8/4/14 - MTC Week 9 {Last MTC Email}

Well peeps, this is my last email here in the MTC. I am off to Thailand in a couple hours! I can't believe it is actually time! This past week has been a good one.  Thinking about leaving my district makes me sad though. They have become my family these past 2 months. They are always making me laugh and cheering me up.  We have so much fun together.  I am so glad that I had the opportunity to learn and grow with them. They have all taught me so much. I am so grateful for each and every one of them! Sister Alley has taught me the act of selfless service. She is always helping everyone with everything, we call her “the mom”. Sister Pitts has taught me how to not be afraid to share what you believe. She has so many good insights and shares them with all. Sister Mamea has taught me how to laugh and have fun through hard times. Whenever we talk she is always making me laugh which makes me forget the hard things. Sister Peck is a sweet angel. She has taught me how to make a person feel loved and cared for. She is always so nice to me and I can truly feel her love. Sister Nethercott has taught me how to truly listen to other people and how to be interested in others. Sisters Zoller has taught me how to be diligent at speaking Thai. She is so good at it and I learn so much from her. Sister Brown has taught me the act of truly loving and caring for others. She is always sharing her love with others. Elder Hinkson has taught me how to be a bold missionary. He is so good at speaking with such boldness which missionaries need. Elder Curtis has taught me how to care for people. He is always checking up with everyone asking how they are doing and you can tell he genuinely cares. Elder Okimoto has taught me how to push through tough trials. He is so good at being patient with the Lord and waiting to get answers. Elder Hilton has taught me how to see things with a pure spirit. He is so good and innocent which really invites the spirit. Elder Williams has taught me how to be a good leader. He has been district leader and is always willing to help us and being a great leader. Elder Luker has taught me how to rely on faith. When he came out here he was coming all on faith. His faith inspires me to be more faithful. My district is amazing!!!

This week we had to say a lot of goodbyes. On Monday we said goodbye to Brother Thrap. When we first got to class he started telling us a story about school then all of a sudden he bursts into song and dance, singing "Let it Go"!!!! He got really into it and we were all shocked and dying laughing the whole time! It was so funny because we have asked him to sing that song in Thai before but he never would.  What we didn't know was that he was saving it for the last day! It probably made my whole week!! At the end of class brother Thrap bore his testimony which was really powerful. I could feel the spirit really strong. We all sat there in silence for a couple minutes taking it all in. Everyone was crying saying goodbye. A couple days later we had to say goodbye to Sister Stoleworthy, Brother Shipley and Brother Sanders. Lastly, we had to say goodbye to sister Hirschi. We had a testimony meeting in Thai and got all our tears out. WOW, I am so grateful to have had them as teachers. They have been like my parents for the past 9 weeks. They have taught me so much about not only the language but how to be a better missionary and better person. I will be forever grateful for all of their love and help. I am going to miss my teachers. This whole week we have been really trying to SYL as much as possible. We said goodbye to our investigator Pl))y who committed to baptism! In class our teachers showed us pictures of the real Pl))y and N))n and their real conversion stories.

For devotional, we had the guy from “The Other Side of Heaven” - John Groberg. It was seriously so amazing! He talked about different ways you can share your testimony. There are so many more ways then just saying it. You share your testimony by the way you live your life, you can share it by writing it, or singing it!! For each way that he talked about sharing testimony he shared an example from the life of Jesus Christ. It made me realize that Christ is the perfect example and we can look to him as an example in everything we do.

