September 24- The Conquering of the MTC

Hola familia y amigos!

I conquered the first week at the MTC and let me tell you, it has been GREAT! Overwhelming, but great! From the moment I walked into the MTC they have been keeping us busy, so there has not really been time to be homesick. I seriously love it here! I love my companions, my district, my teachers, my branch, my branch presidency, everthying! The only thing I maybe don't love is the fact that we study for 12 hours everyday. I don't think I've ever studied for 12 hours in my entire life combined! Haha! I'm only sorta kidding... you know how everyone says you'll be tired from Day 1 on your mission for the rest of you mission? It's because you study SO MUCH!! And then you only get 8 hours of sleep, if that. My lovely roommates (not my comps) like to wake up at like 5:30 every morning and end up waking us up. They are really sweet roommates, except when they get up that early... Anywhoooo it's still wonderful here! Let me tell you about my comps:

Hermana Brooke Hussey is from SLC. She went to U of U before her mission (19 years old). She has 4 siblings and she is right in the middle. She will also be going to Nicaragua with me. She likes to laugh and she likes to be involved. She is also super happy! She reminds me a little bit of Karly Hardy actually. 

My other companion got placed with us here at Provo because her visa didn't come so she couldn't go the the Mexico MTC. Her name is Hermana Savannah Tobey. And guess what!? We totally know each other from BYU-Hawaii. She lived on the same floor as me, was in my Relief Society, I was her RA, etc. So it was super exciting to have a friend here.We never actually hung out in Hawaii, but I don't know why not because she is awesome. She is from Camas, Washington and has three siblings. She is second oldest and first to serve a mission. She is going to Pachuca, Mexico. She also loves to laugh, and she is an avid Sasquatch explorer. My companions are thebomb.com! We have so much fun together!

I have a great district! It's us three and 8 elders. 5 elders are also going to Nicaragua, 1 to El Salvador, 1 to Chicago, and 1 to Mexico. They are super fun but also a little crazy. They love pulling pranks on each other and us, and joking around. So we laugh a lot! Probably more than we should, but I think it has helped us get over the stressful first week.

I love having gym time here! We have it 1st thing and we usually play volleyball or knockout. It's super fun. And I may have one a game of 3 point knockout against our entire district! The food here is actually pretty good too. I haven't complained. It's WAY better than the cafeteria food in Hawaii. My favorite is the curly fries and the strawberries they serve!

My favorite thing to do here is meet new people and see where everyone is going. I am trying to be more friendly and outgoing so I seriously try and talk to everyone. My comps say they think I do a really good job at talking to people. We've made friends with some Elders going to Sweden that we usually sit by at meals. I have also seen a lot of people I know: Sharly Lichtenberg (HCP), Bryce Lamarr (from the stake), some people from BYUH, and three other people from the YSA ward.

Classes and spanish are going well. We have already taught 6 lessons in spanish to two investigators. It's been going okay. One, Travis, has committed to baptism and read the Book of Mormon. The other, Hely, has committed to reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. We actually had one lesson with Hely where we felt the Spirit super strong! It was AWESOME!

I am also in the MTC choir and the choir director is super awesome! We sang at a devotional here called MTC and the Spoken word where Lloyd Newell came and spoke to us. It was super cool! 

The Spirit is SO STRONG here! I feel the truthfullness of the GOspel of Jesus Christ everyday. One thing I really liked that another sister said was, "I believed because I wanted to. Now I know because I believed." This is exactly what I believe and it goes along with my favorite scripture in the Book of Mormon, Alma 32:27. Because I deisred to believe, I now know without a doubt in my mind that Jesus Christ is my Savior and if we come unto Him, we will have everlasting happiness. I also know that the Book of Mormon is true and we can learn how to come to Him through the Book of Mormon. I love the Gospel so much and I can't wait to share it with EVERYONE on EARTH!! I love the MTC as well! I love you all! I love receiving emails and especially DearElders (dearelder.com - write me an email and they print it out and give it to me the same day) so please write! I want to hear from EVERYONE!!! 

The book is blue, the Gospel is true!

Love, Hermana Hawkins

October 1 - What are the Odds

Hola! How is everybody! 

This week has been going great! So my letters are not going to be as long as the last one (it could be) but I don't want to bore you! Haha. I will just write the best parts! Last Prep Day we got to go to the temple in Provo with my district and it was awesome. The Provo temple is beautiful! I don't know why people thing it's so old! I loved it!

