Ok, this has to be kind of quick- major test of my typing skills ;)
The temple was open for our Pday today! It was absolutely fantastic. Our session, however, ran late, so I don't have much time.
I know for a fact that Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need at any given moment in our lives, and exactly how to give it. I didn't know that I needed this, but now I can see that I undoubtedly did. I saw Michael at the temple!!! I ran into Kendra and Hannah in the dressing room, and they told me that Mike was there. I waited outside of the men's dressing room, and sure enough, there was Mike! (All of my district's Elders came out right as I saw him, so I know I'm going to get asked about who I was hugging, haha) I realized, after giving him a hug and then rushing off to head back to the MTC, that I truly needed that. I love my brother so much.
In my rush back (in the rain, haha), I forgot to grab my camera from my room! If it helps, I didn't take as many photos this week as I usually do. I'll send them to you next week!!
Here's another important thing: I do not have my visa yet, haha, don't worry, I won't head off to Spain without you hearing about it first. If I did get my visa, I would receive travel plans immediately, and be given the rest of the day to pack up, email you guys, and be ready to leave by (probably) the next morning. It looks like that only happens on Tuesdays and Fridays, so you would know then. However, at this point, I think it'd be pretty hard to start over at a new MTC, so I'm guessing that they wouldn't send me over there for my last two weeks, and even if they're going to, I'd probably ask to stay to finish here. Oh, and isn't that crazy?! Only two weeks left! Time has FLOWN by.
We've had some incredible devotionals this week. This past Sunday, our Relief Society speaker was Sister Wixom! The General Primary President :) Her talk was amazing, but the thing that stuck out to me most was when she started talking to us about how kids will look up to us as missionaries. She pleaded with us to always acknowledge them and teach them, and then she said, "love them, for me." I thought about how she is the General Primary President. She thinks about the children of the world 24/7, and prays for them always. I thought about how it's similar with the Savior, who loves His children deeply, and He sends His missionaries out, to "love them, for me." :)
Another awesome talk was given by Richard G. Scott during our Tuesday devotional! It was the first MTC devotional to be broadcasted to all of the MTCs, and my district and I sang "Jesus, Once of Humble Birth" in the choir. The Spirit was SO strong throughout his talk about prayer, and as he gave an apostolic blessing to all of us learning a language, that we would be blessed with the ability to do so. We felt the Spirit the strongest, though, right as the meeting ended. Elder Scott didn't want to leave! We all sat there quietly, until he reluctantly stood to leave. He kept stopping as he walked, turning to wave to us, and we'd all anxiously wave back. Once, as he stopped, he cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled "Be good!" haha. Right as he was about to walk out the door, he turned back one more time, and yelled "I love you!" to which all of us, being the teenagers that we are, yelled back "We love you!!" As an apostle, he's one of the Lord's chosen messengers, and we could feel the love of the Savior through him that night. I'm glad my compañeras are cryers like me ;)
Oh, and you asked for advice for kiddos starting school, and here's what I've got: Keep a constant prayer in your head. Then, when you see someone doing something they shouldn't, or someone says something mean, you can just look up and, well, I always kind of laughed to myself, knowing that my Heavenly Father had my back. It helped me stay positive, always smile, and always have the Spirit- even in a place like high school (or middle school, or homeschool, of course). Also, with a constant prayer, you won't be able to forget things like reading your scriptures every night or saying your prayers. It's definitely the only way I got through it all, and enjoyed most of it along the way.
Alrighty, what else...
I ran into Sister Nesmith last night! I saw her right as she was walking into her dorm (turns out we're about 6 rooms away from each other), and I got to give her a hug and meet her five, very sweet, roommates. I also ran into Jake Moore this week, at dinner. It was fun catching up with an old "brother" from pioneer trek.
We also have a new district in our zone, so Hermana Adair and I finally had something to do as Sister Training Leaders! The three new Sisters are super adorable, and their district is already doing some amazing things. We got to give them an orientation on Wednesday, talk to them for a while about concerns and questions and homesickness, and take them on a tour of the MTC. It was stellar.
We got two new investigators this week as well! Carlos and Sebastian. Those lessons that we had with them were stupendous.
So I don't have much more time, but I wanted to tell you guys one more thing. I really didn't think I'd be thinking about my family very much on my mission. I kind of thought that would be something I'd be trying not to do, but it's totally the opposite! I tell our investigators about you guys every day, and our district loves nothing more than to tell each other stories about our families. I feel so much strength and support from thinking about you guys, and I'm super duper grateful for the examples you've set for me and the love I can feel from you all.
Ok, I'm going to go ahead and send this to make sure you all get something- I wasn't able to print your emails today because we went to print them right after we woke up this morning- haha, I didn't think about how silly that was because it'd be about 4:30 in the morning FL time! So I'm going to read those now and hopefully reply. :)
I also just got a package slip- don't know who it's from, and I haven't had time to grab it from the post office, haha, but I'm excited!
I love you all so much, I'm learning so much, and I love being a missionary!
Love you all tons!
-Hermana Grover
(Email Addendum)
Do you mind sending me your emails in a Dear Elder so I can keep them and read them more indepth? I'm so happy to hear about all the things that are going so well! I mentioned the donoughts to my comps sitting here with me, and we're all stoked. I'm gonna go get those RIGHT. NOW, haha. Thanks for the updates on Brad and Kate- I love those kids too, haha :)
Also, if you don't mind mentioning on my blog that I received several letters this week, and really didn't have much time for writing today, because the temple's open, so please post on there that responses will be a little late, but I'm SO grateful for the letters and the love! (Liz, Becca, Jonathan, Elise)
Of course I miss you all, but I'm being very blessed, and I love being a missionary!
Love you, love you, love you,
Hermana Grover
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