MTC Chapter 7: Temple Hype!

Sawadii Khaa, everyone!

We are THIRTEEN days out! I can't believe it. I'm so excited.

Remember when I called out everyone who said that MTC food is kind of sketchy? I'd like to retract that statement. Consider yourselves un-called out and know that I approach you with the deepest humility. I think I've basically hit my mystery meat and sticky rice limit. I am ready to shake things up! (No, it's fine, actually. The food's good, especially considering that it's mass production stuff. I'm going to live, but... Thai food here we come! :) )

They lifted the MTC no-contact policy! Now that the flu is contained, the love is unrestrained.

Even though my love for MTC food is waning a little, my love for the MTC is not! Over the past couple weeks, the Thai sisters and I have been trying to get to know some of the senior missionaries at breakfast. We go and sit next to them and they are AWESOME. We've met missionaries going everywhere from Finland to Las Vegas, doing everything from military operations to administrative work. The thing that they all have in common, though, is a love of God and a desire to serve. I am so inspired by these amazing couples who have put their personal time on hold, said goodbye to their families, and gone out to help the work move forward! Senior missionaries are the BEST.

District 7 girls before service time!!

Annnnd we got our new missionaries this week and we love them! We have three new Thai elders and one new Thai sister. We thought one of the elders was fluent in Thai already, but I guess it was a mistake on the records. He is just beginning... which means, thank goodness, our elders can still pretend to be fluent and show off a little (lot?). What a relief!

Meet Elder Kitsawat! He's from Thailand (2nd row far left) and he's headed to Washington and we just love him. He's the best!

The new sister, Sister Yo, is from Burma. She's picking up Thai really quickly! She made some big sacrifices to be here, and she's been really brave as she navigates a new culture and the challenges that come with being a solo missionary. Guess what? Today she's receiving her endowments from the Provo temple and our whole zone is going to go. We're so excited. We love Sister Yo!

Oh and last night the church released the projected 3-D images of what the Bangkok temple is going to look like! It is SO BEAUTIFUL. And it's huge! If you haven't seen the plans already, go look! One of our teachers, Sister Cutler, saw the picture and just started crying. She couldn't believe it. I can't believe it! I feel so lucky that I get to see Thailand get its temple. What a blessing!

I've actually been thinking a lot about temples this week. For some reason, comparing repentance to the building of a temple has helped me understand the concept better. Like with these temples, Heavenly Father has a blueprint for our lives--a vision for what we can become, if we are willing to follow His commandments. Sometimes, we are tempted to throw out the blueprint, and try to create ourselves without that guide. We think that we know what is best, or that it won't be a big deal if we're not following the plan perfectly.

Heavenly Father knows so much more than we do, though. He knows why each tiny nail needs to be where it does. Following His plan will lead us to stability, safety, and glory. Neglecting to follow the plan may seem okay for a time, but it will eventually lead us to danger and shakiness. Most importantly, we can never live up to our full potential without Heavenly Father's blueprint.  When we repent, we are recommitting ourselves to building according to the blueprint. It can be a painful process--we might have to pick out some misplaced nails, or even relocate entire beams. But Christ can show us how to build ourselves up again, this time using a perfect plan. And if we follow His plan, we can become magnificent--we can become like these beautiful, holy temples, that are places where the Spirit can dwell always!

Anyway, I don't know if that makes sense. Temples have just been on my mind, if you can't tell! We are so lucky to live close to so many temples in Utah. If you're able to, go an extra time this week for the people who can't yet. Remember what a blessing it is to be able to participate in the ordinances of the temple! It's so amazing.

To close out, here are some of my favorite things from the week: We sat with President and Sister Martino at breakfast this morning (I didn't have to drop a plate of red peppers to get his attention this time...but that's a story for another time. Or never.) They are so great. Sister Martino is one amazing lady. She's learning Italian in her very small amount of free time, and she is so nice to all the missionaries. President Martino is supportive and kind (he cleared Sister Martino's tray for her this morning and you could just see all the sister missionaries adding items to their "Future Husband" checklists in their minds haha), and we love him, too. We're lucky to have them, for sure. Sunday was ice cream day, and I got my weekly dose of Graham Canyon. I'm feeling good! I got some packages from my mom this week-- huge highlight! One of them had oranges in it and I snuck some of them into my classroom (you're technically not supposed to eat in T4) and I try to eat them sneakily when no one is looking but the problem with oranges is that the smell is so strong that everyone knows instantly. So I just eat them in the open now. Come what may. 

I love you all! Thanks for all the letters and love and packages and support. You are amazing. I hope you have the best week ever. Here's a closing scripture for you, because I'm a missionary and that's just how I roll now:

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

Don't forget that you can do great things with the Lord on your side! Love you!

Sister Harris

Classroom shenanigans...