Below is Zoe’s last email from the Provo MTC. You can see from the email that she is very excited. She leaves this afternoon and is headed to Cambodia. She will arrive in Cambodia after 20 very long hours. We are so grateful to all of you for your love and support for Zoe. Thank you so much. Once I have her address I will forward it for any of you that would like to drop a letter in the mail to her. We love and appreciate you!
Kara
Dear Family and Friends,
Holy goodness. Everyone said that your last week in the MTC went by so slow... That was not the case for me. It FLEW!!!!! Like for reals. Ah, so crazy. I am so stoked to go to Cambodia. I freaking can't even wait. I'm sure tomorrow I'll be singing a different tune when I actually have to go to the airport and travel for freaking 20 hours, but it's a necessary evil and i'll get to talk to my family. Get ready to hear some Cambodian. (:
Tuesday we had our last Tuesday Devotional and guess who it was? Elder Dallin H. Oaks. So cool, right? I love hearing apostles speak. They teach so powerfully and when everyone stand when they walk in, oh, it's something you'll never forget. We got to hear from his wife Kristen. She is the cutest little lady you've ever seen. She's a convert and served a mission in Japan. She said that 10/100 people know the church is true the first time they see the missionaries, before they even talk to them. Isn't that crazy? that just shows how powerful our calling is and how important first impressions are. She emphasized the plan of salvation and making sure that you know you have a heavenly father who loves you, watches out for you, and walks beside you daily. That's gonna be so key once i get to cambodia. Then Elder Oaks spoke to us and blew my mind. He talked a lot about the sacrament, the importance of partaking of it worthily and appropriately. He told us that every member of the church should know the sacrament prayers by heart. Just ask yourself that. Do you know them by heart? I don't... but i am trying to. It is through the atonement that we gain power to teach effectively. Without the sacrament we would be lost. Teaching tips. 1. The foundational importance of the plan of salvation. 2. Don't assume too much in your lessons. 3. importance of commitments. We have to teach the doctrine of Christ. If you don't know what that is, go read the book of mormon it is literally in every chapter. That's why the book of mormon is so amazing. (: He talked a lot about preach my gospel (he was one of the writers) but never did he get prideful about it. He was so humble. That was the talk we needed to hear before heading out. So powerful. going out with a bang. After each devotional we have a district review where we just talk about what we learned and one of the elders in my district, Elder Hark, shared this which sums up everything "The only reason you're here is because God loves you. He has a purpose for you here on Earth." I know that to be true with all my heart.
Wednesday was a typical day... nothing too exciting.
Thursday we had a fun activity in class. We taught an investigator as a class. 9 companions. That was hard. You thought teaching with fluidity and unity was hard with 1 companion (2 in my case) try teaching with 8. We each had 2 sentences to share and then we passed it on. We got a little confused because we didn't understand what our investigator was talking about. NO joke all of us were confused... haha just a glimpse into my future. (; but we learned so much about relying on the spirt. Our teacher shared this with us. "this is the gospel. We get to repent everyday."
Friday was infield orientation and that was the longest day of my life. It was good, but so so long. They taught us how to work with members, open our mouth, how to really use our planners (which would've been helpful when we first got here, but whatever) and lots more. I had the amazing opportunity to work with one of the sisters that was running the training, so instead of role playing i actually got to help her with a real concern. She has an uncle that was a member, served a mission, and then took his name off the records of the church, but now wants to come back. I shared some scriptures with her and i wish i could tell you what i said, but it was really all the spirit. I honestly don't know what i said, but she started crying and thanked me over and over.. so cool. Can't wait for more experiences like that in cambodia!!! Oh, during companionship study, we were outside, and this car pulls up next to me and it's my best friend Hannah's cousin's Sarah. It was so nice to see a familiar face and get a nice huge. Such a tender mercy.
Saturday was good. We got some advice on how to be a good Trainee. 1. You have more faith than your trainer. Sounds a little harsh, but it is so true. When we apply the principles we've learned rely on the lord, we will see miracle. 2. You are as qualified as your trainer. Just because they have experience with the culture and with the language doesn't mean anything. You have both been called of God and set apart by the same power. 3. Yolk up. Don't be scared to fail. Do things that are hard. Stretch yourself. The lord doesn't require us to do more than we can. he requires what we can do. 4. Be forgiving. Nobodies perfect (yes, you can sing it like Hannah Montanna).
Sunday!!!! We had a mission conference which was so good. You're not gonna know who any of these people are, but whatever. (: Sister Trost talked about seeing through spiritual eyes. Brother Trost talked about tithing and the miracles that come from it. Sister Burgess talked about building upon the rock of christ. 1. read and study the savior's words. 2. follow his example. 3. testify of him. President Burgess talked about being obedient to the basics. Sacrament was really good, but really emotional. I cried so much. Saying goodbye to my branch presidency was hard and then i thought about saying goodbye to my teachers and my district. Goodness. Lots of tears were shed. Relief society was on faith. Exactly what i needed before leaving. and now i'm out of time, so you don't get to hear about our sunday devotional... so sorry... it was by the provo temple president, so you know it was good. Kind of hard because i won't get to go to the temple for 16 months, but still so good.
I love this church so much and can't wait to take the gospel to the people of cambodia. I love you all so much. Thank you for supporting me and being you. You guys rock!!! I'M SO READY FOR CAMBODIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Sister Zoe Loftus
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