WE GOT OUR FLIGHT PLANS!!!!

I never thought this day would come...but it has! We got our flight plans and will be leaving next Sunday the 4th (Conference Sunday). I am SO stoked! This also means I get to talk to my family on the phone ;) yay! We leave the MTC at 1:00pm, fly out of SLC at 4:55pm (get to LAX at 5:55pm), leave LAX at 9:00pm (get to New Zealand at 6am on October 6th because of the International Date Line...I will never live October 5th haha), then we have a 11 HOUR layover and leave New Zealand at 5:00pm. We arrive in Tonga at 7:55pm Tuesday night. So crazy! I LOVE flying though, so I am looking forward to it :)

On Sunday, I got to give a talk in church. But in the MTC you don't get much warning. They don't announce who is speaking until right before you have to go up and speak. Luckily, I had kind of prepared something and it only had to be 3 minutes!

We got two new sisters in our room who are going to Fiji aaaaand one of them in Tongan! I LOVE the Tongans here they teach me so much and they are HILARIOUS! I'm super grateful we have her in our room for this last week before we leave!

This past Tuesday for devotional, Elder Craig Clayton (I think that's who it was...), spoke to us. In honor of the passing of Elder Richard G. Scott, he shared us a thought Elder Scott told him a couple years ago. Elder Scott said something along the lines of, "don't let your strong feelings get in the way of the Spirit." Meaning, that when we have firm testimonies about a particular subject we tend to push those strong feelings on others. As missionaries, we may feel passionate about a certain gospel principle or a certain way to teach, but we must to be open to the Spirit so that we might know how to touch the hearts of our investigators. We must know what our investigators need to hear and it's going to be different every time, so we need to listen to the Spirit. Teach People, Not Lessons. 

Also, there's a devotional that Elder David A. Bednar gave at the MTC a while back entitled Character of Christ (they still play it at the MTC on Sunday nights). It is wonderful...so go look it up!! It talks about how the Atonement was only possible because of the Christ's character--who He is! Our tendency is to turn inward, but Christ ALWAYS turned outward. I am striving to develop a character like Christ's.

I learn so much everyday here! This week I memorized the First Vision in Tongan...I am still working on polishing it up! I love the Tongan language because you can dissect words into other words...it brings so much more meaning to every word! I am so grateful to be learning a language even though it is SO stinking hard! haha

Hope you all have had a great week!! Remember to always share God's love with everyone you meet...we're all children of a loving Heavenly Father. Oku ou ilo oku ofa ae Otua kiate kitautolu. Oku ou ilo oku tali e he Otua etau ngaahi lotu (I know God loves all of us. I know God answers our prayers). 

Ofa Lahi Atu!!!!!!

Sister Reid

More people I've seen at the MTC: Sister Sara Lowry, Sister Kate Mitchell, Elder Cade Young, Sister Hailey Egbert, and Sister Amy Slater (my visiting teacher)!

Hurrah for Israel

This week was wonderful! I love being at the MTC. I was sick for a few days but it wasn't too bad. I had a little fever but I went to class anyway (even though I dosed off a couple times) and took a nap during gym time and after that I felt fine! And I've been mostly better ever since...except it made me lose my voice so I have sounded like a man this week. 

FUNNY STORY: Sister Medina (my companion) was putting tabs into her Bible and when she was almost to the end she said, "there are so many WEIRD named books in the Bible! Like, Charts. Who has ever heard of Charts?!" I looked at her for a second wondering what that book was and then I realized that there was a tab for the Charts in the back of the scriptures. I almost died. I couldn't stop laughing. 

This past week for choir we sang "Hurrah for Israel" - a song written by prisoners for Elder Groberg (the Elder from the movie the 'Other Side of Heaven') when he went to visit them. It made me super pumped for Tonga!

Our Online Coordinator calling is going really well! President Willes checked the reports and said it has improved a lot! I think there was a lot of misunderstanding before with the missionaries. At the MTC, no one tells you what to do (internet, dress, study, going to bed on time, etc) as much as I thought they would. You really are on your own for obeying.

