"I wanna be strong, so give me mountains to climb."

Real quick! This week was great. Our investigators are progressing and the members are so great in working with us! We´ve had a couple interesting experiences, and it was especially fun to go on divisions in Managua with Hna Lord, who´s still in her training. We had such a great time and I really love working with new missionaries. They´re on fire and want to serve and be obedient, and it´s the best feeling.

Today we had a fun pday as a district (with the ZLs) :) We filled up a piñata and played baseball with it, and then we had a water fight. 

There´s also a super special family in the branch. She has just given birth via c section and they´ve been having some stressful issues. But we and the members have been visiting them constantly and reminding them that trials are for our benefit, and they really are. They´re doing so great and I know they feel our love and support.

That´s one of the greatest things I´ve learned from my mission. Someone wise once told me that if I´m struggling, the Lord must really love me :) Each change brings it´s different trials, and this new area has been a bit of a struggle for me. But I´m fighting every day, and it´s like a song we´ve been listening to. "I know it won´t be easy, but give me mountains to climb. Give me rivers to cross..." Basically asking for trials. Because if we aren´t tried, we don´t get better. Instead of running away from difficulties, we need to face them head on with the help of the Lord. And we´ll see how much he´s willing to bless us. The Lord wants us to progress, so he gives us trials little by little, in exactly the way that we need in the moment :)

I love you all so so so much, and I hope you have a great week!

Love, Hermana Oliphant

Fotos

1. Our divisions group. My comp, Hna Baquedano (She´s my TL, and she also came with me on the mission :)), Me, and Hna Lord.

2. Me with the family I  mentioned. She´s called Anielka, the little girl is Candida, and the dad and son are both Cesar :D

3. PIÑATA

4. Our lovely invention to take the group pic

5. Us all wet after the water war

Crazy conference weekend

Hello, Everyone!

This week indeed was crazy. I`ll give a brief rundown.

Tuesday my comp had a meeting for all the leaders in the mission. So I was in Managua on divisions, and guess what area I ended up going to? La 14. My very first area in the mission. It was so amazing to see some old members and old investigators. I showed the new sisters there a couple investigators I had, and one of them accepted a baptismal date! I got to say hi and bye to almost all the people I love there, and it was bittersweet to be back there and helping the other sisters find new investigators :)

Wednesday we had a zone meeting and there was another earthquake...in Momotombo again. Everyone in Nagarote felt it, and the house of the Elders in Momotombo fell down...so there`s that. But we were in Leon and so it wasn`t that strong. And we came back from the meeting so excited to talk to so many people, invite them all to be baptized and hand out Book of Mormons. It was a really good day :)

Thursday was weekly planning. And it was different because a couple sisters in the zone aren`t getting along super well, and they called my comp asking for help, so we had to deal with that. But the rest of the day was pretty normal. We decided in the night time that we were going to be even more exactly obedient, and finally have a normal awesome day, starting with going running in the morning. And that`s where all the craziness starts.

Friday. I wake up early, go to my backpack where my running clothes are at, reach in my hand (remember that I`m still half asleep at this moment) and I feel this giant prick on my ring finger that startles me half to death and knocks me on the floor...five seconds later and it`s still stinging and burning and I`m yelling and I realize it was a scorpion that stung me. I yank my ring off and me and my comp get to work on my backpack. Dumping everything out looking for the culprit. And finally, we found it. A giant, nasty scorpion sleeping calmly inside my running pants. So we shake it outside and kill it. We thought it was all over. And then I start feeling some pain in my lower back, on the left side. It`s the same as a back pain I get after sitting too long in hard chairs, so I figured I`d lay down and it`d go away. As I lay down, my finger swells up and my lips and tongue go numb, and my back pain just spreads. It spreads all the way to my lower stomach area as if I was having normal cramps. But it`s a constant pain that doesn`t subside, and it`s really strong. Both in my back and my abdomen. It`s honestly the worst pain I`ve ever felt in my life. I call the nurse, and she said I might have strained my back in my reaction to the sting. So I wait. Then pain gets worse. I start getting cold sweats, throwing up anything I try to eat, all the while enduring the pain. We had lots of sisters from next door who came over doing everything they could to help me. But nothing worked. Our branch president came over to give me a blessing, and then we go to the emergency room in the health center. They check me out, give me a shot for the pain, and then I wait a bit, and the pain disappeared. Just a little ache in my back. But after 4 hours of almost unbearable pain, it was finally gone, and I felt like skipping, quite honestly. During those hours I had a moment to consider what it would be like for Christ. He suffered all that and more in the garden of Gethsemane. I prayed very fervently that if it be His will, that he`d take the pain away. And after a few hours, he did. I especially got comfort in our branch president`s blessing. That this wouldn`t affect me in my mission, and that it would be a growing experience for me. So as I contact the nurse again, we decide I should head down to the hospital in Managua to see what`s up. She and her husband were down there anyways looking after another sister who was really sick, so we spent the whole afternoon with them. So we`re down there, and in between a urine sample, an ultrasound, and a CAT Scan, and LOTS of waiting, they tell me that I have a...wait for it...

