HOLA!!! :) :) :)

Party time here at the MTC!! K... not quite... but still. Everyone is still quarantined, but its calmed down a little bit. Lot's of people with swine flu, but no big deal! We just got the first case of swine flu in our zone, so hopefully it wont spread. Wouldn't that make for some interesting stories though?! 
> 
> ANYWAYS>... the MTC is great!! ... I can't wait until I get to say that the actual missionary work is going great in the field. But for now, the MTC is good enough! Surprisingly, too, missionary work is going great here in the MTC. I never expected to have any big experiences in the MTC, but this last week we had two really cool ones.... We've been practicing teaching the first lesson which is all about the restoration of Jesus Christ's church and why we need a prophet and such. Every day if we want to we can sign up to practice teaching lessons to teachers here at the MTC who usually act like they're investigators of the church. Last Wednesday me & hermana fox signed up to teach and the lesson went SOOOO good!! Hna Fox and our "investigator" both started crying during it. Afterwards the teacher wrote a long email to our classroom teachers saying that we did a really good job, that we were very powerful, and that she wished we were her missionaries :) Every since we've been best friends with this Hna Penaflor (the teacher). She's a sweetheart!! 
> Anyways... we were way excited after that lesson because it went so well. The next day we went to the TEC again to teach a different teacher, se llama Hermana Carpenter. Here's what i wrote in my journal about it... 
> "Even though she was role-playing as an investigator, we were able to feel the spirit so strong. At one point in the lesson my companion talked about Christ and the atonement and how great it is to know someone is there, and then went on explaining what prophets were and the apostasy until she got to the point of Joseph Smith and then turned it over to me to explain the restoration. For some reason I felt prompted to back track all the way back to the savior. I again talked about how the savior is the only one who knows exactly how we feel and who is always there even when everyone else fails us, and then asked her how that feels to know all that. She said it was hard to really understand because its a lot to believe, but that she wanted to feel that way. I then bore testimony of how I knew (she asked me how) and about how in the darkest, loneliest times of my life when I didnt know how I could ever be happy, that is when I really had to rely on the Lord and that is when I felt him there with me, helping me, and that I know He really is there and He wants us to be happy. All 3 of us started crying because the spirit was so strong. The rest of the lesson went great, and at the end Hna Carpenter explained that in her real life she's been having a really tough time and has been praying for help, and that we were an answer to her prayers. Who would have thought that a mock lesson could do so much good & really effect us even though its not an actual investigator situation. I expect to have experiences like this in Argentina, but didn't expect it in the MTC! God works in mysterious ways...." 
> 
> Soo.... thats my story :) It was amazing!!! Definitely the best week so far!! I know that this work that I'm doing is real and I'm SOOO excited to share the happiness that I have in my own life with other people. Nothing means more to me. I know that God lives and that He loves each and every one of us. I know that Jesus Christ died for us so that we can return to live with Him and to live with our families for eternity if we follow Him and obey His commandments. I know that He wants us to be happy. I know that He suffered and died for me individually, and that he knows every pain and affliction I have felt in my life. I know that He lives. 
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> Quote of the week: 
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> "The same everlasting father who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering or give you uplifting strength to bear it. Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings." - St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
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> I love you all. I'm praying for you. I hope that life is wonderful! 
> 
> Love, Hermanita Churchill