Week 4 and Some Words from Richard G. Scott

Week 4 for Sister Rossberg means that she's past half way, and leaving the MTC in only 2 weeks!  She wrote quite a bit about a devotional that Richard G. Scott gave last week on Personal Revelation.  He says, "Be careful what you do with impressions from the Lord."  The answers we receive from the Lord are our own personal scripture, and we should treat that revelation as such.  I know that I have had many more impressions or a-ha moments than I have recorded.  I think that when we do write down those revelations, it should be as often and as detailed as possible.  Many times I go back and re-read revelation I received and I not only remember what I learned at the time, but my knowledge is then added upon from my experience between the encounters.  Had I not written it down initially, I would have lost that added knowledge that came from my experiences.  

I have never seen Abbi write so eloquently as she has in her letters since leaving for her mission.   It is so amazing to hear about everything that she is learning, and the change that has already happened to her in four short weeks.  She is an amazing messenger of the Lord and blesses so many lives from serving this mission.  I'll be the first of a long list of people who have felt her Spirit from afar.  

Highlights from this week:

"My companion and I were able to leave the MTC for about an hour on Wednesday and she had a panic attack upon arriving back."

"I said, 'we would like to share a message with you.' But instead of saying message (mensahe), I said......" find out below :)

Sharna

Psssst: If you didn't know, all of Abbi's Mission Pics can be found on my Flickr account! This includes outtakes that didn't make the blog! (It's also on the sidebar if you want to check it out later)

Pre or Post panic attack??

I can only assume that this is the first picture taken using the camera I sent her.  Note the excitement. Or fear perhaps.

"I have no idea what this says." -Bro Ward

You can never have too many photos of Sister Jessica Gibbs on a blog.

Hello again!

This has been one long and amazing week!! So long that I almost forgot that Richard G. SCOTT came to speak at our Tuesday night Devotional last week, he is amazing and spoke very powerful words and of course I want to share a lot of them with you so here goes: 

He said that the choice to serve a mission will bless you and your families through the eternities because of the influence and effect it has on the person serving a mission, as well as all the people surrounding them. I love that promise because I know it is true; I have seen missions change people and change the way they live their lives. I hope that through serving the Lord for a short 18 months, it will make me want to serve him for the rest of my days on this earth.

But Elder Scott mostly talked about personal revelation and as we pray earnestly and sincerely, we will really be able to talk with Heavenly Father as if he were with us. And I realized that he is always with us, all we have to do is live worthily to be in God's presence. He cautioned ,"Be careful what you do with impressions from the Lord." It is through prayer and earnestly seeking his help that we can realize that we are totally dependent on the Lord.  I heard somewhere recently that Heavenly Father's plan isn't a back up plan, it is the only plan that will bring us back to our Father in Heaven and the way is stated [very clearly] in the scriptures. If we want to receive answers from our prayers, we must always be looking for answers in our lives in everything we do. "He seldom answer's prayers while on your knees." And how true is that!?  Elder Scott said that there are three answers that we will receive from the Lord: 1. Peace or confidence (or a yes) 2. Unsettling (or a no) and 3. No response- And I don't know about you but I get this most often. Elder Scott said that this is the Lord putting his trust in you and upon receiving this answer, we should proceed with faith. This gives us an opportunity to grow by exercising such faith in the Lord. No experience or answer will have such a great opportunity for growth as to take a step into the dark.  "In order for him to guide our steps, we must move our feet." 

I have a testimony that when use our agency to choose to do good, it is to help us grow and become closer to Heavenly Father. He knows what is best for us and he knows us better than we will ever know ourselves. Well, I wish you all could have been there to hear him speak and to bless us with strength and knowledge to feel the Spirit and to learn a new language. But I know this church is 100% true without a doubt in my mind! We are here to learn and grow and love and experience things that we couldn't ever imagine. Which makes me think of Elder Uchtdorf's talk from the Young Women session this last Conference, I would suggest you read it. it's way GOOD!! 

Okay well lets see what else; my companion and I were able to leave the MTC for about an hour on Wednesday and she had a panic attack upon arriving back. It was only then that we realized how very strong the spirit is here at the MTC, we are most definitely set apart from the world as Missionaries and I can't believe I've been here for less than a month and already forgot how different it is out in the world. I pray that each of you have the Spirit with you daily to help you in the forces against evil.  

