Week 3! (mtc)

Bonjour mon amies et famille! This has been such a great week! On Tuesday, my companion soeur Nelson and I had are first TRC. It's where we teach actual member volunteers in French. It was stressful. But we taught two lessons and there was a noticeable difference between the first and the second. During the second lesson, I felt the impression to just stop and listen. (I had been going through what I was going to say next in my head.) When I began to just listen to what he was saying, I was able to feel the spirit. When I felt prompted to speak, it was from the heart and it flowed smoothly. Le don de langues (gift of tongues) is real. I understand so much more than I ever thought possible in two and a half weeks. That being said, I have a LOT to work and improve on! But I know that the Lord blesses those on His errand. (Thank goodness for that!) I had the most amazing opportunity to host last Wednesday. There were 450 new missionaries coming i. It was incredible. I lead some new sisters around, showed them where everything was, and helped them transition in. It was hard work because we had to carry all of the luggage up the stairs. And let me tell ya, sisters DO NOT pack light. And most of my girls were on the fourth floor. By the end of it all I was absolutely exhausted. And yet, I felt so much love for these new missionaries. I loved having the opportunity to serve and comfort them. It was just like when I arrived at the MTC. It was so hard to believe that exactly two weeks ago, to the minute, that was me! I have grown so much since then. It feels like I have been here forever. days feel like weeks, and weeks feel like days. Time is paradox when you're a missionary..... Fun story, I sang in the choir this last Thursday for our devotional and got on the monitor like 4 times. The speaker was amazing. Brent H Nielson, from the seventy. He asked a very powerful question: Do you want to be part of something majestic? Do you want to be part of something great? This (missionary work) is it. It is the most powerful movement on the earth today. I am so grateful to be a missionary! I love the spirit of service that I get to feel ever day! I love my purpose. I love the spirit. And I love my Savior. I took part in a role play in front of my district yesterday and was able to testify of the power in the Book of Mormon. I never fail to be amazed at the power the spirit brings to me despite my weaknesses and worries. The spirit gives me power far beyond my own. I am so grateful for that gift. This Sunday, my collague (companion) and I get to teach relief society. I am so excited! Our topic is enduring to the end. Planning for this lesson has been such a joy. My testimony has been strengthened. I feel very strongly that there is always something better that we as members can be doing to stay closer to Christ. If we have something that is not necessarily bad, but not necessarily good, we should work on just letting go of it. We can't keep just one hand on the iron rod forever. If one hand is holding to the rod and the other hand is holding on to something else, we will never be able to feel the full joy of the gospel. More pressingly, when the storms come, (and they will) we should already be clinging tightly to the rod. Not only that, but being close to Christ brings a grater joy than anything else in this world. I love the safety and clarity this gospel brings. I just can't deny that it is true. The more I learn, the more I know that. I love my savior so much. He is the reason. I hope everything is going great with you all! I love receiving your emails and hearing about how things are going in the real world. I love you all so much! Love, soeur Bates<3