No Subject

It is very hard to write these emails! I am quickly realizing that I am not much of a writer. And, not much has happened since I have last written. When starting this email, the first draft was, "Yup, I am still at the MTC". I don't hate being at the MTC, in fact, it has been really great to learn the language and focus on the gospel. The MTC has also been a humbling experience as I butcher Turkish words and try to put together a coherent sentence.

The weird thing about turkish is that their sentences are basically backwards. For example, if I want to say "I want to buy ice cream for my family" in turkish, I would say: Ailem için dondurma almak istiyorum. If I translate that directly, I would be saying: My family for icecream to buy I want. Isn't that super weird! Still, I am loving the language. It is weird and sometimes sounds like absolute gibberish, but I am liking it all the same.

Anyway, there have definitely been some things that have happened since I last sent an email. One thing was when we got stopped by some missionaries so that they could share their testimony to us. This happens a lot here, so much that we have called this being "testimonied"....I didnt say it was a clever term. Anyway, a trio of girls stopped us and asked if they could share their quick testimonies. Of course, we said they could but they surpised us by starting to use sign language. They bore simple but powerful testimonies as they shared that they knew Heavenly Father loves ALL of His children. They said that they knew Jesus Christ is the Savior and told us that He died for each and every one of our sins. He loves us perfectly. As they finished their testimonies, I felt the spirit so strongly. I had a thought that my Heavenly Father understands me and that He loves me more than I could ever comprehend.

Another experience that we had was at a devotional for the Go and Do experience. We talked about Jesus Christ and about building a stronger foundation in Him and His atonement. I learned a lot about hope that day and how important it is in our daily lives. I have my ups and downs here, but I find that as I center my life on Jesus Christ and have hope that things will get better, they usually do. Anyway, back to the devotional. While having all of these thoughts about hope and being grateful and happy, we closed the meeting with the hymn "Now Let us Rejoice". It started out normal, until all of the missionaries started to stand. I dont know exactly how to explain how much joy was in that room as we sang praises to our Savior. Seeing all those missionaries rejoicing made me kind of choke up as we sang:

"In faith we’ll rely on the arm of Jehovah

To guide thru these last days of trouble and gloom,

And after the scourges and harvest are over,

We’ll rise with the just when the Savior doth come.

Then all that was promised the Saints will be given,

And they will be crown’d with the angels of heav’n,

And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden,

And Christ and his people will ever be one."

That was a powerful moment where I felt so increbily grateful for my Savior and felt so much hope not only about my mission but also about my future.

Last but not least, another experience that was super cool happened just the other day. We went to choir and sang a song called "Testimony", which basically is "I Know My Redeemer Lives" but with different music. We went early to prepare for the devotional later that day. The room was filled with so many new missionaries as we sang about our testimony of Jesus Christ. In the middle of our practice, right before the devotional, all the lights went out in the building. We learned later that the power was out all over the MTC because a transformer had broken. So, the devotional was basically cancelled because there was no way the lights were going to turn on that day. However, the people who lead the choir asked the General Authority who was coming for the devotional to come here us sing since we had worked so hard on the song. So, as we waited for the General Authority to show up, we sang hymns in the dark. We sang "Sisters in Zion", "I Need Thee Every Hour", "A Child's Prayer", "Battle Hymn of the Republic", and some more. It was super cool to sing with so many missionaries! The General Authority showed up to see us sing and we learned that it was the second counselor of the Sunday School Presidency, Jan E Newman. We said a quick prayer and President Calderwood (President of the Provo MTC), made a quick comment/introduction and made a funny comment to us to direct some of our powerful singing to the power to get it back on. Then we sang. It was powerful and sincere and the spirit was so strong as we sang that we know our redeemer lives. As we finished, the power was restored and we all cheered and shouted. The MTC presidency was in tears, the general authority was in tears, and the spirit was so strong. The devotional was back on and we got to hear Brother Newman and his wife speak about scripture study and the Holy Ghost. That was an incredible experience, and I am so glad that I got to be there to experience it.

The MTC is such an incredible place. The spirit that resides here is incredible and as I have studied and learned more about my Heavenly Parents and Jesus Christ, I have strengthened my testimony of this gospel. This is Jesus Christ's Church, Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and we are each beloved children of Heavenly Parents who love us more than any of us could comprehend. I am thankful that I am a missionary and I am proud to be a representative of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for all of you and I hope that everything is well with you all!

Sincerely,

Kızkardeş Peyton Calder