Oh, and speaking of the Spirit, I heard something that was really interesting about the way that the Spirit and the body interact with each other, Brother Heiner (2nd counselor in my Branch Presidency) said, "The spirit always starts in the heart and if you don't push it back, it will lift you. Your spirit will push through your body and eventually pour out your eyes." (It obviously doesn't always have this effect) But his point was that our spirits and our bodies have only been together for less than a century, they are just getting to know each other, and will only be able to work in unison once the body is in a resurrected state. I just love that because you can just picture the spirit trying to figure out how to fit inside of an earthly body.

Well i just have one more story, i had my first embarrassing story of speaking Tagalog in a lesson. We went to talk to our investigator, "I said we would like to share a message with you." But instead of saying message (mensahe), I said 'message' (mesahe)- as in masseuse, or "I want to give you a massage" But I think that's it. I am learning heaps! and I can't wait to become fluent in Tagalog and I'm sure you will hear more embarrassing stories about me trying to speak but Sige! I hope you all have a fantastic week!! Mahal ko KAYO!!

Sister Rossberg

Week 3: The best week yet!

Another update from Abbi! She said that this was the best week ever in the MTC! She's learning so much, so fast and last Tuesday she tried an English fast, and only spoke Tagalog all day! I can't believe that she's been there 3 weeks and already feels comfortable trying that! Crazy!!  I can't believe that she's leaving the MTC in another 3 weeks!  Right now in the MTC, there are more sister Missionaries than ever before!

Highlights from this week:

"The MTC now has a total percentage of 42% Sister Missionaries.. THAT'S ALMOST HALF! How exciting, it has never been that close in ratio in the whole history of the Church." 

"I think the highlight of my week was walking to the temple with my District and pondering our real purpose of this work. Our teacher, reminded us that the whole purpose of this work is to bring others to come into the House of the Lord and make the same covenants that we have made so that they can partake of the blessings of Heaven as well."

"The trouble with most teachers is that they think that they are the teacher.  The spirit knows everyone.  Listen to him, he has good ideas." 

Sunday walks with my Kasama!

I love the food here!! ....60 lbs later.  hahaha!

The famous map!

KUMUSTA!!

Hello everyone! So much has gone on this week, has been the best week ever at the MTC!! I hope you all have had a good week as well. I will try and touch on most things but we will see how that goes. So it's official, we now have an hour to email to family in the MTC and it was also announced that missionaries can email anyone who is outside their mission boundaries, so that is very exciting and feel free to shoot me an email! :) I really love and appreciate all the letters, prayers and thoughts that all of you have sent my way, I want you to know that I truly feel the strength and the love from all of you. This is a heavy and burdensome work that we are all involved in (YES all of us!). 

I hope you all had the opportunity to listen to conference and feel the power that the General Authorities have in directing God's work on this earth. As members of God's restored church we all have the responsibility and opportunity to be involved in bringing souls unto Christ, it's not just the missionaries.. this is something I knew but didn't realize until I came here to the MTC.  But I do realize that missionaries are set apart in the Lord's work and set apart a time in their life to do the work of bringing souls unto Christ. I was sent a talk this week from last conference "Ask the Missionaries, They Can Help You!" What a great talk and also a true message. Though the missionaries my be young, they can be a very helpful tool because they are expected to have the spirit with them and to represent Christ in their lives.

This week has been great. The MTC is really a training ground for missionaries so that they can learn to live through the spirit. The spirit can be felt so strongly here, and how grateful I am to be able to have the protection of the MTC while I learn to use the Holy Ghost in my teaching and in my daily life. 

We got 2 new districts of Missionaries in our branch this week that are headed to the Philippines as well. AND how great it is that 12 were Sisters and only 5 were Elders! The MTC now has a total percentage of 42% Sister Missionaries.. THAT'S ALMOST HALF! How exciting, it has never been that close in ratio in the whole history of the Church. What a testament it is to me that the Lord is 'hastening' his work in this time!

So, on Tuesday of this week I tried to do an English fast and only speak Tagalog all day. It was good because it helped me  realize very quickly how little Tagalog I actually know. So that was fairly humbling but that is why I'm here, right?? I am also very grateful for the power of the Atonement to help us overcome or weaknesses and help us to become better versions of ourselves. So I guess you could say that the Tagalog is coming on fairly well, I just have to keep remembering that I have only been here for 3 weeks but it feels like MONTHS! I can't believe that I leave for the Philippines in 20 DAYS! I can't wait to get out and use what I have learned in the field and love the people more than I already do. As I have been learning about the People in the Philippines, I have such a love for them already.. I just can't wait to be there!

I think the highlight of my week was walking to the temple with my District and pondering our real purpose of this work. Our teacher, reminded us that the whole purpose of this work is to bring others to come into the House of the Lord and make the same covenants that we have made so that they can partake of the blessings of Heaven as well. 

