Sister Taylor Huguely: Last PDay in the MTC

Here is Sister Huguely's letter from yesterday, Saturday, July 18th.

Hello loves!

Loved seeing all the pictures and reading all the emails this past week. Congratulations Maggie and Dave on your darling little girl! I love seeing baby pictures, especially since I won't be allowed to hold babies for the next 18 months! I will do my best to respond to all your emails as I always do.

I can't believe that this is my last PDay in the MTC. I leave Thursday morning and it is all starting to feel so real. I am so excited to actually be teaching real investigators and be out serving the Lord. The MTC is great but all of our investigators are just our teachers as someone else. So even though we get to teach the lessons, we aren't actually teaching investigators. Although it is crazy how even though we know it is just role play, Sister Livermore and I have really gotten to love them.

I will get to email again on Wednesday for a little bit so there should be another update pretty soon. You'll be hearing a lot from me family with my email today, my email on Wednesday, and my calls from the airport. I miss you guys tons and I am so excited to talk to you. Sometimes I forget how much I miss you and then it is PDay and I see all of the pictures and read all the emails and I remember. But I love seeing them and your inspiring words of encouragement always inspire me to refocus on my purpose and work harder than I had the week before.

This week has been super fun! On Thursday we got to Skype TRC which is when we Skype real Filipino members and get to share a message with them. We spoke to a woman named Sister Kirstie and she was super sweet! Speaking with her made me so excited for the Philippines. Sister Livermore and I were just able to connect with her and it just reignited my belief that I am supposed to serve there. I have been foreordained to serve my 18 month mission in the Philippines. I don't need to worry because I have been called by a Prophet of God and set apart for the work. As long as I work hard and obey with exactness, the Lord will bless me. I am so excited to just get out there and start serving!

Yesterday we had what was called In-Field orientation. It is basically a giant training meeting that lasts from 8am until 5:30pm. It sounded super boring but it was actually pretty fun! The trainer who led it was Elder Christiansen from the District 2. We got to do a lot of activities and learned a lot of super useful information. Like the best way to street contact, and how to set goals. We spent most of our time on how important it is to use members in missionary work. I now have such a greater appreciation for the missionaries and feel bad at all the times they asked me to invite someone to church and I didn't! Family please give the missionaries as many referrals as possible! Also go on out teaching with them as much as possible too! Member missionaries are so much better naturally at bringing others to Christ than us full-timers are. Investigators relate to you so much more because you are normal people like them. We are weird. It is hard to relate to someone who has given up 18months to 24months of their life in order to just spread the gospel. So please do all you can to give referrals and to go out teaching as well. Sorry I am done preaching now!

Something funny that happened in infield was that Sister Livermore and I got to be in a play. The trainers put on a funny show for us about the importance of members and missionaries working together and Sister Livermore and I had little parts as members of the ward council. I was the Relief Society President and when they introduced me I went around giving hugs because I was full of charity and love. Then when I got to the trainers playing missionaries I was supposed to go up and try and hug him and then he jumped back and his companion said "The Charity stops there Sister." It was pretty funny and everyone laughed. We only volunteered to be in it because no other sisters wanted to do it but it was fun and I am glad we did.

I am always so busy here that by Saturday and Sunday I am so tired! I usually try and nap on Saturday and then sometimes I fall asleep again on Sundays when we sit on temple grounds! Whoops! There is a picture of me after I fell asleep on Sunday. It is pretty funny. The temple is open again and I am so excited to go again!

I miss you all! Keep emailing and writing!

Mahal kita,

Sister Huguely