Wednesday October 19, 2011

Thank you thank you for your prayers! I would like to have all of the families personal email addresses if you could send them to me incase i want to write a personal email to any of them. Also could you please get me Kristal Sabaitis, and Brittany Hopfenbecks home addresses so that i can write them?? Thank you! I can't think of what to write. I hate having this time limit on the computer, it stops my brain from being able to think properly! haha :) I think I will have to do most of my telling about the mission in hand written letters, which is what I prefer to do anyway since I am not so computer savvy haha. :) Aw I am sooooo glad to hear you are all doing so well! It makes my heart glad! Missionary work is incredible! Remember how sister Perez at temple square told us that the missionaries are not just there for those investigating the church but that they are there for members too? I am learning that here in the MTC. It's been so incredible- I can't describe it. I will write more about the experiences that i've had with that in my letters that I am writing to you. They are about Lawanna and Adrian and Steve. So when you hear about them in the letters you'll know what i'm talking about. LIfe is so great here. I couldn't be happier. I am doing the Lords work and I know.. I KNOW, that he speaks through my mouth here on a daily basis. My words are not my own- so much of the time when I have been teaching lessons here. It is humbling to be a servant of God, but such a wonderful and glorious feeling. I am learning a language- The language of the spirit. I am not fluent yet or even close to being so, but the Lord is teaching me and preparing me. I know that this is his work and that he wants me here for a special purpose. Thank you dearest family and friends for all your love and support! Just knowing that you all are back there loving me, praying for me, and cheering me on, gives me hope and a greater desire to push through the hard times that I am being taught and refined! Thank you all! A scripture that has been on my mind alot lately is D&C 105: 10. I am tryingt to do my best to be prepared more perfectly so that I can properly do that works that the Lord requires of my hands! Love you all!

~love Sister Shurtz

Sister Shurtz's First Letter

Michelle's first letter was 5 pages, so I am going to insert different pieces into this post.

"Wow.... where to start?! First off- I LOVE being a missionary!! It's incredible- the power to teach and desire to learn are greatly increased- I can feel that so strongly. So they don't waste time here- they get right to business and throw you right into it all.  My experiences so far have been great and uplifting but literally exhausting- It's an overwhelming yet wonderful experience. "
"I love my companion, she is just fantastic. Her name is Sister Kranendonk, we have decided to go with Sister K. Now I am being completely honest right now- I seriously love this sister- we are so much alike and share so many common interests- she is 23 and has a strong testimony of the gospel.  She is very sweet and truly desires to better herself in every way- she is open to any suggestions of study and routine.  We have set goals to get to know the Elders and Sisters in our district and to be more outgoing and friendly to everyone. I love that she has a great attitude. We have the perfect companionship- we both work hard study hard and have a strong desire to improve in any way possible and be obedient. It was funny when the Zone leaders were talking to us about doing companion inventory, because Sister K and I basically do companion inventory ALL THE TIME just in our normal conversation- we are constantly talking about things we like about each other and also asking each other what we can iimprove on and what we need help with"
"Today Sister K and I are preparing a lesson on faith and will be teaching our first lesson to a (mock) investigator.  We are both excited and nervous because our instructor will be acting as the investigator is really direct and knowledgeable.   She is really going to test us, which is good, but also scary.  Our instructors in class are amazing- they are powerful and teach with a strong spirit." 
"Sister K and I studied like crazy for our first investigator discussion and boy am I glad we prepared! The Elders that went to the same investigator before us didn't even get into the door- so we were so nervous! We said a prayer before and told ourselves that no matter what we were going to get into that door! We did get into the door and we taught, but nothing that we had prepared in our outline- it was amazing.  Sister K is so inspired and we fed off of each other so well." I thought it was interesting that the lesson plan that we had prepared for her was on faith-yet we didn't teach it to her- we ourselves needed that lesson plan so that we could have sufficient faith to follow the spirit and let it fill our mouths.  The Lord works in mysterious ways."

"This place is awesome! I love it here and I love this work! Thank you for your love and prayers, I need them!"
Sister Shurtz

First Email from Sister Shurtz

HI Hi hi!!

Okay so it's my first P-day and i'm trying to effectively plan everything in! Life here in the MTC is so crazy and so busy and mostly SO incredibely AMAZING! This place truly is the Lords temple of learning. I have really been blessed to have a companion that is very good at planning and watching the clock. We are always early and ahead of schedule. She is teaching me alot about organization and time management- which is awesome because I really need to learn those things! except.. I lost my watch so that doesn't help with keeping track of time.. haha. I hope I find it. Otherwise I'll just have to get another one when I get to mesa. Well.. to be honest I can't believe that I've only been here a week! It feels like it's been a month! - not in a bad way, It's just that  there is so much packed in every day, that I am accomplishing what I would normally accomplish in a months time, in a week! It's awesome! Okay so mom, just so you and dad know, I am sooooooooo! grateful that we got me that black trenchcoat before I left! I use it everyday, and I'm wearing it right now even! It's pretty chilly- ha I didn't even think about the MTC and needing stuff here. I also LOVE my shoes, thanks for taking the time to let me get good ones. I have seen many that don't have comfortable shoes for them, even though they bought expensive ones. I am sleeping warm. Just thought i'd let you know! :) The sleeping schedule is not even being hard for me. Today I even woke up before the alarm! I am SOOOO excited to go to the temple today!! Sister Julie B Beck came and talked in our Devotional yesterday and it was amazing!! Make sure you send this to LIsa for me, because I know she'll appreciate the fact that I got to hear from Sister Beck! :-) She talked about temples and all about how temple affect us as missionaries and teaching the gospel, it's all intertwined- I am learning so much!

 love being here it's still hard, and i'm am being humbled constantly. I feel as though I am being put through the refiners fire. I feel so extremely inadequate as a servant of the Lord and want so badly to be better. I know that the Lord knows this and he is helping me to become that, through learning and experience. I have learned that just having a testimony of the gospel isn't enough, I need to dig deeper, love deeper, and teach people, not lessons. My dear campanion sister Kranendonk is probably one of the most Christ like people I know. She is so patient with me. Ha.. I discovered that I get so into teaching the investigators and testifying and all that, that I talk to much and don't allow her to express her thoughts and  feelings that she desires to express enough. I feel terrible every time because I don't even know i'm doing it while I do it. Ha i'm really working on it though. We have talked about ways to be more unified in teaching and i'm really trying to apply those things. I feel like our last lesson went much better!! I tell you all this not to complain or have you worry, but just to let you know I need your prayers and advice! I LOVE you ALL so so much! please send this to all the family, and please send me their emails. also if anyone wants to write me but doesn't know the info, they can look me up on dear elder! sorry i can't write more, my time is up and I just got started! Loves! MWAH :)

~ Sister Shurtz

MTC Address

Sister Michelle Lillie Shurtz

MTC mailbox #285

AZ-Mesa1101

2005 N 900 E Provo MTC UT 84604-1793

The Harvest Truly Is Great!

President Thomas S. Monson
"Youth of the Church, the world is in need of your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save. The harvest truly is great. Let there be no mistake about it; the missionary opportunity of a lifetime is yours. The blessings of eternity await you. Yours is the privilege to be, not spectators, but participants on the stage of service to others."