Sunshine Sentiments: SISTER DeGOOYER

They got to go to the temple grounds...

Unfortunately the temple is under renovation...

so that is as close as they got.

Hello ALL,

I hope everything is well with all of you in your various states, climates, and countries. Everything goes well at the MTC. We just got our biggest batch of new and reporting missionaries this Summer (600+). My district and I were assigned as Hosts. Which at a glance means that we were given the opportunity to; chase down cars, take LOTS of pictures, guide the wide eyed missionaries away from their crying parents, carry their luggage up and down stairs (I accidentally dropped one sisters' suitcase...), show them to their residence hall, and then take them to T3 (the gathering place for new missionaries). It was A LOT of work, but is was super fun. I got to host 6 different missionaries and tell them how awesome the MTC is. I was honest, and told them that it will be challenging but rewarding work. A lot of the sisters asked me what my favorite part was, and I honestly had to say TRC's and personal and comp study. It was a neat experience, but it was taxing physically, emotionally, and spiritually. :)

This week Sister Stichart and I received our travel plans!!! We will be taking the Saint George Shuttle, next Wednesday, all the way to the mission home in Pocatello. We also received our itinerary for when we arrive. We are to meet President and Sister Southward, eat dinner with them, be interviewed by the President, receive our assignments, and then sleep there in the mission home. The next day we will be sent out to our respective areas and trainers. There are 16 in my travel party, I'm not sure if all of them are heading to the same mission. When Sister Stichart and I got the email for both the travel plans and the itinerary, we were jumping up and down with excitement! I can't believe that we have less than a week left in the MTC. I am so excited to be doing what I've been learning for these past two weeks! :D

Speaking of learning, last Tuesday we had an INCREDIBLE devotional. Elder Wilford W. Anderson, of the 70, spoke to us with his wife. Sister Anderson spoke about watching our thoughts and deeds. She talked about Satan and his evil influence, he is the accuser, she said. She talked about our Savior and how he is our advocate and friend. Whenever a seed of self doubt comes into our minds, we should think of our Savior. Elder Anderson spoke about love. He explained that he could teach us about obedience, or hard work, but if we have love for the Savior then we won't need those lessons. Love for Jesus should be the motivator for every action, it should be the defining influence in our lives. We should choose the right because we love God. It was a powerful message. He gave us three steps on how to grow closer to the Savior. 1) learn His language (revelation) 2) play His music (the way to love the composer, is to play his music) 3) Truly be willing to take His name upon you. This is something that we all can do. Elder Anderson then showed us a wonderful video, that I wanted to share with y'all but I couldn't find. It was from a talk by Elder Jeffery R. Holland entitled "The First Great Commandment." It talks about the story of Christ asking Peter if he loves him. It made me cry, as I thought about how much I love the Savior and how often I fall short. I wear His name upon my chest, the man who has done everything for me. It is so amazing to me, that He would let me represent Him. I love Him, and I am determined to let that show in my every action.

We learned a lot about the importance of asking purposeful questions this week, in class. We need to ask the people we teach questions that will help them reflect, make connections, and bear their testimonies. We also need to get to know the people we teach, become their friends, and see them how God sees them. We did an exercise, earlier on in the week, that was based off of this principal of asking good questions. I was paired with an Elder in our district. We switched off, each of us playing the role of the investigators and missionary. It was cool to role-play and see the effectiveness of asking open ended questions, and it was neat to see how much you really can know about a person, when you ask them deep questions. It is fun, in turn, to ask yourself those kinds of deep questions and see what answers you come up with. (Who is Jesus Christ to you? What do you think your purpose in life is? Where do you go to find peace?)

Well, that is all for today. The gospel is true! Life is good! "God is in heaven, and alls right in the world!" I love you ALL!

Sister DeGooyer