ETERNAL PREPARATION

  

Wow! MTC, each day, is literally a roller coaster of emotions.  I go from every end of the emotional spectrum within each day! these last few days though, it's most just been the happy end, because I'M SO HAPPY BEING A MISSIONARY! maybe at the beginning i set too high of expectations for myself and was wanting to do everything and be the best that i could be at everything but i learned, "just do what i can! be the best that i can be!" which is what i've done my whole life so i don't know why i had to relearn that here! but i have!
being a missionary is so great. and it came when i was trying not to be one which is why i love it even more! even here at the mtc i just love EVERYONE i see, which is so awesome i don't really know how to describe it! i have the BEST teachers out there. I know they are my teachers for a reason i have learned so much from each of them. and i'm glad i'm learning in english! this is my native tongue! it will stick so much better! BUT! i have had a couple french ''investigators" to practice on (teachers) and they say my french is not bad! and onw of my teachers served in my exact mission so me and him just talk about the mission that i already love and he loves so much. he says my mission presidents are aweome and he said that he knocked on every single door on one of the islands! how cool! i'm so excited to be an islander!

I watched an old devotional sunday night from elder bednar that's only for missionaries that was truly mission changing. and because mission is preparation for life... it's truly LIFE changing!! he said that when the natural man would turn inward, Christ would turn outward. wow! and there's SO MANY examples of this in the mission! so, in my desire to come closer to Christ, i decided to try and act liike him and turn outward when the natural man in me would turn inward or be selfish.  WOW! what a cool thing to learn! and the being a missionary thing just kind of falls into place afterwards! so amazing!

Honestly, i cannot get over how much I love my companion sister Bartsh. she is so great. I'm so blessed! we laugh so much! (probably too much) but you know what, no! God wants us to be happy! it's ok! i will miss her. I know that I'm going to have an awesome time in the west indies and i can't wait to meet my companions or my mission presdients or the people! i know that the mission is going to be even harder than the MTC but it's ok! i've already seen how happy it can make me but really who cares? for the next year and a half I am the Lord's tool! I need to just forget myself and go to work (and who would have guess that that's the key to happiness? oh geez this gospel is perfect)

So, i'll be there monday night! pray for me! i feel it! and your letters and support mean SO MUCH on a mission! i knew that but didn't fully realize until i got here. so grateful for all of you and especialy for family and grateful that i can be here!

Sister Tenney