7-16-13

Hey guys! Okay first Im gonna crank out all the general news I have to share:

 

First of all, you guys can make your emails as long as you want, because sis Kunkel and I print them out in the morning so that we dont waste computer time reading them. Also, thanks so much for the package! So great to get stuff from yall....and thanks Claire for the cookies! Anyway, those socks that you sent are fantabulous and really helping me with my feet. They still hurt really bad in multiple places, but I mean the doctor said that I didn't have any lasting damage, so I guess just lots of ibuprofen is the way to go. He said he could do a custom insert for about 300 dollars...but I don't want ya'll to spend that much money when I don't even know how much it would help.  Also, Sister Mildenhall, guess what?! I went and gave Sister Nally a big huge hug for you. When you told me to keep an eye for her, I didn't realize she was the mission President's wife! haha I was kinda scared to go up to her, but she was so sweet and friendly. She seriously seemed like a clone of Carollyn. Also, as the new Sister Training leaders, we get of list of all the incoming missionaries in our zone. Guess who will be in my zone? TYLER MOLINARO. How cool is that? Get ready for an awesome time Tyler. Can't wait to see you :) Guess who else I see ALL the time? My dearly beloved cousin Bresia. Yeah, she is two doors down from my residence room. How cool is that? I see her every night and we talk all the time while we brush our teeth and get ready for bed. I even got to sit by her in choir practice. What a blessing. I am so happy to be able to see her often and we can support one another. That's what this life is all  about: supporting one another.

Speaking of which, I have a cool story about that very idea:

So, this week has been a bit rougher than the others. You definitely  have ups and downs as a missionary, which any RM can understand. I started to get really discouraged and felt totally inadequate as a missionary. I began to doubt that I was good enough to qualify  for the Spirit because of my pride and my huge inadequacies. I just kind of gave up on myself and it was a horrible feeling, because all I want right now is to be a good missionary. The thought of not fulfilling that purpose is devastating and so many missionaries go through it. Anyway, I wasn't myself at all and was way stressed, but I didnt really realize it. Luckily my teacher did and called me out of the class to talk to me. When she asked if everything ws okay, I just started crying (I know right? I don't cry very much in front of people) and told her how inadequate and unworthy I felt. She made me look her in the eye and tell her if I was trying my best to be a good missionary, which I replied yes to. Then, she said, "then you already are one", and I realized then that it was true. God doesn't want perfection, because we are all imperfect. We are only perfected in and through Him. All He wants is a sincere desire and a willingness to do as He asks. Then He can fill in the gaps, which I have many of those. My teacher also read us the talk "His Grace is Sufficient" which EVERYONE should read if they are feeling down on themselves. Then she told me to research the Gift of the Holy Ghost, so I did.

Here's the cool part. I had all these great scripture written down about the qualifying, inspiring power of the Holy Ghost from my research and I was feeling great, but then guess what. Sister Kiunkel started getting down on herself in the same way I had and I could see exactly what was happening. Luckily, I had all of these scripture that I could just whip right out. Even more, I could testify to her that the Atonement is real for all of us, because I had JUST experienced it's power for myself. Those scriptures really worked for sis Kunkel (Moses chapter 6 is the best) and soon we were both able to teach and plan by the Spirit again. I know Heavenly Father directed my teacher to have me research the Holy Ghost  so that I could then help my companion. You see, we are all here to take care of one another, and God has a hand in it all.

 When we are feeling down on ourselves, we don't necessarily forsake God. We just think we are unworthy of Him because of this or that. It's as if we think He somehow doesn't know that we are worse than He thinks or something. But you see, Christ has ALREADY suffered all of our shortcomings and pains. He ALREADY knows it all and He understands. He wants us to be perfected through  Him, not on our own. He is waiting for us and we are the ones pulling away. All we have to do is trust God and have faith. If we don't think He can save and fulfill and qualify us, then we are calling God a liar, and then we may as well not believe in Him in the first place.

The Holy Ghost is the Comforter. It can fill us with the love of God, and give us answers if we are willing to listen. If  we truly and humbly desire inspiration, we are ALL worthy to receive it, imperfect and flawed as we may be. Remember that repentance is a gift, not a condemnation. It lets us leave our shortcomings behind and step forward into a fresh new day. Yes, we will repeat mistakes. God knows this. But when we repent, we have a DESIRE to not repeat our mistakes. We have a desire to be better. If we let Christ change us, He will truly turn us into masterpieces, but we have to trust that we deserve it first, which we all do. Life is beautiful. People are beautiful. We are all worthy of love. I know that God will pour it upon us if we will only let Him.

