Well hello EVERYBODY!
I have officially been here for 3 weeks! I am half way done with my CCM experience! AHHH! It's crazy how fast time flies. I have grown so much, accomplished so much, and learned so so so much!
First off, we got to go to the temple today!! I love the temple, and I have such a strong testimony that they are such a blessing. We can feel so much peace, and receive answers there. If you havn't gone to the temple in a long time, GO! If you aren't able to go to the temple right now, Work as hard as you can to be able to go, and I promise that you will feel the blessings as strongly as I have.
Okay, we also had two devotionals this past week. Elder Wilford W. Anderson came and spoke with us on Tuesday. He is the area president of the Carribbean, also a member of the Quorum of the 70 for the church. So, yeah, that was super cool. He talked about how important it is to center our lessons on families. Families are VERY important to a lot of people, and we know that families can be together for eternity. Our gospel is centered of families, so make that known so others can be blessed by it too!
The second devotional was by Elder Bednar (one of the 12 apostles). We just watched a previous devotional that he gave in the Provo MTC in 2009. I am growing such a love for Elder Bednar. He teaches things so simply and so powerfully. He talked about the spirit. Basically, stop waiting for spiritual experiences. He said, so many people ask, "How do I know if it's the Holy Ghost or just me?" That's a great question and this is his answer, "Quit worryin' about it! If its a good feeling, a good prompting, get up and MOVE!" He promised that if we act on the promptings, our steps will be guided. He gave a really powerful story about how when he was on a mission Elder Packer came and he and his companion picked him up and gave him dinner because his plane was stuck in germany. They got Elder Packer and his wife on a train, and he thought they would be hungry so he gave him 20 marks (which is like $100 dollars). Only 20 years later did he find out that Elder and Sister Packer were stopped on the train at the boarder of East and West Germany for a passport check. Elder Packer's passport was fine, but Sister Packer's passport was a 3 year passport extended to 5 years. They weren't accepting them anymore, so Elder Packer put the 20 marks inside the passport, gave it to one of the men who were checking passports, (who he described as one of the darkest men he had ever met) and when he came back with the passports after checking them, he didn't say a word, but the 20 marks was gone. When he told that story to people afterward, they were shocked that they got through. He found out that they should have dragged his wife off the train, and it could have been a very messy situation. Elder Bednar followed a little prompting. It wasn't great, it wasn't magnificent, he did it because he thought they would get hungry and need some money. The spirit doesn't always give us great spiritual experiences. We must just get up, and work, and our steps will be guided.
The CCM is great. We have fun, they teachers are hilarious, and we get through the hard stuff. 16 hours a day is LONG, but we make sure to laugh through it. One thing about life here, is that there are SO MANY BANANAS! So, our favorite thing is Banana's and peanut butter. We have it every day. We learned it in spanish, but we always forget it. then, one day, the cook, Alex, he saw us take the peanut butter out of the cupboard so we could have some and then he took it away from us and made us say it in spanish before we could eat it. The problem is that we forgot what it was, again. FINALLY we got it, but we have never forgotten it again just in case he tests us! haha The word is Mantequilla de mani just so you know :)
I love you all! I love getting your letters, and hearing all about your lives! Keep it up!
Love,
Hermana VanKammen
I have officially been here for 3 weeks! I am half way done with my CCM experience! AHHH! It's crazy how fast time flies. I have grown so much, accomplished so much, and learned so so so much!
First off, we got to go to the temple today!! I love the temple, and I have such a strong testimony that they are such a blessing. We can feel so much peace, and receive answers there. If you havn't gone to the temple in a long time, GO! If you aren't able to go to the temple right now, Work as hard as you can to be able to go, and I promise that you will feel the blessings as strongly as I have.
Okay, we also had two devotionals this past week. Elder Wilford W. Anderson came and spoke with us on Tuesday. He is the area president of the Carribbean, also a member of the Quorum of the 70 for the church. So, yeah, that was super cool. He talked about how important it is to center our lessons on families. Families are VERY important to a lot of people, and we know that families can be together for eternity. Our gospel is centered of families, so make that known so others can be blessed by it too!
The second devotional was by Elder Bednar (one of the 12 apostles). We just watched a previous devotional that he gave in the Provo MTC in 2009. I am growing such a love for Elder Bednar. He teaches things so simply and so powerfully. He talked about the spirit. Basically, stop waiting for spiritual experiences. He said, so many people ask, "How do I know if it's the Holy Ghost or just me?" That's a great question and this is his answer, "Quit worryin' about it! If its a good feeling, a good prompting, get up and MOVE!" He promised that if we act on the promptings, our steps will be guided. He gave a really powerful story about how when he was on a mission Elder Packer came and he and his companion picked him up and gave him dinner because his plane was stuck in germany. They got Elder Packer and his wife on a train, and he thought they would be hungry so he gave him 20 marks (which is like $100 dollars). Only 20 years later did he find out that Elder and Sister Packer were stopped on the train at the boarder of East and West Germany for a passport check. Elder Packer's passport was fine, but Sister Packer's passport was a 3 year passport extended to 5 years. They weren't accepting them anymore, so Elder Packer put the 20 marks inside the passport, gave it to one of the men who were checking passports, (who he described as one of the darkest men he had ever met) and when he came back with the passports after checking them, he didn't say a word, but the 20 marks was gone. When he told that story to people afterward, they were shocked that they got through. He found out that they should have dragged his wife off the train, and it could have been a very messy situation. Elder Bednar followed a little prompting. It wasn't great, it wasn't magnificent, he did it because he thought they would get hungry and need some money. The spirit doesn't always give us great spiritual experiences. We must just get up, and work, and our steps will be guided.
The CCM is great. We have fun, they teachers are hilarious, and we get through the hard stuff. 16 hours a day is LONG, but we make sure to laugh through it. One thing about life here, is that there are SO MANY BANANAS! So, our favorite thing is Banana's and peanut butter. We have it every day. We learned it in spanish, but we always forget it. then, one day, the cook, Alex, he saw us take the peanut butter out of the cupboard so we could have some and then he took it away from us and made us say it in spanish before we could eat it. The problem is that we forgot what it was, again. FINALLY we got it, but we have never forgotten it again just in case he tests us! haha The word is Mantequilla de mani just so you know :)
I love you all! I love getting your letters, and hearing all about your lives! Keep it up!
Love,
Hermana VanKammen