25 October 2011

Hello wonderful family of mine!

I love you all. Ever so excruciatin' much. Thanks for the continued letters and updates and packages. . . . You all mean so much to me. In fact, oddly enough, one of the main reasons I'm here on this mission is because of all of you, my lovely family. I want other people to know that families are important! That we've been given families as a blessing, because Heavenly Father loves us. That, really, we're all part of of Heavenly Father's family too! And that our families can be together forever, if we just take advantage of the covenants available to us here. Yup. . . .

So, how are things here? Oh, instructive, deeply humbling, and happy mostly. We're really learning a lot. Our teaching as a companionship continues to improve (through learning how to do things incorrectly sometimes too), and we're having some amazing lessons lately. Just this Monday we started out our day teaching Soren, an investigator with endless questions and concerns. We've been trying to address concerns more through doctrine, and we took Monday's lesson to really focus on the Atonement. it was extremely powerful. If you can just catch a glimpse of what the Atonement can really do for us, what it really applies to, then you suddenly become awed at the message, the gift, we are bringing others. It was one of those lessons were you learn just as much as the investigator does. I am excited to get to do this with people in Hong Kong soon. I mean, we leave in almost a month now! Crazy. Our older district is safely in Hong Kong now, and we get our new district tomorrow. I'm excited for this because I get to greet them as coordinating sister.

You know, side thought, I'm actually really grateful for this calling. I was realizing the other day that one of the reasons it's so hard to be in the MTC for so long is because you have to look so much harder for chances to serve. It's easy to keep in the usual old college mentality of selfishness, merely because you're trying to learn and invest in yourself so much. So, this calling gives me a greater chance to pull myself out of that selfishness, which makes one happier, you know. It's really been quite grand. Keep praying though. Thanks. . . .

Well, let's see what is essential to tell you in the next 2 minutes I have left...

I love you all! This is really an incredible place, this MTC. I know that I'm supposed to be here and not elsewhere. My companions continue to be kindred spirits (thank goodness and hooray!), so we've had a lot of laughs and a lot of mutual tears here and there.

I am healthy and in good spirits. This gospel is true and it changes everything.

Well, I love you all a lot. Like I've said before, any finite amount of time with your family is not enough. Thank goodness we get eternity.

Love,

Sister Sarah Nielsen