The Sisters going to Fiji are leaving on Monday and although I am excited for them, I am super sad! They're like my best friends. Two of them are from Tonga and have helped me with the language so much. Tuesday night at zone prayer the four sisters going to Fiji sang for us in Fijian and it was beautiful! We were all in tears (I promise I don't cry that much...really...but at times these Polynesians bring tears to my eyes...haha) I am so grateful for their wonderful examples! They are so funny and so sweet!!

The language is coming along...slowly but surely...Sister Medina and I pray in Tongan at every meal together and we've made a goal to bare our testimonies in Tongan to six times to different people each day. This has helped a lot. So far, we've memorized (in Tongan) our name tag, the Missionary Purpose, and the Baptismal Invitation! Now, we're working on the First Vision. I pray for the Gift of Tongues and for the ability to understand the language all the time and I know eventually I will be able to speak it...I appreciate your prayers for me so much!! So thanks. Elder Bednar promised missionaries when he came to the MTC last year...something along the lines of...that we will speak our mission language and receive the Gift of Tongues if we pray for it, work hard, and ask all of our family and friends to pray for us to :)

One of the highlights of my week is going to the temple! Each time I go I feel so much gratitude for the ordinances that are performed there and the covenants that are made. This week Sister Medina and I did Sealings. My heart was filled with gratitude for the knowledge that I can be with my family forever. We must always be faithful and do what we know to be right! I am grateful for the ordinance of the sacrament that we get to partake of each week! It is the only ordinance we get to continue doing for ourselves! It is such a beautiful ordinance. I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for the opportunity I have to be a representative of Him!

Oku ou ilo oku mo'oni 'ae ongoongolelei 'o Sisu Kalaisi. Oku ou ilo oku ofa 'ae Otua kiate kitautolu. 

I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that God loves all of us.

Thanks for all the love!

'Ofa Atu!

-Sister Reid

 p.s. I never have time to read through my emails...so if they don't make sense...sorry haha

Falala - Trust

Malo e lelei! 

Time is flashing before my eyes!! We leave 3 weeks from Sunday and it feels like I just got here! But I'm loving every second.

On Sunday, Two of the Elders from the Fijian district, Sister Hosea, and I sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth" in Sacrament Meeting. It was amazing. Sister Hosea has THE most incredible voice and she had us sing a little bit of a different arrangement...some Polynesian arrangement...SO beautiful!

A Little Bit About Everyday Life at the MTC:

GYM: Mondays and Wednesdays we do a little workout (squats, crunches, push-ups, calf raises, etc.) and on Tuesdays and Thursdays we go to the gym and play volleyball and run. It feels so good to move after sitting in the classroom all day!

CAFETERIA FOOD: I eat a bagel and fruit every breakfast, a salad or wrap for Lunch, and either another salad or the main course for Dinner. I can't eat the main course too much cause it feels like there's a brick in my stomach for the next day. But they have delicious salads so I'm happy about that!! 

CLASSROOM: Personal Study/Companion Study/Personal Language Study (all focused on preparing to teach our investigator later that day). When our teacher is there, we work on sentence structures, some vocab, and then we teach our investigators. Learning the language is a struggle but I am seeing fakalakalaka (progress) everyday! 

Sister Medina and I got called to be the Online Coordinators for our Zone. On Thursday, forty new missionaries came into our Zone (which is a ton!!) and so we trained them all on how to use the internet properly, what training and language tools they can access, how to write the Branch President, and what sites are appropriate (AKA don't get on social media, etc...) there's been a big problem with that at the MTC. We're going to re-train everyone the beginning of next week. 

Throughout my mission, I have a goal to work on a Christ-like attributes each month (18 months=9 attributes...go through each of them twice). Thank you Anna Nielsen for the idea! This month is FAITH. I've loved reading about Faith. My favorite resource on any simple truth of the gospel is the Bible Dictionary! Everyone needs to go read Faith in the B.D.!!

