The MTC is still hard, but I am really enjoying it :)

Hola familia!

Well I am now on my "3rd" week here in the CCM (that's MTC in espanol :) ), don't ask me why, but they count half weeks as full weeks. According to them I will be here for 10 weeks. Anyway, I learned my departure date. Turns out I leave for NYC on Sept 10. Guess what that means? My first proselyting day will be Sept 11. It should be a particularly good day to teach people about Jesus Christ.

Thanks for letting me know about that shooting. How horrific! I heard about it the day after it happened, but it was through the MTC grapevine and so all I knew was that there was a bad shooting in Denver and that children died. Really sad.  It is just more of a testimony of why we need the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives.

Things are going well here in the MTC. It still is pretty crazy, but I feel like I am learning and changing a lot. Our "investigator" that first week is now our teacher. His name is Hermano Galvez and he is kind of nuts but in a really good way. He is very intense, full of energy, and very funny as well. We have a lot of fun. He also is from Guatemala and so its quite a blessing to be learning spanish from a native speaker.

Gym time is one of my favorite times of the day. The Gym is closed for construction, but there is still a lot to do outside. Hermana Mortensen and I like to play beach volleyball with some of the elders from our zone. We had a pretty insane rally that lasted almost a full min, which ended with me spiking it on an elder......it was pretty awesome. I know I lucked out seeing how I kind of just jumped at the right time and he didn't, but anyhoo its a lot of fun to play with them. And now they also know that Hermanas can play volleyball too haha And yes Dad, don't worry, I am getting a workout. I usually just run around the volleyball courts for the first bit of gym while mi compenera plays :)

It has been really HOT here. There is something wrong with the AC in the MTC. We had our devotional last night in the cafeteria (because the gym is closed). That is a lot of people to be in a room with no AC. Thankfully, I am a sister and don't have to where suit jackets :)

The MTC is still hard, but I am really enjoying it. The miracles just seem to keep pouring. I feel like I struggle with the language in the classroom and feel like I don't know any of it, but then when I am teaching an "investigator" or member in the TRC, I can literally feel my tongue being loosed and I am able to teach with the little Spanish we know. My companion and I are also getting better at teaching together. At first it was mostly me talking, but we have been really working on trusting in the Lord, working really hard, and praying very earnestly that we can communicate in our lessons. On our last lesson with our first "investigator" before he became our teacher, the spirit just out poured its blessings. I was for some reason very nervous but mi compenera and I prayed very hard that we would both be able to teach by the spirit and express our feelings. We were teaching about Jesus Christ, His suffering and death and His role in the Plan of Salvation. Again, we did not know a lot of vocab, but we had faith. I also prayed that we would both be able to experience the spirit loosing our tongues. Again, prayers were answered. We were both able to equally speak and share our testimonies of Jesus Christ and how His sacrifice and atonement have blessed our families. We were able to talk about the plan of salvation and how through Jesus Christ we can be with our families eternally. The spirit was so powerful and the love we felt for our "investigator" was so real. These role-plays are incredible in that, even though we know the investigator is an actor, we feel the spirit and love for him just as powerfully. It is hard to have to teach someone in Spanish when I don't know it, but I am grateful that they do it this way and so soon. I feel like they through us into the fire to teach us that God will not let us burn.

I feel like my testimony has just illuminated since I have gotten here and that I am almost a different person, even in these two weeks. The gospel of Jesus Christ is simply faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end and the gospel is EVERYTHING. It is living and stands on its own. It is what was restored through the Book of Mormon and it is what will save us all. I am privileged and so grateful for this opportunity to invite others to come unto Christ and partake in it.

I love you and miss you. Thank you so much for all of your letters and support! And thanks for allowing me this opportunity.

Until next week!

Hermana Chipman