Letters from Meredith...

Hola, familia y amigos!

I can't believe I've been here for six weeks already! The time (after the first week) has flown! I'll probably leave in two and a half or three weeks. Crazy! So much I still need to learn! Couple of quick notes: Eimi, I tried to send you a letter to Reynolds but it came back to me at the MTC. If you DearElder me your address, I'll try sending it again! Grandma Vesa, Happy Birthday this weekend!

So many things have happened this week! Our district was struggling a little bit with getting along and such, but we're doing so much better now. When I have the attitude that I need to respect the elders rather than seeing them as 19-year-old boys, things go much more smoothly! Some funny happenings. . . Elder Rood goes to the bathroom about every hour. Yesterday, the other elders got frustrated with him and decided to commit him to read the Book of Mormon while he was in the bathroom. They ran out of the room, and the next thing I knew, they were banging on the bathroom door and loudly questioning, "Leera El Libro de Mormon? Por que no?" It was hilarious! Our teacher just shook his head and said they've been here too long. Good times!

Yesterday we taught the first lesson in the TRC for the second time in Spanish. We were prepared to teach someone who was not a Christian, but our investigator ended up being Catholic. She spoke SO fast, but between my companion and I, we could get the jist of what she was saying. We started our lesson off by singing her one verse of "I Am a Child of God." It really set the tone for our lesson! It was so great! We proceeded to teach her that God is our Heavenly Father and loves us, and we know this through prayer. We taught her how to pray, and committed her to do it on her own. The Spirit was very strong, and I came away with a renewed sense of purpose. This really is what it's all about; personalizing this wonderful gospel to meet the needs of investigators. I'm so grateful for this opportunity! And the great thing is, we weren't that worried about the Spanish! It really just comes on its own! Hermana and I have made a renewed effort to speak in Spanish all we can. In fact, on Monday we had an "English fast," where we tried to speak Spanish all day. We actually did really well!

On Sunday nights at the MTC, they show different films. Some are like "The Testaments," and some are talks by general authorities. This past Sunday, my companion and I went and watched a talk by Elder Bednar called "Becoming a Missionary." I came away from it feeling like there were SO many things I needed to improve on, which is true. I've been thinking a lot about goals and bettering ourselves this week. I think there's a happy medium between setting goals and having aspirations for who I want to become, and setting so many goals that I'm not able to accomplish any of them and I feel completely inadequate. The Lord doesn't want any of us to feel inadequate. He gives us challenges so we can grow, but He provides a mechanism for that growth. I've realized that so many answers and so many suggestions on how I can personally better myself are contained in the scriptures and words of the prophets. Elder Bednar said something I really liked. He said that when missionaries come home, they should stay in the mission field. What he meant was that the habits and characteristics you develop on a mission should stay with me even after I come home. That is definitely my goal. The mission is a very cleansing experience; all day, every day is focused on being the best representative of Christ, serving Him in the best way that I can. I don't want that to change! Hermana Cooper and I were talking about prayers the other day, and we agreed that if the Lord always answered our prayers the way we wanted them answered, we probably wouldn't be very happy. I know that He has answered my prayers in specific ways for specific reasons, and I'm so grateful to be on a mission so I can step back and be able to see that. My companion told me the other day that one of her friends told her that missions are emotional roller coasters because missionaries are closer to the Spirit than they have ever been before in their lives, so the ups and downs are more pronounced. I've definitely experienced this, but I've also experienced the peace and answers that come from praying and reading the scriptures. President Smith, the MTC president, told us in our fireside Sunday night, "Prayer is how we bring Heavenly Father's will and our will into correspondence with one another." So true!

Last night, Elder Charles Didier, an emeritus Seventy, came and spoke to us. He talked about being edified and spiritually mature missionaries. The great miracle of missionary work is that young adults are able to be edified and have their testimonies strengthened, then, with the power of the Spirit, share those testimonies with God's children all over the world. I love this work! I know that these past six weeks have strengthened my testimony and edified me immensely, but this can happen anytime, not just on a mission.

This past week, in preparation for the TRC, our teacher assigned us various gospels to read. Hermana Cooper and I studied Luke. It was amazing! There were so many things I noticed when reading it this time that I've never noticed before. I felt that Christ was so real to me, and I felt that I was doing exactly what He would have me to be doing. The main thing I took away from the reading was the desire to serve. The number of lessons or baptisms doesn't really matter; my measure of success as a missionary (and the measure of success for all members of the Church, I think) is how we serve. If Christ were here, He would be serving. I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to serve the people of Paraguay!

One last thought I want to share with you. In my personal study this week, I came across Doctrine and Covenants 132:3. It talks about purifying our hearts. I thought this was interesting, so I looked up some of the cross-references, and one of them was 3 Nephi 17:3. I loved this! It says that we purify our hearts by obeying the commandments, praying, and heeding the words of the prophets. I've definitely felt my heart being purified as I've concentrated on studying the gospel and not had to think about many other things.

Well, my time is almost up. Thank you all for your letters, prayers, and good thoughts! I've felt them all! For those of you watching General Conference this weekend, enjoy! I'm told it's like two days of Christmas here at the MTC. I hope all is going well for all of you and I would love to hear from you if you get a chance! Thank you for your positive influences in my life!

Love,
Hermana Meredith Cozzens