Hey it's March!

 SALUTATIONS! This week while I was doing service, my companion and I were working with a sister who is going to Italy. In her district there is an Elder from Sweden. Apparently, after eating the food here at the MTC he told everyone how American food is gross. I told this sister that cafeteria food does not count as American food. In fact, it's in a whole category all by itself. I'm sorry this poor Elder only has cafeteria food to judge American food by. They probably still have better food in Sweden... Ha ha.


Okay, Dad. Back to you. I feel like a failure. Why? Because I couldn't for the life of me figure out your movie quotes! Well, I did get National Treasure 2, Winnie the Pooh, and Phantom of the Opera. The one that is bugging me the most is "Everything that follows is a result of what you see here." It's been driving me nuts! Where is that from? Even the other sisters in my district want to know. They've all figured out that I'm a nerd with a head full of information which isn't always useful. But hey, now half of my district knows who Columbo is. 

Oh goodness. I just began to switch my clothes to a dryer and the lint catcher looked like it was covered in a dead animal. Not joke. Sora Peterson is finishing it up for me so I can finish here.

This week had some awesome moments. Last week, we met individually with one of our teachers to make some goals for the rest of our stay here at the MTC. I believe we are having a follow up on those tonight. For me personally, I wanted to become better at learning to recognize and act on the promptings of the spirit. Sunday night, we were able to watch an old talk given here at the MTC by Elder Bednar. I don't know if you can find talks from the MTC, but if you can, You should look up "The Character of Christ" and "Recognizing the Spirit" both by Elder Bednar. They are so fantastic! So the one on Sunday was on recognizing the spirit and I felt like it was just what I needed. He said that the one question he gets most often as he travels around the world is how we can know if it's the spirit or our own thoughts. Elder Bednar's advice? Stop worrying about it. If you are doing all you can to keep the covenants you've made with Heavenly Father and living a life in harmony with the gospel than the Lord will direct thy paths. You will be at the right place at the right time. Words will be given to you that you should say. And most of the time, you won't even realize you are acting on inspiration. I made a note at some point to start writing down more of the thoughts that come to my head because I know especially now as I prepare to serve Heavenly Father's children in Romania that He is guiding me, and I should pay attention to the things He's trying to teach me and guide me to do.

A couple days later, we had a lesson with Stela. We were a bit afraid for this lesson because we were teaching her about keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. She's already committed to baptism. With her circumstances, she has to work a lot to be able to support her three children. As we told her about keeping the Sabbath holy, it was evident that this was a hard thing for her to hear. She explained that she wasn't sure that she could commit to not working on Sunday at all because of her situation. Then a scripture came to my mind. It's found at the end of 3 Nephi 13. In this part, Jesus himself is talking to the people of the Nephites. He tells them to take no thought asking what they should eat or wither should they be clothed because God knows that they have need of all those things, but seek ye first the kingdom of God. It was hard for me to find it because I only had my Romanian scriptures with me. Sora Wilson (my teacher who plays Stela) had to help me a bit. I read the scriptures and was amazed to look up and see that their were tears in her eyes. I testified to her and then she said she would ask for Sundays off. It was an incredible experience and I know that it was the spirit that guided us in that moment. It may seem weird to think of these teaching experiences when they are our teachers that we are teaching, but they go completely into character of these people they know and love, and I can testify that these experiences are real. I'm so grateful for these teachings opportunities at the MTC because we are learning to recognize those promptings and to trust in the Lord.

Another couple of notes before I sign off until next week. We are hoping to get our travel plans today, so hopefully I can tell you about that next week. Mom and Dad, I'm going to meet Teri today. I'm excited for that. Mama, keep track of those family history notes so I can check them out when I get back. Also, I'm glad you are liking Preach my Gospel. There is so much to learn from it! What so wonderful about the book as well is that it explains things in simple terms but still accurately and with power.  It will be a great asset to you as you teach your young women. Daddy, I have a Mormon Message I want you to watch. It's on lds.org. It's called Earthly Father, Heavenly Father. I've seen it a couple times now, and every time I do, I think of you. I've been thinking a lot about the power of example particularly the example of parents and how their example can strengthen their children and lead them on the path towards our Heavenly Father. Some examples from the Book of Mormon are the stripling warriors mothers, Alma the younger's father, and Mosiah. I love the Book of Mormon so much! There are so many good things in there. It has and continues to bless my life and I would encourage all to read it, and once you've finished, read it again.

I love you all very much! I hope all is going well on your end. Next week will be my last e-mail from the MTC! AH! Talk to you soon!

Love,

Sora Adams