Heber Valley Camp April 23, 2013

Mini? MTC

                Training has officially started.  It is called the “Mini MTC”, but after  today, there is nothing “mini” about it.  We had gone to the “Big” MTC several  years ago when we went on our 1^st mission to Argentina.  The spiritual high that we felt as we left our sessions could not be replicated, or so we thought.   Well, I am here to say that I came away from our meetings today with such a desire to be the best  missionary  I can possibly be; with a desire to walk with my Savior as I serve at the camp, and to try my best to be an example and to touch the life of at least one girl as she comes to camp. 

              Our speakers were just what I needed.  They said just the things I needed to hear to change my heart and change my life and priorities.  The meeting  started by singing the camp song, “I Feel My Saviors Love”.  This was the song sang at the start of each lake session, at the end of the two minutes of silence.  It brought such strong feelings to my heart and memories of last year.

               The first speaker was Elder Keech of the Area 70.  He reassured us that we are” serving a real mission”; that we have been called by our Heavenly Father—it is no different than any other senior couples  mission.  He stated we are entitled to all the blessings other full time missionaries receive, especially for blessings for our families while we serve.

              We have two responsibilities at camp: #1—help the girls feel the Spirit of the Lord. And #2—to keep them safe.  We should remind ourselves of these two things in the morning as we start each day.
  The object of our prayers is not to change the will of God.  We should pray, not to be relieved of our burdens, but to understand and learn about the burden and what we are to do with it.

              For the next 5 hours we listened to many speakers  from our own camp management, from the Heber North Stake Presidency, and from the Young  Women’s Committee.  I could feel of their love and their inspiration from above as they delivered their messages.  They assured us that the Lord had prepared us to be here, and that they had prayed us here.  We were encouraged to share our mission with our families.  This is something that I want to do more of this year.  I want my children and grandchildren to know what we are doing and how we are serving.

              We were encouraged to be more kind, and to think “What would the Savior do?” when faced with hard situations.  I promised myself that I would be more kind, more friendly, and to not let opportunities go by to reach out to others.  The encouragement came,  to realize this camp is about doing the Lord’s business.  It is His camp, not ours.  These are His daughters, and they have come here to feel the Spirit.  As I thought back about my service last year, I can hang my head a bit in shame, as I found myself being prideful, and owning the camp, and my job—forgetting the real reason I was here.

              There was much said about the relationship between myself and my companion.  This so needs to be a part of the experience here.  Steve and I are very different in so many ways.  I need to love and accept him for the wonderful person he is with all the talents that he has.  I need to humble myself and realize my shortcomings, and know that I need the Lord to walk beside me.