and by suitor for the princess i mean letter from the princess. (:
There's kind of a lot to say today, but at the same time not.
First of all, I made the connection on Sunday that President Baker, my branch president out here, was Uncle David's mission president. Cool, huh?
Next. Remember how I had that amazing spiritual experience on Thanksgiving? Well after I found out that Grandpa Anderson knows President Brown and President McCiff because they are retired physicians, I resolved to talk to President Brown about it. After the Christmas devotional on Sunday, I headed over to talk to President Brown. Because I was wearing large white glasses and my hair covered my nametag, he didn't recognize me immediately. Once we started talking though, he realized that it was me who had that experience with him on Thanksgiving. He took my hand in his and grasped it tightly. While shaking it he said, "Sister Anderson, that moment that we shared on Thanksgiving was one of the most tender moments I've had with a missionary in my whole experience working at the MTC." I was so touched by what he said. It really was such a great moment for me that Thanksgiving day. It was that moment when I really felt an incredible amount of gratitude for the opportunity I have to be a missionary. I still feel so blessed for this opportunity. Of course I love it here at the MTC and I still/will always have a special place in my heart for the game of four-square. But what means the most to me right now is that every day I have the opportunity to wake up and spend my entire day thinking about what I can do to make myself a better servant of the Lord? I am constantly asking myself the question, "What will I do today to help further the Kingdom of God?" I have never felt more grateful for any opportunity in my whole life. I love the work I am doing. Although I have moments where I feel very down and I feel like my Chinese has peaked, I still feel so grateful for the work I am called to do.
I got a letter from Liz this week (so uplifting). She taught me to always follow my promptings with no hesitation. The day after I got that letter from Liz, I received a letter from Sarah (best friend Sarah) which also mentioned something about following promptings. This is my resolve-- I am going to be the kind of missionary that the Lord can trust to give revelation to because I will act upon it immediately.
I also got a good laugh from Liz's letter. I shared some of it with my friends here. I think we can all agree that you (Liz) are a hoot... and I follow in those footsteps. Thank you also for your words about obedience. You're right, it's not a bad thing to be judged for your perfect obedience. I am doing better at being perfectly obedient and I have noticed a difference in the experiences that I am having out here because of it.
Tell Grandma Teel that I got her letter. I'm sorry I didn't respond to it by hand. I really appreciated it. Sister Ganowski (whom Grandma mentioned in the letter) is indeed from St. George.
Garrett and Braeden, there are letters in the mail for you two today. Also, Shandi/Sam and Mom. You have letters coming too. I wrote these a couple days ago so they are slightly outdated. Lol. Things move so quickly around here!
I pray for you all on a regular basis and I trust that the Lord will keep you safe and protected.
Speaking of safe and protected, I don't want to alarm anyone, but I may or may not have a decent sized gash in my head. Whoopsies! Actually it really is nothing bigger than a hilarious story. Yesterday I was scratching my head in the morning and I felt a bump on the top. I figured I just had something stuck in there-- which is actually a weird conclusion to come to. After further examination we realized that the bump was actually my head. I just cut it open slightly and there was some dried blood on it. Sister Burrows washed it off for me and put some stuff on it to keep the oils from my head from infecting it. Here's the crazy part... I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE IT CAME FROM! Kind of hilarious! I took a picture of it later that you can see when I send my memory card home.
Okay be warned, the rest of my letter is entirely spiritual.
The other day, I decided that I would be wise of me to memorize Joseph Smith's first vision in Chinese. I spent about forty minutes focusing on that during my language study that same day. (I believe this was Friday). That afternoon we had a lesson with our investigater He Jie Mei in which we talked to her about the restoration. When we got to the part about Joseph Smith, I told her about how he wanted to know which church to join. We read James 1:5 with her and told her that Joseph decided to pray to receive an answer just as the scripture says. Then I lead into the first vision and said "this is what he wrote about his experience." (Except in Chinese). I recounted the first vision to her in Chinese. The spirit was so strong. When I got to the last line "This is my Beloved son, here him" "Zhe shi wode Aizi. Ting Ta Shuo," the spirit was so strong. Tears were filling all of our eyes. I testified to her and I testify to you that Joseph Smith SAW God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I have never been more sure of anything in my life. Later in the lesson we asked her to kneel with us and pray for herself about our message. After she prayed I invited her to be baptized in January and she said yes! It was the greatest feeling. Even though this is just a case study, I know the spirit was present. The Lord will help me be a teacher of His gospel in Chinese. I have never felt more lifted by Him in my life. The moral of the story is that the church is true. I'm not sure who reads these letters I send home, but if you haven't ever read the Book of Mormon or if you aren't currently reading it diligently, Start Now! There is power in this book that will change your life for eternity. I know that Heavenly Father sent us this book to help us learn and grow. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I invite all who read this to come unto Christ. Read the Book of Mormon. Receive your own personal witness of it's truthfulness.
Speaking of the Book of Mormon, I want to share something that I dicided during my studies. In 2 Nephi 28:13, it mentions that the meek will be persecuted. That is unimportant to my story. The important part is the word meek. I have made it my personal goal to become as meek as possible. I spent the next 30 minutes studying what meek is and I came to this conclusion. Matthew 11:28-30. Christ says this "Learn of me; for I am meek." Ultimately, the conclusion I came to about being meek is that what I must do is spend a few minutes everyday studying the life of Christ. As I learn of Him, I will have the desire to always strive to be like Him. As this desire grows in my heart, it will direct my actions. Basically, I can become like Christ. I can be meek and humble like Him, but first I must study Him and learn about Him. I look forward to doing this. I know that as I become more like Christ, I will be able to help bring other closer to Him. I can help people find His gospel and find the peace and happiness that I have felt everyday here.
I'm out of time, but I couldn't be happier right now.
I love you all immensely.
Love,
Sister Micaela Anderson
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