Since I was sick last Friday, Saturday and Sunday I didn't get much time for personal study and let me just tell you how much I NEED my person study! I can tell a huge difference when I don't read my scriptures. Not getting the chance to read them for a couple days made me realize how much I LOVE them! I started in second Nephi chapter 7. I love in verse 11 how it says, "walk in the light of your own fire". I just love the wording of this scripture. To me this means that we need to gain our own testimony and not just rely on our parents’ testimonies. Chapter 9 was AMAZING! It is a perfect scripture for investigators about the plan of salvation. I love in verse 10 how it says, "O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way." I am so grateful for the plan of happiness. In the previous verses it talks about how horrible it would be without the plan. I love this whole chapter and could go on and on talking about all the different things that I learned from it but I don't have that much time! The last thing that I will mention is in verse 48 it says, "it must needs be expedient that I teach you the consequence of sin" and, “the things of the scriptures should not be taken lightly, for God will executeth all his words" (verse 17). Everything in the scriptures will be fulfilled so we must use them to guide our lives. I think it is so interesting how there are so many times where it talks about the details of Christ coming when it had not happened yet. It is another witness that it is all true. In Chapter 10 verse 24 it talks about how we need to reconcile ourselves to the will of God and once we do that only through the grace of God we can be saved. Once we say, "thy will be done", we can't just expect it to be easy and all work out. I have figured out that the will of God is sometimes something we don't want and something that is really hard. When ever I think of this I think of my sister Caitlin when she had Quinn. She didn't want her pregnancy to be that way but she knew God had a plan. It wasn't easy for her to accept and agree with that “will of God”, to be honest she probably wanted the opposite of God's will at the time. As she prayed asking for help and peace and comfort, and trusting in God, she started to accept the will of God and his plan. We have to use the grace of God to be able to actually desire and trust the will of God. I love this quote from Elder Scott, "It is so hard when sincere prayer about something we desire very much is not answered the way we want. It is especially difficult when the Lord answers “no”, to that which is worthy and would give us great joy and happiness.....When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this, now? What have I done to cause this?--will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God. Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help? How can I remember my many blessings in times of trial? Willing sacrifice of deeply held personal desires in favor of the will of God is very HARD to do. Yet, when you pray with real conviction, “Please let me know Thy will” and “May Thy will be done,” you are in the strongest position to receive the maximum help from your loving Father." (Trust in the Lord by Richard G Scott) Having used this principle I have learned so much. Sometimes when we don't understand the will of God we have to trust him and work hard at lining up our will with his.

I read through all the Isaiah chapters (the ones I usually skip) and it was actually really interesting. My favorite one was in chapter 15. After all these horrible things that happened and murders and scary stuff it says, "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still" (verse 25). No matter what we do God's hand will always be stretched out still.

On Friday we had IN FIELD ORIENTATION!  Our district was the only district that had been in the MTC for 9 weeks. Everyone else was “2-weekers”. We talked a lot about how it is so important to involve members in the work. We also talked about how we need to have high expectations to baptize and teach. We need to go in expecting to talk to everyone and baptize everyone. I am glad that I heard this because a lot of times I am prone to lower my expectations so that I won't ever get disappointed. Before the mission I would tell myself, "when I first get there my comp. will do all the talking."  Now I am telling myself, "I am going to talk to everyone!!" This work is the most important in the world. The way we go about it and our attitude about it will determine how our mission will play out. At the end of orientation there was a play about missionary work and my district was cracking up laughing the whole time and everyone was staring at us like we were crazy. That is what the MTC does to you, haha.  On Sunday we sang our song as a district in sacrament and had testimony meeting. At temple walk Spencer and Chase decided to show up!! It was really good to see them before leaving! I am going to miss Provo especially the temple. We did our last session this morning for 16 months. It was sad but comforting to spend my last day in America at the temple!!

Well I just want to end with my testimony. I love Jesus Christ. He is my Savior and my best friend. He is the perfect example. I will always strive to become more and more like him. I know he has a specific plan for me that will benefit me in the long run. I know that through the atonement we can have our weaknesses become strengths. My love for the Book of Mormon has grown more than ever these past two months. I love it with all my heart. It brings so much happiness and has every answer to every question. Prayer over these past 2 months has become so essential to everything that I am and do. I have learned how to pray with all my soul, “to cry unto the lord".  I have learned how to truly rely on Christ. I have learned how he communicates with me and how I feel the Spirit. All these things I have had my whole life but never this intense. I am so grateful for the gospel and the opportunity I have to take it to Thailand. Life doesn't get much better than sharing the Gospel:) Peace and blessings everyone!!!
I LOVE YOU ALL!

- Sister Herrmann
P.S. Once I get to Thailand my emails are not going to be this long and detailed!

