From the keeper of this blog:
A little insight into church hierarchy may help you understand who Elder Hamula (see Tuesday below) is:
The President and 2 counselors make up the First Presidency. They preside over the entire church. From them down it goes -
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (see New Testament, Luke 9:1-2)
Quorums of the Seventy (see New Testament, Luke 10:1)
Stake Presidents
Bishops
For more information -
Also, O Plano de Salvação is The Plan of Salvation. It is the underlying doctrine that directs all we do as members of the church.
For more information -
-------------
Hello lovely friends and family! Sister McEldowney again! Before I start, 'caixou' is 'coffin' in Portuguese and that's the official nickname of our classroom...where we spend most of our 16 waking hours. Great, right? hahaha!
Hey, people! Did any of you read the scriptures from last week? If you did, weren't they great! If you didn't, what are you waiting for?!
Here goes another MTC Week breakdown!
Tuesday:
Temple Day! I love the temple so much! It has to be one of my favorite places in the world. It ranks right above my couch when I'm watching Netflix ;)
We also had an amazing devotional on Tuesday evening. Elder Hamula, of the Quorum of the Seventy, spoke and it was incredible. His wife spoke right before him and said something that hit me really hard. There are some people who would do anything to be in our seats. It just hit me that I complain about missing the outside world and how I miss homemade food, but I am so blessed that I met the requirements--physically, mentally, and spiritually--to be a servant of the Lord. I should never complain when I have such a huge blessing like that in my life.
Wednesday:
I felt like I was on my death bed all day because of allergies. Shocking, right? Basically the entire day is a blur, especially since I took two Benadryl right before my last 3 hour block in class haha!
Thursday:
So, funny story, Thursday was a roller-coaster! Basically it all happened at the end of the day, so I'll start there. We have this thing called "Progressing Investigator" or "Progressivo Pesquisador." Our teachers act as investigators and we teach them lessons in Portuguese. Well, Sister Aston and I had this great lesson plan and as soon as we started teaching, it fell apart. I think I can pretty easily say we were teaching more by logic than by the Spirit; that's not good for a missionary! Anyway, I was harder on myself than probably necessary, but it was a train wreck and I was devastated. Sister Aston knows just what to do though, so we went on our usual walk and we talked things over so I didn't cry. Anyway, when we got back to class it was about time for our teacher to, well, teach us. We were talking about the O Plano de Salvação and he had me stand up at the board really close and ask what part of the plan I saw. It was just earth and death. He asked me what the purpose of life is with what I could see, so I said to die. Then he had me take three steps back and ask what the point of life is seeing the entire plan.
Everyone, I know without a doubt that Heavenly Father has a plan for us. We lived with Him before and we can live with Him again. I am so very grateful that Irmão Staples was in tune with the Spirit that night because remembering that I am a daughter of God is exactly what I needed. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of every single one of us and our needs. I can't even begin to tell you the love He has poured upon me.
Friday:
We taught people, for the first time, that are not our teachers! It's called TRC. I almost hyperventilated before, but Sister Aston had my back (again) and got me through my meltdown. I have to say, I have the best companion ever!!
Saturday:
Longest day ever! Enough said.
Sunday:
Meetings, meetings, and more meetings! Everyone should look up the BYU-Idaho devotional "The Twenty-Mark Note." You will not regret reading it!
Monday:
SISTER MCELDOWNEY CAN SPEAK PORTUGUESE!! Sister Aston and I taught an entire lesson on the importance of the Book of Mormon and I only had to look up one word. ONE! It was accountability. Proud moment!
Well, I'm out of time, but I love you all! thank you so much for all you do to support me, even if it's just reading my emails and giving me pity laughs (:
Amo Sempre,
Sister McEldowney
No comments:
Post a Comment