Ok this week has been insane! Our elders in our district didn't get their visas so we are all still together till Wednesday before the sisters do the visitor center training...which I am so excited for I hear it is sooo fun! We are going to temple square for a little training so I am leaving the MTC!! WOOHOO!! but Hannah and Rob, Bailee Brinkerhoff is our teacher for the visitor center training so I am so happy and excited she told me to tell you guys hello! We went to the temple this morning and that was always a fun/ good experience! We said bye to our class teachers and it was really sad actually they have taught us so much, but its time for us to move on and get out to the field!! So we finished teaching our progressing investigator May. She was never baptized and she is still not baptized in real life so we didn't feel to bad but bear with me, while I write the most incredible experience ever!
So we have this thing called TRC...not sure what it even stands for but this specific one was a "referral" so we had no expectations or anything to base anything of what we should teach. 5 minutes before we were supposed to go in the teacher told us we were teaching Ron and Sherri Clark. We were like alright lets do this. So Sister Briggs and I said a prayer and just asked for the spirit to be with us so that we would know what to even talk about for the visit. We knocked on the door and they let us in and we sat down introduced ourselves and they said we are the Clarks. They were extremely nice and super just classy and nice people. There is something you need to know as a side note...every one that you teach in the MTC is a member. Every one is LDS but sometimes the stories they tell you are real from their past but they are usually all Mormon. Well anyway we walk in and right away Sheri says, well we are not members, I will tell you that straight up, I am a christian and my husband Ron is a catholic. I'm thinking oh no... we need to be on our game. So we were like ok so what made you come into the MTC. Ron told us that they live in a community of all LDS people for the most part and they are very impressed and love being with the members in the neighborhood. They said specifically that their next door neighbor is always the first person to bring over cookies or bread or dinners when we get sick and she has just loved the service she has given her and she wanted to give back a little bit. The neighbors daughter went into the MTC the same day as I did and Sheri asked if she could do anything to help her out or if she needed anything. The lady responded there is actually one thing that you could do, would you go to the MTC and volunteer for the 2 weeks my daughter is in there so that you can get a feel of what she is doing and what it is like? Sheri was like um ya we can do that. So she said that's why we are here. We were super excited but had no idea at this point what we were going to teach them. Then Ron said well funny thing happened last night my wife Sheri doesn't know about this because i was scared to tell her but last night i had a dream and in my dream i saw a guy and he said Ron, its true. and his wife Sheri was like oh no Ron I'm getting nervous and afraid. Then Sheri said Ron should we tell them our dark secret? we were like ya tell us!! so Sheri says our youngest son is a bishop. He is baptized in your church he went on a mission he is the bishop now and he has 11 kids and his boys have served missions, we were so happy and like ahh that's awesome. Then they asked us the question, "Why are you even here?" "We don't want to hear your lesson, we want to know why you are here".
Sister Briggs started to bear her testimony on how her dad is not a member and her mom was diagnosed with cancer last year and went through chemo and was completely healed and that she was at BYU about to graduate, had an internship lined up, had a serious boyfriend for 4 years and nothing seemed right..."nothing was lining up as I knew it should" She talked about how she was fasting and praying about what she needed to do in her life and very distinctly got the answer to go to Alma 17:9-12 and read that and knew that was her answer to go on a mission. She said her dad doesn't really support her and it was hard but she knew she needed to do it. She told them she knew that she needed to show her heavenly father and her savior Jesus Christ that she was grateful for the blessings she has in her life and for giving her her mom back so she was going to do that through a mission. of course we are girls and all 4 of us were crying including the dad. anyway she kind of stopped after that and the Clarks were like you are an amazing young lady and how are you going to follow that sister marsh? I was like, I don't know she is an amazing companion but I will try my best!
So I started bearing my testimony on the whole reason I was on a mission. I was going to school knowing that at 21 I would want to serve a mission and I didn't think it was possible until this last October. I continued on how grateful I was for the savior and how real his atonement is. I told them I wanted to read 1 Nephi with them one of my favorite scriptures. It talks about how we are graven on the palms of thy hands, and thy walls are continually before me. I said I am on a mission because I love my savior. He died on the cross and has physical imprints and representations of each and every one of us on our hands and feet and the least i could do was serve him for 18 months and show him I loved him. We were all crying still and Sheri said stop. It's true and I know it. Babe it's true and I am not afraid. She said sister marsh you just answered my prayer. My son who is the bishop shared that scripture with me a long time ago and i have never been able to find it since. I said "Sheri I got a new set of scriptures for my mission and since the day I got here I have been looking for this scripture and until an hour ago I still hadn't found it. I would have never guessed I would have read it to you but I did and I knew I needed to." she said that's a miracle and she stood up and gave me a hug.
Her husband goes "ok just tell me one thing....your saying there are 6.5 billion people in the world that don't know this truth?" And we were like ya exactly and his wife was like "Ron why are you so slow its true." And I was like "Ron, I would not be here if I didn't know this was true." They then said what do we do now? we were like um.... and Ron said Sheri we know what we need to do we need to tell our son and our friends and the bishop that we are going to baptized. we were like ahhhh!! We were all bawling and they were so happy and couldn't stop saying that they just knew it was true. I said Ron, Sheri? can you do me one favor? they were like we will do anything you have truly changed our lives. I said i want you to write me about your baptism and keep in contact with me. She said hunny, I will keep in contact with you till the day I die. I said I am not going far either and so if you are ever in SLC come say hi! She was like "I promise I will keep in contact with you." She gave me a kiss and hugged me for so long. Her husband couldn't hug me obviously but he shook my hand and didn't let go and said you have changed my life. Things are finally lining up in my life. So in my journal I have their address and email and phone number!!
OK, I think it's done, but I just want to say that when you are obedient and you are praying and serving the lord, you will be blessed. The spirit will be able to be with you and it is the real teacher. I know that this church is true. There are people everywhere even in the MTC that are being prepared and if we as missionaries are doing what we are asked and listening to the spirit we will be guided to those people. I have so much love for the people we have taught in just the MTC. I love this gospel, and it truly changes lives.
Thank you for all the support and love you all show me! I can't wait to see what's ahead. I love you all! Keep writing me!! JUNE 12th here I come!!
LOVE,
Sister Marsh
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