned from their missions recently. We learned about the fundamentals of Preach My Gospel, and how we can apply that in the mission field. We also learned about the doctrine of Christ, which is directly stated in our purpose, which I am working on memorizing. Our purpose is to "invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end". Look at that! Totes have it down :) We also had a lesson on having a vision for each investigator, and how to properly plan a lesson based on our vision. I have never taken so many notes in my life.
Today we only have a half P day, so after lunch it's back to class. We are teaching an investigator today named Pablo. He was referred by the Spanish speaking Elders because he speaks English, but he is from Guatemala, but spent most of his life in Compton where he was involved in a lot of gang activity. He moved away to try to escape all of that, and he has a small Catholic background. That's all we know so far. But Sister Pugh and I have been planning our first discussion for today and we think it seems like because he is trying to make a change in his life, we want to teach him about the Atonement - how he can be forgiven and how Christ is going to be his support in that change. I'm pretty nervous about it, but I'm still learning, so I'll do my best and let the spirit teach.
I love our district so much, and we are all becoming close friends. (I'll send a pic of everyone hopefully soon) The companionships seem so perfect and so inspired, it's unbelievable. There's some really funny Elders and some really sweet Sisters. It's awesome. I couldn't have asked for a better group, and I'll be sad to say goodbye to most of them after only about 8 more days. We Ohio sisters have an extra week so I don't know if we will move to a new district or what will happen. But anyways, I'm loving every minute of the MTC. We wake up exhausted, work our butts off, go to bed tired, and then wake up and do it all over again. I would never have the motivation and stamina to do this without the Lord's help, and I have already learned so much from the spirit. Missionary work is incredible.
I love this gospel and I love you all!
Sister Coontz
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