I am loving my time at the MTC!! So much is happening here and June is the ABOLUTE BEST month to be in the MTC. June is the month that new mission presidents enter into the MTC, so the entire quorum of the 12 will be here and most devotionals are an apostle. Because of this special occasion, the MTC held auditions for a 36 voice choir from the MTC to sing at the devotionals held every day for the first presidency, the quorum of the 12 during the end of June. I auditioned and was accepted! We rehearse every morning at 7 am ... it's amazing how good we sound at this hour. My companion, Sister McGuire (the vocal performance major) was also accepted, so we go together, though she is singing alto and I soprano, so I don't really see her while we are rehearsing. I am so excited for this opportunity and am going to try to memorize all my music by next week (when it needs to be memorized). I also ended up volunteering to narrate a section in the special devotional for Independence Day ... I'm pretty busy.
I am learning so much German and our teachers (Bruder Duvall and Bruder Swensen) tell us we are moving at double the pace that most groups move. That is encouraging, but still leaves us with a lot of responsibility and memorization to keep up with. There are currently 4 districts in our zone (each about 7-10) and two are leaving this week. The other group is only 3 weeks older than us, and so wonderful. We will be getting 3 new districts on Wednesday! My companions and I are to be the examples to these sisters and our district needs to be especially careful to be examples to all 32 missionaries arriving. My Branch President (Pres. Curtis) and his wife are so excited for this large group to come. It will almost triple the size of our zone.
I want to share an experience I had with a "full-time" investigator (they are ALWAYS in role and dress in street clothes, so they are just like investigators). In our first week, we met Daniel Limon, from Mexico City and ended up in a slightly heated discussion about doctrines. We were so new and nervous, that we shyed away quickly, but bore simple testimony before departing, but we made another appointment. As a companionship, we worked hard on LISTENING to him and showing him we are here to teach and love people, not lessons.
I have so many wonderful experiences each day and try hard to soak up the abundance of the Spirit that is here. Yesterday, we watched a devotional Elder Holland gave in 2000 entitled "the Miracle of a Mission". Most of the talk was inspired on the spot. He emphasized over and over that "my mission meant EVERYTHING to me." As you might imagine Elder Holland would say in the way that he just seems to want to jump up and down. This is the only opportunity I have to do this and it is the MOST important work that can be done right now. I want to enhance every moment and be the best instrument in the Lord's hand I can be. I have learned so much and am excited for another week of growth and knowledge. Thank you for all your uplifting letters. I cannot tell you how much it means to a missionary to get mail of Spiritual experiences and daily activities. With the disappoinments that can come (yes, even in the MTC--I treat my investigators as if they were real), it is so helpful to get experiences you are having. If I need advice from what you learned on your mission, I will ask, but please send me uplifting stories you remember from your mission. I love you all.
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Sister Carla June Carroll
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