Sister Goss---W3: I'm gonna cry so hard...

Hey everyone!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE this is my last week at the MTC!!! It blows my mind that the time here is almost up! AHHHHH!! A lot of really neat things happened this week. For starters, Sister Glancy and I had our last lesson with Zach on Thursday. We were discouraged from our discussions with him last week because they weren't clear or understandable, so we tried to simplify even more. On Tuesday we focused on Jesus Christ, our Savior and the lesson finally went well! He felt more connected with what we were talking about and we invited him to pray before our next meeting. He agreed to do so, and on Thursday we asked how it went. He said "well, actually funny story..." He had stayed up really late and couldn't fall asleep. As he was trying, he remembered we'd asked him to pray and said his first, quick prayer. He said "I was immediately able to fall asleep!" I know this is small, and some may call it a coincidence, but I believe this was a little sign for Zach as proof God was listening. God was there, and God heard him. Sister Glancy and I were very excited! And grateful!! I know God does listen to our prayers, and He wants to communicate with us! 

Last night we were able to watch the 95th birthday celebration of President Russell M Nelson as an MTC and it was an incredible experience!! I felt God's love so powerfully through His living prophet and basically cried through the whole thing. I was so touched and changed! The rest of this week was pretty normal... My typical schedule is 6:30 wake up, 8:00 breakfast, 8:30 class, 11:30 personal study, 12:30 lunch, 1:30 class, 5:15 dinner, 6:00 Book of Mormon study, 6:30 companionship study, 7:35 exercise time, 8:35 quiet time, and 10:30 lights out! Each class period differs, but we usually either practice street contacting, extending invitations, teaching gospel principles/lessons, memorizing lesson points, memorizing scriptures, using scriptures while teaching, etc. I am pretty excited to get out to the mission field now, though! Classes are great but feeling repetitive hahaha! Our teachers, Sister Olsen and Brother Li, are wonderful. They are so kind and caring!

Two Elders in our district, Elder Klippel and Elder Larsen, are performing a musical number for church tomorrow. They auditioned to perform for a devotional and got in for the departure devotional!! Sister Glancy and I happened to walk by when we heard them practicing in a room, so we stopped to listen. Elder Larsen plays the piano and Elder Klippel is a violin performance major at BYU, and they were playing A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief (hymn #29). As I stopped and quietly listened to them, I felt tears running down my cheeks. Seeing them play made me more proud of them and our district, and thinking about the song made me think of my Savior. Jesus Christ is the only way we can come back to our Father in Heaven! And, like Him, we can reach out to others who are in need of help and comfort. "Mourn with those that mourn, comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life" (Mosiah 18:9).

I realize, only having two more days left here, that I will have to say goodbye to the Elders in my district that have become some of my best friends. They make me laugh everyday and they are strong in Christ. They trust Him and know His gospel well. They have burning desires to share God's word with the world and I couldn't be more proud of them. It is so hard to say goodbye and I've already cried multiple times (I'll be a mess when Elders Klippel and Larsen play at the departure devotional!), but I know that because of Christ, there is no true end. Christ makes it possible to laugh again, to love again, and to live again. No good thing ever has to have a final goodbye! I couldn't have asked for a better district who cares about each other so much! I can't wait to go on Tuesday with my fellow Sisters to Riverside, and I can't wait to hear all about the Elders' adventures in Australia and Texas! I love Jesus Christ and His gospel! I know the fullness of it can be found in the Book of Mormon; I love this book more and more as I study it. It is God's word! God loves each of us and I felt that love more strongly this week than I have in years. With that, I will email you all next Pday (which might be the 16th... I'm not sure yet...)! Thank you MTC! Thank you district 29-B! Thank YOU ALL! Love you lots and I'll see you in California!!

With faith and excitement, 

Sister Goss ❤

Coolest painting of Moses ever

District at the temple this morning! Starting with back row, its Elders Kubota, Thorne, Klippel, Garrard, Peterson, Larsen, Jensen, and Naylor. Front row: Sisters Jarman, Bassett, Bowlden, Taylor, Glancy, and me! ❤ (Don't worry, it's a silly pic of us... 😂)

Riverside, CA Sisters!

District at the devotional

My brother reported to the Mexico MTC on Wednesday!!! He will serve Spanish speaking in San Diego, CA! Today was the first day I got to talk to him since he left. I love him lots and am SO PROUD!!! Yay Elder Goss!!!

Elder Goss---#1 First Week At the CCM! (MTC)

Hola! Come le va?

