Ma's Place: Called to Serve!!

What a blessing to be called to serve!!

I lack words to adequately tell you about the first week of my mission.

I was set apart as a full time missionary by my stake president, President Brett Davies, Sunday May 5, 2019. As I sat with hands on my head and surrounded by worthy priesthood holders, I received my calling and a beautiful blessing. My heart and soul were filled with the Spirit.

Setting apart

Monday marked the beginning of my training at the MTC in Provo. When I went there for training before my first mission, I was fearful of the unknown and worried. Although I know this mission will not be exactly the same as my last, this time, I felt more relaxed and was able to “feast” more readily on the messages and training I received. I have been on a spiritual high all week!

Standing in front of entrance to MTC

I wish I could share all I’ve learned and pondered but a few of the highlights have been a focus on my own conversion and what I can do to draw closer to my Savior, ways to seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost and how to be a more effective teacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We studied and were taught from Preach My Gospel. This can be found in the Gospel Library in the “Missionary” section. I invite you you study it and use it in your own life. It is a great tool for everyone. Not just for missionaries.

From Preach My Gospel:

“Some chapters in Preach My Gospel focus on what you need to do as a missionary—how to study, how to teach, how to manage time wisely. Just as vital as what you do, however, is who you are and who you are becoming. This is part of what it means to endure to the end through increasing your faith in Christ, continuing regularly to repent of your sins by relying upon Christ, renewing your covenants with the Father and the Son through partaking of the sacrament regularly, and following the promptings of the Holy Ghost in all things.

The restored gospel enables you to become like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The Savior has shown the way. He has set the perfect example, and He commands us to become as He is (see 3 Nephi 27:27). Learn of Him and seek to incorporate His attributes into your life. Through the power of His Atonement, you can achieve this goal and lead others to achieve it also.”

We were taught in a group, 45 senior couples and 3 singles sisters (a large group we were told) and also in smaller districts. Each district consisted of 3 or more couples. Our district consisted of 2 couples and we three single sisters. I’ve been in a “trio” companionship before so it was a little like “old times”. Sister Ballenger is going to Hawaii to serve at the Cultural Center in the office and will mentor BYU-Hawaii students. Hermana Gonzales is going to the Mexico MTC to use her knowledge and skills as a psychiatrist in serving as a mental health advisor. I have grown to love these two sisters and feel blessed to know them and the other couples I met at the MTC. I even ran into several people from my “previous life” who will be serving missions or who served with me in NYC.

District in front of map Left to right: Elder and Sister Dockstader, Sister Ballenger,
Hermana Gonzales, Elder and Sister McPhee

District with instructors. Each district is taught by recently returned missionaries
full of the spirit and enthusiasm for missionary work.

Our entire group divided into 4 pictures

We met as a large group daily. In one such meeting, we watched a video in which Elder David Bednar taught us the importance of seeking and obtaining the guidance of the Holy Ghost in our lives and work. He shared of story of a time in his mission when he was guided by the Spirit and didn’t even realize it. He didn’t know the impact of this guidance until some 20 or more years later as he was serving as president of BYU-Idaho when Elder Boyd K. Packer came to speak at a devotional on the campus. Elder Bednar related the story of a twenty-mark note he had given to Elder Packer.

Here is the link to the speech given by Elder Packer at the devotional at BYU-Idaho titled “The Twenty-Mark Note”. It was during this speech that Elder Bednar learned how he had been guided by the Spirit and the consequences. It is a bit lengthy and I would encourage you to read the entire talk as it instructs us in learning about the Spirit in our lives, but please at least read the section about the twenty-mark note.

There is nothing like being able to feel the Spirit in our lives and to know how to follow the promptings. Elder Bednar in his video instruction mentioned that sometimes we want to hear the promptings so badly that we get caught up in worrying about it. His advice is to “Quit worrying about it!” Over and over he said those words. If we are obedient and live our lives as closely aligned to the Gospel as possible, we will feel and hear the promptings! “Quit worrying about it!”

As I said earlier, I wish I could share EVERYTHING I felt and learned this last week but that would be impossible. Let me sum it up by telling you that I am more committed to becoming like my Savior and in developing Christ-like attributes.

In Preach My Gospel, there is a chapter about developing these attributes. From this chapter:
“Some chapters in Preach My Gospel focus on what you need to do as a missionary—how to study, how to teach, how to manage time wisely. Just as vital as what you do, however, is who you are and who you are becoming. This is part of what it means to endure to the end through increasing your faith in Christ, continuing regularly to repent of your sins by relying upon Christ, renewing your covenants with the Father and the Son through partaking of the sacrament regularly, and following the promptings of the Holy Ghost in all things.

The restored gospel enables you to become like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The Savior has shown the way. He has set the perfect example, and He commands us to become as He is (see 3 Nephi 27:27). Learn of Him and seek to incorporate His attributes into your life. Through the power of His Atonement, you can achieve this goal and lead others to achieve it also.”

If you don’t have a copy of Preach My Gospel, here is a link.

As a companionship, we were given the opportunity to “practice” our teaching skills on others. We were guided to follow the promptings of the Spirit in teaching. It was amazing to feel and experience this as we let go of our fears and trusted in the Lord.

The other couple, Elder and Sister De Lora, and our trio. I will be serving with this couple in New Zealand.
What a blessing for me to get to know and love them. They are amazing people and will bring much to the mission.

I was fortunate to attend the Provo Temple for an endowment session Wednesday evening with Hermana Gonzales.
The Temple grounds and flowers are gorgeous.

I have been at home over the weekend enjoying and soaking up every last minute with my family as I will be leaving on May 18th for New Zealand. This coming week I will have medical training preparing me for my role as a mission nurse specialist.

I know that my Savior, Jesus Christ, lives and loves me. He has shown me the way. Through His sacrifice and Atonement, I can live again in my Heavenly Father’s presence with my eternal companion, Kay, and family. I belong to the only true church on earth led by a prophet of God. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored. The Book of Mormon contains the knowledge and instruction that I must have that will help me in my earthly life and will guide me to an eternal life. I have felt and been guided by the Holy Ghost. The Priesthood has been restored and I enjoy the ordinances and sealing powers held by those who hold the necessary keys to perform those ordinances. I love my Savior and I love you, my family and friends.

The Missionary Training Center campus is beautiful, clean and “spirit” enhancing. Here are some miscellaneous pictures of the campus. It seems that the MTC has its own mascot. A miniature cougar. The mascot roams the campus but was most often found near the cafeteria.

In one of the newer buildings where language training occurs, there are wall-sized murals with scriptural references. They are back lit and totally awesome! We were given some questions to ponder as we sat and “soaked in” the messages and spirit of each mural. Here are some pics of those murals and me standing by one to give you a perspective as to size: