MTC Part Two!

Sis. Petrie and Sis. Dahlberg

Oct. 6, 2014

Well, I can hardly believe it, but tomorrow I fly out to St. Louis! It has flown by. I wish I could express in words how much the MTC has changed me, and how much I love it here.

In the MTC, we spend half the time learning how to teach the gospel, and the other half actually teaching the gospel. Sister Dahlberg and I have taught 5 different investigators here, J., P., H., C., and O.. Granted, four of those are our teachers, but they take on the role of real people they know, and role playing is just as powerful as teaching real investigators!

Of course, the one non-member we taught, O., was very difficult to teach!! She goes to BYU, has tons of Mormon friends, has met with several sets of missionaries, and has been invited to be baptized, as she says, "at least a thousand times". :) So she was difficult to teach! The first lesson, we went in with our agenda of teaching the restoration, and we followed it 100 percent. (Note: Something I've learned here. If you actually exactly follow your teaching plan in lessons, you are probably doing something wrong.) She listened and honestly looked bored. We were disappointed to say the least! But in the second lesson, we did the exact same thing, this time about the Plan of Salvation.

The third time, we had learned a lot more about loving and teaching by the spirit. We went into the lesson just prepared to love her!! We asked a lot of questions and were completely sincere. She started to open up and was saying things like, "I don't normally say this, but..." and "This is a little embarrassing, but this is how I feel about..." She was completely open! We were able to listen to her, and Sister Dahlberg shared an experience that touched her a lot. There was a HUGE difference. What was the difference? The spirit was there! Of course being sisters we all cried a bit and hugged a lot and it was wonderful! She still didn't want to be baptized, but I think she was changed by what we said! Also she accepted the challenge to watch general conference, which as you know was full of talks basically hand-picked for investigators. (Revelation, prophets, etc) I hope she continues to feel that strong spirit we felt!

I learned such a powerful lesson from O., and it's probably the biggest thing I have learned at the MTC! We don't teach, the spirit does! And while we are teaching, the spirit teaches us and the investigator. We "ascend together", as that Scottish Proverb goes! Something even cooler: I think Sister Dahlberg was completely changed by that lesson! She wrote 5 pages about it in her journal, I wish I had time to type it up for you! She said she's never felt the spirit that strong in her life! It's just amazing to see what the gospel is doing for all of us!

That experience is great because it's kind of the climax of all the wonderful teaching experiences I've had at the MTC! I've been an investigator in so many role plays, and every time I receive and accept the challenge to be baptized out loud, in my heart I accept the challenge to take my own leap of faith by letting the SPIRIT lead my lessons, and not be so worried about what I say. It has been incredible.

WASN"T CONFERENCE INCREDIBLE. HOLY COW! I love love being part of this powerful missionary force. We feel so supported by the words of the prophets and the prayers of the church! And Elder Hunter was so awesome at the priesthood session! When he told me he was singing on Friday, he was white as a ghost and so so nervous haha! But I knew he would do incredible! My favorite talks were the ones on revelation! I loved them so so much! They are just what we are teaching investigators!

I seriously can't wait to fly out tomorrow! I will miss the MTC but ST Louis is callin'! :)

Part of my responsibilities as Sister Training Leader is holding an hour fireside where we welcome the incoming district! That was on Wednesday. I loved it, because I realized more fully MY purpose here because I saw their example! We just got to go over logistics with them, bear our testimonies, share scriptures, and make them feel at home! I love our new and old districts. I'll miss them lots to say the least!

Here is a couple pictures of my companion and district sisters. We have WAY too much fun!! :) I'm so glad they are here to keep me smiling and positive! They love to tease me about being home schooled, spacing out, never knowing directions, and taking long showers :) I'll miss them lots!

District Sisters 

Thanks everyone for being awesome. I have so many examples and so much support I could just explode!

3 cheers for the gospel!

Sister Petrie

MTC Part One!

It's crazy to think I will only be here one more week! There is so much to learn, so many people to teach, so many things to do, and I have 8 more days in which to do it! 

Where oh where to start?? How do I describe my experience in the MTC in a short email? It is incredible. The minute I walked in the doors, I felt the power of the spirit here. Imagine focusing on your own and others' salvation, 24/7, with ZERO distractions. Imagine exploring the gospel and ways to teach it from every angle. Imagine learning to love someone in less than a minute of talking to them. Imagine crying, laughing, stressing, growing, and learning every day, more than you ever thought possible! Imagine still being the exact same person you were before you put on a name-tag, but having added responsibility and expectations, along with so many added blessings and power. That's a bit of the MTC experience. I wish everyone could have a chance to experience the unique and incredible spirit that is here.

When I was set apart, President Holland promised my mission would be one of joy and laughter. Well, that is already being fulfilled...in the form of my sweet wonderful companion! She redefines the word hilarious. Her name is sister Dahlberg, and she has made me laugh more in the past 4 days than I have ever laughed in my entire life, and that is not a joke. She's from Ogden, Utah, and went to Dixie State University this past year. She loves clothes, polka dots, making friends with strangers, and has such a strong testimony of the gospel! She is so happy and positive, and she says, "Sister Petrie, I love you!" ALL the time! I love her SO much, and I am so blessed to be her companion. The other sisters in my district are Sister Furniss from Idaho, and Sister Shontell from Gilbert, AZ! We are all blonde. We have so much fun together, I can't even explain how much I love these sisters. Pray for them! The MTC is a bit of a shock, but we are learning so much together! I am Sister Training Leader over my zone with Sister Furniss, and oh boy, that is a learning experience! 

MTC District Sisters

I have the most incredible teachers. Here at the MTC, we start teaching investigators at day 2, and usually we teach our teachers, role playing one of their friends. Mine and Sister Dahlberg's first lesson was teaching Brother Buahin (from Ghana) the restoration! It. was. a. disaster. It was literally awful. They tell you here that you will probably come out of your lessons crying at least once, but I had no idea I would be crying coming out of my very first lesson! Sister Dahlberg was very good and taught me a lot about letting it roll off my shoulders. She was incredibly positive. In the lesson, J. (our pretend investigator) told us he wasn't learning anything, and that he thought we weren't doing a good job. Ohhhh dear! The good thing was, we did MUCH better the next lesson! We taught another investigator, P., and committed him to baptism! 

What I learned from that experience was that what we say...really doesn't matter! It's important to become the best teacher we can be, to learn correct principles and improve our teaching skills, but when it comes down to it, the spirit will teach us how to love and what to say to our investigators, and that is what makes the real difference. This week, I learned how important it is to turn outward in our missionary work, and just LOVE those we meet! Loving someone you just met is a sacred experience, because the Lord teaches you how to love them. I have experienced that more times than I thought possible this week and it's changing me!

I have to do a shout out to my awesome district! Our elders are incredible. We set goals every day, and we actually achieve them! We are so so SO close. Each elder and sister has so many individual struggles...and yet in the midst of their struggles, they turn outward, and not inward! They are dedicating their lives to helping others. I'm so blessed to be surrounded by their awesome spirits! 

MTC Zone

A few random fun things! 1. My WHOLE district (4 elders, 4 sisters) is going to the St Louis mission...so that means we can be friends forever! 2. Elders get to sing in the missionary choir at the priesthood session of General Conference...but we don't! Bummer! Look for Elder Hunter (Ben)! 3. We went to the temple this morning and it was incredible!! 4. They feed us way too much food here. 5. Speaking of Elder Hunter, I ran into him!!!!!!!!! I was so happy, we struggled to just give a firm handshake! Also I saw Sister Packer, and Elder Marques! (He served in our ward with Matt Okelberry) Also, SO many friends from BYU! Lots are serving missions! 

Well I love you all! Emails and letters are Christmas in the MTC, don't forget to write! :) Also, ask me questions! 

I love you all SO much. I'm praying for you! 

Loves to the moon and back,

Sister Petrie (yeah, it's official. I have a name tag!!!)