Tessa in Thailand: 6/30/14

I can't believe it is already P-day!!! The days go by so slow but the weeks go by so fast! Only 5 more weeks until Thailand! On Monday President Eyring waved to me. He is the sweetest man. The Thai Elders who’ve been a while left for the airport but came back later that night because their flight got canceled. I am so excited for my turn to go in a couple weeks!

I am really learning the importance of planning! It helps so much. It really has helped me fulfill goals and use my time wisely. Everyone should use planners, they are like gold. On Tuesday a bunch of girls from my zone decided to have a soccer game! It was so much fun. I had to be careful because I didn't want anyone to get hurt. It was hard to not play aggressive but it was so much fun! I miss playing soccer. In study time I was reading in Mormon and it is so crazy how they testify of Joseph Smith and refer to this time. Once again it just shows that Heavenly Father always has a plan.

In Khuu study we were preparing for our lesson. We were planning and were nervous for some reason. I think we were so nervous because we wanted him to feel the Spirit so badly! In that lesson as we were testifying of the character of Chris,t the Spirit testified to me that the character of Christ comes down to 2 things- Love and Service. Everything he did was because of “Love” which lead him to “Service”. Service is lead by love! That is how we follow Christ.

We started learning script! I like script because it is so much fun to write. It is hard though because the teachers just told us to learn it on our own. It stressed us all out because we have so little time to study it! That night 6 of the apostles came and talked to us! It was awesome! On Wednesday I was caught up in the details of MTC life and really worried about the language and more material things and for a minute I forgot my purpose. That night I got a letter from Dad and he shared D & C 101:16 which reminded me that sometimes we need to stop and feel God's comfort and remember we are in his hands and remember what is really important. It really helped me. On Thursday we started off with service. It was so much fun. We got to put up the flags during class. The other day our teacher was talking and said "suad))nw))n" which means prayer and Elder Okimoto and Elder Luker in unison said, "That is so beautiful!" We all died laughing and the teacher just looked at us like we were all idiots. Now every time someone says "prayer" we all laugh! In our lesson that day I was so out of it. The language was killing me. I was so upset I went into the bathroom (the only place I could be alone) and prayed and prayed. I felt the words, "Do you Trust me?” three times. I remembered that He has a plan for me and knows what He is doing! Right after that happened I randomly opened to the scriptures to Mathew 10:20, "For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you". I realized that I needed to be patient.

On Friday morning we were teaching Pl))y. I was so nervous because I wanted her to feel the Spirit and I wanted to understand and have my tongue be loosed. The lesson ended up being amazing! I could speak and understand perfectly! She felt like she had no worth and that no one loved her. My heart started pounding in a way I had never experienced. A scripture came to my mind, D&C 18:10. I read it and then bore my testimony about it and to be honest, I don't even remember what I said but the Spirit was so strong and she was smiling. So I am guessing she felt it too because she never smiles. I had never felt the Spirit that strong in that way before. It was amazing!

On Saturday we started out with TRC! I was so nervous but it ended up being amazing! I walked in and the girl was from Thailand so she didn't speak much English! She was so cute and nice and we just laughed a lot and had a great time talking in Thai to each other. It made me so excited to just talk and love the Thai people. That night was so fun because Sister Brown and I went into the hall at around 11pm and started dancing and just playing around, it was a party!! The only bad part was the fact that we didn’t get much sleep. Sunday is always my favorite. It is so relaxing and a day to 100% focus on Jesus Christ! I talked a lot with Aom, a girl from Thailand. I love talking to her in Thai because she corrects me. I have been so spiritually fed. The devotionals and videos we watch are so uplifting. That night we all lay on the floor and told stories until 1 AM because the power went out and that's what you do when the power goes out!!! HAHA

Well, like I say every week, IT WAS AMAZING! In Mormon 9:31 it says, “but rather give thanks to God that he hath made manifest to you our imperfections that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." I have realized that I have so many imperfections but through Christ I can learn and receive his grace to be better. Thank goodness for that. I LOVE MY MISSION! Have a good week. Write me.

Lots of love,

Sister Herrmann

PS I love the flashlight that Sister Midgely gave me. Is there anyway I can get another one? It has really helped at night. Also, I feel like Heavenly Father has helped me so much because I get about 6 hours of sleep each night and I never fall asleep in class and I really feel so happy! The temple was closed this morning but next week we get to go in and clean the temple! How cool is that? Tell Chelsea that I loved her Dear Elder letter and really appreciated it! Also Sister Pulham sent doughnuts and Olivia Black’s family sent me a great package. I also love the packages that you send every week Mom. I feel so supported and loved!