3 Days till the SQUARE!!

Hello Beautiful Family and Happy Friday!

I apologize no email came yesterday and I hope it didn't frighten Momma too badly, but we began Visitor Center Training this week so our schedule COMPLETELY changed. We are leaving for the Square on Wednesday morning!!! YEAH, like THIS WEDNESDAY!!! I am soooooo excited.

VC (Visitor Center) training has been wonderful and packed also. We started last Wednesday and it has involved a whole lot of learning the history of our sights and figuring out how to apply that history to church doctrine and teach it (specifically the doctrines found in lessons 1, 2 and 5 in Preach My Gospel). It has been a mental challenge and I LOVE a challenge so life is GOOD. God is also definitely blessing us already with the ability to memorize, recall and apply history and doctrine.

We have the largest VC class in MTC history with 34 sisters in our disctict (we sent our 5 Elders to Canada last week so we have a new disctict). The majority of us are going to Temple Square, but we also have some sisters going to the Washington DC Temple VC, Nebraska Winter Quarters, and then some to the Mormon Batallion VC! Cool eh?!

The first day of class was AMAZING because right at the beginning we went around and shared who we are, where we are from, what our reaction to our call was, and something unique we will be bringing to our Visitor's Center or Historical Site (Temple Square is both). we have sisters from EVERYWHERE going to Temple Square and they all have the most amazing life stories. We have sisters from Argentina, Peru, the Netherlands (Dutch speaker!), Japan, China, Cambodia (only the 2nd sisters to serve Temple Square from her country), Germany, Uganda, Australia, and even Nepal (her Dad was the first member of the church in Nepal!!). As these sisters went around and expressed the excitement and honor they felt when reading they were being sent to Temple Square, or the "face of the church" to represent their country it was incredibly humbling and helped me realize how blessed I am to be able to represent the United States on Temple Square, and how perfect this call is for me.

Highlight of the past week other than VC training was DEFINITELY conference! Talk about a spiritual FEAST. Wow. I really loved Elder Oak's talk about how God Loves us, and in order for us to receive the fulness of His love and show love in return we need to follow His commmandments. Sure His love is free, but His blessings must be earned. OH! After Elder Holland threw down his powerhouse testimony about the divinity of the Book of Mormon it was like the entire gym of 2500 missionaries let out the breathe each of us had been holding in the entire talk. If I could testify through the Spirit to even a third of the degree those apostles and prophet testified with last weekend I'd be one happy missionary and there would be a whole lot of happy Temple Square converts. And that's my goal.

One highlight was also being given the code for that "secret room" the Spokane Elders told us about (remember when they talked about that room sisters always went into and kept locked?). haha, it's awesome. It's for the VC sisters to go and practice leading tours and become familiar with the materials available to us at our sites (kiosks on every topic, pictures, media, artifacts). Dang, I'd have to say I have been blessed because most missionaries don't have an entire block of powerful visual materials and historial buildings and artifacts to use while teaching and testifying of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. So blessed.

Lastly, and I wanted to thank Uncle Russ and Aunt Laura for the first Aid kit and the Geneology book. Talk about tender mercies from the Lord. I haven't gotten sick yet (knock on wood), but almost all my roommates are sick, missionaries have been quarantined with the swine flu and the NO TOUCHY (even more than usual) policy is in force-we can't even shake hands. However, the first aid kit has helped cure many-a-sick-elder and sister. The geneology has also proved a HUGE blessing in our VC class. The two stories of Elijah Wilson and Nicolai Sorenson have were PERFECT Uncle Russ. The Mormon Batallion sisters have read the stories you gave me of OUR ancestors and been so thankful for more information about their mission, and I even found out I am related to one Sister Sorensen in the class also going to Temple square and our goal is to find that picture of the boat our ancestors came over on that you said is on the Square!

Well, time is runnning short, but I love you all and I cannot wait to see some of you in November.

I saw Joshy last week for the first time-he came and visited and I cried like a baby. What a blessing and tender mercy from the Lord EXACTLY at the moment I needed it.

LAST- HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA< MOM AND JOSIE!!!! packages are on the way.

Tell Bear to keep recovering!!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL!
-Sister Brett #3