Kidney Stone. That`s completely unrelated to the scorpion sting. So they give me medicine and send me home telling me that it should be out in five days. And I`m still waiting. But it was definitely an interesting experience for me. I learned a lot and have a newfound compassion for those who suffer from chronic pain. Because I definitely would not like to repeat that day.

Saturday was Conference. And after all the sessions, I was sleepy and in a whole bunch of pain, so we ended up staying home and I tried to hold very very still so I wouldn`t start hurting again x3

And yesterday was so great. We all went to conference as a branch, and we all had such great experiences. Because we could only watch it well in Leon, we took a giant bus and stayed the whole day, taking a sack lunch with us. Luis came and also another investigator who we`ve been teachings. Her name is Ninosga, and she brought her niece and her little boy, and I know she had a great time. And later that night there was another crazy lightning storm, the power went out, and we got soaking wet getting to a lesson. But even using cell phone flashlights and candles, the spirit was so strong as we testified about the restoration. I know the Lord needed us in that  house in that moment and not hiding from the storm in our home. 

Today we had a fun zone activity. Making tortas fritas, eating McDonalds, and telling crazy old mission stories. We all bonded and it was a great time, even if we got home a little late :)

I just learned so much from Conference. I hope to truly apply all the things I know I need to do better into my life. The mission has really been a training center for life, and I`m so lucky to be here. I`m strengthening my own dedication and testimony of the gospel by helping others doing it as well, and I know there`s always room for improvement. I invite you all to truly ponder the conference talks that stood out to you and think of one thing you want to do better. I hope you all have a wonderful week. I love you all!

Love, Hermana Oliphant

Pics

1. Our delicious microwave lasagna...and pinolio, a corn and chocolate drink native to Nicaragua :)

2. The scorpion that started it all...sorry that we didn`t take pictures while I was in the hospital

3&4. Our branch eating lunch in between sessions at General Conference

5. Zone activity! Making tortas fritas. Basically fried sweet breads native to Uruguay. There`s an Uruguayan Elder in the zone.

Hello!

Hey, everyone. I`m warning you now that this keyboard is terrible...so excuse any typos. They`re not my fault.

This week has been pure party time here in Nagarote. They`re celebrating their patron Catholic saint Santiago (James), and that means fireworks, fairs, carnivals, bull riding, horse shows, parades, and alcohol. All day every day for the month. So that`s a little frustrating. But we`re making the best of it, and thankfully most of our members and investigators aren`t into that kind of stuff :)

We`re working really hard with some young women Emenin, Raquel, and Francis. All very different. All wanting to be baptized, but not sure exactly how to go about it. We`ve been learning so much from each of them, and it`s been a pleasure to know them and to teach them the restored gospel, and I pray every day that I can do it a little better each day :)

A scripture that really stood out to me this week was in Mosiah 16.

 9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.

Just ponder on what that truly means. The light of Christ and the life of those who love and follow Him will never ever end. Choose the good side, and be valiant in that choice. Don`t be afraid to stand out and be different. Because if you try to blend in with the world, you`re going to go where the rest of the world goes. Take a look at where the world is headed and choose today to be different. Being different and standing out from the world, and even from other missionaries every now and then has been one of the hardest parts of my mission. But I promise that it`s the best life because it`s one companioned by the Holy Ghost :)  I love you all so much. Have a great week!

Att. Hermana Oliphant

Fotos

Relief society and yw and my awesome gorgeous companion!

We ran a ton and then made banana pancakes to regain the calories ;)

Zone activity with awesome t-shirts and a piñata!

Crazy Week!

Hermanas Arias and Oliphant

 Hey everyone! I`m so sorry for not writing last week. I ended up traveling to Managua on Monday, and then ended up staying the night. I hadn`t even brought clothes or toothpaste or anything! It was a very exciting adventure running around Managua, and what`s more, the night before on Sunday, we were up late helping a sick member of the ward (with permission), so I was just super exhausted.

This week's been pretty normal. We had a multi-stake

Chinandega Zone Activity

Zone Activity

Chinandega YW activity

conference with all of central America, broadcasted from Salt Lake, this Sunday. So great. And we were able to bring 4 investigators, which was super great.

