Wow! It sounds like she's having an amazing experience at the MTC!
Here's the latest letter from Sister Fernley:
Dear Family,
Wow! We just had some elders run and call the emergency line here at the MTC because a Sister here was choking. I think all is fine now, but that was a scary experience and we just heard bits of it from the computer lab.
Anyway this week has been incredible. Thank you so much for the letters and the package. Tell Jemma I loved her crafts! They made my week, and everyone in my district thought it was so cute. By the way, I'm not really a huge fan of gum, but if Jemma got it for me I love it, even the pink kind. And the flower pin looked awesome! I'm really impressed!
I don't even know where to start for this week. As far as the language is going, its slow, but I know that if I do my best and put in all the effort that I can the Lord will help me with the rest. We have started teaching two new investigators (our two new teachers) and that has been going really well. One is almost like a perfect investigator. He asks lots of questions and is willing to do what we ask of him. In our first meeting we were just trying to see what his questions were and why he wanted to meet with us. He basically talked about concerns for everything. He asked what happened after we die, why our church is different from the others, why prayer is so important, what baptism was and a few others. After that meeting we told him we could answer all of his questions, but that we are going to take it step by step. We taught about the restoration last time and are meeting with him again tomorrow. Our other investigator isn't as responsive, and we can never really get anything out of him. We are teaching him for the second time tonight, so that might help us get an idea of how active he is going to be in his commitments.
A few days ago my companion got a Dear Elder note from her parents saying her new twin nieces weren't doing well and had to get sent to NICU. We went into another room and she asked me to offer a prayer, which I was more than happy to and then she received a blessing from a few of our elders. We sat in that classroom for a while and I could feel the Spirit so strongly. I pleaded with the Lord to help them. He gave me my life, and I asked Him to give them theirs, if it was His will. She hasn't heard anything yet so I'm not sure what is going on,but I know the Lord will do what is best for their family. As soon as she was ready to go back to class we went in and they were reading the Book of Mormon. Almost the first verse we heard was 1 Nephi 7:12 which teacher us to only have faith God can do all things according to His will. It was so perfect and I know it was no coincidence. I commented on that verse and my teacher said something that really hit me. He said, "The obstacle is not God's power, the obstacle is our faith."
I loved that! And I know that it is so true. If we but have faith we can do all things with the Lord beside us. That is what I have really been trying to focus on here because that is all we can do. We can't do this on on our own.
Right after we read a chapter with our class we were paired up with another companionship and practiced teaching. Sister Grigg and I were paired up with a companionship of elders that have really been struggling with the language and just being here at the MTC. You can tell they want to be here, but don't completely know for themselves why they are here. They were the missionaries first and taught my companion while I observed. They struggled a lot with the language until we just told them to speak in english if they had to and to teach from their hearts. It was a lot better, but still a little rough. I just listened and asked Heavenly Father what I could say to them that would help. I ended up telling them that no matter how bad or choppy our Chinese is, if we testify and teach what we can with out hearts that will bring the Spirit and make all the difference. I also told them to look straight at their investigator when they are testifying. It makes it so much more personal and really hits your heart because you can see their belief and their testimony in their eyes. And that is much harder to deny than a lesson given passively.
We had our chance to teach after that and I don't think Sister Grigg and I have ever been so unified in a lesson. We had had no time to prepare, but we simply asked about their concerns (as investigators) and testified in what Chinese we could, using English when we absolutely had to, and always had an answer for him from our hearts. When one of us didn't know what to say the other did. I think we were both getting into this mock lesson and I could definitely feel the Spirit so strongly.
I can't tell you how much I have learned here at the MTC and how much my testimony has grown as well as my ability to listen to the Spirit. It truly is an incredible atmosphere here. The Spirit is everywhere! If you just stop and listen you can feel it in class, during planning, or even in the cafeteria and I love it! I can't believe I have been here for going on four weeks. A lot of the sisters that were in our residence hall have left and we are losing almost half of our branch this week.
Other than that I don't know what else to say. I love you all so much and am constantly grateful for the amazing family that I have been blessed to have. I know I am loved and I thank my Father in Heaven every day for the many blessings I have.
Tell Jemma I love her! And I think of her every day! Her crafts and pictures make me so happy! I'm so glad she loves kindergarten! I was thinking of her on Tuesday when she started. I finally got her letter sent along with the signed release form. They wanted me to send it in a padded envelope so keep an eye out for that. I just sent it this morning.
I love you all, and hope to hear from you this week!
With all my love,
Sister Fernley
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