THAILAND!

We love Elder Luker! 

Wear PINK Wednesdays

Brother THRAP!

Zone Prayer

Sister Stoleworthy

Sister Hirschi

Sister Pennrod (Branch President's Wife)

Canto Sisters

Sister Grover from the other Thai District

My brothers, Chase & Spencer

Our district! 

Thailand here we come! 

7/28/14 - MTC Week 8

Well this week has been an interesting one! This email might be a little shorter because I was sick with STREP, so I didn't do much the last half of the week! 

On Monday Sister Brown and I were going crazy (that is what the MTC does to us haha)! We were cracking jokes left and right. In class we listened to conference talks in Thai! That night we got to Skype phrateed THAI (country of Thailand)! It was the funniest experience. So we get online and Sister Brown's computer wasn't working and the connection was bad so we couldn't see the girl from Thailand but we could just hear her. Me and Sister B had our heads squished together trying to both hear & talk! Our teacher kept coming by our computer and just laughing at us like we were idiots! Finally I took the headset to myself and talked to her and then handed the headset over to sis. B for a turn. I started talking to my teacher and all of a sudden Sister B. turns to me and starts hitting me and yells "CHUAY CHUAY CHUAY!" which means "Help help help!" Then the girl from Thailand hung up on her! hahah I have never seen brother Thrap laugh that hard before! It was a good fun night full of laughs! 

On Tuesday we got to go to the foot doctor! I was excited because I was able to leave the MTC and also because the foot doctor is Brother Jaramello- my old Sunday School teacher! We were so happy to go out to the outside world! He considered doing this foot surgery thing to get my ingrown toenail out. They let us walk back to the MTC which made our whole lives! Right when we got back, we got to teach a member that was falling away. It was very fun! Talking about the gospel is just one of the best things ever:) In class that day a guy in my Dad’s student ward was teaching and it was cool! At dinner time I got to call my Mom for 15 minutes! I got to call her because I had to discuss the decision of the surgery.I felt bad because I wanted to talk to my Dad and siblings too but oh well. I got the cutest package from my sister Caitlin and nephews! It made me so happy. My favorite part was that I got a "pink ball" from Cole and Quinn hahah!  The devotional was really good. The main message I got from it was to push through your mission with all you’ve got!! It made me think- I only have 18 months to devote 100% of my thoughts/energy/time EVERYTHING to the Lord. That is not very long. I want to come off my mission being able to say "I gave it 100%!!!!!!!!!!!!" The next day was Elder Curtis's Birthday so that night a bunch of us sisters got creative and made him a birthday crown and some other birthday stuff!

On Wednesday we wear PINK and we convinced Brother Thrap to wear pink and he actually did!!!!!!! We tried to focus really really hard on Wednesday because we are leaving so soon and we wanted to give it our all!!! In class that night we were reading the book of Mormon in Thai and we actually were able to read it! We just wanted to sixsxxa(study) forever!

Thursday was Pioneer day! At gym Sister Peck and did an arm wrestled and I am just going to call that it was a tie. We were teaching Pl))y today and we went in with the lesson plan to invite her to baptism. We asked her a couple questions and both got the impression that she wasn't ready for that yet. It was cool because Sister B. and I were on the same page with everything. In that lesson I remembered two scriptures that answered her questions perfectly! My testimony grew so strong of the scripture that say, “Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man (D&C 84:85).” Since I have been studying and pondering the scriptures and using them as my everyday guide, I have been able to find ever answer with a scripture. If we diligently study the scriptures he will bring back ALL scriptures to our remembrance. SOOO AMAZING! When Pl))y was reading the scriptures her face just lit up! It was such a good lesson! 

