Humility

So this week was a week I will never forget. Mainly for 2 reasons: 

1: The Spanish language is really coming! Not how I thought it would though... 

And 2: this week was mission president training! 

So Spanish. It's a beautiful language and fun to learn but sometimes I don't say the correct words and the lesson goes from really spiritual to really funny. So far I've managed to call the cold weather macho frio instead of mucho frio (manly cold instead of much cold). That led me straight into the lesson of the restoration talking about how Dios es nuestros almuerzo Padre Celestial... Another sweet and innocent mistake but lemme make it clear that God is our loving Heavenly father. Not our lunch Heavenly Father. I make hundreds of these mistakes on a daily basis but everyone else does too and we all have fun and laugh about it. 

So this week has been pretty busy since it was mission president training week. There are 120 new mission presidents and with their wives that's 240 really sweet people going out to help missionaries all over the world. 

Some of you may know that this also means that some other really special people come to the MTC for the week of training. The first day of training my companion and I walked about 5 feet away from Elder Uchdorf. We smiled and later fawned over his head full of fluffy white hair and his sweet smile. 

On Sunday, the 12 apostles joined us for our Sunday devotional and Elder Quinten L. Cook spoke to us about the highlighted topic of missionary work. I will be honest, I didn't hear much of his talk after the first 5 minutes. The spirit started teaching me other things in my heart after he shared a story about his junior companion that really touched me.

Elder Cook's junior companion came from a home where his parents struggled to make a living. They couldn't afford to send him on a mission. His work efforts went towards helping the family so by the time it came for him to serve he didn't know if he would be able to go. His older sister then did something that would change his life forever. She put her life on pause and worked so her brother could serve a mission. She worked until he came home from his mission and then, he did the same thing for her. He put his life on pause and worked so his sister could go on a mission as well.

I was overwhelmed with the spirit in that room as Elder Cook spoke with the other 11 apostles sitting in support behind him. This of course ended in me bawling my eyes out through the rest of his talk and especially during the last song (Nearer my God to Thee). After the speaker left, the mission presidents turned to the missionaries and the missionaries turned to the mission presidents and we all sang called to serve to each other, waving and crying in unity. 

I want to express my gratitude of having the opportunity to be here. It has taken a whole community to get me out here. There is no way that I would have had the ability to serve without all of the people who sacrificed their time, efforts and funds to get me on a mission. This story touched my heart because I know how that junior companion felt as he neared his mission and feared that he wouldn't be able to serve. 

I know that God provides a way. He will always provide a way for us to come closer to him and to serve and love one another. 

I love you all so much! 

-Hermana Barthlome