MTC Chapter 6 - new blankets and other good things

Sawadii Khaa, friends!

I had another great week this week. It's so cool to be in a place where I know that every new day will bring mental and spiritual growth. I love the MTC! It can be tiring sometimes--most mornings I sit on my bed for a few minutes and cry yawn tears until I wake up, but it's so awesome! I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Okay, here's some BIG news. Jokes. Don't get too excited. But they finally switched out the blankets on our beds! We used to have these felt-y blue blankets that only covered about 2/3 of your body no matter how you arranged them. Now, we have these soft, amazing, kinda fuzzy blankets that actually cover you--all of you! It's the little things. We are pumped!!

Sister Harris and Sister Adams are thrilled about Daylight Savings!!

This week, everyone's been excited because we are getting 10 new missionaries in our zone! We'll have 4 new Thai elders, 1 Thai sister, and 5 Vietnamese speakers. Our Elders were planning on going into the new Thai classroom and rattling off a bunch of Thai words really fast so the new missionaries would think they knew a lot... but joke's on them! One of the new missionaries already speaks Thai (who knows how?) and would expose them for the amateurs they are haha. They're pretty bummed, of course. Oh well. I'm excited to meet our new friends tomorrow!

We had another apostle come speak to us this for last Tuesday devotional, by the way. I don't know why we're getting such a power-packed speaker lineup, but I'm not complaining! President M. Russell Ballard gave our Tuesday night talk, and it was great. He is so sharp! He did a sort of question and answer session, letting missionaries ask him whatever they wanted. I think the general message in his answers was "go forward with faith." The Lord has big plans for each one of us. Sometimes we feel unprepared to rise to our callings, and sometimes we think we are inadequate. We need to take a leap of faith, though, going forward and trusting that the Lord will direct our steps. He always does. He always will!

I heard a cool story after President Ballard's devotional, actually. This girl, who had only been a member for about a year and a half, went up and asked him a question at the devotional. He gave her a really sweet answer, and she was crying the whole time and it was pretty cute. Anyway, I guess after the devotional she sort of forgot the specifics in his response to her and so had been praying this whole week to remember. On Sunday night, after our devotional speakers, President and Sister Gilbert, finished their talks, they said, "We just want to show you a quick video clip." Guess what it was? It was that girl's question and President Ballard's response to her! When I watched it, I thought it was a super random thing to tack on to the end of a talk, but then I heard the girl's story later. That video clip was for her! How cool is that? I hear stories like this every day (I have some of my own, too!) and I just want to testify that the Lord is aware of each and every one of us and He will always answer our prayers some way, some time!

I love the gospel. Seriously, it is the best thing in the whole entire world. It is the way to true happiness and I just want everyone to have it. I'm so happy I get to be a missionary! My joy is full!

As you can probably gather, I'm still loving my time in the MTC. I love my district--they feel like family now. I'm going to miss them loads when we get split up in Thailand. Here's a funny quote from the week: Elder Ratelle was talking about how his weight had stayed at a certain number for the past four years (everyone is very weight conscious. This MTC food has a reputation.) and Elder Dollery says, "Ah, khun ben fatty." First off, this is a pretty sketchy translation. But it literally means, "You are fatty" and he said it in the funniest voice. I was dying. To be honest, I actually don't know if this is funny or if I'm just losing it. Someone let me know haha.

I love you all so much. I read something this week that I want to share with you real quick. This is from President Gordon B. Hinckley on why we don't use the cross as a symbol in our church: 

“I responded: ‘I do not wish to give offense to any of my Christian brethren who use the cross on the steeples of their cathedrals and at the altars of their chapels, who wear it on their vestments, and imprint it on their books and other literature. But for us, the cross is the symbol of the dying Christ, while our message is a declaration of the living Christ.’

​​​​“He then asked: ‘If you do not use the cross, what is the symbol of your religion?’

​​​​​​“I replied that the lives of our people must become the only meaningful expression of our faith and, in fact, therefore, the symbol of our worship. …

​​​​“… No sign, no work of art, no representation of form is adequate to express the glory and the wonder of the Living Christ. He told us what that symbol should be when he said, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments.’ (​John 14:15​.)

​​​​“As his followers, we cannot do a mean or shoddy or ungracious thing without tarnishing his image. Nor can we do a good and gracious and generous act without burnishing more brightly the symbol of him whose name we have taken upon ourselves.

​​​​“And so our lives must become a meaningful expression, the symbol of our declaration of our testimony of the Living Christ, the Eternal Son of the Living God.

​​​​“It is that simple, my brethren and sisters, and that profound and we’d better never forget it.”​​

Isn't this so cool? I am so grateful to be a member of the only church that has the living Christ as its head. I love this message with all my heart and I want people to be able to see Christ in my deeds and words.

Thanks for all your support--your letters, your emails, and your packages are always the highlight of my day. You are the best. Have a great week!

Love you, 

Sister Harris

We love SERVICE TIME! (We get to clean the bathrooms WOOT)