We`ve had some interesting experiences these past 2 weeks. Full of scorpions, flooding the apartment, investigators who just think we`re pretty, and some real talk as companions. It`s been crazy hot, too. So hot that at night, once I`ve finished my cold shower, I start sweating even before I`ve dried off. Craziness.

Aaaaaand we have scorpions, and one literally almost stung me. I was laying on my bed with my arm on the wall, and suddenly my comp screamed at me to get off my bed, so I jump/roll off, and there`s a GIANT scorpion that was crawling toward my arm. We killed it with a baseball bat.
And we think we`re seeing more scorpions because we accidentally flooded our house the other day...there wasn`t water, and we left the tap on on accident. Lots of stuff got wet. Hopefully the mouse hole too.

And the work goes on as normal. Talking to people. Teaching them the word of God, and slowly but surely gaining my own testimony of how true it is and how much our lives would be blessed if we could just trust God and keep the commandments. But we`re all pretty weak. 2 Nephi 4 has helped me a lot :)

I love you all so much, and I hope your week is fantastic and spiritual and stress free! At least as stress free as it can be.

Love, Hermana Oliphant

(P.S. I`ve officially hit 9 months on the mission...halfway done!)

Another week in the life of a future Nica!

So I´m done counting weeks...it takes too much energy and I think getting up in the week 30´s and such is a little much. So I´m changing it up :) I´ve almost got 4 months down in my mission. 14 left! Mi compa has 14 now, and goes home in 4 x3 So she´s starting to get a little trunky. And it´s making me trunky suuuuper bad. Which is ridiculous. I´ve still got half my life left to live here :)

So, this week feels like it lasted a life time, and also no time at all. It´s super super weird. But it was really good. I went on LOTS of divisions this week. 3, to be exact. Which is more than I´ve ever had in a single week :) But they were all good.

 

I haven´t got a lot of time, so I´ll get to the good stuff.

Soon I get to get my cedula! Woohoo. Or basically my Nicaraguan ID card, saying that I´m nica. I had to wait 3 months after I got here, and that´s in 2 weeks! So, in a couple weeks I won´t be American anymore, officially. Sorry guys.

 

This Wednesday we had an interesting zone activity. We´ve been struggling a little bit as a zone lately. We had an awesome month in August, baptizing over 30 people. Which is more than we´ve ever done. But because we baptized everyone in August, we didn´t leave anyone for September ;) So it´s been a little slow. So President Collado came and talked to us, just saying, "I know you can be better! We´re going to try something. Right now you have about 30 investigators with a baptismal date. We´re going to go on inter-zone divisions, and you and your new companions are going to think of a goal of faith. How many investigators can you commit to baptism today?" So that´s what we did, with the main number being 3. So with 10 companionships, we all commited to commit 30 more people to baptism that day. Something we´ve never done before. But, we did it. As a zone, we commited 34 people. In one day! It was incredible and inspiring, honestly. What we can do if we have faith and work toward our worthy goals. 

I´ve been having super good days lately. I´m a naturally shy person, so contacting people makes me super nervous. But on Friday, I just kept walking up to everyone and talking to them like it was nothing, with no fear at all whatsoever. I surprised myself, and then remembered that it was from the Lord. I for sure didn´t have that strength before, but when I promised that I´d try harder to get out of my comfort zone, I was given the strength I needed to get the job done. I felt so empowered and happy that I was doing all I could to be the mouthpiece of the Lord and share the gospel with the world.

I did some good studying on the Atonement. And I´ve never understood before how exactly Christ suffering and dying for us actually worked as the atonement. Why did it have to be like that exactly? Why was that the only way? Why did He have to be perfect? And then I was reading from the teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith (in Spanish), when a phrase caught my attention: (I can´t remember exactly how it went, but it was a letter to his son. It said something like:) "Estaba pensando mucho en lo que hizo Jesucristo por mí." Which means, "I was thinking a lot about what Jesus Christ did for me." Now, in English, the word "for" has a lot of different meanings. But in Spanish, there are two ways to say "for." "Para," which is used as more of gifts, like you made something for someone, or it can also mean "in order to." And then there´s "por." That means, "in place of," "because of." And, all of these definitions can fit to "for" in English. I always assumed that when we say, "Christ suffered for my sins." it applied to the first definition. Or, like, Christ suffered in order to atone for my sins. But that´s not it at all. Now that I´ve realized it, it´s seems so painfully obvious. Christ suffered because of my sins, in my place. It had to be done that way. He had to feel the pain, the weakness, because we were destined to be weak. He had to die, because we were going to die, too. But because of his role as the son of God, he could do it all so we couldn´t have to, so that we could pay our meager sum of money that we had, for Him to pay the debt in full in the way that He could. Our sins are erased, because he already paid them. We will be resurrected, because Christ, through his own power, overcame death first. But as I´m saying and thinking all this, I´m just thinking, "Duh. That´s what they´ve been telling me this whole time. Christ is our lawyer and mediator with the Father. In did it all in place of us." I just never really understood it until that moment that I took into account the different meanings of "for." I really love the new insights I receive by reading in Spanish. It´s so interesting how differently we understand things based on the way it´s expressed in a different language. I love it.