Alright, so something funny that happened this week: My district LOVES to play this game called "What are the Odds," which is a lot like truth or dare but only dare. You ask someone what the odds are of doing something and they say something like "1 in 15" and then you both yell a number between 1 and 15 and if it's the same, that person has to do whatever it is you said. So this elder in my district, Elder Black HATES hair. He loathes it! Like the stray hair, not the ones on your head. Well we kept messing with him this week by putting hair on his desk and everything. Haha. Well his companion, Elder Isham, loves to do that to him. So we keep finding these balls of hair on the floor and Elder Isham picks one up and starts taunting Elder Black and Elder Black is freaking out. He wanted to throw up! So then I turned to Elder Isham and was like, "What are the odds that you would eat that hair?" (I thought he might say like 1 in a million). Well, him trying to be all macho, he says 1 in 15. So we both yell out a number and it was the same!!! He starts yelling, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" and then all of a sudden he just throws that hair ball in his mouth!!!!!! Then we all start freaking out and tell him not to actually eat it!!! He swallowed! And then spit it out. Phew! Haha. It was hilarious! I don't think I have ever laughed this hard in my life than I have here at the MTC. Wanna know why I think it is? Because I don't have technology to distract me and I can actually devote my attention to people. It's so great to laugh! And it helps that my district is hilarious!

On Monday, we got to watch Richard G. Scott's funeral. That was a really neat experience, I had never been able to see a funeral of an apostle before. It was so powerful to hear the testimonies of other apostles and the prophet sharing the testimony of Richard G. Scott. It is making me super excited for General Conference! If you didn't watch it, my favorite part was that President Nelson shared how him and Elder Scott went to NICARAGUA to dedicate it for missionary work! They mentioned my mission! How cool! And I loved how his son said that Richard G. Scott had an apostolic witness of Jesus Christ and his Gospel. He emphasized that point. How cool is that!?

We had two awesome devotionals as well this week that made me think a lot about the missionary I want to become. One quote (of the many) that I really liked that actually came from one of those old church commercials that a speaker shared was, "It's often Life's small moments that bring the greatest memories. Don't let their magic pass you by." There are so many wonderful opportunities we have in life to smile, be happy, and make a difference in another person's life. It's not easy here at the MTC, but I try to be optimistic and loving of others to that I make actually turn into that kind of person. I have my fair share of difficulties but I know that with God's help, we can get through everything! I love you all! Look for opportunities to serve others! And God speed!

Love, Hna. Hawkins!

October 8 - General Conference Weekend!

Hola everyone!!

Wasn't hearing from our living prophet this weekend awesome!? I love general conference and I loved the words that were spoken that I am definitely trying to apply to my own life. My favorite talk was by Elder Lawrence when he asked the question, "What lack I yet?" This week was the hardest week I've had at the MTC. They have the saying, "two's company and three's a crowd," well, I definitely felt that more this week than ever before with my companions. Not only because they are so much more alike than me, but also because they are at the same levels as Spanish and I am a little above, so I felt like they and the teachers thought I was a know-it-all. I think I was being a little selfish and so when I heard that talk, I felt like it was speaking directly to me. What lack I yet? I know there are many ways that I can improve in my life and come closer to Christ but the main ways I thought of were being more humble and learning to love others more. I am more of an independent type of person so the mission is definitely a challenge when it comes to working and loving others. 

One other talk i really liked was the one about ponderizing a scripture! I just love that idea and I know that if we choose a verse from the Bible or Book of Mormon each week to ponder, reflect, and (20%) memorize, it will change our lives and bring us closer to Christ. So each week in my letter I am going to tell you what verse I am ponderizing and I would love to hear all of yours! This week I chose Helaman 12:1 from the Book of Mormon: And thus we can see behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him. I love that in a world of changing values, if we rely on an unchanging Lord and put our trust in him, then he will bless us. And from studying this verse, I have found so many other wonderful verses. I love the scriptures! Please share what verse you are ponderizing this week.

This week was also filled with some of the most spiritually profound experiences I've had here. Besides all the wonderful talks at General Conference, we also got to hear from the General Relief Society President, Sister Burton. We sang an arrangement of the song Sweet Hour of Prayer and the Spirit of Christ just filled the room. Afterwards, I went up and gave her a hug and reminded her (I met her once before) and told her that my sister was Alayna Hawkins (who served in her mission) and she was like, "I thought I remembered that smile." So, Alayna, she still thinks very highly of you :) Afterwards, we had a meeting with the Branch President where we discussed her talk. Afterwards, he said he had a surprise for us and that we would each get the opportunity to speak to the Prophet himself. Our mouths dropped and the Spirit filled the room again. He gave us a few minutes so we could think of what we wanted to say, everyone was praying silently, and then we went around and recorded a message one by one and said something to the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. He knows him and his daughter really well so they are going to send that to him. After, someone asked why he chose us to do this (President Shallenberger said how we were the only ones who would be doing this so it needs to remain a secret between our district) and he said that he just felt prompted by the Spirit! How cool is that!? I don't know why but I know that we were meant to speak and give encouraging words to our living prophet for some reason. I would also encourage everyone to pray for the Prophet, after having that scare at General Conference. Sister Burton said that maybe that was a wake up call from God saying, "Don't take advantage of the living prophet that you have." I am truly grateful to have a prophet to lead and guide our church. 

