An Apostle Spoke to Us.

Hello everyone! I am still in Provo at the Missionary Training Center! Still no word on my Visa. We did find out that the Spanish Consulate Office was closed for the whole month of August, so that may be one reason why we still do not have our Visas. WE are scheduled to leave the MTC on September 20th!! That is only two weeks away! I can't believe it! If I have not received my Visa by September 16 or 17th, I will probably be assigned a stateside transfer. This means that I may be starting my mission in the US, and then I will go to Spain when I get my Visa! We'll see what happens! It might be exciting to go somewhere in the US for a few weeks!

Things are still going great! I feel so strongly that I am at the right place at the rig

ht time in my life---what a wonderful feeling that is! I still teach 'fake' investigators. (We call people who are learning about the church investigators. We just got two new teachers this week, so we got two new "investigators". My companion Hermana Crowder and I are improving so much in our teaching skills--it is still difficult at times because of the language, but I just love teaching people about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Understanding that God is our Heavenly Father and that he loves us is so powerful and can truly change peoples lives. Additionally, I love teaching people about the Atonement of Jesus Christ---this is the central part of what we teach about. It is so amazing to k now that no matter what we struggle with in this life, that there is One who knows exactly how we feel. Christ keeps his hand extended, and will comfort us if we come unto him. What a joyful message this is to share. I cannot wait to get to Spain so that I can help others learn how they can come unto Christ, and feel His love through using the Atonement in their lives.

CHECK OUT THIS BRIEF MORMOM MESSAGE ON THE ATONEMENT

This week was particularly exciting because an Apostle, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, came to speak at the MTC on Tuesday night.

For those of you who are not familiar with the LDS Church, our church is structured and organized just as Christ structured and organized the Church during His earthly ministry. We have a Prophet who receives revelation (like the Prophets in the Bible.) The prophet is the President of the Church, and the Twelve Apostles assist him with the work of testifying to the world that Jesus is the Christ. It was so exciting to hear an Apostle of the Lord speak here at the MTC. There are nearly 3,000 missionaries here at the MTC, and the spirit was so incredibly strong when Elder Holland spoke to us. He talked about many things, but I will only share a few with you. Throughout his talk, he spoke about how his mission has meant everything to him. He stated that he does not think that a single day has passed in the past 50-60 years that he has not thought about his mission--it truly helped to shape his future.

Elder Holland decided to answer some questions form missionaries at the end of his talk. One missionary asked: What is the most important thing that Christ wants us to know right now? ELder Holland answered this by saying that Christ wants us all to know that He told the truth--about everything. This means that we must trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and follow Him with exactness.

Another question that Elder Holland answered was: Why does God love us? Simply put, God loves us because we are His Children. Elder Holland then stated that although he is not perfect, nowhere near perfect, that the only thing that he is almost perfect in is his love for his children. Elder Holland stated, with tears in his eyes, that he would literally do anything for his children--he would even give his life for them. He continued by marveling at the fact that if he being an imperfect being could love his children so much, how much more could God, a perfect being, love us! God loved us so much that He gave His one perfect son (Christ) for all of us imperfect ones. God loves each of us individually, and know each of us individually. The spirit was so strong during and after Elder Holland's talk. I know with all of my heart that this man is called by God to testify of Christ and to invite other to Come unto Christ.

I can't wait to share this message with the people of Spain!

Take Care!

Hermana Valerie Letendre

No Visa....

Hello everyone! First off, still no word on my visa! I don't know when I will find out about it, but hopefully I will find out soon! we have been told that like much of Europe, Spain told nearly closes down in August because most people are on vacation, so since September is nearly here hopefully our visas will be arriving soon as well!

This past week has been great! My companion, Hermana Crowder, and I had an amazing lesson this week! One of our teachers, Hermano Nava has been acting as an individual named Raul for the past few weeks so that we can practice teaching. Raul has been very difficult to teach at times, but we have had some amazing experiences with him. We have learned so much about figuring out what peoples needs are, and teaching to those needs. Even though Raul is a "fake" person, we felt so much love for him and wanted him to experience the happiness that the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring. IN our last lesson with Raul he committed to be baptized--what a great moment that was. I am so excited to get to Spain so that I can teach the people there.

I have to cut this post short because it is time for me to go to bed! The fire alarm just went off, so I just spent the last 25 minutes outside instead of writing this---Life at the MTC is great!! :)

I hope you all are doing well!

Take Care,

Hermana Letendre

Yes, I'm Still at the MTC in Provo, Utah...

Hello everyone! Greetings from Provo, Utah. Yes, I am still in Provo...Not in Spain. Our training program is 9 weeks long. I was supposed to leave for Spain on August 9th, but I still have not received my Visa! I live with three other sisters who are also going to Spain--none of us have received Visas. If we get our Visas within the next 3 weeks, we will be sent to Spain as quickly as possible. If not, we will probably have to serve the first 6 weeks of our mission somewhere in the United States before going to Spain. Although I am anxious to get to Spain, I really like the Missionary Training Center in Provo and all of the missionaries I have met here! I especially love the beautiful mountains of Provo and the delicious Chocolate Milk from the BYU Creamery!!

My schedule here at the MTC is booked from 7am - 9:30pm. It is extremely tiring, but I love it! I LOVE my companion. We are starting to really enjoy teaching together! Right now we teach lessons about the gospel of Jesus Christ to our teachers who act as investigators. When we teach, we always teach only in Spanish!!!

I have learned so much since I have been here that it is difficult to express it all in one blog post. Also, I do not have much time to write. The biggest thing that I have learned is that the only way to truly teach others in a way that allows them to tryly learn is through love. I have realized that there is no difference between getting to know someone and teaching them. In order to teach effectively, you must teach through the questions that you ask to get to know them. I hope all of this makes some sense to you. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that in teaching others about something as personal and sacred as the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is so necessary to understand the needs of every individual that I teach.

I love this work! I love serving the Lord! I hope that the next update that I have for you will be that I am leaving for Spain!

Take care everyone! I will write again soon!

Hermana Letendre