Where Do I Begin!

HOLY SMOKES PEOPLE.

The MTC...AKA Missionary Training center is the most amazing place on planet earth. My mission has only just begun but I already know that it is by far going to be the best experience of my life. I have learnt more in this week than I have in what feels like my whole life...not to mention I have been more productive than ever, and I definitely dont have enough hours in the day to do all that I need to! I wish I could share a little peace of heaven with all of you because it truly is something special here, The spirit surrounds you and you feel so happy all the time, even with things are not going how you want. I have so much I want to share with all of you...but where to start... um... I guess I will talk about my district to begin with. That is the 7 other people that I spent nearly all my time with! And gosh I was more blessed than I ever thought possible. So here is a little description of all of them! 

Elder H...- (from Las Vegas)  KNEW HIM. YUP. Too weird to think that we knew each other already and now here we are in the MTC together. He is great! It honestly took me a few days to get used to seeing him in person all the time. He is so focused on what he wants out of his mission and is going to do what it takes to get there. He is gonna be so go gospel centered by the end of his mission! Such a good example! 

Elder J...- (from Texas) HA. What to even say. He is a pain in my butt. He is our district leader, his leadership skills are so good! He shines when he talks about the gospel and he is so willing to serve and teach. We are all so blessed to have him as our district leader because he just keeps us all moving forward, well adding to the fun! 

Elder L...- (from Utah) does parkore...he actually did a flip in the gym off the wall and got in trouble..oops! He is more quiet, but he is focused and he is super nice! He does a good job just watching the rest of our district be falling apart in laughter while adding these random comments that are just gold! 

(Elder L..., J..., and H... are all in a trio which is sweet!)

Elder M...- (from Utah) What a sweet Elder! He is the one that doesn't say much, nut he is so nice when you can get him talking. He has such a heart, he is always the Elder to make sure I'm doing okay and checks up which is so nice during those hard moments. Just a genuinely nice elder who really is dedicated to the work and loves the gospel!

Elder C...- (from Idaho) keeps us all in line. Our district is so dysfunctional and we all get along so well..we get side tracked so easily but Elder Chandler is alway the elder to bring us back to what we need to do and ALWAYS talks about the gospel. I definintely think our district would get unfocused twice as much as we do now if it wasn't for him! 

(Elder C.. and M... are companions)

Sister P...- (from Nebraska)(the one I knew from facebook) OH MAN. HAHAHAHA She is the sweetest most joyful pure 5'1 sister missionary..what an amazing spirit. Her laugh is so contagious and we sing everything that is said that is already lyrics to the song. Whatever I think...she says. We are literally the same person. We can talk about everything and we do! It is so great to have her around to make everything so much happier. 

Sister T...- (from Utah) What to even say! She is the brains of the operation. Whenever me and Sister Patterson get ourselves mixed up, she is the one to speak things so eloquently. She is the sister that brings me and Sister Patterson back on track when we go a little AWOL her testimony is always shining through, and I dont know where me and Sister Patterson would be without her. 

WE ARE ALL GOING TO KENTUCKY..ALL 8 OF US!!

So that's them! I have never loved any people so much in my life. These Elders and Sisters are my family and I would be so lost without them. We are always laughing and cracking jokes (our poor teachers) and it makes this experience ten times better! Oh...and I am in a trio with those two sisters and our Branch president says that we are the poster perfect trio because we all compliment each other so well and we get along..almost too well for our own good.

I was also called as the sister training leader...umm I dont even know what I have to do to be honest. Well I do! I have the opportunity to look over the sisters in my district (my companions) and also the four new sisters that will be in our zone(our sunday congregation)...who come today. How humbling of a call to receive but I am going to do my best and love them with all the power of my heart! 

We have two.."investigators" one is our teacher, brother Langford...aka Michael. and the other is Sarah..who we have no idea if she is a member who is acting or is a real investigator. the MTC pays people to com in and act or just come in and listen to knew missionaries. Teaching is way harder than it looks. But really when you have the spirit in the room to guide and direct you..then you are set! and I am so blessed for the chance that I got to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all these people...and eventually Kentucky! I have gained so much love for serving while being here and I just want to reach out and help all that I can by sharing with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that they may have a relationship with their Father in Heaven and with their savior. 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is TRUE. this church is TRUE. Jesus Christ's church which he established on the earth during his like is still here in fullness! I know that with every fiber of my being. I have such a love for my savior who died for me and made it possible to find relief from even the hardest times that i am sure to face. As I rely on him, I dont have to feel hurt. So many times while bring here I have felt the love of my savior and of Jesus Christ, and I have had hard times. But PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED. You want relief? God wants you to have it. You want truth? God wants you to have it. I know that as we pray for answers and truth and guidence, and are willing to act on the feelings we have..we will find exactly what we are looking for. 

