MTC at Home in Yakima, WA, Week 1

 MTC AT HOME IN YAKIMA, WASHINGTON – WEEK 1                              January 6^th, 2021

I have officially finished the first week of my missionary training! It has been busy yet so rewarding. Though I wasn’t able to go to the Missionary Training Center in Mexico because of the pandemic, I’m thankful I have the opportunity to be at home with my family for a little while as I start this incredible journey. Getting to spend Christmas with them was the greatest gift I could’ve asked for. On Saturday December 26th, I went through the Seattle Temple with my mom, dad, stepmom, brother, sister, brother-in-law, and grandparents. It was such a memorable experience and I felt so blessed I could have my family there with me. On Sunday the 27th, my brother Stephen and I both gave talks in our church’s sacrament meeting. Stephen recently returned home from his mission in Omaha, Nebraska, so he was able to give his homecoming talk on the same day I gave my farewell. We were able to have many loved ones come to listen to us in person, and there was also a live youtube video going so many of our friends and extended family members across the country got to see it too!

I was set apart as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints the following Tuesday night, which was another great experience. I was filled with so much joy, and I could feel my Savior’s love for me and all of my family. My grandpa, dad, and brother were able to take part in the blessing given by President Ditto, who is a lifelong family friend of ours! When we are “set apart” as missionaries, we are given an official calling to represent Jesus Christ, along with a special blessing to help us fulfill our responsibilities. We are set apart from the world in order to focus all of our time on contributing to His great work! We are also blessed with spiritual gifts that allow us to magnify our talents so we can serve our Heavenly Father to the best of our ability! As long as we put all of our efforts into the plan He has for us, He will give us the authority and power we need to act in His name.

On the morning of the 30th, I started my MTC classes on zoom! I will be doing remote missionary training and learning Spanish for 6 weeks before departing to my mission. I usually have a 3 hour class in the morning and a 3 hour class in the evening. Some days, we have a few workshops or devotionals mixed in that schedule as well. In the MTC, we are assigned to learn and be trained in groups of about 12 people, and each of us get a companion. These groups are called our districts, and I absolutely love all the people in mine! There are 4 girls and 8 guys. My companion Hermana Green is wonderful! She was called to serve in Chile. I have enjoyed studying the scriptures with her each morning and having deep discussions. It has been such a blessing to have her as my compañera. Hermana Miller is in my district as well and she’s a friend I knew back at BYU-I from one of my classes! It’s crazy how small the world is, and it has been so nice to reconnect with her again. All of the Elders in our district are so fun to interact with and learn with. They make our classes enjoyable and they always keep me laughing. They remind me so much of the friends I had in high school and college. Though I might not be able to meet many of these people in person, it has been great getting to know them over zoom. We’ve already gotten pretty close over the last week and already have many inside jokes, so I’m excited to see what the next 5 weeks has in store for us.

We are in the intermediate group for learning Spanish, so most of the members of my district have a basic knowledge of the language. We have already learned tons of new gospel terms, memorized scriptures, and practiced having long conversations with others without using any English. We’ll continue to learn and practice with each other during the remainder of our time in missionary training! I was so blessed to have the opportunity to take 5 years of Spanish classes in school and I have many members of my family who are fluent. My mom served her mission in Peru and Ecuador, and she used to be a Spanish teacher at my high school. It has been fun to have gospel discussions with her in that language. My Grandpa served his mission in Argentina, and he still speaks and reads perfectly! He has helped me with my speaking and pronunciation so I hopefully won’t have a super strong accent when I speak Spanish with the people in Central America. I have loved studying all my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon and Bible in Spanish to see how much I understand. My love for the scriptures has already grown so much since I’ve started doing more personal study.

I want to testify that our Heavenly Father loves us and He truly answers our prayers! Earlier this week, I was really struggling to feel peace. I prayed to receive the strength I needed to be the best missionary I could be. That night, I had a dream about going to Nashville and sharing the gospel with the people there. I woke up the next morning feeling so happy and hopeful. The burden I had felt on my heart the night before was almost completely gone. That place felt so right, and I wanted more than anything to be reassigned there. Though I was originally called to the Costa Rica San José West Mission, the Church isn’t sending many missionaries internationally right now because of covid. I knew I’d be assigned to the states for at least a few months before it’s safe to go to my actual mission. I prayed to my Heavenly Father, saying that if I were to be reassigned, and if it be His will, I wanted to serve in Nashville. The next morning, I got a call from my Stake President telling me I have been temporarily reassigned to the TENNESSEE NASHVILLE MISSION!! I could not contain my joy when I got this news, and it was such a miraculous and spiritually defining experience. Though I can’t wait to make my way to Costa Rica, I am beyond excited to have the chance to serve and testify of Christ in Tennessee for a little while! I know that our Heavenly Father is aware of us and He hears our prayers. What is important to us is also important to Him.

Una de mis escrituras favoritas que memoricé esta semana es Marcos 9:23 y dice, “Y Jesús le dijo: Si puedes creer, al que cree todo le es posible.” One of my favorite scriptures I memorized this week is Mark 9:23 and it says, “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” I know that we can do all things through Christ if we have faith in Him! I am so excited to continue this journey and share the hope that is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.