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Whom the Lord calls, he qualifies

Hola Familia!

Como estan? Hows life? Everything is great here. I cannot believe I leave from the MTC in about 13 days. It's crazy! I love it here but I am so excited to get out and serve. I know my spanish is not ready however, nor do I think it ever will be until I get out there and I am speaking it everyday. I also know that I have so much still to learn! We do not have enough time in the day for me to study everything that I want to study.

Well, we do about the same thing every week so for me it's all just repetition when I'm trying to think what to write. Sunday was a pretty eventful day however. So every Sunday we are all supposed to plan a 5 minute talk on whatever the topic is. In spanish mind you, so this is not exactly an easy task. I always do it however because the branch president just calls up whoever he feels should talk that day. This week there was a ton of elders leaving for the field so I was almost positive that it would not be anyone from our district. Guess who gets called up, yep, me. The talk was about repentance and I copied a lot out of PMG, but most of it I tried to do it by myself. So the grammer probably wasn't perfect nor was my pronunciation, but I was greatful and humbled to be called up. After the meeting the branch president pulled me aside and I thought that he was just going to tell me I had done a good job, which he did, but then he extended the calling of coordinating sister to me for the last 2 weeks. So a talk and a calling all in the same day. I am greatful for the opportunity to be the coordinating sister because I think it will help me grow, even if it is only for a couple weeks. I can already see how it has changed me in that I really make sure that my attitude is positive and that I am being kind to everyone.

We also got to watch the dedication of the Brigham city temple on sunday. I really enjoyed it and loved hearing from the apostles, Elder Perry and President Packer. You could really see their love for temple work as they spoke to all of us.

One of our "investigators" , Camilla we have been teaching for quite some time now. She's a 15 year old and she loves the gospel and learning about it. She loves going to church with us and young womens, but we cannot get her to be baptized. We have asked several times but she keeps saying her mom doesn't want her to because her mom doesn't want her to make a decision she will regret, so we don't really know what to say but to have her talk to her which she is to afraid to do. We just keep praying for her hoping that she will get the strength to tell her mom how important this is for her. I love that we get to teach these fake investigators because I know it is helping me a lot. I can come to realize what works best in a lesson and what doesn't.

This week we have been learning about, "teach people not lessons," and it is actually a lot harder than it sounds. Back in the day you just had to memorize the lesson and you were good to go. These days we have to tailor make every single one of our lessons to our investigators which is great because I think it is a lot more effective, but it becomes difficult when we really don't know much about the person. Something we talk about a lot is the importance of the members in a conversion of an investigator. They really are the ones who make all the difference and I would encourage all of you to take that to heart and really try to do your own personal missionary work.

On monday we got to help the senior missionary couples come in. We just helped bring their bags up and brought them to their orientation, but it was so great to talk to all of them. We love the senior missionaries, they really bring a different spirit  to the MTC.

Well, not much more going on here. I had a mini panick attack the other day because I don't know if I'm ready to get out there and speak spanish all the time. It's going to be a bit frustrating for the first few months. Most people I have talked to have said that they finally felt comfortable with the spanish after about 5 months, so that means I only have 3 more to go ;) I'm sure it will come in time. A part of me wants my trainer to only speak in spanish and I'll probably cry myself to sleep everynight because I can't speak with her, but hey I'll learn the language faster. The other part of me wants her to only speak in spanish some of the times, but then I don't learn spanish as quickly, so its a bitter sweet thing.

Anyways, sorry for the uneventful letter. I'm not feeling so hot today so I'm a little bit scatter brained and tired. I love you all and Miss you MUCHO! Take care and remember who you are and what you stand for ;)

Love, Hermana Decker

MTC

From your favorite missionary

Hola Family!!!

Well this week has been pretty good. It's been pretty much the same old same old, but I guess that kind of happens when you've been at the MTC as long as I have. It really is a great experience and I am so grateful for it and the lessons I have learned here. It's so crazy how much someone can grow in only 6 weeks here. I could never grow as much as I have here anywhere else and I can only say that this mission is an amazing experience and it has only been 6 weeks. So boys (ahem.. Colby and Serph), definitely start preparing RIGHT NOW. I guess I'll start by just telling ya'll how my week has been.

