"You Won't Get Called To Speak" It's A Good Thing I Don't Listen To The Elders...

(The comments and or translations in bold blue italics are made by Lauren's mom)

Hey!!! 

How goes it?! The MTC is still awesome. The language is coming. Elder Sweeney and Elder Kimball leave early tomorrow morning for the Dominican Republic, it's sad to see them go, but it was great to have them in our district.

Elder Kimbal, Hermana Perez, & Elder Sweeney
These two Elders were in Lauren's district for only 3 short
weeks before being shipped out to the Dominican Republic MTC.

We're studying much better this week, which is starting to show. It’s hard to find a balance between studying the language, personal gospel study, and preach my gospel, and then make all three productive.

We've had two general authorities come speak in the last two weeks, which has been AMAZING!!! During yesterday's devotional, the general authority made several apostolic promises to the missionaries in general, and a few specifically directed to the sister missionaries that were really cool. What else..... OH!!! OH MY WORD! Okay, so the first week we're here, President tells us to write a talk every week in Spanish, and then come prepared to speak on Sunday. He said, "We'll call our speakers when we need them as the Spirit directs." Several of the Elders told us it wasn't a huge deal, because most of the time you don't get called to speak until it’s your last week. Well.... guess what?!?!?! Last Sunday... "and our speakers for the day are Elder Sweeney and.... (It’s almost always their companion that speaks with them, so I thought I was in the clear, honestly I wasn't even worried about getting called to speak)... Hermana Perez." Huh... well.... okay. It's a good thing I don't listen to the Elders... and it's a good thing that I spent hours yesterday writing this talk, getting it to at least make sense, even though I was convinced I'd never have to give it. OBEDIENCE BRINGS BLESSINGS... how embarrassing would that have been to have been called on and walked up, and then just have to make things up, or give it in... dare I say it.... ENGLISH. In Spanish, I can recite a few verses of the Joseph Smith History, teach someone to pray, and bear my testimony, but that wouldn't have helped me teach the importance of Faith in Jesus Christ. I guess I could have opened up the scriptures and read for five minutes. But that would have been LAME so yeah...Obey!

I love being a missionary. Honestly this is the best thing that's ever happened to me. My companions are great, I’m healthy...I'm learning TONS... so yeah. I'm loving life.

HAVE  AN  AWESOME  HALLOWEEN!!!

Love you all! Talk to you next week!

Lauren's 5th Hand Written Letter Home~

Fam!~
To answer your questions, there are six Elders and us three sisters in our district.

Our normal day goes like this:

6:00 am   - Wake-up

7:00 am   - Breakfast

7:30 am   - Personal Scripture Study

8:30 am   - Class

11:30 am - Lunch

12:15 pm - More Class

3:15 pm   - Gym

4:30 pm   - Dinner

5:15 pm   - Language & Preach My Gospel Study

9:00 pm   - Plan & get ready for bed

9:30 pm   - Back to Residence Hall

10:15pm  - Quiet time

10:30 pm - Lights out

We do service on Mondays mornings for about 2 hours. Tuesdays we have devotionals. Wednesdays are preparation days (P-days) when we can wash our laundry and write letters. It's great! Sundays are by far the best. It is a Spiritual High on Steroids!! Yeah, so that's life.

It was pretty mild my first week here, because I was just absorbing everything. Everyone was like argh...this is so hard, and I am thinking hmm...no it's not...you are all funny. So...I decided to pray for empathy, and the Lord blessed me with a hard day. It was a "good" hard day though. The type of day that makes you work harder to be happy and learn.

Elder Nelson and his wife spoke yesterday. It was awesome. I took notes. I wish I had time to send you everything, but they only want us to write letters on P-days.

Ha, talk about an emotional roller coaster! The MTC is crazy! If you are not always diligent, it is easy to get down on yourself. More than ever before the scripture in Luke 9:24, about forgetting yourself sticks out to me. Forgetting yourself truly is the best way to have happiness in this life. Serving others brings us so much happiness!

Anyway wow! My companions are awesome. Hermana O'brien is so smart, she and Hermana Adams seem to know the location of most scriptures. We're working on getting to bed on time. It was hard to go to bed early the first week, because we all enjoyed talking so much. I have recently been praying to be able to be more aware of my companions needs. Prayer works! I have seen the Lord use me to help my companions through things. I have grown so much here. I think all three of us realize that we were put together for a reason.

I wish I'd brought my flip-flops, the showers are icky and I bet they have given me athletes foot. (I am sending her flip flops today. There will be no athletes foot in my family!). I really, reaLLY, reALLY, REALLY! dislike writing letters. So let everyone know that if they get a letter from me they are WAY lucky, because SeRiOuSly...I cannot STAND writing letters...ArGH! Talking is way easier, so is typing.

There is this video on LDS.org about a kid who surfs and seminary or something...his name is something Kimball. He is in my district. He's Elder Sweeney's companion and the district leader. Great Elder! It's way sad Elder Sweeney and Elder Kimball are leaving to go the Dominican Republic MTC next week. It'll be weird without them.

Elder Sean Kimball (Lauren's District Leader in the MTC).

The missionary Lauren is referring to is named Sean Kimball. I found the video and article he is in. He is featured in the May 2010 New Era Magazine article entitled, "Surfing or Seminary". To see the video "Surfing or Seminary", go to youth.lds.org. then click on From Every Nation, then click on the topic seminary.

Lori Sweeney, Elder Chris Sweeney, Kurt Sweeney

I joined the church in Texas when I was 16 years old. Kurt Sweeney was my first Bishop. Elder Chris Sweeney is his son. It turns out that our children entered the MTC on the same day and are in the same district. I wrote a letter to Elder Chris Sweeney about his parents. Here is a quote, "Your parents were in my life for only two years, from the spring of 1980 to the spring of 1982, but in those two years their Christ like service and love changed the course of my entire life."

Thanks so much for your love and support. I pray for you all and love you tons and tons!

Love,

Lars, aka Hermana Perez