A Powerful and Humbling Week

Dearest Family!

Hello from the MTC!! Thank you so much for your letters this week! Recieving them all together like that was wonderful and I poured over them. Dad- I hope you are going better and please know that you are in my every prayer. As is the rest of the family, not in a homesick way, but in the manner that I trust my Heavenly Father to watch over and protect you. Mom- thanks for keeping me humble : ) Jason- Chocolate chip cookie. Sheena- Did the Primary get my card I sent them yet? I sent it to Sister Drummond. Mom, Camber and Cody- I have a special letter I'm sending today for you to share in young women's over a special lesson I learned this week.

Onto the joys of this week!!!!!!!! There are so many I may run out of time. I mentioned Hermana Ruiz last week and discovered that she was in fact our other teacher, Hermana Tartaglia. I absolutely love her. She has the gift of bringing the Spirit into a lesson. Last weekend when I was having a hard time with something she pulled me out of class to make sure I was alright. She told me things I knew Heavenly Father needed her to tell me. She told me that when I was teaching the gospel to Hermana Ruiz she thought I was absolutely beautiful. Now, I might consider myself acceptably attractive usually, but when I teach the gospel I feel beautiful. The light of the gospel has the effect on each of us I believe. This week we also started with two new investigators, Juan and Maria. It is a beautiful and wonderful experience to prepare as much as I can, pray for the Spirit, and to feel to power of the Spirit bringing words to my remembrance or prompting me to share certain scriptures or thoughts. I truly feel like I'm becoming an instrument in God's hands. See Alma 17:10-11.

Last Sunday I was called as the coordinating sister for my zone, meaning I'm responsible for all the sisters in the zone and report directly to the branch president. It has been an uplifting and wonderful blessing to serve in this capacity so far. We welcomed three new sisters this week and on this next tuesday Hermana Tanner will depart for the CCM in Guatemala. Pray for her to arrive safely please. Not only do I love helping the new sisters (and elders) settle in and teaching them of the first lessons on companions, goals, and personal study- I love serving with my two zone leaders, Elder Pliler and Elder Burke. They are wonderful men and we balance each other out, or compliment each other.

We've had some wonderful speakers this week and I don't have enough time to give all the details, so look for more details in my upcoming letters home. On Sunday night, President and Sister Daines of the Provo temple spoke to us about the temple and specifically about how the temple prepare and assists in the missionary work. It was a unique environment of completely endowed members of the church- I don't think there is another place besides in the temple that you know every single participant in endowed. Given the setting, President Daines had been given special permission to speak fairly boldly and he emphasized that every single thing/symbol/ etc in the temple points to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So this morning as our district attended the temple, having sought out symbols of Christ in our scripture study this week, it was a powerful and humbling experience in the temple. Words cannot describe the absolute joy that fills my soul in the temple and as I learn more each time I attend. After the devotional last Sunday, we watched a talk by Elder Bednar given here in the MTC entitled "The Character of Christ" . He said " There would have been no atoning sacrifice without the character of Christ." Among the many attributes of the Savior he focused on the fact that the Savior TURNS OUT, when the rest of us would turn in. He is forever reaching out to others even in his moments of need. Re-read Matthew 4:11 and look under Joseph Smith translation. Angels were not ministering to Christ, rather He sent them to minister to John the Baptist. This kind of "turning out" will enable us to be converted unto the Lord, not just to gain a testimony. Our conversion in this marvelous gospel must be to the Lord, not to our transitory leaders and friends, not only to how things are in the Church, but converted unto the knowledge that we trust in the Lord to shape us within his gospel. I could go on for hours on what I learned....but Elder Rasband of the presidency of the Seventy came on Tuesday and spoke powerfully over the Spirit in our lives. His wife's talk really touched my heart as she that we must leave the worldly identifies and accolades at the door and go forth to serve, not as the world might label us, but how the Lord sees us. I know this gospel is true without a shadow of a doubt in my soul. Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and Redeemer.

Love,

Hermana Koerner