Well I've had another great week here at the MTC. Thank you all for the wonderful birthday gifts and letters. I loved receiving them!!
We got our flight plans yesterday morning!! We were all so excited. It almost felt like a Christmas morning. We were even more excited to find out that we will all be on the same flights together for the most part. I am so grateful that we will all be going to the same mission. We are closely bonded and I'm glad we don't have to be totally separated. We will be leaving Sep 8, which is a Sunday. Our first flight takes off at 6:10 PM in SLC. I can't remember the times of my layovers, but I will send those to you soon so you can know when to expect my phone calls. We have a layover in Los Angeles and in Hong Kong. It's going to be a very similar flight as my one to Singapore so I know what to expect. Lol. I am so excited to get out there! I thought I would be nervous but I'm not at all. I just can't wait to get going on everything. I feel like I've learned a lot of Tagalog and I will work really hard this week, but I think I am pretty well prepared, or at least as well prepared as I can hope to be. I just want to get out there.
I got to hear from another Apostle this week. I feel really blessed! The spirit was the same. I felt the reality of Heaven. I felt the presence of the Savior. Seriously, I think I know what it will feel like to be in Heaven, at least in part. The Apostles carry that spirit with them. I will at least be able to recognize the feelings I think when I get there as I'm sure you all will who have the church in you lives. I am so grateful to have the gospel in my life. It is God's true doctrine sent to us so that we might be able to find our way back to Him. I am so grateful to know what the purpose of life is and who I am and where I come from. An answer to one of my prayers this week was that for a moment I received revelation (in the form of a sort of feeling + idea) about the fact that Christ knows me better than myself because He remembers who I was before I came here. I know He has a specific plan and purpose for me on this earth. I am so grateful for that knowledge! I hope you can all feel the same and that you can all have the same revelation given to you. I feel very loved and okay with myself. I recognize that it is a miracle that I can even receive that kind of revelation. I am grateful that I have been put in the MTC and given the responsibilities that I've been given because they have forced me to follow Christ. And now I have such a greater understanding of Him and of His doctrines and why they are what they are.
Oh yeah, so the Apostle was Neil L Anderson. He spoke about love and sacrifice. He said, "We sacrifice for what we love and we love what we sacrifice for." I know that I have been stretched to grow more than I ever could have thought I could since I've been on my mission. God intentionally makes life a little bit more difficult for those who commit to follow Him and for those who are faithful to Him. It is more difficult because the trials are greater, but easier because I have better access to His love and I know that I cannot fall very far for He is guiding me. I think of the Apostles of Christ who walked the earth with Him and I think of Christ Himself. They endured unimaginable trials. What I have learned, however, is that I am going to be grateful for the trials that God will send to me on my mission because I will then understand suffering better. I will have more compassion for the poor of the earth who suffer much. I will also have a greater appreciation for the suffering that my Savior went through for me. It is humbling but satisfying. I know I will have great trials on my mission because I have now received two priesthood blessings that have told me so. In my last one, the Elder said, "remember that as you endure through these trials, then the blessings will come." I was feeling really down Wednesday night after I had received this blessing. God let me feel the weight of the burdens that I will have to carry. I was sad and I was a bit confused because I wanted God to give me relief from burdens that I already had, not more to carry. I don't even know what these trials will be, but I just felt burdened already. But in my heart I felt a bit of comfort knowing that Christ stretches those who choose righteously on purpose and that because of my suffering that I might have to endure I will become stronger and more compassionate. One of the biggest struggles about being a missionary is that you have to overcome selfishness. There is no room for it when your life's purpose is to bring people to Christ. My life is for them now and so I have to be put on hold for a while. I will tell you all the truth. IT IS NOT EASY. In your prayers, please remember to pray for strength for me. I need it. Yet, through it all, I am happier than I have ever been before because I am so grateful for the wonderful lessons I am learning. I am learning about the secrets to life and how to find peace and happiness! I bear my testimony to you that God is real. We are His children. He has a plan for us. He loves you. We have the amazing opportunity to become better than we were before in this life. Don't let trials get you down. Don't let your mistakes make you feel guilty. We have a Savior who has atoned for us and who has demonstrated PERFECT LOVE so that we might be able to return to our Father in Heaven. There is no way around needing humility in this life. It is so much better to be humble. You will be more happy. Rely on your Savior. Learn from Him. He can teach you everything you need to know and He will most likely teach you through your experiences, so watch carefully! Take time to ponder and study. I promise He will speak to you.
I love you all. After Elder Anderson's devotional, we got to walk home in the rain. It was so fun! We were all soaked, but I was so happy and we just had a lot of fun. That was probably one of my favorite experiences that I've had here yet.
I think I need to head out now, but I will try to write soon. Sorry I didn't get a letter sent this week.
LOVE YOU SO MUCH,
Kell
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