This gospel is my life. I glory only in my God, not in myself. I love this work. I love everything that I am doing and I love everyone around me. I love all of you more than I could express and I love all your support and emails. HOW BLESSED AM I. 

God be with you all,

Sister Wagner

p.s. MISSIONARIES LOVE MAIL...dear elder is amazing google it..make an account and if you write it before noon i can get it that same day! to send it mission code KY-LOU departure date AUG04 and unit #193 

mish pics

Ooohh the typical mission pictures, props to my lovely cousin, Shannon, for taking me to a beautiful spot to take some photos! 

 

Candid's make the world go round

 

 

 

              

            

   

 

I bid you farewell

Today I had the opportunity to give my farewell talk! I was so blessed to be able to speak on my favorite scripture and the one that will be placed on my mission plaque. I can't believe in just 10 days from today.. I will be on my way to starting my wonderful mission adventure! ENJOY! 

Good morning brothers and sisters,

I find it crazy to think that in just 10 short days I will officially be a full time missionary, and because of that, I get to share with you my favorite scripture and my testimony today. My favorite scripture is found in the Book of Mormon, Mosiah chapter 7 verse 33. At this point, Ammon and a couple other brethren have made their way to the land of Lehi-Nephi, and a man name Limhi is king. At this time, King Limhi’s people are in bondage to the Lamanities…King Limhi was a righteous king who wanted to do what was right. In Verse 33 at the very end of the chapter, King Limhi gives his people great advice, It reads (he says):

But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.

I love this scripture because of how simply the concept is laid out. We are told exactly what we need to do, and we are told the blessing that comes along with it. In this scripture we are promised that the Lord will deliver us out of bondage. This doesn’t mean when we are taken by someone and tied up, or enslaved by someone else. Of course we can look at it that way, but it can also mean that he will deliver us from hard things, times when we are struggling, when we see no way out, when we are afflicted and feel broken. He promises that he will help us in our time of need, when we are lost or alone and have no where else to turn, he will be there, and he will relieve us from what is holding us back.

For this blessing to occur in our lives, The Lord asks us to do a few things.

 Number one: turn to him with full purpose of heart.

He wants us to look to him in everything that we do. He wants us to recognize his hand in our lives and appreciate what we have. The Lord wants us to really give everything we have to him, our time, our effort, and most importantly, our hearts. He wants us to want to look towards him, to love, trust and to serve him with our whole being. Even when we feel like we might not have anything to give, nothing to offer, he just wants to see us try.

Number two: put your trust in him

The Lord wants to know that we accept his will, that even when hard times may be at hand, that we lean unto him as the one who we can trust. Even when our path seems cloudy, we should always remember that no matter the amount of visibility, the Lord will get us through. It might not be the way we want, or the way we expect, but we will be brought through with greater growth and understanding of God’s love for us. How comforting it is to know that he can see the beginning to the end, that he knows what path to lead us down to get us to where we want to go. It’s up to us to trust him, and not worry about anything after that. It isn’t as easy as it sounds, but the Lord recognizes our efforts. I love the scripture found in Proverbs (it reads): “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”.

The third and final thing that the Lord asks us to do, before he promises to deliver us out of bondage would be to:  serve him with all diligence of mind

We must be willing to serve, now this could be in the form of a full time mission, your church calling, or even helping your family or your neighbor, in Mosiah chapter 2 it says “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.” It is as simple as that. But we must do it with all diligence. We must put everything we have into serving. We have to look for the chances to reach out and uplift and make someone’s day brighter every chance that we see. That isn’t always an easy task. I find it hard sometimes to help others when it would be so much easier to do something else more selfish. But the blessings that come from serving others are tremendous and I’m so excited to have the opportunity to spend 18 months focused completely on others and making their lives better and bringing them closer to Christ, while coming closer to him myself. 

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The last part of the scripture that I want to mention is a part that is easily overlooked. Let me read the end of the scripture again

“..If ye do this (this being the three points we just talked about), He will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.”

ACCORDING TO HIS OWN WILL AND PLEASURE.

Brothers and Sisters, the Lord wants to help you. He wants to make your life easier, he wants to direct you in your life. But he will not take away your agency. As you look to the Lord and show him that you want him in your life by following Christ’s example of service and diligence, by trusting his will, and doing all you can to dedicate yourself to him whole heartedly. He will GLADLY bring you peace and comfort and deliver you out of the binds that hold you down.

But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.

It’s a simple scripture but as you look into it more, you can see that it give us instruction to help us continually move forward.

***TESTIMONY***

Until next time, 

-- Sister Wagner