To conclude, I read some cool verses in the new testament about both missionary work and love. In John 15:8-18,26-27. Take a look :)

That´s all for this week :) Thanks for the prayers and love and support, as always. I´m so glad I have this opportunity. I really am. I also learned a bit this week about how little time I really have to have the power and authority I do as a missionary. I should never take it for granted, or waste a precious second of the Lord´s time that I´ve been given. I hope I can apply this to heart during the day as I´m working :)

Have an amazing week!

Love, Hermana Oliphant

P.S. Sorry, no more pictures this week. I really never do anything interesting. I´ll try to get something for next week ;)

Week 6: Cambios!

Pic with "Hermana" Coke

Close up of Hermana

 Well, this was the last week of my first change. Crazy! We´re getting a new zone leader, and our district leader is training this change. I´m excited to meet the new greenie. This means I´m not the youngest here! Ahah!

Anyhow. I don´t have much time right now, but I went on divisions a couple times (which gringas, yes!) And it was good. I learn much more about the culture when I talk to people who actually find it strange x3

We had an activity for the Gospel Essentials class where all our recent converts and investigators attend. It was this past Saturday, and since on Sunday we learned about service, we decided to all clean the chapel. It was super fun, and we had a decent turnout. Afterwards we celebrated the birthday of the girl that we baptized a couple weeks ago, and we ate sweet bread and fresco de chicha. It´s an interesting juice...it kind of tastes like a hamburger in a juice. At least that´s how it tastes to me.

So yeah. This week was full of walking, Spanish, crazy dogs, catcalls, near death experiences on buses, the works. I love this crazy little country and I´m so glad I get to spend the next 15 months getting to know it even better. Thank you everyone for your love and support, and sorry this email was so short.

This week, I reread the talk by Elder Holland from this past conference entitled, "Where Justice Love and Mercy Meet." Herman Miza has a recording of it in Spanish, so I listened to that and then found the Liahona issue in English and read it in my own language x3 It´s fantastic. If you want to understand the beauty and the complexity of the atonement more, I highly recommend looking that up. 

I also read a scripture somewhere in the Bible, I can´t remember where right now, about being chastized. Specifically that of God. When we´re shown the things in which we need to improve, we often feel taken aback and attacked, which is normal. It hurts to be told that we´re doing something wrong. But I love what the scripture said. When God chastens us, he´s doing it because he loves us. It hurts at first, but if we take what we learned to heart, and try our best to improve, we will be so blessed, and we will see the rewards of our efforts. 

Never forget that God has a plan for each of us! Life is so hard, and it´s so hard to do the right thing. But it´s always possible when we remember the reason we do all this things. 

Until next week! I love you all!

- Hermana Oliphant

After service at the church

all the sisters in the zone

Zone picture

Sunset last Saturday

Week...4?

Hola todos! My goodness this week has been ca-razy. But, I won´t focus on that now x3 This week was definitely hard, to the point of tears a few times. But I have an awesome companion, and awesome zone leaders. AWESOME zone leaders. It´s so great to have someone there who can be like, "I went through this too. I know it´s hard, but keep going, keep working, and it will come." exactly when I need them. My main issue right now I suppose is the Spanish. One of the worst feelings is not being able to have conversations with people because you have no clue what they´re saying. And I´ve been struggling hardcore with that. But, honestly, after Tuesday, it´s all been uphill. I suddenly understand a little more, and I feel like I´m actually contributing as a missionary and not throwing out my jumbled mess of a whatever testimony randomly. This week has been such a growing and learning curve for me. And it passed by so fast :)

I had divisiones (exchanges) twice this week, once with the APs and another time just with some sisters in our zone. I´ve had to do them ALL THE TIME because my companion is Sister Training Leader...so you know. It happens. But it´s actually kind of fun. I always seemed to be with Latinas that didn´t know ANY English...that was fun. It always makes me more grateful that Hna Miza knows English enough that she understands me when I need to say something in English.

But when we went on divisiones with the AP, I was with a gringa, Hna Wilkins. She´s been here a year, and my gosh I understand why she´s one of the APs. She walks like a maniac, so much that I had to practically run to keep up with her. For 8 hours. She talks to EVERYONE and contacts everyone. She´s so happy and unafraid to ask Catholic contacts if they want to be baptized xD I didn´t have any warning and suddenly she turned to me and told me to invite this one girl to be baptized. At first I was like, um, are you crazy? But later she told me that we can never know who´s ready to be baptized. And we´re here to invite everyone to come unto Christ. That definitely made me think.

