Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Sister Fitch: June 28, 2011

Bonjour tout le monde!
 
Well, besides the serious dip in contact from the outside world...the week was GREAT!!  Kidding, I did get a couple dear elders, an awesome card from a friend, and pictures from my LeafGuard family, and one real letter, and an email from my bro.  And pictures of the boys (nephews)!!!! which I know is nothing to complain about.  Anyway, the good news is that means I have a full twenty minutes to write this email!
 
Seriously, though, this week was amazing.  It was the New Mission Presidents' Seminar, so there were General Authorites ALL over.  Okay, not all over, but we ran into a couple members of the Seventy (Elder Cook and Elder Sybrowsky--Elder Sybrowsky's son is in Montreal on his mission, so I got to chat with him and his wife for a minute, then she hugged us and told me to say hi to her son, because he will probably be the one picking me up from the airport) and saw Elder Eyring get into his car.  The highlight of the week for me, though, was Friday evening.  They had a special devotional for us, and everyone knew it was going to be something awesome.  I sang in the choir, so I was assured a seat, but SO many people had to sit in the overflow because so many seats were taken by all the new mission presidents (128 of them, and their wives) plus we got SIX hundred new missionaries, which is tons.  Usually its around 400, if I remember right.  Anyway, it was a bit of a madhouse and there were some people being really lame about it.  Pushing, shoving, cheating the system--not really representing themselves the way they should, anyhow.  I was grateful for my seat.  SEVEN apostles were in attendance to this particular devotional.  Elders Bednar, Holland, Nelson, Ballard, Nelson, Anderson, and Oaks.  Elder Bednar spoke, and it was AMAZING.  He talked about how to become a Preach My Gospel missionary, and it was so encouraging and energizing and inspiring...ah, words cannot describe the spirit of that man and his message.  When they all came in, we all stood up, of course.  It was so amazing to watch them file in with their wives and sit down on the stand while we sang "The Lord is my Light."  Loved it.  LOVED it.  The gospel really is Good News.  Such a happy message we have. 
 
Anyway, we had an awesome fireside on Sunday too.  The Managing Director of the Missionary Department spoke.  He has a ton of responsibilities, and was involved with the creation of Preach My Gospel.  He was such a wonderful mix of funny and spiritual.  He talked about not letting Satan push our buttons.  Fortifying the chinks in our Armour of God, so to speak.  It also was great.  It was good to laugh--the level of laughter in the district has leveled out a bit.  We still have fun, but I think emotions are touchy and patience is thinner, so its not quite so lighthearted as it was at the beginning.  We still are all getting along famously, though.  Everyone is watching out for everyone else, and it is really neat to see the growth in everyone.  Hope that growth is happening with me too.  I'm pretty sure it is, I just hope its at the rate that I need it to be. 
 
Someone told me Canada's postal service is on strike...not okay.  Soeur Fitch loves mail.  Hopefully they will get that resolved before I get there.
 
I'm already planning out my menus for when I can cook again.  Tomatos and Eggs will be first. I printed some pictures, so those will be in the mail today.  Hmm what else, what else.  The basic outline of life here is pretty routine, so its a bit of a struggle trying to remember what happened when.  Maybe I'll start writing down key words to help me out.  Things are going well with my collège--we are learning lots together :) I'm learning how to get over the little, unimportant things that bother me or are annoying, and how to be with someone, and get along with them, 24/7.  We're doing exchanges this week, just with our lessons, and it's been interesting working with the other soeurs.  they are great, and the change is really nice, but my collège is MY collège.  Anyway, life is good, lessons are being learned, I'm learning to appreciate things about myself I never noticed before, as well as learning to overcome things about myself that I don't like.  A mission really is a refining time in life, and as long as I can remember that this work is NOT about me, I'll be fine.  Elder Bednar used the analogy of a fiber optic cable.  I am the conduit, the channel, for the light, but I am NOT the light.  I just want to be the best conduit I can be, because I know what that light can bring to people's lives.  I know what it's bringing to MY life, anyway.  Once I get in the field I think I'll have more actual events and happenings to fill my email with, but this is all I got right now.  I LOVE being here--the MTC is awesome.  Even if I'm not getting physically nourished like I'd like to be, I certainly am being spiritually nourished. 
 
Loves,
Hannah

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