Sunday is always a great day but this week, it was especially great, it was our first normal Sunday at the MTC, because the first was Easter and last week was Conference. So for Relief Society, we listened to Sister Mary Edmunds; who is a great speaker! She talked about the many missions she had served and helped me realize that we need to rely most on the Holy Ghost, because he knows all the people we will ever run into. She said, "The trouble with most teachers is that they think that they are the teacher." (Cook?)  "The spirit knows everyone.  Listen to him, he has good ideas." She was so great and gave a much needed 'pep talk' I guess you could say. But the truth is that we were preordained to succeed and to do our best to return to our Father in Heaven to live with Him and our families in the eternities. Well, that's all the time I have to spout off random things that happened this week. I love you all!

Love, Sister Rossberg

Week 2: Easter AND General Conference

I can only imagine the awesome experience that it is to be in the MTC during Conference, but Conference on Easter! That would be incredible!  Brent was telling me last week that a week in the MTC is huge! This week I'm sure is very eye opening for Abbi, seeing new missionaries come in and looking at them thinking, was that me?? I can't believe that's where I started!  And it will happen all over again the next week, and the week after that..  Here's what Abbi says about it, "A district in our Branch left for their missions in the Philippines yesterday and it is so cool to see that how they have changed even just knowing them for about a week and a half." What's so funny about this, is that these are the missionaries who have 'graduated' from the MTC.  It's so incredible what all of these amazing missionaries do to serve the Lord.  They are truly called and set apart for the Lord's work.  They would have to be.  If not, how would these young, 19 (now 18) to 20-something year old kids be so successful in spreading the gospel.

Some highlights from this week:

I am so grateful to my Savior, family, and friends and all the influence in my life that I was able to run to report, when the call to serve was made. 

We went to the temple this morning and then ate at the Temple Cafeteria  and I want you to know that the temples on the earth are the house of God and I know that the peace we feel there is how it will be in heaven.  

Sharna

General Conference: Nailed it.

KUMUSTA po kayo??---Hi, how are you??
Thank you all so much for your love and encouragement, I realize now that this is a hard thing but it is all worth it. Keep an eternal perspective, yeah?? This work is important and urgent and I know it's that way because the Lord stresses it so much, especially recently with the call for younger, prepared, and ready members to serve missions. I am so grateful to my Savior, family, and friends and all the influence in my life that I was able to run to report, when the call to serve was made. So thank  you!!

So conference this last weekend, the best one ever, right?? I loved it, I think my overall favorite was either Elder Cook's on peace through the love of God and President Monson's talk on the importance of obedience. These men are truly inspired of the Lord and I sustain them with my whole heart. I know the Lord is involved in his work, why wouldn't he be??
So i joined the choir after conference last Sunday and we are preforming in our little devotional tonight for the Missionaries. I am so excited to sing with the power of hundreds of missionaries in the power of song. 

Everyone here is so great and kind I am grateful to see the change that all these young people (myself included) and letting the Lord into their lives to change them. I love that and i know that great power can come from the unlearned and lowly in heart. So this week we have been learning more Tagalog and learning how to begin teaching. It is hard to learn how to follow the spirit and teach what the Lord would have your investigators know, rather than what you would like them to know. I am so glad that I have so much support from all of you and I hope that my letters will be personally meaning full to each of you. I do not know how to express myself because I feel like I have learned so much already and I feel that I could walk away from this experience already being a better person and being able to touch the hearts of many that I know now. But this is not God's will for me, I am so excited to be able to take what I will learned to the people of the Philippines and teach them and also to learn from them as they learn from me. A district in our Branch left for their missions in the Philippines yesterday and it is so cool to see that how they have changed even just knowing them for about a week and a half. And I cannot believe that will be me in about a month!! I am so excited to take on this new adventure and learn what God would have me. Okay so one more thing before I have to go, we went to the temple this morning and then ate at the Temple Cafeteria  and I want you to know that the temples on the earth are the house of God and I know that the peace we feel there is just how it will be in heaven. There will be people that we know and love to greet us. The church is true guys!!
Well I hope you all have a good week, please send me your addresses and individual emails so I can send you individual letter of love :)

Heres mine:
E-mail: abigail.rossberg@MyLDSMail.net
Address:
Sister Abigail Rossberg
MTC Box# 214
PHI-OLO 0508
2005 North 900 East
Provo UT 84604
 I love you all and thank you for everything! Until next week,
Sister Rossberg

Week 1: The Beginning!

