Hello everyone!
Wasn't General Conference AMAZING? It was seriously the quickest conference I've ever watched. Also it was so so directed toward missionaries! I felt really blessed. I was sad when it was over but grateful for the chance to hear prophets. So many things touched my heart. We were all hoping they would announce the Singapore Temple (it's going to happen soon, I can feel it!), but they did announce the second best thing--a church fund to give every member a visit to the Temple! I almost cried! The Temple is so important and such a blessing. Now everyone's family will be able to make covenants that, if kept, will seal their family together throughout all eternity. What an incredible thing. (Also we decided it was okay for us that the Singapore Temple hasn't been announced yet, because when they do announce it, we'll be able to say we served and played a small role in getting the church to that point. That will be an amazing day.)
So we only have one more visit to the Temple left until we return home from our missions. I'm sad about that, to be honest, but it's something I can sacrifice temporarily so that others will be able to get there. It doesn't seem like that big of a sacrifice when I think of it that way.
We got new missionaries in going to Indonesia, and they seem cool! It's fun having another group to speak our language with (with the smaller languages like Malay/Indonesian you don't have a lot of people you can speak it to here, unlike Spanish or French or most other languages you've heard of). One of them is from the Phillippines, and the rest are from the US. One of them is "campur"--which means mixed. There are a handful of mixed-race missionaries! Me and three Elders. I'm a fan.
We taught a lesson to our MTC progressing investigator the other day, and she is doing really well. She is going to be baptized on Saturday. In this lesson she asked some questions about the Spirit World, and wanted to know how you can tell if you go to paradise. She gave an example of someone doing a specific serious sin, and felt prompted to ask (don't you love it when the Spirit prompts you to do something really bold?) if she'd ever done that. She said yes, and I asked if she'd stopped. She had. We read scriptures about repentance and forgiveness, and it was clear that she had repented. Forgiveness through the Atonement of Jesus Christ is something I have a strong testimony of, and I shared with her that I've been forgiven before and I know the Atonement is real and it works. The Spirit was powerful as I testified this to her, and I forgot in that moment that I was speaking a foreign language. The words came naturally and had feeling behind them. I told her that God had forgiven her because she had changed and chosen to follow Jesus Christ. You could see her countenance change from timid and nervous to peaceful and happy, and she knew it was true. She thanked us and at the end of the lesson told us that it was very good that we could come today (which she hasn't said before). She's almost ready for baptism. Sometimes I struggle with the fact that our investigators are our teachers acting, but this lesson was real. I felt like a real missionary.
I don't always feel like that, like a "real missionary" (as discussed in Conference this past weekend) but I'm getting there. Our other investigator/teacher is a lot more challenging--I wish I had time to write about him. Every day is so different! So many ups and downs, and I haven't even left the MTC yet. I am working on having more faith and hope. I know that Heavenly Father wants me here for a reason, and that although I am weak and simple, the Lord trusts me to get a lot done in this precious and important work. I'm not alone. Jacob 5:72!
The MTC is a great place but now we are counting down the days until we get on that plane. The language is fun, and I need to work harder because it's already getting harder to progress in the language--or at least my progression is less noticeable. We should get our travel plans on Thursday!!! I think about Malaysia every day, and though I've never been there I already love the country so much. Please write me letters! I love hearing from all of you. You're in my prayers! And you're only gonna get one more email from the MTC! I know Jesus Christ lives!
Sister Gopinath
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