Thursday we had TRC and it was a great experience. My companion and I are getting a lot better at teaching in spanish and I feel like our TRC experience wento a lot better this week. We just taught a couple members about the importance of going to church and how we can recieve revelation there. I could feel the love so strong for these people and they really aren't even my investigators. It makes me so excited to go out and serve the people in Alabama because I know I will grow to have the same love for them as well.

On Saturday I had an interesting experience. I think in previous letters I have told you about Elder G and how crazy he is. He's the one who likes to be mean to everyone and we can never really tell if he is serious or not. Well on Saturday I brought one of the letters I had gotten from all ya'll to class to write a quote on the board that Mom sent me. I accidently left it on the table instead of putting it back in my bag and Elder G has a habit of reading things that do not belong to him so he got a hold of it, clearly aware that it was mine since it had my name on it and read it. This isn't the first time he has read something personal of mine, he read my journal about a week ago which was in my bag and he just happened to be going through it. Suffice it to say, I was a little bit angry at him and when I get angry, I start to cry, so I was trying to not explode. He was offended because in the letter it said something about the elders not being fully committed so he freaked out saying that I was writing about how horrible they were and he said some other things but I was too angry to really listen and then he left the room saying something about how he was going to get more baptisms than me. I was pretty livid, and sat there for a moment, then put my head down and just said a prayer that God would bless me to forget the hard feelings I was feeling for this Elder and to help me to handle this in a mature manner and help me calm down. When he came back in I told him that I had told my family that the elders were a little bit distracted and I was sorry if that offended him but I would appreciate it if he wouldn't read my personal things. He was plugging his ears and acting like a child while I was apologizing, but it was really good for me. It really helped me realize that the Lord truly does answer our prayers and he can help us forgive and love others even when it seems imposible. I know that to be true with all of my heart and I am so grateful that he helped me handle that situation. Now elder G is acting a little bit better. I don't know if it had anything to do with me but I he is being a lot more courteous. I love that kid, I just don't always like him ;) The other day he was counting all of his sins on the board and that included mean things he said... he had a lot of marks, but hey he's learning :)

My companion was sick on Saturday again so I had to stay in the residence with her. I took like an hour nap which I know we've been asked not to do, but I wasn't sure if I was being disobedient since my companion was sick and all. There is a lot of sicknesses going around here. One of our Elders has been in his bed for about 4 days now. I am so blessed to not have gotten sick yet (knock on wood).

Sunday was awesome. Sheri Dew came and talked to us for Relief society and she was AWESOME. She talked about the importance of women in the church and how the world doesn't see it. It was really really good. She is such a strong independent woman. Afterwards I got to meet her and she gave me a hug and grabbed my hand and said, "Go get 'em." We taught the branch president the first vision on sunday and I can happily say I got the whole story memorized in spanish.... that's about the only part of any lesson that I have memorized, but it's good because I will be teaching that A LOT.

On Monday I talked in only spanish for a good 6-8 hours in the day. I didn't really get to say much in those hours, but it was really good for me and they really encourage us to do that because it helps so much. That's now my goal, to speak in spanish as much as possible because I still have so much to learn and so little time.

Yesterday we had a devotional which was great by Elder Koelliker of the 70, and I got to sing in the choir. We sang and arrangement of, "Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer" and when we sung the spirit was so so strong. Most of the song is quite and then it gets really strong in one part and many people told us that they could feel the spirit so strongly at that part and I know the choir could as well.

I have been studying Humility this week because I feel that sometimes I can be a bit prideful and I would just like to share a bit that I've learned. In Alma 26:12 it talks about how we are nothing and we are weak but through God's strength we can do all things. Phillipians says something similar in 4:13 "I can do all things through christ which strentheneth me." That reminded me of something that President Uchtdorf taught when he said, "Compared to god we are nothing, but to God, we are everything." I know that I cannot do any of this on my own. None of us can go through this life on our own. We need Christ in our life to make it through each day and he will always help us if we are humble and realize that we can't do it by ourselves. I have such a strong testimony of the Atonement and have felt its power in my life, everyday of my life.

