Gish On A Mish: Week Two in the MTC

Dear Family and Friends!

I cannot believe that I am on my last week here at the MTC. It is seriously such a wonderful place. The spirit is so strong here!

I absolutely adore my companion! We laugh so hard and we teach really well together. We invited one of our TRCs to be baptized on the second lesson and she said yes!! It was such an amazing feeling and makes the hard parts of being on a mission worth it!

I saw Joe Lard 3x's in one day this week! It is so awesome to see people I know! I also saw Logan Ozment which made my whole life! I will insert pictures of both of them!

Brother Lim is like the best teacher I have had here at the MTC! I will try to get a pic with him this week! He literally makes the gospel so fun and gets us so pumped to go out and work! I also love when Sister Schmidt comes and helps teach my district. She served her mission in Russia and gives the best hugs!!

My district memorized the first vision this week. It is so powerful when we recite it in lessons rather than reading it. I am so thankful that Joseph Smith had the courage to ask of God what he should do and then to act on his revelation. That is so powerful. The more we follow our promptings, the more we will recieve. We will all have personal apostacys. We all have moments when we turn away from God. If there is one thing I have learned it is that personal apostasy must end in personal restoration. Like it says in James 1:5 "If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God" I know that God answers prayers and he can guide us in all that we do.

Brother Lim challenged us to have more meaningful prayers. He said that because we pray in Jesus' name, our words should be his words and we should sincerely converse with our father in heaven. This has been so effective as I have applied it into my life and prayer has become much more powerful!

As we have been preparing our TRC for baptism, we have been teaching her the commandments. Yesterday she said that these commandments sound so easy to follow because the blessings that you recieve are empowering. I know that God does not give us commandments to make life boring, but to do quite the opposite. Following the commandments helps us become more like Jesus Christ and blesses us beyond comprehension.

I also can testify that if we read the Book of Mormon with a question in mind and prayerfully ponder it. God will reveal his mysteries to us. You will find words and phrases that you did not even know were there and your questions will be answered. Your testimony will grow and you will have a greater desire to ponder it more.

My absolute favorite experience this week was when a companionship in my district (Elder Taggart and Elder Dietz) gave me a blessing. I asked Elder Dietz to offer the blessing and it was amazing. He was so thoughtful in his preparation. He made sure we found a quiet room and he stepped out with Elder Taggart to pray first. Then he came in the room and before laying his hands on my head he closed his eyes and continued to pray. I could feel the spirit so strong in that moment alone. Then he gave me a beautiful blessing of comfort which contained everything I needed to hear. I am so impressed with these young missionaries that I get to spend everyday with. There is great power in our generation. Sometimes I cannot believe that the Lord lets teenagers do His work, but in moments like that I am so glad that it isn't any other way!

I love you all dearly! You are in my thoughts in prayers

All my love,

~Sister Anzie Mae Gish