Aloha Family and Friends!

Since yesterday I have officially been in the MTC for a week! Crazy huh? You all probably miss me so much! Well don't just miss me pray for me because I have already noticed that this is the hardest thing I will do in my life thus far! I'll just tell you a little bit about what I have been doing.

The MTC

This is a great place where mostly everyone is focused on our purpose as missionaries. (To invite others to come unto Christ) Everywhere I go someone is singing a hymn, reading scriptures, learning a language, praying or eating (we do a lot of that here)! If it was not for the MTC I think that we would all be a little lost out there, because I have already made so many mistakes here. Like when to talk and when not to talk, or how to start a lesson. Or the biggest thing, how to get along with your companion. My district in the MTC is super awesome! We range from the ages of 18-23 years old. We have 4 sisters and 6 elders. Everyday in my classes I learn something from these Elders or Sisters that I have never thought of before. And their knowledge of the Scriptures is just mind blowing! For those of you who had doubts about 18 year olds being missionaries I have witnessed that, that call was inspired from God and that these Missionaries have been taught by great parents and teachers and leaders who have prepared them for this day. I have gotten really close to my district and zone we are all friends. we lunch together, we all sing in the choir together and we definately help eachother feel the spirit. How many of you have seen 18 year old boys cry because they feel the spirit and love their Savior? I have not seen that many. When I entered the MTC last week there was about 700 new missionaries! This place really is sacred and the spirit of the Lord is here.

Investigators

Here in the MTC we have "fake" Investigators. We have been teaching a guy name Fred. Fred is going through a hard time right now and is from the luthern church. We have taught him the first lesson and he is finally starting to get it! He felt the spirit he says that he is not quite sure about the Book of Mormon, but I know that he knows it is true because the spirit has witnessed it to him, but I just don't think he wants to say it. We then started to teach him about the plan of salvation we went well and then we went into the spirit world and the three glories. That confused him.. and we could not figure out how to explain it to him. We will try again with a different approach. I know that he is trying to know if this gospel is true Our second investigator is a 17 year old girl. Our first lesson did not go well she has no idea who God or Jesus Christ is. So on our next lesson we started from the beginning. We taught her about faith. Which she understood then we explained to her the first principle of the gospel, faith in Jesus Christ. And I think she developed that faith or planted the seed.

Alma 32

My favorite chapter while I have been here at the MTC has been Alma 32 it talks about faith and how if we plant a seed and continue to care for the seed it will soon be a tree producing much fruit. And it also says that the Lord wants us to desire for this faith. I believe that the gospel is just one seed but that we plant many seeds in our hearts about different things in the gospel. And every seed needs proper nourishment. Take the Book of Mormon. We need a seed for that, if we stop reading the Book of Mormon we are going to forget it's teachings and then we will forget about why we had a testimony of it in the first place. I love how in the chapter it says that if our roots are not deep, when the sun comes out our plant will shrivel up and die. Plant and nourish those seeds!

I love you all very much and thank you for all the support you have given me! I leave the MTC on tuesday and my next P-day is not until the 19th. Thank you for your prayers I feel them all the time!

Love,

Sister Swain