 

But by the end of the day, I was literally exhausted. I had worn holes in my socks and I couldn´t feel my feet, almost. But we taught so many lessons, talked to so many people, and I saw what missionary work truly is. Here´s what I wrote in my journal that night: "This is the obra misional. Holey socks and shoes, tired feet, sweaty bodies coated with dust, hands germy from shaking so many hands, a sore throat from talking to everyone (soon!), and a heart full of love for everyone you meet, without fear or shyness. Maybe one day I can be like that. But I´ve got to start somewhere." I´m struggling, but I´m learning. I know I have the capacity to be the missionary I want to be. But everyone has to start from the beginning. And I know if I want it and work for it, I can achieve it :)

A scripture I used a lot this week was Ether 12:4,6-7. Oh, and 3 Nephi 19:25-29 is excellent, too. I love that we need to test out the word of God before we can say if it´s true or not. I´ve seen that a lot this week with the people I teach.

Well, I´m out of time. Thank you for your prayers and your love and support. I´ve felt it this week, for sure :) We actually have baptisms this week! I hope. We´ll see.

Until next week! Love you all!

Hermana Oliphant

Last P-Day in the MTC!

Hola!
This week has been very eventful for sure. We had the new
mission presidents here for their seminar, and singing for them was
amazing. The songs we sing were beautiful, and I need to track them
down at some point. We sung the missionary medley that the MTC
missionaries sung in general conference a few conferences ago, An
arrangement of Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer that is so so so
gorgeous. We also sung an arrangement of Joseph Smith's First Prayer
on Saturday to commemorate the martyrdom, and on Sunday. For their
sacrament meeting that President Monson was speaking at, we sang a
different version of I Know that My Redeemer Lives called Oh Sweet the
Joy this Sentence Gives. It's so gorgeous, and I feel so privileged to
have been able to sing it for the prophet.

We all got to meet a couple elders in the quorum of the Seventy, including Elder Baxter, who's
from Scotland, and then we got to meet Elder Bednar and his wife! We
didn't get to meet anyone else, but as I was walking on stage a couple
times. I was able to see Elder Hales, Elder Bednar, and President
Uchtdorf, which is exciting. :) And then we got to sing all of our
songs in devotional this past Sunday, which was awesome. I felt the
Spirit so strongly, and Elder Allen who spoke in the devotional was
amazing. He was having everyone stand up for things and sing songs
over again and he told the Elders to take off their suit coats if they
wanted to. It was an amazing sea of white shirts, let me tell you x3
but he just spoke so powerfully and kept us all awake and entertained.
I know now the method to keeping a bunch of 20-somethings entertained.

What else happened this week...oh, we moved again. Yep. I was
literally in our new residence for 2 days, and then we were all called
to a meeting where President Bertasso let us know that someone had
seen a bat on the 4th floor of 17M, so we would all be moving back to
our other residences that day. Yeah I was not happy. None of us were
especially since we didn't really want to move into a new building in
the first place. But it only took about two hours to get all of our
stuff packed and in our new room. It was because of all the amazing
elders who came to the rescue. All the sisters in our zone got all of
our stuff out the door in one trip, but we wouldn't be able to take it
all. Apparently, as soon as the elders heard what had happened, and
that we were moving, they just dropped everything and ran back and
forth taking our things to the outside of our building. It was so
sweet, and so incredible. It only took one trip to get moved into my
room, and then all the sisters, after getting their stuff in their
room, would help everyone else take their bags into their room. With
us all working together, it only took 4 hours for all of the sisters
to move. It was exciting, but it was an adventure. And I was actually
able to keep a good attitude about it when I randomly thought about
the pioneers. How many times did they settle in a new town, thinking
they were set for life, only to have to leave again and travel even
farther, having no idea whether they would even make it alive to their
next location? And they had to take literally everything they own, and
their entire families and livelihoods, and travel into the unknown, on
multiple occasions, following the word of one man. A very important
man, but still just a man. I can't imagine the amount of trust and
faith I would have to have, and I don't know if I could do it. So I'm
very grateful that I only have to move a quarter of a mile away into
an air-conditioned room. It definitely humbled me and kept me from
complaining as much as I wanted to :)