Oh, one more thing on the topic of repentance. Watch the Mormon messages Youtube video called "Reclaimed". It's awesome. Watch it.

Okay I love you all sooooo much. I love hearing from you, and youre in my prayers. Keep in touch!

 

Sister Huntington

7-9-13

Alrighty guys, the clock has started. Seriously, p-day is kinda stressful, because you want to say so much in soooo little time. But I'll do my best, k? I got your package! It was fabulous and thanks so much . My district got a kick out of your missionary survival kit dad.....I would recommend using Tupperware for any food you send though hahaha, The cookies were somewhat resembling pancakes. They still tasted good though. It really just feels so good to receive a package and know how loved I am. Oh, and I trust that anything Machelle cooks would be amazing, but if she wants to get crazy, she could even send cinnamon rolls, and my district would be in heaven. Thank you all who are supporting me. It means the world. Also, Dad, Sis Kunkel gets a kick out of hearing about your garden. She makes me update her every time, so keep it up haha.

  My foot is alright. I saw a specialist yesterday, which was weird because Sis Kunkel and i went into the "real world", which was Provo....so that probs still doesn't qualify as the real world, but it's a step away from the MTC. He recommended me to wear raised shoes and inserts, but nothing big. What a blessing. I keep waking up in the middle of the night with horrible foot cramps though, so I have been downing bananas as much as possible. No worries though. I'm so excited for Bresia to come. She gets here tomorrow right? Oh man, she is going to love it here. It is so awesome how strong the spirit is here. I know I'll see her. I've seen everyone I know like a million times. Maybe she will even be in my building!! Tell her to get pumped though. The greatest time of her life is about to start....or I'll just tell her myself tomorrow :)

   Okay, so here's a cool update. Guess what! I got a calling. So, since getting here, I have been really praying and looking for ways to help uplift others and learn to be more selfless. I think that pride is really something that I need to work on and get rid of and service is the best way to that. Sis Kunkel and I have been trying our best to uplift everyone in our district and help them with the language and to bring all the girls together (you know how girls can have tiffs? well, the trio of girls in our district have a lot of tiffs, so we try to keep things positive and build them up). Anyway, we were doing our best, but I still felt like I needed to do more, like I needed to learn more. Then, this past Sunday, Sis Kunkel and I were asked by the Branch President to be the new Sister Training Leaders for our zone (it's like a girl version of zone leader). At first, I was super freaked out, because I haven't really been in a position like that in the church and I felt extremely inadequate, but of course we said yes.....then took some deep breaths. It's not really a big deal, but I want to do my best to fulfill every responsibility God asks me to do. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is an answer to my prayers, because now I have the chance to serve even more missionaries. I can help the whole zone instead of just my district. I don't think I'm any more qualified than the other girls, but hopefully I will learn a lot. I am finally understanding why it is so important to learn obedience in this life. The scriptures tell us that Christ gave His will to the Father and that is what gave him power. True power is only used for the improvement and uplifting of your fellow men. The more we learn obedience, the more power God can trust us with, and the more people we can help. You see, we don't lose ourselves when we submit our will to God. We actually become all that we were meant to be! We reach our full potential. Imagine if Christ had not submitted His will to the Father. The Atonement wouldn't have happened and He would not be our Savior. I still need to work on this quality... a lot....but I'm so thankful that I'm beginning to understand it, because it makes everything so much easier. In a devotional, we learned that God does not call us to repentance because He is angry with us. Yes, it is so that we can be clean and pure, but the real reason He calls us to repentance is out of love and mercy. He wants us to stop hurting. He wants us to let go of the pains and burdens of this life. Repentance is not for Him, it is for us. I can't wait to find out what Heavenly Father has in store for me to learn, and I know that the more I obey Him, the more I will see His love for all mankind in every moment. Oh here is one funny story real quick: so there are some words in the Portuguese language (PS, sis Wright and I are apparently having sleeptalking convos at night now, haha) that sound very similar, but have VERY different meanings. Today, our teacher told us some of the words that we have said that we should not say again......Parte means "part", but parto means "to give birth". Also, animado is how you are supposed to say "excited", but the literal translation of excited is "excitacao"......our teacher explained it DOES mean excited......but not how we want it to hahahaha. Oh man, we are going to make such fools of ourselves in Brazil. I cant wait!

Please pardon my horrible grammar and punctuation. Im typing as fast as I can.

 

Ill check here again later today, so hopefully you'll respond again. Life is so beautiful. Every moment of every day can be if we can but remember Christ. He can solve anything and fill us beyond our own capacity. I know this is true for all of us.

