Weekly Update

Family and Friends,

I have a couple of jokes to get this e-mail rolling. #1: Why were the Lamanites’ legs sore?... Because of all the Nephites! Get it? Knee-fights? I thought that was pretty clever. #2: What do you get when you throw noodles into the ocean?... Apostacy! Get it? A pasta sea? I wish the great apostacy was explained that easily. Well in other news, our district left today. :) The MTC is not the same without them. But this means that we start visitors’ center training tomorrow and that means Temple Square! We also get to work in the referral center a little bit each day which I am excited for. Tomorrow I will be singing “Consider the Lilies” for the musical number in the new missionary orientation and I am especially excited because if I am not mistaken Braden Thorkleson will be among them! I hope my future companions aren’t disturbed if I burst into song every now and then because I really do feel that my testimony is communicated most fully through song. I was so excited to come to the MTC and sing “Called to Serve” with 2,000 other missionaries. I hate to say this, but the first few times we did it, it was a little weak :s This last Sunday sister Nally had us imagine that we really were as an army marching and we started off very quietly as if we were miles away. We progressively got louder until we were at full voice and as we repeated the final chorus we stood and everyone was singing at the top of their lungs! There were key changes and everything! It was powerful. My companion and I have had some great experiences with prayer this week. It is very exciting to pray together and find that you received the same impressions for one of your investigators. I’m a little scared to speak first sometimes because I’m afraid she’ll have different ideas, but I have gotten over it mostly and it has been a blessing. We taught our “progressing investigators” for the last time and two have committed to baptism which is great. The inactive lady we were teaching said that she would come to church with us, and the other two non-members  are still reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. I am excited for Los Angeles where the commitments as well as the disappointments will me non-hypothetical. I have been told by more than one person that the scriptures come alive at the MTC. It is really true. Suddenly I know where to find things and I can apply them way more effectively to my own life as well as to the lives of the people we have been teaching. For sacrament meeting the branch presidency selects a few missionaries to speak then and there, so we prepare a talk each week. I may or may not have finished mine this week, but I was lucky enough to be called on. It went well though. Probably because it only needed to be 5 minutes long ha ha. I have to run again, but thank you all for the letters. I got some Valentines from some wonderful Aunts and some yummy caramels from home that were enjoyed by many. If anyone is looking for a wonderful talk to read look up Elder Bednar's "The Character of Christ." It completely changed my attitude and made a bad day better. Love you!

- Sister Jenna Davis