We just got three new international sisters this week from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand. They are WONDERFUL and have strengthened my testimony so much! A couple nights ago, after Zone prayer, I was talking with Sister Wamura (the Sister from Papua New Guinea). I asked her how she liked the MTC. She started telling me how grateful she is to be on a mission but how hard it has been. Her eyes filled with tears as she went on to tell me how she worried if her family had anything to eat and if her siblings were able to sleep at night. She said that she helped provide for her family and wishes that she could keep helping them. She made $7- $9 each week (and she was diligent in paying her tithing even though people told her she needed to save money for mission clothes...her suitcase was full of clothes and shoes when she left for her mission). Then she looked at me in the eye and said, "But I know that because I'm here serving a mission the Lord is taking care of them." What a great example of tui and falala (faith and trust). She then shared her testimony about how she knows this church is true. It made me cry. She said that she doesn't care if she has money or clothes but as long as she has the gospel she's happy. Her Spirit is so strong. She told me about her experience of praying to know if the First Vision really happened and how she knows that it did. 

Yesterday, she got sick and had to go back to her room. She was supposed to go through the temple this morning (they don't have a temple where she's from) so we went to check on her to see if she was going to be able to go. When we asked her if she wanted to rest and wait till next Friday, her eyes filled with tears and said, "I want to go to the temple tomorrow. I know Satan is trying to keep me from going and I'm going to go." This morning she went through the temple and it was such a beautiful experience to be there with her and the Spirit was so strong!

I am so grateful for such incredible examples of Faith and Love! I am so blessed to be apart of this work and have the opportunity to share such precious truths with our Brothers and Sisters!!

Ofa Lahi Atu!!

Sister Reid

Everyday is a Good Day

"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life" (3 Nephi 5:13).

I am finding more and more each day what my call as a missionary really is. President Willes shared that scripture with us and it reminds me everyday, along with putting on my name tag, who I represent. I am so blessed to be a missionary. President Willes is an amazing man and I feel so much love from him every time I talk to him. He told us we can choose to feel that "Everyday is a Good Day" and it's so true. Our attitude makes such a difference. I found out this week that he is President Hinckley's nephew...and he looks just like him!! His wife said he looks more like President Hinckley than President Hinckley's own sons do. 

Language: Learning the Tongan language is a lot of fun...but SO hard. I learn a lot every single day. There are days when I feel like I am really progressing but other days I feel I have hit a large bump in the road and it takes a while to get over it and continue progressing. This past week we taught our investigator (our teacher Brother Maikolo) in Tongan but we could use notes...tomorrow night begins teaching in Tongan but with no notes. I am a little bit terrified but it'll be good for me! I memorized the baptismal invitation this week and we have studied a couple sentence structures so we're going to use that!  

My teachers (Brother Fisa (Fisher) and Maikolo (Michael)) are so wonderful and I learn so much from them everyday! They are so patient with us. The Elders in our district can't sit still for longer than 2 seconds but Sister Medina help them stay on task ;)They are all the oldest child in their families so they tell us we're the older sisters they never had. I will admit, it can be a little rough sitting in the same little room for hours each day. The people at the MTC are my best friends. I love everyone here. 

GUESS WHAT?! Elder Dallin H. Oaks came and spoke at the devotional on Tuesday and it was so wonderful! It was broadcast to all the other MTC's. I sang in the choir and afterwards everyone told me that they zoomed up on my face haha. The meeting was so wonderful. A couple things I liked: --He talked about the importance of always having the Spirit with us. We must always be worthy of it and that's why taking the sacrament each week is so important. 

Almost all sins can be forgiven and that offers reason for the hope that is within us

When teaching or talking to others...Don't Assume too Much...We must Ask Questions!

In our meeting with President Willes this week he had us study D&C 88: 118-125. Thoughts we discussed from a couple of the verses:

(vs. 119) - replace the word "house" with another word (for example, we replaced it with "district")

(vs. 121) - "lustful desires" - what are we having a hard time letting go of for our missions (tv, phone, music, etc) he had us write it on a piece of paper and we ripped up the paper and put it in the garbage.

(vs. 125) - mantle = like a cloak, charity = pure love of Christ, we are trying to be like him, Be Charity...let it be in your very nature.

Thanks for all the love and support...I really am SO blessed to know so many incredible people!

'Ofa Atu!

Sister Reid