For the kids. Keep up the good work! I love hearing about all of your extracurricular activities, so keep me updated. Brayden, I'll write you a letter because I don't have enough time left. Brooky, you should totally try tennis. I think that would be so awesome. Kids, keep up with the piano, it will bless you and others so so much and for the boys, the chicks love it. Eli, keep up with football, you are awesome and I bet you are a beast out on that field. You're like the biggest kid out there, you can take em all. Kate and Sheky, I bet you are the cutest cheerleaders. Mom and Dad, you are seriously the greatest parents ever, and I'm not just saying that. I have realized how blessed our family is compared to so many others and that is all because of you raising us so well in the Gospel, doing things like praying and such.

To everyone else, thank you for your support and your letters. you all have no idea how much it means to me.

Love you all and miss you all!!!! See ya in 17 months!!

Love, Hermana Masey Decker

Estoy Cansada!!

Querida Familia,

To say I am exhausted would be an extremely large understatement. Our zone is about the only one at the MTC that doesn't allow naps. Our elders take naps but technically they aren't supposed to, they call it "sleeping during the day". Me on the other hand had the grand idea to be 100% obedient. It's all okay though, I will be blessed for it. The struggle is staying awake in class, or firesides, or devotional, or study time, or church, or the temple, or even writing this letter. I forgot my journal today in our residence so I probably won't remember anything that happened this week, but I'm going to try.

For one, the elders are... how do I say this in a Christ like manner... unmotivated? They like to sit around and make up games and write their girlfriends and get mad at us because we tell them that they need to quiet down so that we can study. I love all of them, but that doesn't mean I like them all the time ;) They are great and they are really spiritual when they want to be, sometimes I just want to slap them. Luckily I am used to it because I have 3 teenage brothers, some of the other Hermanas on the other hand cannot stand the elders sometimes. I at least have had practice.  I have decided this week that my christ like attribute I need to work on is Humility. I know there is something I need to learn from each of these people here and that is what I plan to try to do this week.The girls are all great though, we get along really well.

Spanish is coming. I wish it would speed up and I could just be fluent in it already, but i guess that's not how it works. With the gospel stuff, its a bit easier to remember. I can give a lesson in spanish pretty well, but if we veer off the topic, it's harder to know what to say.

I really like that they have us teaching an "investigator" everyday. Each time I go in there to teach, I learn something new. It's quite a humbling experience to realize how much you really don't know about the gospel even when you are studying it almost every hour of the day. It's also a big help because then I get to see what teaching techniques work better than others and how to adapt those teaching techniques depending on who we are teaching. It's still difficult and I'm not quite up to where i would like to be on my teaching, but I'm getting there. Something I liked about our fireside on Sunday was how our speaker said, "stop being nervous about teaching an investigator, it's not about you!". I just need to forget myself and let the holy ghost work. I think it's also important that I realize that it doesn't matter so much about what I'm saying, as it does that the investigator feels my love, and through that they also feel the saviors love.

Hmm... This week nothing really exciting has happened. We had a wicked storm the other night. I wear earplugs so I didn't hear it but the other girls did. We've discovered my branch President wears a wicked toupee. I got all of your lovely letters, thank you! I got a tshirt that says Alabama on it.  Sister Williams is sick, she has strep. There was a double rainbow the other day. One of our teachers Hermana Savage is pregnant. We got a new teacher, Hermano Rhotten, this will be our 7th teacher. They say we aren't changing anymore which is good. They apparently are changing the spanish program in January so that you are only here for 6 weeks instead of 9. So good luck to brayden if he get's called spanish. I learned how to say Jesus Christ in Mandarin. Ill try my best to spell it out wa-soo-zjee-doo... haha, hopefully that makes sense.

