Week 4: Thinking Switzerland-1st Area; Great Visits; Continuing to Learn; Love You All

Hallo mein Familie und Freunden! Wie geht's?

 With my awesome fellow missionaries, The Sisters and The Elders. They are so much fun.  We are working hard and having  a great time.

 

So I've had to start making a list about all the things I want to write to you about because I think back on what I write every week and realize I've missed a lot! So here it goes... if you can make it through a 37 minute missionary farewell talk, I'm sure you can do this ;)

1. Mom, how's your ACL doing? Is it going to be alright for Cozumel? What's the date you leave again? Just so I can be sure I'm fasting that you all make it safely and Dad races in safety...

2. Mom, can you copy a song off for me? It's "I know that my redeemer lives" and it's in my white piano music binder downstairs. I would really love it... we're all quite musical here and it would be nice to have something i can  play that I'm familiar with. thanks :)

3. THANK YOU to Jeff, Andrea, Jacob, and Eve for the lovely visit and the gift! We all shared the mango and the elders sure loved it! The picture is so sweet and it's now replaced the one i had in my scriptures. It was so nice to see Jeff in the MTC.. I'm so spoiled here! Thank you for everything!  I saw Agnes Duncanson again, she gave me a big hug, I love her.

4. I found out that there's a 90-95% chance that my first area with be die Schweitz (Switzerland). Because Elder Prows, Elder Omer, and I are the only non-Americans (dual citizenship:) I'm American), that means that they're going to need people to fill in the spaces of those leaving, so looks like I'm one of the lucky ones.... except I don't know Swiss. Not even a little bit. So it should be interesting!! I'm excited! Even if I don't go there, I'm excited to finally be out in the real mission field!!

5. I have a cyst on my wrist :( I found it the other day. one of the sisters is a nurse and i asked her what to do- she said smack it and pop it. So i had to beg the elders to do if for me. they wouldn't do it. but  finally i got elder weston to grab a hymn book and whack it. it was probably the funniest moment I've had in the MTC... i had tears run down my face. he didn't even hit me hard! so then he grabbed "die Bibel" and whacked me again. ...it didn't really help :( so i still have an ugly bump protruding from my wrist. lovely, right?

6. We finally taught some good lessons. I just have a quick story about one:

We had prepared a lesson on faith for our investigator who just committed to baptism after only seeing us twice. when we came back, he had told us that he had read some anti-Mormon lit on the internet and didn't believe the book of mormon was true anymore. *they're always tellin us that we should be devastated when our investigators don;t keep commitments, and i never understood that until now. i. was. devastated.* when i finally caught on to what he was saying, i was angry... i was actually angry about it. after my comp got done saying something, i said a prayer in my heart that when i opened my mouth, i would be guided by the spirit and that what ever i said would be powerful. i opened my mouth, with tears in my voice and streaming down my face: i KNOW the book of mormon is true. I KNOW that joseph smith is a TRUE prophet. I KNOW these things. this IS true. I was crying and all i had said were those simple phrases, and the spirit that was in that room was like nothing i had ever felt before. our poor investigator was just stunned... he couldn't even close his mouth. i told him to go read it again and focus on the feeling he got and then to pray about it. and not just say he will, and then not do it- but to ACTUALLY do it and to NEVER read on the internet again because there are so many people out there without the spirit that want to tear it down. but spiritual conformation is SO much more important that physical evidence. it was a neat experience.

 7. we got the chance to take a break during our classes and went to the chorely war memorial. it was where the pageant took place. it was lovely and SO nice to get out and have fresh air! 

8. if you could google the story about "the birdcage and the preacher", read it, and then send it to me, that would be awesome! it is really so fantastic! you'll bawl.

9. one of the teachers here is from Glasgow and she knows Lawrence and Mary! she said she went to seminary with Clark! What a small world! Also, i guess dad served with one of the elders' auntie, Elder Gore. He just told me this morning! Such a small world. and sister Allen is in dad's home ward in Scotland-Glasgow so awesome! they'll love her- shes fantastic!

10. also, could you send me the missionary poem by elder whittle? please and thank you :)

11. so... we watch a lot of really good devotionals here. one pf the best I've seen in one given by president Holland. its called "feed my sheep". it is OUTSTANDING! i challenge all of you to go watch it. its a total spiritual slap in the face, but so good and we all need to hear it. One thing he says is: We (missionaries) are the Hope of Israel. Our investigators deserve practiced heart surgeons as missionaries, not someone with a Swiss=army knife that knows how to cut stuff open- we need to be practiced at what we do. our investigators deserve that.

12. we're only speaking German for the remaining 2 weeks.... my German better be outstanding cause this is HARD work. i don't have enough words to say what i want to. its annoying, but its already becoming so much easier to automatically speak it.

13. its about 6am, we're headed to the temple at 7:15 and then we're spending all day doing church history tours, so it'll be cool. I'll be on a bit later to check back and hopefully get a good chat in ... we did a church history tour with Bro Peter Fagg; Simon Fagg's older brother - your missionary trainer Dad:). Small world, again!!  I love England, I could live here.  i want to spend about a year traveling around europe being poor. you can do it for so cheap and there's no better time to do it than when I'm young. europe and travel are definitely in my cards in the next couple years, you can count on that.

Here's a stone placed in some local gardens commemorating early saints of the church.

This is me outside the home where Pres Hinckley lived when he had that letter from his dad telling him to go about the lord's work:).

I love you all! thank you so much for your love an support! i can feel the prayers :) thank you to all of you who helped me be where I'm at today- i wouldn't be half the girl i am today without your examples. i love you!

Mom and Dad, I can't wait to receive the packages.. I love you!!! I pray for you all about.... 17 times a day. Thank you for being the best family and best parents out there. i don't care what anyone says, IIIIIII have the best family :)

Bis später!

Sister Gilmour xx