On Friday I woke up not feeling too well but just tried to push through it. We were teaching N))n in the morning and we were really scared because we were saying goodbye. He told us that he had told his mom that he was going to get baptize\ and now she won't talk to him. Then he told us that it was ok because the people at church are his new family and they love and support him! We were amazed at his faith! We taught him the lesson and he understood that it was time to say goodbye. We told him we weren't coming back and his face got really confused and sad. We told him that new missionaries are going to come in and teach him and that the new missionaries will love him just as much as we do. We also told him that no matter what happens to rely on the Lord. At the end we bore our testimonies and told him we loved him. We were crying after. I felt like N))n was a real investigator! It is so weird. I can't even imagine what it is going to be like saying goodbye to investigators in the mission field! During Lunch I went to the health office because they said I had an appointment- so I guess my mom set it up. I was really nervous. We went and the first thing he did was put a shot in my feet!!! The shot was in there for like 6 minutes while he wiggled it around! It hurt really bad so I am glad I got it numbed! Poor sister Brown, I was squeezing her arm so hard. She was probably in more pain than me! haha. After that whole surgery we went back and got our FLIGHT PLANS!!!!! We have been waiting for this day for so long!!! We leave Monday, August 4th at 3PM!!! We go from LA to Hong Kong to Thailand!! We were all freaking out! AND to make the day even better, I got a package from my mom! SHE GOT ME CHEETAH SHOES! She knows me so well! That night I started feeling REALLY SICK. Me and sister B. read the Thai Book of Mormon for about a hour and half which fried our brains but it was fun! 

On Saturday I woke up feeling dead. I didn't say one word because my throat was so sore and my migraine was so bad! I forced myself to go to class but wasn't really functioning. I pushed through till about 5 and finally decided I needed to go sleep. I got a blessing and had the feeling that I was going to get worse before I got better. The feeling was right. That night I had a temp of 102.5. I was feeling awful. I had strep throat.. :( All I really did was sleep. Same with Sunday. President Jackson (he is a doctor) told me to stay in the room. So I packed a little, slept a lot, ate, read scriptures, and mostly slept hahah! The Elders brought the sacrament to me in my resident hall which was really nice and the spirit was really strong.

My personal study this week was cut a little short because of the sickness BUT what I did read was amazing!!!! I read in 2nd Nephi where Nephi knew that God worked all these amazing miracles and that Heavenly Father helped him, but he still had anger towards his brothers. He prayed so hard asking for strength and help to fight off that weakness. It made me think how it is so important for us to ask for help with our little weaknesses that lead us away from Christ. Another thing I loved about Nephi was his prayer was so sincere. He wanted that help from Christ so bad. The scriptures are just so amazing! They teach me so much. I am so glad that I have the opportunity to study them every day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Well peeps, I hope you all have an amazing week! Thanks for all the love and support! This time next week I will be heading to THAILAND! (finally!!!) PEACE AND BLESSINGS!

-Sister Herrmann

Bun Crew

Making a Birthday Crown for Elder Curtis

7/21/14 - MTC Week 7

I want to so start off with the exciting news that I found out my sister, Caitlin, is expecting her 3rd baby! I am so happy for her and can't wait to find out the gender! Well, I made it another week here in the MTC--2 more to go!! The MTC consists of studying and studying and eating and STUDYING! I have never studied harder in my life! Sorry if my emails consist of my study insights, since that is all I really do here!  

On Tuesday we started off with personal study! Right now I am studying the Book of Mormon but I decided that I needed to study LOVE! I was studying in 1st John 3 and 4. I love love love these chapters! It talks about how love and God are combined. We can't hate our brethren and love God. "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." "If God so loved us we ought to love one another." "We have the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for our brethren." Then I went on to read a talk called "The Love Of God" and he clearly stated:
"LOVE is the center
LOVE is the bond that unites
LOVE is the power that insinuates friendship, tolerance, civility and respect
LOVE is the source that overcomes divisiveness and hate
LOVE is the fire and warmth that fills our lives with unparalleled joy and divine hope
LOVE should be our walk and our talk."
Studying this made me just want to love so much more!! Everything always comes back to love. Later that day we were walking around MTC campus and we saw a gold investigator (real and fake investigators that walk around the MTC).  We went and talked to them, it was awesome because they told us about sports and we just talked like friends! Then we started asking him about prayer because his grandma was sick and we wanted to help him feel comfort. He told us he thought it was weird but we committed him to pray. That night we had an amazing devotional at the Marriott center.  He talked about how when we say prayers or bare our testimonies we do it in the name of Jesus Christ. He talked about how sacred that name is and to not use is to get a prayer finished or a testimony finished. When you say it, really think about what you are saying. You are literally putting all the words you said in the name of Jesus Christ. For me it has made my prayers a lot more meaningful and sacred. It reminded me that I am wearing his name on my heart. Anything I say is in the name of Jesus Christ and what a privilege that is. 

