October 16, 2012

Ma Chere Famille,
To all, family and friends, thank you so much for all the letters and packages and stuff. I'm pretty sure I can still count on one hand the number of days I haven't gotten mail. You're all amazing. I'm done with my 40 stamps that I brought to the MTC! 

Last week, Elder David A. Bednar spoke at devotional, and it was soooo good! All my frenchies are leaving in a week (48 of them) and they were waiting for an apostle, so I'm glad that they got to see one before they took off. But yah. It was an excellent talk. One thing that he said, he was laughing at us, and all members of the church for speculating on why the missionary age was dropped. Ha. It was actually pretty funny. But he just said of the change, "The Lord can do His work, and He will hasten it in His time." So true! And it's amazing! That's what's happening right now. The work is hastening! And it's incredible! I'm honored to be here in the field (almost) while this explosion is taking place. The man that spoke in the Sunday night fireside said that the MTC is being remodeled and things are being rearranged to fit more missionaries. And one of the things they're changing is that they're cutting time here in the MTC by about a third. So, if you're speaking your native tongue, whether it be English, Spanish, or Portuguese, you'll be in the MTC for 2 weeks instead of 3, and if you're learning a language, you'll be here for 6 weeks instead of 9. KRAY KRAY. But oh so bomb. Heavenly Father trusts his youth. Oh. And by the way, this starts in January, so Pup, you're safe :] hah. But yah. Another thing that Elder Bednar said that I really liked was that faith is a principle of action and power. And it has to happen in that order. We have to ACT and then we will be given power. Example: "Open your mouth and it shall be filled." We have to open our mouths before we will be given utterance. We must have the faith to act! I love that. I'm going to try harder to have that faith to act this week.

Wednesday was my monthaversary! So I've been here for 5 weeks tomorrow. CRAZY. I can't believe it. Time is FLYING. I'll be outta here before I know it. Which I'm actually super stoked about. Went to the hospital on Wednesday again. But that was it for this week. Soeur Cuthbert got a colonoscopy, so I stayed with her in the morning and Soeur Lamb went to class, and then it was just me and the boys at night. That was weird. Also, I feel like a celebrity out of the MTC bubble. Everyone loves you. It's the best. 

I was pretty sick at the beginning of this week, but I started feeling a lot better yesterday, and I think it's because Frere Sybrowsky and I had our little mish one on one conference this week, and I was telling him how I was sick. He's in men's chorus. So of course the first thing he thought of as a cure was gargling Listerine every night. Because Sister Hall ABSOLUTELY swears by it. Like she hasn't gotten sick in 16 years, and she credits the Listerine for her health. So I did it this week. And now I'm almost back to normal! Yay! It's the best. Also, the bottle of Dayquil I downed this week mighta helped too...

We were reunited as a complete district on Thursday and our teachers were so happy! Also, we started a competition, called "Qui est le vrai francais" Basically, someone's name gets picked outta a hat, and they have to speak the most french the next day. I was mean and threw the competition the first day, and just didn't speak English all day. hah. Mean. But we're actually trying to PVL everyday now (parlez votre langue.) And it's sooo fun! I LOVE speaking french. Chaque jour Toujours. And it's the best! Some of the others in my district are a little less enthusiastic, but I think it's great! 

Friday was a good day for teaching. We taught both Michel and Claude, and we challenged both of them to be baptized! It was the best!! Claude said yes, and we're still working on Michel. hah. We asked him the next day too, but he's still unsure. Hopefully this week though. Our lesson with Claude was incredible! Soeur Cuthbert shared a personal story and bore testimony about the Atonement, and the Spirit was soooo strong. It strengthened my testimony even more that as long as the Spirit is there, miracles can and will happen. So far, the two most spiritual lessons on my mission have been when the french was broken and fragmented, but the Spirit was unrestrained. I want to rely on the Lord like that! I need to be better at that. At letting the Spirit do the talking, and just being the instrument. I love teaching and I love this gospel! I see improvement from where I started, but the end is still nowhere in sight. So please pray for me. I need it! 

I played cello twice this week! And I ran twice this week! Two of my fave things! The best! Soeur Cuthbert, Soeur Olson, and I are going to audition with "Savior, Redeemer of my Soul" for a musical number on Thursday. I'm pretty stoked about it. And as always, cello's just the best. 

Well, I'm almost outta time family, but I wanted to leave you with an invitation. Something that we talked about this week in class. Prayer. If you're saying your morning and evening prayers, good job! That's awesome. If you're not, start with that, because praying to our Heavenly Father is soooo important. But something that we talked about in class is pondering and meditating before, during, after your prayer. Especially with the evening prayer. This is something that I've been trying to do lately, and WOW. It is incredible. The things I will feel and hear after I pray. Heavenly Father loves us, more than we can even comprehend and He WANTS to bless us and talk to us. So here's my invite. After your evening prayers, stay on your knees for however long you're willing and just LISTEN. With your heart and your mind. It is THE BEST! I promise, as a representative of Jesus Christ, that if you do this, you will be richly blessed. You will be able to feel that love that Heavenly Father has for you. And you will be able to receive answers to those questions that you have! So do it. Please! For me!

I love you SOOOO MUCH my dear, dear family! There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about each and every one of you. You are constantly in my prayers. I trust that Heavenly Father will take care of you while I am here doing his work. I LOVE this work! It's gonna explode and I can't wait to see the result. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the truth! If you don't know that, pray to know it. And then listen. Have a good week family! Pray for the people of New Caledonia! I can't wait to be there.

L'evangile est vrai!

Love, Soeur Santos