Our Devotional yesterday was really good. He talked about obedience and how rules are given so that God has more opportunities to bless us. He also said that being a successful missionary is not about the number of baptisms, but when you bear your testimony to an investigator and you that they know the truth. He talked a lot about the Holy ghost as well.

I love and miss you all so so much and love to hear all of your stories!!! sorry this letter was kind of lame!

Love, Hermana Masey Decker

MTC

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Como le va familia???

This week has been slightly boring so I have been trying to think of things to tell ya'll. It will probably be all jumbled together and not make a whole lot of sense one because I don't have a lot to talk about, and two I only have 20 minutes and I'm trying to save a bout 5 minutes at the end to see if I can sent pictures on this new thing they have. Anywho, we are now on our 7th teacher. We think we are scaring them all away or something because they just keep leaving us. Apparently are new teacher Hermano Roxas had a scheduling conflict so he will no longer be our teacher.

I heard the BYU football game from our residence the other day. We can ALMOST see the score board and it's kind of frustrating because if we were about one room over we would be able to see it. I would probably just sit there and watch the score change the whole night. I guess it's good that we can't because I should be focusing on more important things, right ;) But we did here they won, we asked people from the outside world to keep us up to date on all that stuff.

We had Teaching Resource Center this week as we do every Thursday. I can't remember if I told ya'll what that is, but it's where we teach volunteers who know spanish. This week we had this sweet old lady, Hermana Raiz. Our lesson was not amazing, but she told us an amazing conversion story and the spirit was so strong in that room. She was amazing and I felt that I didn't really need to say anything after that.

We watched a video on Parley P Pratt this week. Did you know how amazing he was? I didn't realize how awesome of a missionary he was. He called the Book of Mormon, "The book of books." and had such a strong testimony of it. He read it all day and all night without stopping and right then and there he was converted to the gospel. He was a missionary for the rest of his life and was even killed while he was serving the lord. You should definitely read the story of him if you haven't heard it.

We had a member of the 70 come and teach us yesterday. His name was Elder Kopischke and his wife spoke to us as well. They are a german couple and his wife was amazing and hilarious. She is still learning english so she does not know all of the english words she wanted to say. She didn't really say anything really profound, but she bore her testimony with such love and such enthusiasm that it didn't really matter what she was saying. We could all feel her love and it gave me hope in that I won't always know the right words, nor will I be able to say things that are so profound, but if I teach with the same love and enthusiasm that she did, my investigators will feel that.

We have been trying to do SYL (speak your language) every day for at least one hour as a district and it is actually a lot of fun. We can only speak spanish for that hour or two and we have cards that are kind of like our points. If were caught speaking in english, that person gets to take your card. It has helped a lot because you have to learn how to say what you want even if you don't know the word. I am trying to speak spanish as much as I can, mostly I just speak a lot of spanglish.

I am learning how to teach well with my companion. Sometimes it is so hard because I know a lot more spanish then my companion does, but i have had to learn to humble myself and step back and let her say the things she needs to in the lesson. I just pray that the spirit guides her as we are teaching. We have had to learn to yield to each other a lot better. I have also had a lot more teaching classes than her, (well obviously since that's my whole major) and so sometimes she doesn't know how to flow things well together. Suffice it to say, we are learning a lot from eachother. That may have came off concieded but that was not my intention at all. I really am learning to be more humble and patient as the days go by and I hope that I continue to become more christlike everyday. There is still so much to learn!!!

I love you all and it sounds like things are back to normal at home. Tell Colby and Eli that I wish I could come watch their games. Tell Serph that I hope he has an awesome season this year. Tell Brooky that I will write her back ASAP. Tell Eli to behave ;) Tell Sheky that I hope cheerleading and school are going well. Tell Kate that I hope she is enjoying cheerleading and I think she would be the craziest cheerleader out there ;)

I love you all and miss you so much. Can't wait to hear all of your stories! Thank your for the letters and I love you all so much!!! Les Quiero!!!

-Hermana Decker