MTC Week ONE!

HI everyone!!! My first week in the MTC has already been the most amazing, stressful, uplifting, difficult thing I have ever done!! When we first got here we had a little orientation meeting with the Zone leaders and Sister Training Leaders of my zone and they told us that by Monday, we will have cried ourselves to sleep MULTIPLE times. At first we just thought they were all a bunch of whimps. The first 2 days were busy but super awesome! We have so much study time and class time that it feels like each days consists of a whole weeks worth of activities. The Spirit here at the MTC is one of the most amazing feelings ever and it truly can't even be explained by words. I love it sooo much! My district consists of 4 Elders, and 6 sisters. Half of us are going to San Diego and the other half is heading to the Kentucky Lousiville mission! Our district is such a great group of missionaries and I'm really going to miss them!

So far we have taught 2 lessons to our progressing investigator (one of our teachers). The first lesson was one of the coolest things i've ever experienced! Before I came into the MTC I was talking to Derek and he told me that I wouldn't feel different after being set apart as a missionary until I taught my first lesson. Boy, was he sure RIGHT! I felt like I wasn't even having to say anything because the Spirit was saying it for me. That doesn't mean my delivery was the clearest.....I kind of rambled for a while but its totally fine. Thats why i'm here! Our second lesson was probably about as opposite to the first one as it could get. I truly learned that having the Spirit is a GIFT that we must work hard to keep as our constant companion. My companion (Sister Twitchell) and I weren't as obedient during study time as we should have been which means we weren't as prepared and didn't rely on the Spirit for help. I have truly come to realize that I can't do ANY of this work on my own. I constantly need to be relying on my Savior Jesus Christ and have faith in Him to make up for my weaknesses.

By friday, the sleep deprivation, mental exhaustion, and difficulty of this work REALLY hit hard. Now I don't think our zone leaders are big whimps....hahaha oh yeah which reminds me, seriously HALF of my Zone left today for the Colorado Springs Mission!! So watch out for them! They are all soooo awesome! I told them to look up my family if they are in Monument or Mountain Shadows. So you guys better feed them well :) One of the sisters though in that Zone that left today truly has a special place in my heart. Her name is Sister Ikahhefo (eekaaheeefo i think? haha) On friday I was really struggling with everything and during our Zone Teaching our teacher just told us to find someone we don't know, go to a corner by ourselves, and then only ask and answer sincere questions. We only had about 10 minutes together but it felt so nice to just have someone to talk to and relate experiences to. After we talked all of us had to go back to the classroom and then sit down and study for about 5 minutes with that person in mind and find a scripture to teach to them. After teaching each other it was amazing to see how both scriptures that we found applied directly to the others life. It just amazed me to see how powerful sincere lisenting is! We both ended up crying and hugging each other for a minute. It was exactly what I needed to hear and it is just amazing to see how inspired EVERYTHING we do here is! The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways!

But what I have truly come to learn this week is that I can't do ANY of this work on my own. Even things that I thought I could do perfectly fine by myself at home. In EVERYTHING we do we must continue to rely and have faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is through Him and only Him that we can recieve comfort and strength, have our weaknesses become blessings, and touch the hearts of every person we meet. Serving a mission is already one of the hardest things I've done. But I can't imagine being anywhere else. Even though it has been hard, I have loved every minute because I know that Heavenly Father is just molding me into the tool that HE needs ME to become.

I love you all and I pray that Heavenly Father will continue to bless you everyday!

Sister Morgan

Scripture of the week: D&C 6: 10-11 &14

Sorry I'm not sending any pictures this week. I guess the computer i'm on wont let us do that so I'll go to one next week that will let me so you can see the missionary life of Sister Morgan! :)

Called To Serve

Since I am officially becoming a missionary TONIGHT and leaving for the MTC in 2 DAYSSS I thought I would write down some of my thoughts and reasons for deciding to serve the Lord for 18 months.

My whole entire life I have known I wanted to serve a mission. It has always been part of the "plan" and I never really thought about doing anything else. It wasn't until April of 2012 that I realized I really needed to take this seriously and pray if a mission is what God's plan was for me, instead of just my plan. Well after 2 months of praying I still had not received an answer and was starting to think maybe a mission wasn't for me. It wasn't until June 26th, 2012 that I received my answer. On that day my family's home of 14 years and most of our belongings and memories were engulfed in flames from the Waldo Canyon Fire. Our home, along with 346 others, was completely destroyed and left to ash.

As I was sitting on the couch at my brother's house watching the news channels for live footage and updates and just praying that our home would be saved, I felt a strange feeling come over me. Even though I was bawling my eyes out, I felt peaceful and calm. Like someone I couldn't see had their arms around me and was whispering words of comfort and love in my ear. During the week that followed I don't remember much of what happened. Everything kind of blurs together and the days seemed endless. But I do remember vividly the feelings I had during that week. It was during that time that I knew without a doubt that I was meant to serve a mission. That the challenges I was facing with my family were going to be just a brief moment in time and would eventually bless my life and the people I would serve while on a mission. I went through a figurative refiners fire and felt like a whole new person with a new purpose in life. 

Even though I finally had my answer, things didn't get any easier for me. As my family struggled to rebuild our lives, I had to begin getting ready to go back to school in Idaho and no longer be in the comfort of my family. I decided to start my mission papers on August 12th and hoped to have them in by the middle of September.  But Heavenly Father had a different plan. During the 3 months that it took to get my papers in, I felt like Satan was constantly on my back just trying to push me down even farther. It was during that time that I studied my scriptures more than any other time in my life. That I prayed harder every single day than I have ever done before. I was constantly turning to the Lord and in return He strengthened me and blessed me in more ways than I can count.

After 2 months of waiting for my call and constantly stalking the mail man, on January 12th it finally came. As I was gathered by dear friends and loving family, I opened the letter that changed my life forever. Once I read I had been called to serve in California San Diego, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that San Diego is where I am meant to be. That all my struggles and trials were worth it just to experience that moment of true happiness.

Now that I have had my call for 4 months and just about to leave, I can't imagine where I would be today without the things I have experienced this past year. Without the fire I would not be the person I am today and wouldn't have this strong of a testimony and desire to serve the Lord. Without the comfort and strength of my family I wouldn't the happy person I am now. They have truly uplifted me and are making it way too hard for me to say goodbye. I love my family more than words can explain and I know that 18 months is only a short time in our eternal lives together. I love this gospel with every fiber of my being and so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that He made for me so that I may have the opportunity to live with God again. I know the Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ and that the words written in it are true and have sincerely blessed and strengthened my life. I know that Joseph Smith restored the true gospel of Christ in these latter days. I know that God will never give us anything that we can't handle. I am living proof that fiery trials can become some of the greatest blessings in disguise. I love you all and God be with you till we meet again.