On Wednesday WE WEAR PINK! We walked into class and Sister Hershi was wearing pink! We were all so happy and excited. It is crazy what can make us really excited and happy here in the MTC! We taught N))n a lesson and it actually went really well. I was nervous because I was trying to explain the Fall, but it went well--thanks to the Spirit! And plus it is easier to explain in Thai because we can only say it with super simple words which actually makes a lot of sense to investigators! In Thai class we were laughing the whole time.  Our teachers are just SO funny! In personal study I studied John 12-15. IT WAS AWESOME! It was talking about how the MASTER serves us so much we need to be following him and serve others as well. In Chapter 14 it talks all about the Comforter and how he will not leave us comfortless.  You should just read those chapters because they are so good and uplifting and make you want to serve and love so much! That night President Jackson came in and told us that he wanted to switch some companionships around. It is cool because it's like we were getting transfers to a new area. My new companion is Sister Brown. She is the sweetest girl ever!

Thursday was an exciting day because it was the first day with my new Khuu. My personal study was bomb like always! I decided to continue in the Book of Mormon. I love how many times there is the phrase, "I prayed unto the Lord and the Lord answered me" or showed me, etc. It also is so amazing to me how stupid and mean Laman and Lemuel were but EVERY TIME they were humbled and repented and God forgave them. I think that happened like 6 or 7 times! Then I remembered "oh wait that happens to everyone daily.”  I love verse 9 of chapter 19. It talks about how before he was crucified Jesus was treated horribly BUT he “Suffereth all things because of Love.” It reminded me that even when we get treated like crap sometimes we have to suffereth it because we need to have "loving kindness" like Jesus Christ. One thing I love about the scriptures is that we can relate everything to our lives. As it says in verse 23, "He likened all the scriptures unto them for their profit and learning." So so so cool. That day I got a package from my sister and it was so cute and made me really happy! We meet the new Thai's and they are so cute! I loved seeing Sister Grover from college. There are only 3 sisters and but 16 elders that came in. They are all so nice! That night Sister Brown and I decided to have additional study outside.  We were sitting on the grass and we started with a prayer and as I was praying I opened my eyes for .2 seconds and saw a spider climbing on Sister Browns arm. I hit it off and ran away screaming!  I felt bad that it interrupted the prayer but then I finished the prayer. Later at the end of the night I was baring my testimony to her and all of a sudden she comes up and slaps me on the back because there was a huge spider on me! We were freaking out because they were attacking us. I guess you had to be there but it was really funny!

On Friday Sister Brown and I were trying to plan our lesson with new investigators that day. I was nervous because I didn't know her Pl))y and she didn't know me.  Brother Thrap helped us and we brainstormed for awhile and then decided to use an object lesson to help her really understand! We were super excited about it and the lesson went so well! She was so nice and she completely understood because of the activity!  Next time we are committing her to baptism. That night we had our usual study time on an assigned talk.  When I think of enduring to the end it means working and applying continually! We have to keep praying, repenting, reading the scriptures, etc. or we will fall away.  In 2nd Nephi 27 it says, “Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more.”  If we have that attitude we WILL fall away! Then I was reading in 2nd Nephi 31:19-20 and it talks about how once we are on the straight and narrow path we need to continue doing those things that got us here and we can't stop! I was thinking of Joseph smith and how he struggled and suffered so much but through it all he stayed faithful because he kept doing the things that kept him close to the Lord. It reminds me of D&C 121: 7-8 “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.”  I know that if we keep diligently following God's plan and keep doing things that help us stay close to the Lord and in tune with the Spirit we will receive strength and help to endure anything! I loved studying this topic. For Khuu study we saw our golden investigator friends and we talked to them about sports and their lives and then we followed up on our challenge to pray.  He told us he didn't so we were bummed but he told us he didn't because he thought it would be weird because it looks like you are talking to yourself.  We talked to him more about it to help him realize that he isn't talking to himself and then we committed him again. He finally promised he would. I really hope he does! We planned our lesson for N))n the next day and were really excited to use the new teaching method Brother Thrap helped us with.  Sister Brown and I have a very similar sense of humor so we laugh at all the same things so all the quirky dumb things we do are so funny to us but no one else! When we tell anyone else our funny experiences throughout the day they just look at us like we are weird!

