Okay I know I say this every week but time goes by abnormally fast here. I feel like I was just emailing you all yesterday! So this may be slightly repetitive again because we literally do the same thing every day, so don't hate me. I am doing my best here! First off I would just like to say you are all awesome and you keep me going!! Seriously. I feel so blessed to have such awesome friends and family. I wish I could respond to all of your emails and letters as fast as I would like to but I don't have much time, but I will try! I just love you all. That is it.
Okay, so starting with after emailing on P-Day! We get to do a session in the Provo Temple every week, and then after that our glorious P-Day is over around 6 because we then go to class. Saturday nights we have TRC now, which is Teaching Resource Center, where we go and teach someone that has volunteered to come in just as themselves. It's a good way to learn how to make small talk and to really get to know them and know what they need to be taught. Oh, and it is also in 100% Tagalog, which is an adventure in itself. It was so great though and my kasama and I really felt the Spirit so strongly as we taught this man! He was actually our teacher's teacher when he went through the MTC, so it is funny how it has come a full circle for us to be teaching him. The Spirit was so strong in there and my kasama and I felt so blessed. We had been working extra hard with the language and just really focusing on what we needed to teach for the volunteer, and as we looked back we realized that what we individually taught connected so well. THIS GOSPEL IS AMAZING like I can't say it enough!! The gift of tongues is real. There is no way I could do this on my own. Seriously, I didn't even know what I was saying to that man in TRC but when I thought about it after, I realized that what I was saying exactly matched up to the things he was sharing with us, and the things my kasama was saying as well. Ah it's just so great and I am obsessed with missionary work. I am just so lucky to be serving a mission right now!
Sunday's here in the MTC are always great. So we have our Relief Society meeting in the morning, which is always awesome. Stacey Edington taught us about love; about loving the people, about love and true devotion to Jesus Christ, about seeing our investigators as God sees them. It really hit me that we need to know Christ, not just know of Him. I will be sharing His gospel, and how can I really share it if I don't really truly KNOW Him, right? I don't even know if that makes sense but these are just thoughts in my head. Our teachers have really been focusing on this with us. I thought of one of my favorite scriptures, 2 Nephi 25:26, which says "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." It's so true, my life is dedicated to the name I wear proudly on my tag, Jesus Christ, and I have come to really know Him and love everything about this gospel! So after Relief Society, we had Sacrament Meeting as a branch, and thankfully I did not have to give my talk yet again, but our district sang "Come Thou Fount" as the musical number. I just love that song so it was a good experience. My kasama and I also taught the lesson for our district, which was on the Atonement. Guys, this is real life. I used to be so scared to teach anything or to speak in front of people, and now I do this on the daily SA TAGALOG. Real life, I am a new person now. Missions are awesome! Okay, on Sundays we also go on a walk to the Temple, since it is right across the street. That night we had a devotional and guess who sat front row again?! Yes yo sista Reategui. Hahaha but really we have figured out how the MTC works and we proudly sit at the very front at every Sunday night devotional now. They totally make eye contact with us the whole time, it is so great and I feel like they are just talking to me. There aren't thousands of other people there at the devotionals, right? Right. Well the devotional was given by Ron Tanner, who is the producer of 17 Miracles, and his new film Ephram Hanks. The love he has for those pioneers is so incredible and he was so inspiring! He showed parts from the movie he just made about Ephram Hanks, and it almost had me in tears. Such a powerful story! Apparently it isn't even out on DVD yet, but he gave a copy to the MTC so we get to watch it before all of you. Missionaries are blessed. HA.
Anyways, the rest of the week was basically the same. Class and class and more class! It's so great. It's incredible to think about how much I have learned in the past 4 weeks. This week in personal study I have been focusing on studying chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel, Christlike Attributes. I have been really focusing on Hope, as that is something I want to really get across to our investigators. This gospel is such a great source of hope for everyone, no matter what. Hope that there is a plan for each of us, hope that the Atonement can make us better people each and every day, hope that we can live with our families forever, just SO MUCH HOPE! I am obsessed with this great message. And I am so lucky to be able to share this hope with the people of the Philippines! On Tuesday, we had a devotional in the Marriot Center, and sadly I was not able to sit in the front row since I am in the choir, but still a very good devotional! It was given by Gregory Schwitzer of the Seventy. It was all about how becoming a missionary is a process of devotion. I know I say this a lot, but the devotionals here are amazing! They are so centered on missionary work and each time I feel like the talk was written just for me. He really inspired me to be the best missionary I can be. Being the best missionary through my actions because this gospel is my joy! Okay I have a lot of favorite scriptures but this one is like at the top of my list. Alma 29:9, "I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; AND THIS IS MY JOY." Ah basically I am obsessed with that. As I have been so focused on this gospel, I have realized so much about myself and how blessed I am. I am so blessed to be a part of something that can make me better each and every day! I am so blessed to have a Savior that died for me and for all of us, that we may be able to repent and really change to better ourselves. What a wonderful message of hope that I get to share! One thing he said at the end of his devotional was "change the hearts of the world one missionary at a time." I love that. As a missionary, I have realized that I need to change myself and truly convert myself each and every day to be able to teach the people of the Philippines about these things I am learning. As I really devote myself to my mission, and change my heart, I can change the hearts of so many others through Him who has given me all that I have. THIS GOSPEL IS AMAZING!
Okay, here in the MTC we teach at least one of our investigators everyday. My favorite lesson this week was probably our lesson with Genella on Thursday. She's 16 and SO ready for this gospel in her life. So, we met with her and we were just talking about having faith in prayer and having faith in keeping the commandments, and so I asked her if she would want to go on a tour of the church, just to see what it's like. She just looked at me and said "I want to go to church on Sunday!" Haha okay I had a freak out. Seriously I know she's fake but it is so real in the moment! It was such an exciting experience. So then I was like "great, lets take you on a tour first!!!" Hahaha so we took her into some building here on campus and pretended that it was a church building and a chapel and everything since we don't have that here in the MTC. She just kept saying how she felt happy and loved. Seriously the Spirit is amazing, somehow my kasama and I explained to her about the Sacrament and about all 3 meetings she will attend and she was just so happy. The Spirit was so strong and I am grateful that it was there, even through something so silly as just taking her on a fake tour.
Oh yes, big news, I got selected to sing in the General Relief Society Broadcast choir!!!!!!!! There are 364 of us singing and we even get to leave the MTC and go to Salt Lake!!!! I feel so out of my league singing with so many good singers but I am lucky to have been picked. Yesterday was our first practice, and the whole General Relief Society Board came to watch us!!! They are amazing and they just talk about how inspiring we are to them and how great our faith is. The songs we are singing were written for this specific meeting, so everyone at home better watch because yo Sister Reategui is going to be TV famous for singing and this will never happen again. Plus, I get to see the Prophet and the Apostles so THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!!! That will be next Saturday so be watching. Dad, I expect you to even watch it online. I am secretly praying that they don't show me, but we will see! Still an awesome experience.
Well guys, that's all I have for you this week. The church is true. Missionary work is so so great. I am obsessed with it already and it is only week 4. There have been hard times but I have realized that is when I grow the most! I am so happy to be serving a mission. I LOVE YOU ALL!!! Hope you all have a great week!
MAHAL KITA,
--Sister Reategui
PS - here are some pictures, some districts in our zone at the temple with a member of our branch presidency, rain in Provo and Sister Roroa (not) loving it (HAHAHA) and some of our zone in our classroom
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