June 14, 2013

Leaving the Provo Temple with my group of sisters (below) when I hear "CARLY!"  There was my cousin Colby (above--who is headed to Paraguay next month) and Aunt Karen and Uncle John.  They took these photos.

Late getting this blog up--we'll skip to the end of the MTC period:

June 14, 2013:  So, I fly out on Monday! We fly out from SLC at 8:30.  I'm so excited to go! Every day, I gain a greater testimony for God's work. He is in it and it is for the salvation of His children. Because I've enjoyed all the blessings of the Gospel, I've never really thought much about them.  Did you know that we are supposed to invite a person to baptism on the first lesson? Because I'm at a visitors center, that could be after talking to someone after 15 minutes. I thought that was completely ridiculous at first, but their really is wisdom behind it. Our purpose is to invite others to baptism. All of the other factors involved (faith, repentance, gospel principles and lessons) are meant to lead to that. Baptism is the gate.

 

This week, we have started visitors center training!! There are three aspects to my mission: visitors center, in-field/tracting, and online referral center. We went to Temple Square this week and go again tomorrow for tours. Yesterday, we just walked. Tomorrow, we will help conduct!! It's awesome because as a visitors center sister, you are in somewhat of a holy place and all you have to do is add to, and not detract from, the Spirit that is already there and help the people there feel that Spirit. It is wonderful. My favorite thing though has been working at the referral center.  You do get some weird contacts. Our first night my friends got online chatted with this girl who was scared about her honeymoon night and was going into really awkward detail (when she wouldn't go into gospel topics with them, they just had to tell her to talk with another adult parental or counselor figure).  Another group got this way antagonistic bible basher, and we got some boy who really wanted help stopping his girlfriend from going on a mission. I guess that's similar to what you get on the streets. But, in a referral center, the "golden contacts" come to you online or over the phone frequently!  The first night we had a less than fruitful chatting session with the boyfriend guy, but the second day, we had two contacts who believed in God and were genuinely interested in the church. BOTH TIMES the chatting session deleted out on its own in the middle of a good conversation. So, Satan is still trying to exert his power here as well.

What I have learned in all of my mtc experiences is that you set up the atmosphere at the beginning with a spiritual feeling that's geared towards Jesus Christ from the beginning. All conversation is geared towards our Purpose, and we start with questions and comments that help accomplish that.

We went to the temple on Tuesday and I was in my temple clothes, no badge, waiting for my companion. A sister working there asked, "Are you a missionary?" I said yes and asked how she knew. She said, "You just look like one. You have a feel like you are." I was so proud! That has been a goal of mine.

I love you soooooooo much! The church is true! I'm learning every day to be more unselfish. It's a blessing to be consecrated to the Lord and set apart in this way. It's been hard at times, but has taught me a lot about the atonement. Repentance is meant to be a daily thing (Preach My Gospel section on baptism in lesson 3) and everything we do points towards that.  Repentance is simply turning ourselves increasingly outward towards God and others.

Hermana Schmutz :)