On Saturday it was very normal as Sister Brown and I got locked out of our building because we forgot our keys.  We taught n))n and it went well! I love teasing him about things and it is crazy how attached we get to our investigators. When I had to leave my pl))y I wanted to cry! We got taught by Brother Uan. He is an amazing teacher! That day I was hurting because I had a bad canker sore. I went to the front desk and asked if I could get some medicine I’ve taken in the past for them. They told me I could call my mom and ask her to drop some off.  I called her and it was so good to hear her voice.  I felt bad because I really wanted to talk but I knew I couldn't so I just talked fast and stayed on the subject and said, "OK, love you, bye!" I also felt bad making her drive all the way to Provo! I am so grateful for her. She is so willing to help and serve me with anything! At dinner I talked to Sister Aom and introduced her to the new Thai's and she started going off in Thai and I could actually understand most of what she said! I love Sister Aom! She told me that we are going to be friends forever and that I am her favorite!  After dinner we did this thing where we split up into 2 groups in our district and read and talked about a chapter. It was so insightful hearing everyone's thoughts! That night we made microwave s'mores!  We know how to have fun in the MTC! 

Sunday we all ate breakfast as a district and since we are so loud we got asked to be quiet a lot. We were just whistling and laughing.  The meetings were amazing! My favorite was sacrament meeting. The talks were so strong and helped me want to be better person. It was all about enduring to the end! Going to the temple was great and I talked to Sister Aom who told me a lot of funny stories of things that happen in Thailand. Later my district sat around the piano singing church hymns and the heard a devotional about the pioneers. The speaker had everyone who was a descendant of a pioneer stand up and almost 3/4 of the people in the room stood up! It was amazing to me. If those pioneers decided following the prophet was too hard then 3/4 of those missionaries wouldn't be there! The speaker was the producer of all the pioneer movies like “17 Miracles” and “Ephraim's Rescue”. He answered a lot of questions and told us some really interesting things about those movies.  

The MTC is such a spiritual place. I feel the Spirit constantly here. It is such a happy place :) I have been really trying to follow the doctrine of Christ and use that as an example of how I should live. I have learned so much about the Savior. He was a friend to everyone. He was always serving and loving others. Matthew 5, "Love your enemy; bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you." Christ did all this. He is THE perfect example. Look to him and his example in everything. This gospel is amazing and I am learning something new about it each and every day! I am so blessed to have the opportunity to serve a mission!  I want to learn and grow and become a better person!

I want to give a shout out to my parents for sending me an awesome package with everything I ever wanted! Also to my Grandma Bennett for making me a big box full of delicious cookies! My district ate them all up in 5 minutes. And to my sister, Rachel, for sending me a cute package that I loved so much.  ALSO, thank you all who write me letters and dear elders! They literally make my day! THANK YOU ALL :)

-Sister Herrmann

I love AOM! 

Marriott Center

Our favorite game Khub

Saying goodbye to the Cambos made me cry!

We all WEAR PINK on Wednesdays- even our teacher Sister Hershi!

My new name tag

7/14/14 - MTC Week 6

Another great week here at the MTC! I was really worried about the MTC before I came but I actually like it here. I have grown so much over these past 6 weeks and feel so close to my Savior which makes up for anything bad about this place!

