Tuesday, May 27, 2014

This past week has been pretty busy in Carthage!
This last Wednesday I went on Exchanges with one of the first Summer Sisters, and it will sound funny but it was good to do Exchanges again! I really enjoyed them on my Outbound, and I love to be able to do them again here in Nauvoo. I love just not having to focus on yourself, and being able to completely focus on helping someone else for a few hours. I also am so thankful for the Adjusting to Missionary Life Booklet. It is such a blessing to have that as a resource to be able to help new and even "old" missionaries.  Something I think is incredible is how the Atonement of Jesus Christ works in even the little details of our life. Because we have agency, we have the choice and opportunity to become better. Any struggling missionary, or person for that matter, can utilize their agency and choose to become perfected in Christ. Even for these seemingly insignificant problems in our daily lives, the Atonement gives us that power to overcome them, and to slowly and surely become more Christlike. I love seeing this change in other Sisters, and being able to help in that work.

This past Friday night, the Sisters in Carthage held a 12-Week Training Review since we are all currently in Training. For those of you that are not aware, the Church has a program that continues a missionary's training they received in the MTC for the first twelve weeks, or two transfers, that they are out in the field. It is a regimented study schedule, and it walks the new missionary and the Trainer through the entire process. It was a wonderful opportunity to discuss what and how we have learned the material. I hope that it was beneficial to all of the Sisters there, and I know that I learned a lot from my other Sister's examples.

On Sunday, I was stationed in the Nauvoo Visitor's Center for the day, and my love for Visitor's Centers were rekindled. The hard part about Carthage is that is is spiritual, but there is a set outline that you have to go through. The people who come in want to learn about the Jail and Joseph Smith, not necessarily how they can become better or be with their families for forever. So it is wonderful, but what I love about the NVC is that a missionary can actually make a difference in their lives. When people walk through the NVC, the Visitor's Center Sisters can help them through whatever is going on in their lives. On Sunday, my companion and I met a lady who had decided to come to Nauvoo to help her quit smoking. She was a convert, and had gotten married in the temple and everything, but had fallen into addiction again. She knew that the first three days would be the hardest for her, so she planned to spend it in the most spiritual place she could think of: Nauvoo! We were able to help her, strengthen her, and plan the time while she was here with going to specific sites that would help her. We even got her contact information so that we can follow up and continue to support her when she goes back home. I think of what an incredible opportunity it is to be here, and how grateful I am for it!

Something that is changing this summer is that the YSM's (Young Sister Missionaries, aka me!) will be able to spend some time with the YPM's (Young Performing Missionaries)! In all of the previous summers, we never see or associate with the other young missionaries that work here. They are always in rehearsals or performing, and we are always teaching. There was never a time when we both had time to spare and get to know one another. Now, you might think it is not important to get to know one another, but it is! It is a bit complicated and lengthly to explain why, so you will just have to trust me- it is important! So, my little gears were turning, and I thought about possibly having a Sunday School class with all of the Young Missionaries together! We could train the YPM's on how to be missionaries in their situation, and then they can just get to know us and we could grow together in the Gospel. Well, I put a good word in and it looks like it is going to work! Yay! I am excited to have this opportunity and hopefully it will help unify the Young Missionaries.

To start off our Sunday School class, we had an Ice Cream Social on Sunday Night at the Mission Home. We got to sit and talk together, and our guests were Brother Lusvardi and Sister Cottam, who are here from Church Headquarters. They work in the Missionary Department, and Sister Cottam is over Visitor's Centers and Historical Sites. It was a great chance to get to know them, and also to get to know the Young Performing Missionaries.

Well, asides from what I mentioned the rest of the week were filled with tours/lessons, and having great moments. I hope you all have a great week!

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