Oh, and before I share my spiritual favorites of the week, I did
something very exciting today :) since the temple was closed for deep
cleaning, we weren't able to go to a session today. We did, however,
get the chance to go and do some of the cleaning. I was kind of
excited, since I'd still get to go in the temple, since this is the
last time I'll see one for another year and a half. And besides, how
often do you get the chance to clean the temple? It's pretty legit. So
we got there, and we went and got changed, and we were there with a
couple other districts. A temple worker comes in and says, "Elders,
you're cleaning out lockers, and we're giving you q-tips and
toothpicks to help with that. Make sure to take them out of your pants
when we're done. Sisters, you're going to help in the celestial room.
You don't need to hear the rest of this, so go ahead and go upstairs."
So we walk upstairs, and the giant chandelier is lowered, and most of
the crystals are taken off, and all the temple worker sisters tell us
that we're taking off all the crystals and cleaning them off. It
doesn't sound very exciting typing it up, but that is seriously the
coolest job you could ever get when you're cleaning in the temple. I
got to climb up ladders and scaffolding to pull some of the 1200+
crystals off, and then we dusted the giant frame and replaced all the
broken lightbulbs, and then I got to climb up high some more and put
them back on. That's literally what I did for 3 hours. It's a very
meticulous process, because that chandelier is huge. Huge. While I was
doing that, most everyone else was sitting and cleaning the crystals
with vinegar. I got the best job. I got to wear fancy gloves and
handle the crystals and put some of them back on the frame. It was so
fun. So so so fun. I loved every second of it. We chatted a bit as we
worked and we were also singing hymns and children's songs the whole
time and you just felt so much peace, even though we were all working
and there was lots of equipment and ladders and such around. It was
just the best feeling, and the best start to my day :) I love it. So
much.

Oh, I also got my flight plan :) I leave very very early next Tuesday
morning, so the next time you hear from me, I'll be in Nicaragua :D so
look forward to that. I'm not quite ready to leave yet. But I'm so
excited to get out there and do some real missionary work, even if
that means leaving my iPad behind ;) but seriously, I can't wait. I'm
going to miss everyone here, but I can't wait.

So that's all the excitingness of my week. I have lots of favorites
this week. There's a Mormon message called "Origin" that I really
really love, and I highly recommend you all watch it. Then on Sunday,
we were able to watch Treasure in Heaven, and Only a Stonecutter, the
stories of John Rowe Moyle and John Tanner, respectively. Oh my
goodness, so fabulous. I've watched them both in seminary a thousand
times, but it just hit me again how much these men believed in
Heavenly Father, and how much faith they had in the gospel. It
inspires me, and I hope I can have even a shred of as much faith as
those men, especially while I'm on my mission. I highly recommend you
all watch those movies as well :)

My scripture favorites are Mark 10:28-30, and Ether 12:6. There are so
many blessings that are promised to us as missionaries, and it's good
to know that we'll be taken care of, and that our families will be
taken care of. God watches out for his missionaries, that's for sure
;) and then in Ether, that scripture really was just something I
needed this week. We don't get signs or witnesses of truth because we
want them. We need to have faith first, and pass that test before we
can receive of that special witness of the truth. We also always must
pass though the trial before we can look back and see why we needed
that trial in our lives.

I know that God lives and loves us, and I know that he always listens to us. He's waiting to answer us. Read in the Bible dictionary on Prayer. Especially the 2nd to last long
paragraph. Read it, and think about what it means. It has blessed me
so much in my life here once I received that understanding of prayer.
I know that through Christ's atonement, we can be purified of sin, and
if we endure to the end, continuing in patience, doing good deeds, we
will achieve salvation and eternal life. I know it. And you know what,
even if I'm wrong, even if none of the things I've chosen to give my
life for are true, it's still a beautiful thing to hope for, isn't it?
It's such a beautiful way to live your life, having that desire to
become like Christ, and to remain faithful to promises you've made.
Those who truly keep their covenants and love the Lord and love the
gospel are so happy. So happy. What's so wrong about that, then? Being
happy? I have a very strong testimony in the gospel, and on the
powerful change it can bring into everyone's life. I know this with a
surety.

Thank you all again for the love and support, it means so
much. These next 17 months are going to fly by. I'm so honored to be
here right now. I can't wait until I can fulfill everything I've
promised to do as a missionary. I hope you all have an excellent week,
and I'll talk to you in Nicaragua!

- Hermana Oliphant

Week four: Choir and Countdown to Leave

Hola! 

This week has been relatively boring, since we haven't gotten any new districts, and we won't be getting anymore this week. 

 

But yeah, we've just been studying and learning Spanish. We're all getting excited to head off to the mission field. After being here for a month, we're all excited to teach actual people. And have a senior companion who knows what they're doing ;) At the MTC, you get to learn about two weeks after you've taught someone that you've just entirely screwed everything up. And neither you nor your companion know what you're doing. But it's an adventure. We get to kind of figure out how to do things just to be shot down by our trainer to be showed how it's actually done. I'm looking forward to that.

