week 7

Hola familia!

Only two weeks left here at the MTC. I'm excited and scared to be leaving this place of safety, but it will be so nice to get out into the real world: Toronto! I should know my flight plans at the end of this week. It's coming so fast! I need to speak more Spanish!

This week has been good. The only sad part was that Sis. Cottam left for South Carolina. I'm excited to read her E-mail!

Tuesday's devotional was inspirational as always. Elder Don R. Clarke of the 70 came and spoke to us. He helped us understand a little more what a mission will mean to us. You will be most successful, he said, if you follow the Spirit, Search the Scriptures, be obedient and keep the commandments, and apply what you learn. Near the end he read the well-known poem,  "Touch of the Master's hand." It had a new light that night. Eternity will be changed through you, he said, but only if you know how to work with the one with the master's hand.

I loved general conference! We certainly have living prophets and apostles today. I'm so excited for the temple in Provo, too! I think my two favorite talks were ELder Uchtdorf's from the Relief Society session (they showed it to the sisters here during the priesthood session) and Elder Carl B. Cook of the 70. It's better to look up! How true :) It was different watching all the sessions in the big gym. It was cold so I bundled up while watching, then it was warm outside.

Anyway, the weather in Provo has been staying pretty mild. We still have some hotter days that make me want to get to Toronto where it's cooler, but then we get the cooler days and I'm not quite so anxious. 

I love all the things I am learning here. The Lord has humbled and taught me in ways I didn't think He would. As I work with the sisters I am learning leadership skills I didn't have before and I am growing to love them more and more. I have experienced instances where the spirit has lead me to do a certain thing or share a certain scripture to uplift them. But I still have a long ways to go and much more work to do before I leave the MTC. The Spanish is coming slowly. I need to work harder at it this week. 

We are teaching 6 "progressive investigators" now. Both of our teachers are still investigators, but we've added teaching eachother. So we each have a pesona, we get taught and we teach the others. Each companionship is teaching two of the other companionships, so we're teaching at least one lesson a day now, sometimes two or three, and we may up it still before we leave.

Well, I hope you all are doing well. Don't forget to keep writing!

Love,

Hna. Cottam