On Tuesday morning my district made a decision to SYL (Speak Your Language) ALL DAY! We actually did really well. The morning started off with personal study. Sister Zoller and I decided to devote all of our personal study for our investigator Pl))y. (We had a lesson with her the night before and she was really struggling.) I prayed and prayed. After I was done praying I remembered Pl))y saying that all she wants in this life was happiness. After I had that thought, everything fell into place. I felt like Heavenly Father was writing down for me what she needed.  In the middle of class I had to go to an orthodontist appointment because my retainer was hurting me. I was surprised that the people who picked me up were the Chatwins from my neighborhood. It was fun talking to them. I felt SO weird being out in the real world. When I got to the office I felt like I had to keep looking down at my flashcards because there were TV's on! That night Elder Anderson (from the 12) came and spoke to us about feeling the Spirit. IT WAS AMAZING!!! He talked about ways that the Spirit comes into our lives in a completely different way than I had ever thought about before.

On Wednesday Sister Nethercott and I went to the field and challenged a bunch of missionaries in Khub (our new favorite game).  Of course we are still the champs! We taught N))n about Joseph Smith and he still seems confused about some things. We made a plan to address that confusion in the next lesson. We started hosting the new missionaries being dropped off at about 11am and it was SO HOT outside, but it feels nice to serve and help people directly. In class we started talking about how to teach the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. Those topics are really hard to teach sometimes but I know it is important so I am glad we are required to teach it! (If you haven't heard, they made new rules about teaching. We have to teach all 5 lessons before baptism!!) For personal study I have been starting the Book of Mormon over. I was reading in 1st Nephi and it is so crazy how I feel like I am reading completely new stuff. The story and the message are the same but I’m getting something completely different out of it than the times that I have read it before. I guess people weren't lying when they told me, "You learn something different each time you read the scriptures." I love in 1st Nephi how it says, "I did cry unto the Lord." Being here at the MTC I have learned how to pray harder than ever before. I feel like I now understand him better when he says that. The image that I have when I read that is Nephi on his knees humbly crying out with such desire, passion, and pleading/yearning for Christ. As I was reading 2-4 I saw a pattern that is used all over the scriptures. First, pray with faith. (1st Nephi 2:16) Second, it is hard sometimes but the Lord commanded it. (1st Nephi 4-5) Next, we CAN'T COMPLAIN. (1st Nephi 3:6) The Lord will always provide a way for the things he asks of us. (1st Nephi 3:7 and 29) And finally, the Spirit will guide us. (1st Nephi 4:6) We can apply that pattern to any situation! I don't know why but I thought it was so cool! For Comp. study we decided to go outside because it was pouring rain! There were a bunch of Cambo Elders flying kites out there so we flew kites for awhile which was so much fun. I felt like I was 5 again. We planned our lesson and did lots of role play while standing out in the pouring rain barefoot. It was one of the most enjoyable comp. studies ever! We thought, well we better get used to it because this is how Thailand is going to be! That night we had “Joke Night” as a district. It was so funny! We were all dying even though the jokes weren't that funny. That is what happens when you become a missionary, you really learn to enjoy the little things…or you just start to go insane!

Thursday started off with service which is always fun because it is something different than what we are used to. We put up flags and swept. Right after that we went into personal study which I was so excited for because I wanted to keep reading about Nephi! I think it is so amazing how when his brothers tied him up to be killed he prayed to get out, and then when his brothers felt bad about it, he had no hate towards them. All he said was repent and come back to the Lord. I love the scripture that talks about how the Lord gives commandments for a wise purpose that sometimes…most times we don't know and understand. We have to trust him that he knows what he is doing. I could go on and on about my thoughts and insights from the first chapters of Nephi but I don't have that much time. After lunch we got to teach our new investigators. It went really well. I am excited to teach them again. That night we got to read some scripture in Thai as a class. It is really hard reading the Scriptures in Thai because the words they use in the scriptures are so different because they are the royal words which are completely different from the common word.  So it's basically like we have to learn an extra language for the scriptures. It is fun though! 