 

LOVE SISTER HUNTINGTON

Email from 7-2-13

Hey hey hey,

 

Okay so sister Kunkel and I have strategically planned out our day so that we can spend a little time in the morning doing emails.....then you can answer, and then we can use the rest of our hour in the afternoon, so it's almost like having a conversation!!! Yeah, we're pretty smart. Of course, it will only work if you respond.....or send an email in the first place haha...which you didn't, just sayin. I did get Sister Mildenhall's letter, which was sooooo sweet. Please give her a hug for me. She is such an inspiration to so many women, including me :) Also, please tell Loretta that she has a thank you letter on the way for her package. Imagine the biggest smile on my face when I picked up a massive package filled with amazingly delicious cookies and new clothes! So cool. Everything fits great and I was just so overwhelmed by the amazing generosity. Packages are seriously the most exciting thing in the world. People walk by with a package and tear into it while they are walking, eating goodies out of the box, and everyone wishes they were them haha. Speaking of packages, if you choose to send one at any point, there are a few things I would request. Mom, those tan socks we got for my dress shoes. Yeah, I wear those everyday....and I'm gonna need more, much more if I want to avoid having constant blisters that bleed. Also, Mom, I think I forgot that tan and red dress that you altered for me.....because it's not in my room.....so I hope I forgot it or we might have a little leprechaun stealing things from our room. Finally, I bought a watch! I feel like Dad would be proud. It's really cute too. I was constantly asking Que horas sao? and I got so sick of not knowing what time it was (not to mention that telling time is not one of Sister Kunkel's MANY strengths....she really is so amazing though). I was wondering though, how long do watch batteries last? Do you think I should buy an extra just in case before I go to Brazil? Just wondering. Also, thanks for the Dear Elders. I think they are backed up at the front office, so I haven't actually received them yet, but saw them in my email and read them. Make SURE you send them to the right address too. Also, remind everyone that they are so easy to send....and the highlight of the day. Also, you can send as many emails as you want, just so you know and then I can print them and read them without using up computer time, so feel free. Just some ideas.

Anyway!!! wow, things are still busy busy busy here, of course. We have taught so many lessons in straight portuguese and yesterday our district had an english fast, so we ONLY spoke in Portuguese. It was actually a lot easier than I expected and sooooo helpful for my speaking . During the lesson we taught, I was just chatting away and words would just pop into my mind. I'm telling you guys, the blessing of the Spirit are so real. Once you start speaking so much in another language, you start thinking in it too. And you know how I sleep talk? One of the sisters in my room told me she heard me sleep-talking in Portuguese! I thought that was pretty neat, although Im sure my grammar was waaay off. I can't believe how much I can see and feel the power and love of 

God since coming here. You know, it isn't the location. It is the mindset. Anyone can come closer to the Spirit with the right mindset, but we have to shed our mind and hearts of all the doubt that sinks  in and floods us with fear. It's so easy to be afraid and start to doubt that God knows us and loves us. It's something we all must go through. Now, I just said that the environment doesn't determine how we feel the Spirit, because I worked at the MTC and it was just a bunch of buildings to me. BUT immersing yourself in the right environment is so so helpful. I think one of the reasons I'm able to feel closer to God is because I'm not a part of all the distractions that bombard our minds every day all day. It's such a privilege to have the chance to clear my mind of all my past worries and future plans and just think in the here and now. Everything we missionaries do is focused on others, but as a result, we learn so much about ourselves. I think that is because as I learn to love others, I come closer to Christ, who knows me better than anyone. As I grow closer to Him, I'm able to see myself as He sees me. I can feel it. When I feel the Spirit, I feel valued. I feel loved. I feel like I have limitless potential, but most of all I feel like sharing it with others. Dad, you said that you were worried about the direction our world is going. It's true, there is so much sadness and confusion, but there is also light and the light is spreading. We can each be a beacon, and we have to share the love of Christ constantly in order to give others "hope for a better world". I don't worry so much that our world is filled with sorrow and suffering, because we live in a universe governed by opposite forces. If there is darkness, there must also be equal light of that measure. We can be that light. We can live up to our purpose, which is to share this light and help it grow, so that it can spread and overpower the darkness. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I know it, and I'm coming to understand it a little more each day, but there is so much to learn and even more to feel. Christ is our hope for this world. Share His love. It's really very easy, and remember that we are soooooo sooooo loved by God and we CAN feel it if we sincerely ask for it and strive to come closer to Him. I know that the nature of God is a loving Father. I know it and we can all know if we ask and search the scripture for answers with an open mind. I love you all soooooo much. I'm sorry if this was preachy. I really don't want it to be. I just want everyone to know how great they are and how much God loves them. I want them to feel it, because then they will see how amazing every human is and can become :) I'll check my email again this evening and give a few more updates. Love you love you love all

