Advice from a 6-month-old missionary

More advice from my missionary sister! (To read her Live from the MTC advice, click here.)

So it's been six months and five days since I left home to go on what's been THE neatest adventure of my life!

... it's in Idaho, yes. But still an adventure nonetheless! How could being part of the hastening of the work be anything less?

And in the last six months, I've gathered some information that has seemed pretty useful, so I thought I'd pass it on to the world via my sister dearest.

1) Study Preach My Gospel. Study Preach My Gospel. Study Preach My Gospel.
I can't say it enough. Seriously. This stuff is scripture. It's revelation from God to convert both us, the missionaries, and the rest of the world! Use it in everyday life, because it applies to everyday life! And do *not* skip over the scriptures, especially the Bible Dictionary ones. Those are super valuable.

2) Find scriptures by topic (faith, repentance, prophets, etc) that explain what they are really simply and shortly. Write them down on a sticky note in the back of your scriptures for quick reference. You'll start to memorize these as you use them, but for now... it's WAY useful.

3) Don't be afraid to be yourself! You're put where you are because your unique personality will stand out to or connect with someone else. Plus, people can tell when you're being fake. It impresses no one. Realness makes them open up, which helps you know their needs, which helps you help them come unto Christ! Let them get to know you and learn to trust you!

4) Learn how to listen. Don't think about the dog chewing on your bag. Don't worry about how you're going to fit in a scripture or end right on time. When they're talking, listen to what they're saying, what they're implying, and what the spirit is telling you they need to hear. The lesson is not about you learning how to teach, it's about them and their needs, and helping them come closer to God.

5) It's okay to be scared. Everybody is. It's scary talking to strangers, eating with strangers, sharing what's most important to you with strangers. It's scary moving to some seemingly random place and being expected to actively be a part of a life you've never experienced before. But the fear passes. You learn to trust in the Lord, in your companions, and in yourself. You learn that you can do hard things. And people understand and relate to your fear most of the time, anyway!

6) Love your companion! Your companion is your one ally. (Besides your Heavenly Father, of course.) Do everything you can to make that relationship a good one. Be open. Be honest. And be kind. You'll notice little things that will be annoying sometimes, but get over it. Everyone does little things like that. Find ways to serve them and express appreciation for them. Point out their strengths. Be humble enough to let them help with your weaknesses. They can become your family in the field if you let them.

7) Love your peeps! The only way you'll be willing to work hard for these people and consider their needs is if you care about them. If you're struggling in the work, it's because you don't love the people enough. So pray for help to love them, because loving people is hard!

Well, that's my 7 bits of knowledge. Hope it helps! Keep moving forward and remember that this is God's work and he will not let you fail!

Work hard, Pray hard, Play hard!

"Together we'll learn"

Being a parent is such a humbling experience. When many people become parents, they can't help but wonder if they are really good enough to take on such a task. Many young people preparing for missions wonder the same thing. While it is important to have a strong testimony and a keen knowledge of the gospel, no one has to know everything to be a parent or to serve a mission.

One of my favorite songs to sing to my kids is Teach Me to Walk in the Light. I especially love the second verse. (Text and music by Clara W. McMaster)

Come, little child, and together we'll learn
Of his commandments, that we may return
Home to his presence, to live in his sight--
Always, always to walk in the light.

"Together we'll learn." When I start doubting myself and wondering if I can really do this mother thing, I remember these words. I am learning right along with my children. My mom always said that she was often learning with me since I was her first child. I finally really understand what she meant. It's okay that I don't know everything. It's okay that I am not the "perfect" mother. I am doing my best to learn and to become a better mom every day as I teach my children. It's the same way with missionary work. It's okay that you don't know everything. It's okay that you are not the "perfect" missionary. As long as you are doing your best to learn and to become a better missionary every day as you teach others.


P.S. Congrats to my cousin who is leaving for the MTC this week!! I'm so excited for you. You'll be awesome. :)

Mission Exercising

Anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT an exerciser. Especially running. I hate running. It was really hard for me to wake up every morning as a missionary and exercise for 30 minutes. Part of that was because I really didn't know how to exercise other than going running or doing crunches. And you already know how excited I was about running.

So my question to you is... Do you know how to exercise? It may seem like a simple enough question, but when you have 30 minutes to exercise, what do you do? What if it's really cold outside? Okay, most of you probably know a lot more about exercising than I did. But, it's still something to think about. Remember, you won't have access to a gym, or a treadmill, or work-out DVD's. They will give you an exercise band at the MTC (or at least they did when I was there, anyone know if they still do?) but most of us didn't know how to use it. So you will have the floor, probably a towel or a blanket for an exercise mat, and possibly an exercise band. I ask again, what would you do? If it's good weather, you could go outside and run. Would you get bored of just running all the time? What if your companion is like me and doesn't run? Remember you have to be within sight of your companion at all times. What outdoor exercises are there other than running? You might have a bike, you might not. It depends on the mission and the area.

Today's tip is this: Make sure you have a list of different exercises before you leave for your mission. Make sure you know how to do these exercises correctly and that they help strengthen the part of your body and/or the skills you want to focus on. Also, be sure you find exercises you will enjoy doing. You will be doing them at 6:30 in the morning so make it something worth getting out of bed for! And if you're obedient, you'll be doing it every morning (except Sundays) for 18 months or 2 years so you'll want a variety. You don't want to get bored with it.

I am probably the last person you'd ask for advice about exercising so I will need help from all of you out there. Please comment! RM's, what did you do for exercising on your mission? Anyone have specific work-out DVD's they like? What about Wii Fit Plus or other exercising video games? While you won't have these on your mission, they might be good to use now to get ideas. I bet you could also find tons of ideas on Youtube.

Well, I hope this post was helpful. In a nutshell, learn how to exercise before you leave. You won't regret it.

Packing a suitcase

My cousin posted this little video on Facebook. I haven't tried it, but it looks awesome! Someone should try it out and then let me know how it goes. :)