 

We've also had some pretty great devotionals this week. I love going and singing the prelude hymns and feeling the Spirit all the time. I know I won't be able to have that constant forced spiritual upliftment once I'm in the field, but hopefully I'll be well versed in how to always have it in my life no matter what happens.

 

Choir has been my life, basically. But the music is fantastic, and we sound amazing. We sing 4 songs over a period of 4 days, and all the arrangements are perfect. We even get to sing for the sacrament meeting that President Monson is speaking at. President Monson gets to watch me sing. People, this is real life. I'm singing for President Monson. 

 

I've now made a personal life goal to read or listen to every single general conference talk that's available on gospel library. Since I have access to gospel library right now, I'm getting a head start, and starting with the April 1971 session. It amuses me how many references to hippies there are. But I love how the doctrine remains the same, even though the focus and the specific inspiration and revelation is different depending on the needs of the members.

 

Yesterday, Hna Houghton found out that her grandfather died on Thursday, and she was really upset. All the sisters in our district decided to get together and have a mini devotional and just be there to support her. Some of the Elders in our zone were wondering what was wrong, so Elder Baxter drew us a picture of a heart with a ribbon wrapping around it saying "Smile"and quoted the scripture 3 Nephi 19:25, which I'll put right here for you all :)

"And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof."

He just wanted us to smile. It was so cute :) it was signed "Elder Baxter, Elder Wahlquist, and Elder Taylor." I have the best zone. We're all just best friends, and it's great. I really am sad to be leaving them all so soon. But we're all going to be doing great things on our missions, and I'm so excited to hear all their stories.

 

Today has been relatively boring. I wasn't able to go to the temple this morning because of choir practice, which was sad. Especially since the temple is closed next week on my last week that I could possibly go to the temple for the next year and a half. But we get to help do the cleaning that's happening for the next two weeks next pday, so I'm really excited for that :) But yeah, only one pday left. That's a little scary. But I'm so excited.

 

We also had to move today into the new renovated sister's residence. It was a pain, especially since we literally have only two weeks left here, but oh my goodness this building is so much nicer. It's huge. It's massive. And there's much more closet space and much bigger bathrooms. So even though I only get to enjoy it for a couple weeks, I'm going to enjoy it while I can :)

 

Thank you everyone for the emails and the love. I'm honestly loving every second here, and I can't wait until I get to go to Nicaragua. I didn't feel this way before, but now I know for sure that I'm not supposed to go anywhere else. Nicaragua is where I need to go. I've been waiting for this feeling the whole time I've been her, and I finally got it this week, and now I can't wait to get out there.

So yeah, thank you again for all the support and love, and I'll talk to you all again next week :)

Crazy Missionaries

Missionary Selfies

Silly Elders

iPad photo booth funny stuff

Super Missionary to the Rescue!

 

Semana 3

Hola everybody! It feels so weird that it's only been three weeks. I honestly feel like I've been here my whole life. I feel like I grew up here. But at the same time, it still feels like yesterday was when I got here. Time doesn't exist at the MTC...it's totally messing with my head.

Last Tuesday's devotional was really awesome, because we had Sister Linda K. Burton, the General Relief Society President, there to speak to us :) It was kind of fantastic, as all the devotionals are, and I'm so excited to see who today's speaker is. I also sing in the MTC choir during the devotionals, and during choir practice on Tuesday, they announced that, since all the new Mission Presidents were coming in a couple weeks, 40 people would get to sing a special musical number for the conference there, which includes singing for...wait for it...the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency. So of course I'm all, "Yeah, sign me up!" So I filled out their survey that asked how good I was at singing and sight-reading and all my singing experience and such. I was honest, yet sure to highlight my perfection and expertise ;) Just kidding. But I really did want to get in so badly. As of last night, I thought I didn't get in because I heard that someone else in my zone got in. And then today, just as I'm getting ready to start emailing, E' Baxter comes with the mail and smiles at me and said I got in the choir and hands me my fancy envelope with my schedule and congratulations on it and everything and I screamed. Or squealed. Whichever you prefer. I'm so beyond excited that I was picked to sing for the first presidency. I'm just stoked. I'll let you all know how that goes :)

So lately in our district, we've been having problems focusing. It's kind of funny, but the reason why is that we're all such good friends that we keep getting distracted with each other. But we've had lots of talks about it as a district, and we've gotten it worked out. We'd noticed a decline in our ability to feel the Spirit in class, and we're taking steps to get better at focusing and respecting our teachers and taking advantage of our personal study time. It's been fantastic, and I can just feel us growing closer from this, especially after some awkward and unhappy conversations. 

