MTC - Week 4!

Hola bonita Mama! Mom I have so much to tell you and so little time!!  I will try and squeeze it all in.  So I'll start off with Easter.  It was amazing having it here!  Like seriously amazing.  It was such a cool thing to be able to focus completely on our main principle in this church - The Atonement.  Easter is fun and full of candy and bunnies, but Easter is one of the most spiritual days of the year.  Christ was resurrected.  He came back to this Earth with His perfect body.  Ah it makes me so happy, I'm such a nerd.  So yesterday for Easter we did something that the MTC has never done.  We partook of the Sacrament as 3,000 missionaries at the same time!  Think about that, a matter of 3,000 missionaries were able to partake of the Sacrament in a fifteen minute time period.  We had Bishop Gerald Causse speak to us and he said, "I can bet you that Christ is looking at us right now and is just filled with joy."  Coolest thing ever!!  Later for the devotional we had Sheri Dew, sweetest lady ever.  I didn't want it to end.  She talked about us about being an influence on others and how to be a better influence of those that we teach.  She explained that the Savior is ALWAYS our answer.  In every little problem we have.  People don't rely on Him enough.  Sometimes we may feel bad about relying on Him too much, but that is why He is there, that is why He died for us.  So we can rely on Him.  She said the way that we know that we will serve a good mission, is when we love the Savior more than everyone else.  It was a beautiful day and I thought of you at work all day.  I hope you were able to feel the spirit with those sweet babies that you hold in your arms and in your heart.  

This week was way, way better!!  I have learned so much and am continuing to learn more everyday.  I am learning so much in relationships.   I still have frustrating moments, but following those moments are confirmations of the spirit.  I found a scripture, it's Proverbs 14:29.  It says, "He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly."  If you look in the footnotes technically it's saying, He that has self mastered himself and is patient and is of great understanding: but he that is quick-tempered of spirit exalteth folly.  Hi, that's my life in a nutshell.  You know more than anyone that I am not patient.  And most the times I don't want to be patient or admit that I'm being impatient.  I am learning how to be slow to be upset and how to love others more fully.  It is the most beautiful thing that could happen to me.  

I LOVED your package!!  Our lessons are going amazing.  The gift of tongues is real, let me tell you!!  I am growing to love my investigators soo much and I think that they teach me more about my testimony than I do.  I have gained a testimony just from the spirit that is in our lessons.  I told you about that too, in my letter.  We go to the temple on our P-days and we do temple walks on Sunday, so if you want to show up at my 9:00 session, I won't complain.  Just kidding ;)  But I had the coolest thing happen today.  I was in the temple and I was thinking about home and probably things that took away too much of my focus (like how I could've been married, etc).  I sat there and seriously plead with Heavenly Father to take those thoughts away from me because I want to be as happy as I can here.  Seriously, every thought I had afterwards was how I was supposed to be here.  Heavenly Father needs me.  I am going to find people in Los Angeles that need me.  And I need them just as much.  It is humbling and I am so grateful for those experiences. 

Two more weeks until I am in LA!! I leave on the 17th!  Spanish really is coming!!  Slowly of course, but surely.  I am picking up on my accent and on conjugating verbs pretty well.  Not great, but it's not as frustrating anymore!! I am able to teach in Spanish and get my point across.  There is no better feeling than when my teachers acknowledge my growth in the language (by the way, our 'investigators' are our teachers). When I pray, I know that my Heavenly Father will fill my mouth with words that He wants me to share.  I feel confident in it, and because of that, I am able to teach better.  When I feel like I'm struggling with Spanish, I remind myself that I am learning this language because Heavenly Father is preparing people that will be able to learn and understand through me.  I am here for others, that I am about to teach, how cool is that?!  I love my investigators and feel so much joy when I know that they are progressing.  And I literally FEEL SO much love for the sweet people I will have the opportunity to teach.  I think that my teachers here are angels sent from heaven - seriously. Well, my time is limited.  Te amo muchisimo mama.  Yo se que la iglesia es muy verdadera.  Jesucritso muerte en la cruz para nosotros y yo soy much agradacia por El.  El CCM es incredible.  Jose Smith es un verdadera profeta y el ensenaba los palabras de Dios.  Whatevs, it'll get there.  This church is beautiful and I love it.  Have a wonderful week my sweet mother and family.  I love you more than words can tell!! xo Hermana Michelle

Dear Dad,                                                                                                               The MTC on Easter was more than I could have ever asked for.  I have never focused as much I should have, on the importance of Easter.  I've loved Easter egg hunts at papa's and finding the Easter baskets in the dryer.  But, this was different.  We had Bishop Gerald Causse speak to us.  He said, "Why do we celebrate Christmas so much and skip over Easter so easily when Easter is what our whole gospel is about?"  El Expiacion, the Atonement.  Jesus literally gave everything for me.  For ME.  How did I ever deserve that?  In our Sunday night devotional, Sheri Dew spoke to us.  She was the second counselor in the Relief Society General presidency and was amazing.  She told a story about how she was driving home from BYU to somewhere (I don't remember) and it was a 12-hour drive.  She was driving through Colorado and they gave a blizzard warning so her and her brother chose another route.  Well, on the route they got hit by the blizzard as well and her car broke down.  After a prayer, a family drove by them and took them to a nearby motel.  In the middle of the night on Christmas Eve, her dad drove 6 hours to pick her and her brother up, and to follow them another six hours home.  I had tears as she shared this because I know you would have done something like that for me.  I can't even imagine how much my Heavenly Father loves me when I see how much you love me.  This Gospel is amazing and full of so much hope for others.  I am happy here.  I miss you more than words can say, but I am thankful everyday for this.  I hope your week is as good as you are.  There are 3,000 missionaries in the MTC right now - amazing! I love you so very much, daddy !

Love, Hermana Warner

Hma Quayle and Hma Warner

Olympus High missionaries at the world map

District Sisters

An Elder from Utah State that was in Michelle's student ward and FHE group,
going to France!