On Friday We did the usual…lots of Thai grammar. After lunch I was so nervous about our lesson with N))n for some reason! I did what I usually do in those situations…pray my heart out! We went in the lesson and I felt so good. He was really scared about changing churches because his parents would not be happy. He told us that but then he said that he could not deny the Christ. He believed so strongly! I had him read the scripture, 1st Nephi 4:14 about how if we follow the Lord's commandments he we prepare a way. I told him that a lot of the time life is really hard but as we obey his commandments he will always help us.  We will never be alone through trials and we will be lead to the right path. As I was saying this to him I felt is so strongly that it applies to my life as a missionary and to N))n's life with his decision to join the Church of Jesus Christ. It was a good lesson!

Saturday was so FUN! We started off with a little district kickball game, Cambo's vs. Thai's! It was so funny. Our team was just laughing the whole time. Our district has a lot of different personalities and cultural backgrounds so when we play a game of kickball together you just can't help but laugh! The Cambo's apparently called us "the giggles”. Our team lost but we had more fun so that is all that matters right? We had TRC in the morning and I was so excited, I love TRC so much. I walked in and I got to teach and meet with Taryn Bodine! I was so happy. Part of the time I was asking her questions about her family and life in general. We finally got into the gospel discussion of how we receive revelation at church. We talked a lot about how if we go to church with a good attitude it makes it so much easier to receive revelation and feel the Spirit. The next guy we talked to was a guy from Laos and he served in Thailand. His story was so cool. We talked about the same kind of thing with him. At the end he told us that we spoke Thai well and it made me SO SO SO happy because sometimes I think I am awful at the language! In personal study I continue to learn MORE about Nephi.  He was so amazing and had such great faith and wisdom! I hope someday I can be as faithful as Nephi! My Khuu and I planned our lesson that we have on Monday over SKYPE with member in THAILAND! So scary, but exciting! We went downstairs to an empty room to prepare but we could hear people having a lesson with an investigator in English in the next room. As they were talking, Sister Zoller and I came up with a perfect scripture that they could have shared that would have helped! We were trying to casually talk about it loudly so they would hear! That night we were acting as investigators for some others in our district. It was an amazing lesson. I felt that I truly was my character and the Spirit was testifying to her. It was awesome! Before going to bed that night I read a talk with some other sisters about trusting the Lord. We have to always remember that sometimes what we want, even if it is good, it's not what we need. God has a plan for us that sometimes we don't understand. If we submit to the will of the Lord willingly, we will more easily notice and receive the blessing. If you have time go and read, "Trust in the Lord" by Elder Scott.

SUNDAYS ARE THE BEST EVER! I would have to say that my favorite part is when all the sisters stand and sing the missionary version of "As Sisters in Zion". I love the line, "we go forth enlisted with Helamen’s army in numbers much greater than ever before." I think I have mentioned that before but I just LOVE IT. I am just always extra happy on Sundays! I felt so spiritually fed in relief society, sacrament meeting and the devotional! The speaker in relief society was amazing and told us all types of stories of how to be better missionaries. The sacrament meeting was the last one with the Cambo's and they gave great talks! For the devotional we got to walk to the Marriott Center which was a change. It was on charity and how we need to learn how to love before we teach. I get so much out of every devotional here! 

One thing I have noticed here, for me at least, is that being positive and having a good attitude makes it so much easier and so much more enjoyable! I love this gospel and I am so glad I have the opportunity to serve and become more like my Savior. THE CHURCH IS TRUE! Have a great week. Love you all. Remember to read your scriptures and pray lots!  I leave 3 weeks from today!

Love, 

Sister Herrmann 

PS. Sorry my letters are getting really repetitive. I literally do the same thing every day!

PSS. Thanks for all the support and the packages and Dear Elder letters! 

Zone prayer at night

Our district

After a really long and spiritual day

Zone picture. A bunch are leaving and about 20 new Thai's are coming in! 

Favorite Hong Kong and Cambodia Elders that are leaving. 

Me and Sister L. 

Sister Lindley leaves on Tuesday. I love her! 

This girl has the exact same first and middle name as me- Tessa Marie! 

The girl that hosted me, has become a good friend here!

Favorite Hong Kong Sister. 

Some favorite Elders that I rap with- they are leaving for the Philippines. 

Water gun fight- Thanks moms