Teaching in Spanish is hard, I'm not going to lie. I've only been doing this for three weeks, but I definitely feel much more confidence in speaking Spanish to others, and teaching a lesson to actual Spanish speakers. I'm still learning and growing, and I'm definitely utilizing HSI (Habla su idioma, or speak your language). I can't wait to be fluent. That day can't come soon enough.
Okay, we watched this video in class called The Atonement and Missionary Work. I'm pretty sure you can find it on youtube, and if you can, please watch it. Please I beg you all to watch it. It includes conference talks by President Eyring and Elder Holland, and it was the best thing I watched all week. Look it up.
So...story time. Some Elders who lived in our dorm/residence in November left us a present in our vents. We found it because some older sisters in our zone told us of that same thing happening to them, so we checked our vent and there it was :) We searched for four days for a screwdriver, because apparently no one has a screwdriver anywhere. But we finally found one and got in the vent, and there was free laundry detergent, some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle masks and a bunch of envelopes. Not bad. It was definitely exciting to watch me and Hna Warner try and get the screws off with pocket knives and tweezers and quarters and literally everything you can think of (there's a picture of that coming soon). 

We got a new district this week, and it was 4 new elders, which I'm including a picture of soon :) They're the sweetest. They're so fun, and I love having them in our zone. It feels weird to be the old ones in the zone...it's really weird, I'm not even going to lie. But I'm halfway through my stay at the MTC, and I still can't believe it. in less than a month, I'll be in Nicaragua, teaching actual people, and speaking actual Spanish all the time. I'm so excited, and I'm so glad I get to go to Nicaragua with my current companion. I know we won't be companions in the mission, at least not for a while, but I'm glad I'll be able to see here while we're there :)

I actually had my first experience talking with a native for a non-lesson last night. After Hna Walborn and I finished getting ready for bed, Hna Walborn (as Sister Training Leader) got a call from the front desk at 10 o'clock saying that we needed to get dressed and come down to the front desk immediately to help show an international sister to her room, since she just arrived. I threw on a dress, confused as to why on earth they needed us. Then Hna Walborn suggested that she probably speaks Spanish, and then it clicked. We get there, and there's an adorable new Sister missionary from Chihuahua, Mexico, who only spoke a little English. Hna Walborn and I could confidently communicate with her, and help her get to her room and help her feel a little more comfortable. I was confused at first, but I was so thrilled to see how far I'd come in my Spanish. I'm going to be doing that all the time soon! I love speaking Spanish so much. It's a beautiful language, and I just feel so privileged to be able to learn a gorgeous language that I'll be able to use for the rest of my life. 

Hna Walborn and I got the chance to teach Relief Society on Sunday. It's nothing special, per se, but I've never taught before, and it just went so smoothly. It was nice to be able to teach a lesson with her in English for once ;) Although it's almost awkward now to try and talk about gospel principles and pray in English. I'm just so used to Spanish. But even in English, I feel my testimony growing stronger. We had an excellent lesson on the Plan of Salvation this week, and I've never felt so sure of the divinity of this sacred Plan that has been created for us. I love the scriptures that talk about it, like D&C 76, and Moses 3-6, and I'm sure there are many others. Learning about the Plan of Salvation and feeling my testimony grow deeper in the gospel makes me want to visit the temple every day. It's so special in there, just to feel that peace and sacredness that can reside only in our Heavenly Father's house. If you haven't gone through yet, please make that a goal. And if you already have, go as much as you can. Nothing else, aside from constant prayer and study of the Book of Mormon, will help your testimony more, I promise you. I feel so happy here in a place where my testimony is always being tested and tried, and then strengthened again through the simple truths I've grown to have a testimony of, here in the MTC. I'm so glad I get to go to the temple often here, it truly is a blessing. And even though I won't get to go to the temple while I'm actually in Nicaragua, I'm definitely going to treasure every opportunity I have to go there once I get back.
To close, my favorite scripture this week is actually in the Bible Dictionary. If you haven't ever read the last two paragraphs (or, quite frankly, the whole thing) of the section about Prayer in the BD, go ahead and do that right now :) I just highlighted the whole thing. It's fantastic.
I'm using a computer now, so I won't close in Spanish, since I can't use accents and those are kind of important ;) But I just wanted to say that I know this gospel is true, and I know I'm supposed to be here. Nothing has made me feel happier with myself and with the direction my life is going than being here at the MTC, where I'm constantly being spiritually uplifted, and forgetting everything else and losing myself in the service of the Lord. I'm so grateful to all of you for all the wonderful things you've done for me, and for your support and love. It truly means a lot.
I love you all!
Love, Hermana Oliphant