Seven weeks in the MTC is a LONG time!

Hola amigos y familia,

It is incredible what you can learn in such a short amount of time. The gift of tongues is so real. 

I am loving my mission so far. Things are going to change once I leave the MTC, and that will be a good thing. I am grateful for the experiences and challenges I have had so far. If the MTC had a hall of fame, my district would be on it for sure. Our branch president said he had never seen a district go through so many changes in all his years at the MTC. And that was before all the schedule goofs and the classroom changes and the last development. I won't go into all the oddities and irregular changes that have happened during these past six weeks, because that would take a while. But now we are an all-hermana district. The elders got transferred to another branch. So that's new and weird. 

We got our flight plans last night. We head to Nicaragua on the first of Feb. We only have nine days left! It's crazy. I am so excited. There are so many things I am learning and doing, and I am excited to continue to grow. I'll have to send pictures next week, since that will be my last p-day in the MTC. 

Everything is too perfectly coordinated and organized to work if the church was not true. The way everything falls into place and works out is miraculous. It is wonderful to be a missionary and see the gospel work in people's life. It is wonderful to be able to feel the spirit that is here. If you think how the spirit is invited when you invite missionaries into your home, just think how crazy it is to be around over a thousand missionaries every day. But I am ready to head to the field, because that is why I am here on a mission. I have learned what I need to learn, and am lucky enough to get an extra week to practice conjugating. I am excited to be out and helping people realize how much the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ will bless their lives. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. He is aware of us, He loves us, and He is always there for us. I would not want to be anywhere else right now, because I know this is the perfect thing for me to be doing. It feels like nothing I have ever done has been as important as what I am doing right now. This is kind of the most important work ever, and it is wonderful that Heavenly Father trusts us enough to be missionaries. 

I love you all,

-Hermana Fackrell

The Gift of Tongues

Hola familia y amigos,

On Monday we will be starting our sixth week in the MTC. It is just crazy. This has been a good experience. I feel like it is time for me to head to Nicaragua, but we don't leave until the 1st. I know that when I get to the field, that is when I'll learn to actually speak and teach. I will keep learning in the MTC, but when I leave is when I'll learn really fast. It will be a struggle, but it will be good. 

We had a wonderful experience teaching yesterday. Our investigator Jose has been reading and praying, and has developed a testimony. He shared an experience with prayer, and was crying and I just about cried too. He said how prayer was such a gift. It really is. We take these things for granted. It is wonderful to see someone change as they come closer to Christ. The Lord prepares people. We teach them the principles of the gospel, and help them understand what they need to do, but they need to go and learn for themselves. The spirit is the teacher. We just help them know what they need to do to grow closer to their Savior. And the difference it makes in their life is incredible. With this investigator, we started teaching him on our second week. It is crazy that they trust a couple of 19 year old girls with a person, when they barely know the language. It is also crazy even on that first lesson with him, we could sit for 30 minutes and speak with him and understand him and teach him, without a word on English being said. The gift of tongues is real. Our schedules got changed with the new year and we weren't able to teach him anymore. And then there were mix ups and more changes and new investigators. (Our district has had some unusual changes and stuff.) This week we got to teach Jose again, after not seeing him for weeks. Our last lesson with him he had agreed to be baptized, but couldn't accept our date without speaking to his wife. But then we were not able to teach him, until yesterday. He had been reading and praying and he agreed to be baptized. This is a real person that has been blessed by the gospel. This is something that you have to see with your eyes. Words cannot explain adequately how his countenance has changed and how much he has progressed. Reading and praying diligently is what made all the difference. Even after baptism it is vital to read and pray diligently. Even those who already have the blessing of the gospel in their life can be blessed from an increase in diligence. My purpose as a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ, members and non-members alike. I have my work cut out, but I know that as I am diligent the Lord will put people in my path that I can bless. 

The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families and individuals. The difference it makes is incredible. We are so blessed. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve and hopefully be able to bless some lives. This is  a crazy opportunity, it is crazy to think that simple me can actually make a difference. But that is how powerful the Gospel is. It will change lives, and I can help people find that hope.

I am sending my love. I hope we all can be a little more diligent with reading from the Book of Mormon. It really will make a difference and bring blessings that cannot come any other way. 

-Hermana Fackrell

I love the temple

Hola!

Time flies by so fast. The spirit felt here is amazing. We take for granted what a blessing it is to have the gospel in our lives. The gift of the Holy Ghost is priceless. It is wonderful to be preparing to go out and share what we have with others. It will bless their lives, and it is so important. This is salvation, after all. Being able to pray and have that connection with a loving Heavenly Father is so incredible. He loves us SO MUCH. 

The temple is such a blessing. It is a form of missionary work that I am very much looking forward to doing when I return from this brief period of service. We get to go as a zone today and I have been eagerly awaiting it, since this is the first time since I have been in the MTC.

What a blessing the gospel is! It is so perfectly simple. We have faith in Christ, and faith that through the atonement, we can be forgiven and be able to live with Him again. We are baptized, and that rinses us clean. We receive the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost. And then we continue to strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ and keep the commandments. We make mistakes, so we have the atonement, and when we repent we are washed clean from those mistakes. When we take the sacrament each week, that rinses us perfectly clean, just like baptism. Wash, rinse, repeat. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about Jesus Christ. All of the other things are great, but Jesus Christ is the center. He is our Savior. He loves us so much. The purpose of being a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ. We can all do that. We can all afford to be closer to Christ. It is a continual process of progressing, and there is little else that is more important. 

I love you all. La Iglesia is verdadera. 

-Hermana Fackrell