It has been so crazy, I have nowhere to begin. At the beginning, I guess. Forgive me if my grammar is a little messed up. It's weird typing this on a phone. Today I have a mini P-day, but normally it will be Wednesday. Also, I'll be using some Spanish terms in my emails, but I'll try to put them in places everyone will be able to understand.

Anyhow, after I left my familia at the Airport (I was a mess), I remember going down the escalator, trying to pull myself together. I was thinking "alright Elder. You're on your way. It is going to be fine. You got this. Oh, wait. What was my gate number again? Oh no. I don't got this. But then, after some rummaging in my bags and tickets, I found it, so I got it. 

My flight to Dallas went smoothly, although thanks to being wedged between two overweight gentlemen, I didn't get much sleep. After I arrived in Dallas, I realized my next ticket didn't have the gate number printed on it. I just asked a airport worker, though, and they walked me to the next gate. When I got there, there were two Hermana (Sisters) who were going with me to the MTC! And then an Elder joined us. And then another Elder. And just before we took off, a third Sister joined the flight. Two of the sisters, Hermana Walker and Hermana Christensen (not related to the Christensens in our ward, I already checked) actually are in my district. They're both really fun. 

Anyhow, we all got through customs alright, and we then drove in a small van through Mexico city. That was pretty fun. We tried speaking in our limited Espanol, and the driver told us that we sound like we were in Kindergarten. It was really funny. 

We arrived at the MTC, and there was so much to do. We were hustled left and right, had to complete surveys, watch videos, etc, etc. It was crazy. I didn't meet my companion, Elder Berry, till that night. He is really cool and is very fun to learn with. He actually knows a beginner's amount of Spanish, and he has been a BLESSING in my life. I thought I knew a little before coming, but I realize how little I knew. 

The amount of Spanish they are asking us to memorize is Crazy! Over 50 words/phrases a day, including the First Vision Account, the Baptismal Invitation, the Missionary purpose, and Moroni 10:4-5 all in the first ten days. And they only give you less than an hour and a half a day to memorize it all. I have been really struggling with all that. Most of the members in my district know some Spanish (there are two who seem new, but even they are getting the hang of it), and so I began to feel like I was the most ignorant and incompetent. I know intellectually that everyone needs to learn at their own pace, but we literally had 15 minutes to learn numbers before we had to move on. And we don't really have the choice to wait for everyone to get it, because there is just so much to do. So its minutely frustrating. 

However, I have been blessed and received some personal revelation about the stress. In the evening of dia tres, I felt like crying. We attended a class about the Gift of Tongues, and I felt an impression that I needed to stop calling my work impossible. I kind of convinced myself that there was no way I was going to do it all. I was determined to work as hard as I can, but I believed that it was not possible. But the Spirit told me that that was wrong. If it was God's will, I WOULD learn all that Spanish in ten days. God could make me memorize it all in 1 day. I know that that is not how God typically works, and that probably won't happen to me, but i need to stop putting limits on God's power. Have a little faith that miracles can happen. And actually, I'm impressed with myself that I've been able to memorize what I've done so far. 

The meals here have either been a hit or miss. I decided to keep score, and so far (of the meals I've recorded), its been a 6-3 score. To make it simple, I am excited to eat each meal. Also, I've really, REALLY been enjoying our GYM time. They have an actual gym, and so Elder Berry and I have been cranking out some weights and stuff. That is actually super fun. The other Elders in our room, Elder Lythgoe and Elder Barlow (who is our district leader), played frisbee with us, and then we played ping-pong, where after every hit you rotate around the table. It's been so much fun. Definitely the best part of the day. Elder Lythgoe and Elder Barlow are both super cool, and they're basically identical twins (in personality). They're kind of quite, but they make some of the best conversations when you engage them. All of us enjoy the same type of stuff too. Elder Berry is from Oregon, and will be serving in Alabama. Sister Christensen (en mi district) is going to San Diego with me! That's cool. 

Anyhow, overall, I've been enjoying my experience here. I appreciate all your prayers, and I am praying for you.

How are things back home? I'd love to hear from all of you! 

Write to you all in one week! Well, next Wednesday. Which I guess isn't technically 7 days away. But I'll be writing soon! I love you all.

Adios! 

P.S. if you want pictures, you can look at my and Sister Goss's blog. I actually forget the address, but I'll include the address in my next email.

Driving from the airport to the CCM

First companion - Elder Berry from Oregon

Sister Goss---W2: Sunsets, Volleyball, and TRC

Hello everyone!!