Other cool things that happened this week: I was made Sister Training Leader with my companions and we have had a lot of fun welcoming new districts! Also, our "investigator" Travis (who is actually our teacher) committed to baptism! He may not really be investigating the church but when he said he wanted to be baptized because he felt what we are teaching the room, the Spirit filled the room again!! The Holy Ghost is EVERYWHERE if we just take the time to pause from the real world and listen to what he is telling us and how God has a hand in our lives. 

Well, I've probably bored you all with this long letter so I will just end it here. I know more than ever that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that God has a plan for all of us so that we can return to live with him, our Savior Jesus Christ, and our families for eternity. I know that he speaks to each one of us and that we can receive answers to our prayers if we truly believe. And I know that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can do all things we set our minds too. I love you all!

Les quiero!

Hna. Hawkins

October 15 - The Tender Mercies of Life

Life is beautiful, is it not? I feel like every day, I see God's hand in my life. Life here is great. It's not easy, and I am learning a lot, but the growth that I am experiencing is good and it helping me become more like Jesus Christ as I try and bring others unto Jesus Christ. 

So some things worth mentioning:

Cool story first: the other day I was in the cafeteria and I saw this other sister missionary and she looked SO familiar. I thought I knew where I had seen her from (EFY) but it was 5 years ago and she didn't have a facebook so we didn't stay in contact. We were good friends at EFY and I knew that she also lived in Colorado, but yeah, we never talked or saw each other after EFY. Well later that night I saw her again and I just had to ask her. Being unintentionally creepy, I was like, "Sister, are you from Colorado?" "Yeah..." "From Littleton?" "Yeah....." "Is your first name Sydney?" "Yeah...." And I was like, "I totally know you! You were in my EFY group!!" She says she thought I looke familiar but didn't know why. So that was a fun little sory.

So earlier this week we were talking about how we can touch the hearts of our investigators by bearing our testimonies with conviction. We need to remember experiences in our life when we said, "Of course the Gospel is true, I know it so strongly." Our teacher asked us to write down those experiences and they will help us remember what exactly our conviction us. So I wrote down a couple and I encourage all of you to as well. What is your conviction? Do you believe this gospel is true? I do! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!! the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

On Sunday, our Branch president  told us that he was going to be released. So sad because he was the best branch president ever. Before he left, he gave us a few tips. One being that we always need to be happy. One thing we should always be saying when anything comes our way, even when it's something bad, is, "WHAT A BLESSING!" By saying this and actually recognizing what the blessing is in this trial, we learn that everything that happens to us is for our growth. He also told us how important it is to know how to escape duct tape and rope if we were ever abducted. He then proceeded to show us exactly how to do that. He had a missionary duct tape his hands and then within a minute, he was out. How cool is he!? He's awesome.

So our teacher also told us this awesome story this week: A boy came up to Aristotle and said, "Tell me all the things you know so I can be as wise as you." Or something like that. Aristotle proceeds to take this boy down to the ocean, they go in, and Aristotle dunks the boys head underwater and holds it there. The boy, not being able to breath, starts flapping and kicking doing everything he can to get air. But Aristotle remains holding it underwater. After a while, the boy stops kicking so much and becomes weaker. Aristotle seeing this, lets the boy up. The boy then says, "Why did you do that to me!? You almost killed me!!!" To which Aristotle replies, "When you want to learn and change as much as you just wanted air, then come and find me." This was such an amazing story because it showed me that we can't just ask God to bless us with answers or to give us traits we need, we need to be actively trying to learn how we can do it ourselves, and show him that we truly care, and then God will help us. 

So this letter is getting long so I will end it with this: L. Whitney Clayton came and spoke to us on Tuesday and showed just how strong and fast the church is growing. In my lifetime, I remember when there were 10 million members of the church and now there are 15 million within the past decade. It just shows how true this Gospel really is. It wouldn't be growing this fast if it wasn't true. It is true and God is hastening the work through us missionaries. I know this Gospel is true and I am so grateful for it. I guess the verse that I am ponderizing this week is Joseph Smith History 1:25. What a great verse! Do you know that this Gospel is true? What is your conviction!

Les quiero! Con amor,

Hermana Hawkins