Sister Madison Huntings first letter from the MTC

Dear family and friends,

So I know I can't really call it a "Week" since I've only been here 4 days, but it feels like a week!  Time is wierd here in the MTC the days seem really long, but not long enough.  Your testimony and knowledge change so dramaticaly from morning to night that you feel like it should have been like 2 days since morning but it's only been one.  I am loving it here!!  My companion sister Larsen is awesome!  We work really well together, and I feel very blessed to be with her.  My district is great, we are starting to become closer and have more friends. I have learned SO much in just 4 days.  The first night they did an activity that really opened up my eyes about missionary work.  You CANNOT shove doctrine down people's throat.  You have to get to know them, find out thier understanding and beliefs, start from there and build up.  Like Holland taught in the last General conference about leading with your belief and not your unbelief, that is what you must do with the people you teach.  You have to find balance between following the lesson plans and following the spirit.   We got to teach an investigator for the first time last night and we had planned this whole lesson, and we just had to toss it out the window because the spirit and the needs of our investigator were directing us somewhere else.  I know a lot of missionaries here told me that their first 2 days here they were ready to just give up.  I don't feel that way though, I am loving every minute, but I could see how they would feel that way.  When you first get here you start thinking," I'm never going to learn all of this.  I'm going to fail as a missionary and ruin people's lives!"  You can't think that!  Just be patient with yourself and realize that you don't need to know EVERYTHING.  Just be receptive to the spirit and willing to learn.  All Joseph Smith had to rely on when he established the church was God.  We have so many amazing resources available to us, we have great books, teacher, amazing classrooms, other missionaries, and modern day prophets.  I have to go, but I know with all my heart that the gospel is true and that if you just put your trust and faith in the Lord he will lead you, and in the end that's all you really need.  I love you all!

love, sister Hunting