It's finally Preparation Day (Pday) again for me! Yay!! It's crazy to think that my second week has already flown by. CRAZZYYY! Watching all the new missionaries come in on Wednesday made me feel so old and so inadequate at the same time haha!! Last Sunday we, the new missionaries, were privileged to watch a devotional by Elder Bednar called "The Character of Christ" based on Mosiah 3:19: "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him." This devotional changed my whole outlook; I need to be trying to serve others and turn OUTWARD when I would normally want to turn INWARD. Christ always thought of others before Himself. Always! I have been trying to work really hard on this. It's already blessed my week so much; I encourage you all to try it. :)

Temple trip this morning (this time the whole district!!)

 As part of the missionary training, along with classes on how to teach and meet people, we practice teaching gospel principles at the Teaching Resource Center. The people we teach are called TRCs and Sister Glancy and I practiced this for the first time! To be honest, I became very discouraged as I had a hard time teaching simply and became frustrated with my efforts. I felt like the TRCs were just confused and I wanted so badly to get it right. However as I've studied the Book of Mormon, especially 3 Nephi 17:2-3, I have felt God telling me that it's okay I'm not perfect. This isn't my work. This is His work, and He knows how to work through my imperfections! I need to have patience with myself and the process. Overtime, and through Him, I will get better. 

Quick story about a TRC discussion: we wanted to get our TRC a Book of Mormon, and asked the front desk for a copy. When we got there 7 minutes prior to our meeting, we found the book covered with notes and saw it was someone's personal copy. Sister Glancy had an unused copy in our apartment so we literally booked it to our apartment, grabbed the Book of Mormon, and ran back just in time. I felt a little cheesy running back with the Book of Mormon in hand, but I guess you could say we were really trying to "hasten the work!" Hahaha!

Right after volleyball; notice the pretty mountain in the back!!

We have exercise time each night with our district and it has been SO MUCH FUN!! We've played a lot of volleyball and it can get so ridiculous I almost fall over laughing. As we play volleyball or kickball on the beautiful lawn in front of the temple, the sun is going down on the mountains and it's stunningly gorgeous. You couldn't get much better exercise than with the best people ever, beautiful weather, and jaw-dropping views. I am so blessed!! Even when I wipe out and fall on my face in front of everyone trying to chase the kickball down the hill... ;) Yeah it was pretty embarrassing. But what's a good kickball game without falling on your face??

 

Just one of the low-quality pics of a high-quality sunset :)

The MTC cat, Sister Mittens

This email is getting long already, so I'll just share one quick miracle to save your time. ;) Sister Jarman, another missionary in my district, told us about her nephew and how his life was spared right after she was dropped off at the MTC to serve a mission. Literally hours after she said goodbye, her nephew was hit by a car while chasing his dog and flew several feet before hitting the ground. Miraculously, he only had a few scratches; no broken bones or anything. Sister Jarman knows that part of the reason he was saved was because of her decision to serve a mission. This is God's work and I am so grateful to be here!! I know the church is true and God has called a prophet today just as in times of old. 

Thanks for reading through my ridiculously long email!! I will try to make them shorter in the future. Haha! I miss you all so so much and I hope you are doing well!! Please email me if you have any questions, miracles, thoughts, funny stories, etc. to share. :) Love you lots and lots!! Week 2 has been eye-opening, a little hard, and super wonderful!!

Love, Sister Goss ❤

{Annabeth here--Sister Goss didn't add captions for these pictures, but I believe the first two are from the MTC; one looking north and you can see the Provo Temple, and one looking south onto BYU campus. Third picture, lunch with her district. Fourth picture, the stone that has inspired many people.}

 

"When I was in college, I was a member of the BYU International Folk Dancers. One summer our group had the unique privilege to tour the missions in Europe. It was a difficult summer for me because a few months earlier my father had unexpectedly passed away. While we were in Scotland, I felt especially alone and became discouraged. We danced at a chapel that night, and then after our performance we went next door to the mission home. As I proceeded up the walk, I saw a stone placed in a well-kept garden by the gate. On it I read the words, “What-e’er thou art, act well thy part.” At that moment those words went deeply into my heart, and I felt the powers of heaven reach out and give me a message. I knew I was known by a loving Heavenly Father. I felt I was not alone. I stood in that garden with tears in my eyes. “What-e’er thou art, act well thy part.” That simple statement renewed my vision that Heavenly Father knew me and had a plan for my life, and the spirit I felt helped me understand that my part mattered.

Later I learned that this saying had once motivated the prophet David O. McKay while he was serving as a young missionary in Scotland. He had seen it on a stone on a building at a discouraging time in his life and on his mission, and the words lifted him. Years later as the building was being torn down, he made arrangements to obtain the stone and had it placed in the garden at the mission home." By Elaine S. Dalton (Read the excellent talk "We are Daughters of Our Heavenly Father" here)