 

Bom gia!

sister Huntington

First email from Tess 6-25-13

Oh my goodness!!!!! I can't tell ya'll how great it is to hear from you. It feels like I have been gone for so much longer, but it's great here.....so great! Someone said that the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. I've never heard anything more accurate haha. My first day was so stinking overwhelming, and the second day. I thought I would fall asleep standing up, but there is such an amazing energy here. Oh, I have so much to say, but my fingers can't move fast enough, so please excuse any typos I have. Before coming here, I was so worried that I wouldn't fit the sister missionary profile because I thought they had to be somber and serious all the time (which we all know is not a strength of mine). That's not the case at all though. Everyone here is so happy all the time and it's genuine joy. It's not an act guys, I promise. There is something about being a missionary that helps allows the simplicity of the gospel to truly settle in your heart and mind. Of course, we are ALL missionaries, right? Because being a missionary is not about having a name tag. It's about sharing the love of Jesus Christ with every person we encounter. We so often wait for  ways to share "the gospel", but we don't have to talk about the Book of Mormon to be a missionary (not that I'm discouraging that. more power to you). Here at the MTC, we are training our hearts and our minds to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the gospel of love and charity, so all you have to do is genuinely try to love all those who you interact with.

  Anyway, I'm sure you're dying to here about life at the MTC so far. Well, it's.....a lot of stuff. I've never studied so much in my life. I know that for a fact. The first day we got here, we were thrown into a world of Portuguese, and one day later, we had to teach a lesson to an investigator(volunteer) in Portuguese! No English. We study, then have class, then  eat, then study, then study, oh and study some more, then teach an investigator again some days. that probably sounds like spiritual boot camp, but I promise it's not. Yes, sometimes my brain literally feels like total mush, but every day is filled with smiles and laughs and learning. I'm learning so fast, and I know it's only because the Spirit is helping me. I can already pray completely in Portuguese and bear my testimony, and Sister Kunkel and I speak in Portuguese throughout the day almost as much as English. I swear, it's a miracle and a blessing. I absolutely love the Portuguese language. Sometimes I get frustrated that I can't just completely switch over and express myself in this beautiful language. It's so great, and I meet people who have to learn Japanese or Icelandic and then feel sooooo lucky that all I have to learn is Portuguese. Did you know that Japanese constructs it's sentences backwards!? Ah, that sounds so hard. Guess how I know that. I found Julia my roommate here, who is going to Japan. I have seen so many people I know here, which has been so nice. It feels like a home away from home. Even more, I feel so comfortable because of my AMAZING companion. she is honestly the greatest. I know Heavenly Father paired me up with her as a tender mercy. I couldn't ask for  a better companion, and she is in my mission!! How convenient. we might even be companions again one day. Sister Kunkel and I have a blast all day, but we also push each other to learn the language. She took 6 years of Spanish, so she is better than me at Portuguese, but she encourages me and is so humble about it. Sometimes we might be a little too goofy, but I promise we stay in line ;)

  what else? Well I dont know if you guys watched that missionary broadcast this past Sunday, but I was there with all of the prophets in the room. It was like a mini general conference, except all about missionary work....so better haha. They made some very interesting announcement. We are going to be integrating email and facebook and texting into our missionary work worldwide, so we will see how that works. We also got to meet our new mission president and his wife. He barely speaks English, so that was interesting, but he seems like a very competent person. He isn't actually from Ribeirao Preto, so he couldn't tell us much about the place, but he said it is quite wealthy. \

   There are a lot of rules here, but it is more self-enforced. You know I'm not always keen on rules I don't understand, but here there is a spirit of trust and I can feel that being honest and true will edify me. Well, I need to run, time is so short. but here is my address. Please give it to anyone and everyone and tell people about dear Elder because its so convenient! It's really pretty depressing watching everyone in your district get mail and packages when you know you won't get anything haha. I know you love me though!! Write lots, it's such a lift, even if it's only a little line of encouragement. You are all the best. I can truly feel your prayers in my heart and you are all in my prayers. This gospel is simple. Remember that. People need to feel loved and God wants us to share it. Please do, because it can't be done without everyone's effort.

 

 Sister Tess Elise Huntington
JUL30  BRA-RIB
2009 N 900 E Unit 171
Provo UT 84602

 

Love,

sister Huntington (my name tag is so cool....and it's fastened with a magnet. pretty sweet)