Ok what happened to the time?! It has been a month and I can't believe it. I still feel like such a beginner. But I know the Lord is blessing me every day to learn new things.
Thank you SO much for the Christmas package and I did get your other package with the oranges, granola bars and the skirt, so thank you so much! It has been so fun to have something fun to open everyday. Please tell Sister Palmer, Marta and Keith, Kailynn Hermansen, and Grandma and Grandpa and everyone thank you so much! They were so sweet to send fun things!
Last week Hermana Masters and I were called to be the Sister Training Leaders for our Branch/Zone. It has been such a cool opportunity! We got to welcome all the new missionaries in our Branch yesterday. There are 4 new hermanas and 4 elders. One of the hermanas is the sister of a girl that I knew at BYU. My friend from BYU was Michelle Andelin and she was in one of the Folk Music Ensembles with me there. So I´m excited to get to know her little sister. I'm excited to get to know all of the hermanas better. We had a little orientation with them last night and then took them on a tour of the campus. It was fun to see Sister Master's get all excited. She loved showing them around - she is adorable. I love her and I'm so grateful I get to have this MTC experience with her as mi compañera! She is fantastic.
I also saw Tiff the other day! She came and ate lunch with me since she works here and she can! I can´t believe she´s married now. I´m so happy for her and John and I wish I could have been there for their wedding. Oh and Hermana Master´s and I realized that we actually potentially met a second time before coming on our mission. She is cousin´s with Devin Oakes wife, Karaleigh Roland and we totally went to their wedding reception and she was a brides maid. Isn´t that crazy and funny? Anyway - I forgot to tell you, but her family actually moved to Phoenix last summer, but she's been living in Spanish Fork with her Aunt and Uncle for the past year and a half. So I'm sure we have other connections that we just haven't realized yet. Haha!
Something that I've really grown to love here are the words to hymns. It is so meaningful when you actually think about what you are singing. Christmas songs are especially meaningful because you are proclaiming of the Savior and his birth. We have the opportunity to watch Music and the Spoken Word every Sunday morning here. Why haven't we listened to that more often before?? I have felt the Spirit so strongly every time we listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing these beautiful hymns. Do we even realize, when we are singing, what we are proclaiming of? Does the world, amongst all of the "commercialness" even realize the significance of what they are singing about when they sing Christmas music about the Savior? I guess as a full-time missionary, I am just feeling the meaning of these songs even more. We all have opportunities to be missionaries and proclaim of Christ. As members of the church, we are messengers for Christ. We all knew Him before we came and we wanted more than ever to bring everyone to Him. Anyway - I have loved singing hymns here. The Spirit touches my heart every time all of the missionaries are together singing hymns. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a messenger of Christ.
Another thing I'm learning here at the MTC is that I can expect more of myself. The Lord sees so much greatness and value in each of us. So why on earth don't we expect greatness from ourselves? Why do we (subconsciouly) settle for mediocracy. It is too easy to become complacent and the Lord has so much in store for us, so why do we procrastinate our learning? Why do we hold ourselves back from learning all that we can, from gaining as much knowledge as we can? I know it is very important to find balance as we are learning in this life. We can't run faster than we have strength. But, I have come to realize that I CAN expect more of myself. We all can expect more from ourselves. We might not think we're capable of doing hard things...or things that we think are hard. But the Lord is on our side. He's got our back, so why do we doubt anything? But, we have to exercise faith in Him. When we are obedient to the Lord He blesses us, and we can expect Him to bless us because He has promised us that He would. "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." (D&C 82:10)
I have to go now - I have so many other thoughts...I hope to write some letters later this afternoon, so hopefully I'll be able to share more experiences in those. I love you all! I know the Lord is completely aware of us. He wants to bless us! Have a wonderful Christmas! I'll miss our Christmas Eve together, but have fun!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. - this morning I tried out for the Christmas talent show. Hermana Masters helped me figure out a cool fiddle arrangement of God Rest Ye Merry Genlteman and We three kings...she gave me her opinion and we think it's pretty cool. They said I'll get to play it on Christmas morning, so I'm super excited! I did some cool chucking and shuffles...like what I taught Aubree. We're excited!
Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hermana Ashlee Carroll
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