I'm alive! And doing SO well!! The MTC is wonderful, I don't even know where to begin. I LOVE being a missionary.
The first 4 days were the longest days of my life. No exaggeration. Everyone would tell us "just make it to Sunday and everything will be good from there" And they were exactly right. It was like magic. It was hard at first to get used to the long demanding schedule and pretty much the life of a missionary. I am happy to report now that this is the best thing ever! The MTC is a wonderful place. Full of the Spirit stronger than I've ever felt. It is A LOT of hard work but it is absolutely worth it and there is no place else I'd rather be.
The best experiences so far have just been teaching. I love sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I never could have imagined how much joy this could bring someone and especially me. My companion, Sister Boehning (who is wonderful by the way) and I teach a guy named Al (who is technically our teacher but when we teach him we only view him as Al). He is an ex preacher who is looking for the truth. He has been a tough cookie to teach. He knows the bible like the back of his hand and often tries to fight with us. Luckily we have the spirit on our side. It has been great preperationg for what North Carolina will be like I'm sure. Finally after the 3rd lesson he is starting to have faith and accepted the invitation to be baptized! We are so excited for him.
Our other investigator is Victoria (she is an actor that works here at the mtc playing a part as an investigator so it is a very real experience). She is a sophmore in high school and is looking for some truth in her life. Luckily she came to the right place. She is just the sweetest thing and we love teaching her.
The main thing I've probably learned here in the MTC is simply love. That might sound weird but it is amazing. I can not believe how much love I have for my investigators . And I know that it is love coming from our Heavenly Father for them. I feel love so strongly here at the MTC. I love my companion, I love my district, I love my teachers, I love all the missionaries here even the 18 year old elders, and most of all I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. My testimony that we are all Heavenly Fathers children and that he loves us all more than we can imagine is unshakeable. I hope you all know and can see how much God loves you.
Sunday was the by far the best day yet. Relief society was amazing. Every single sister missionary in the mtc right now was all together there. We got to hear from Sister Torres who serves on the general Relief Society board. She had such a great message to share. After the lesson they took a picture of all of us sister missionaries. It is going in a MTC time capsule that they are sealing soon. History is being made here. I am so lucky to be able to be serving as a missionary in this day and age. Sunday night we had a great devotional by Vai Sikahema. He played football for BYU then went on to play many years in the NFL. He now works as a sports broadcaster for NBC and has won 2 emmys. He shared great experiences that he had serving as a missionary in South Dakota 30 years ago. One of my favorite things he said was that throughout all his experiences in his life (which is a lot) nothing even comes close to his time as a missionary. No uniform has been better than his missionary uniform, a suit and tie. How powerful! Being a missionary is truly the best!
Since Sunday I have just been so happy. I cant help but smile all the time. I know this is exactly where I need to be right now. Heavenly Father has prepared this way for me.
One of my favorite things in the MTC is when we sing Called to Serve, and luckily we have that opportunity a lot. On Sunday night though it was especially special. We sang it as the closing song for the devotional. About halfway through the first verse some elders stood up. Within seconds all 2,000 of us missionaries were singing " Onward ever onward, as we glory in his name; onward ever onward as we glory in his name. Forward pressing forward as a triumph song we sing. God our strength will be; press forward ever called to serve our King." Wow! What power and spirit that was in the room. I dont think there was a dry eye in the building. I love this work!
It may feel like I've been here for months already but it is the best thing ever!! It is so terribly hard sometimes but the rewards and blessings make it so worth it times 100.
Thanks you all for your love and support. I leave to go to North Carolina on Monday! I will be sad to leave the MTC and the wonderful perks about being a missionary here but I am so excited and ready to get out there!
I know that this is the true gospel of Christ with all my heart and I am so grateful I get to go out and invite others to come unto Him.
Love,
Sister Judd