Abbi's first week at the MTC was crazy, to say the least! She dropped off her bags in her room and they put her to work right away! She taught her first lesson in Tagalog the morning after she entered the MTC.  She is learning so much about herself, the Tagolog language, and what it means to become a disciple of Christ.  Her perspective has changed so much in the short (I'm sure she doesn't feel that way) week about the opportunity she has to serve a mission isn't for her.  "I am here to learn to teach, understand, and speak the best Tagalog for the people in the Philippines so that they will come closer to Christ and that they will be able to find peace in his rest."  It's pretty amazing to hear about everything Abbi's learning!

Highlight from Week 1:

One of the teachers introduced himself in Tagalog and then showed me to my books and told me to learn... I think.

Goodbye for a year and a half!

 

I love seeing this girl wear a missionary name tag!

Roomies!

Hello Family!!! (and friends) :D
Mahal po kayo! I love  you all!!
So I found out this week that the rule for e-mail has been changed and missionaries can now e-mail whomever they would like, as long as they do not live in their mission boundries, the rumors are true!! Cool right??  Sorry if this e-mail is spastic, we only have 30 minutes to write and I'm trying to hurry because I have so much to say! :) 

So mom and dad, you dropped me off at the curb side and an elder took me to a sister who took me to a room and they handed me a bunch of papers and then the sister helped me with my bags and took me to my room, left my bags there and then escorted me to my classroom, dropped me off with my "teachers" who were not speaking English, and then left. One of the teachers introduced himself in Tagalog and then showed me to my books and told me to learn... I think. 

I then met my Kasama (companion) who's name is Sister Greene, she is SUPER cute, from Long Beach California and loves her Family. She just found out that her boy friend back home has committed to baptism and she can't hold it in right now. But basically, I was thrown into the Tagalog language and I have been struggling to learn and understand but I know that as I trust in my Savior and turn to him, it will all come in due time. I already love my MTC district, they are so supportive. 

We taught a lesson in Tagalog Thursday morning. Talk about nerve wrecking!! But it was all good, his name is Romvi and we taught him by just reading from the book and then felt like crap for doing it so then next lesson on Saturday we prepared a lot better and were able to ask questions and respond in the best Tagalog that we could. The spirit was definitely a lot stronger and we learned a lot more from the second lesson we taught. 

So needless to say, this has been a very stressful week and I have learned so much about what Heavenly Father has in store for me. I know that I am here at the Provo MTC to learn Tagalog, but not for me. I am here to learn to teach, understand, and speak the best Tagalog for the people in the Philippines so that they will come closer to Christ and that they will be able to find peace in his rest. 

This last Sunday was Easter, What a treat it was to be able to be in the MTC on Easter Sunday! The talks were all amazing and no joke, they all quoted Mosiah 3:19 because that is our goal to give up our natural desires and passions and come unto Christ and become more like him, because none of us will be able to live with him again until we have changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  So, Sunday morning Sacrament meeting is very hard to put my emotions into words but i will try, There were over 3000 missionaries in the building and in the over flow, who got the sacrament. The power that is in that many disciples of Christ being in one room, is unfathomable I wish you all could have been there to feel the presence of our Savior with us as we partook of the sacrament. 
Then, Bishop and Sister Causse from the Presiding Bishop spoke to us on the true meaning of Easter and how the Savior's sacrifice is essentially our message that we share as missionaries. We are invited to GO and SEE Jesus and the promise is that we will KNOW that he lives. The Savior has the ability to love everyone perfectly because of the Atonement which he endured for our sake. I know that we can know for ourselves, what the Savior did for us. Bishop Causse said that Love is the most motivating principle in life. It was inherited through living with Heavenly Father before this life. I think we have all felt that in our lives? From family and loved ones as they love and take care of us but just imagine how much more love the Savior has for each of us.
OH! Sister Sheri Dew came for the Sunday night fireside as well. She is a very powerful speaker and she also testified of the Savior as well. I know that if we find out for ourselves who the Savior is and what he did for us then we don't have to wait around and hope for second chances, we can take our only chance through the Savior and become knew through him. 

This week, I learned the hard way that we can not face this life and trials alone and if we try, we will be sorely disappointed. I have come just a little bit closer to my Savior this week through the challenge of learning Tagalog. I love this gospel and I know more than ever, that it is true.
Sorry again if this email is a mumble jumbled mess but know that I love you all and I think of you often. Thank you so much for your prayers and letters of love and encouragement. It helps more than you will ever know!
Love, Sister Rossberg!