A sweet note from Morgan's Branch President

This himn was interpreted by sisters Elise Pack, Faith Wise and Morgan Yats this march 30, 2014 at CCM in Guatemala in the sacramentsl meeting.

They play piano and song like angels and give and we can feel the Holy Spirit in that moment.

Thanks for to send yours daugthers, they are a special angels to the mision.

God bless you and all your family.

With love

    Guillermo Diaz
    President  Branch
    MTC Guatemala

I had the answer all along...

Familia,

Richard G. Scott on Prayer:

"It matters not our circumstance, be we humble or arrogant, poor or rich, free or enslaved, learned or ignorant, loved or forsaken, we can address Him.  We need no appointment.  Our supplication can be brief or can occupy all the time needed.  It can be an extended expression of love and gratitude or an urgent plea for help.  He has created numberless cosmos and populated them with worlds, yet you and I can talk with Him personally, and He will ever answer."

Pres David O McKay:

"It is true that the answers to our prayers may not always come as direct and at the time, nor in the manner, we anticipate; but they do come and at a time and in a manner best for the interests of him who offers the supplication."

Elder Scott:

"Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes.  Your character will grow; your faith will increase.  There is a relationship between those two:  the greater your faith, the stronger your character; and increased character enhances your ability to exercise even greater faith."

 

Prayer has become so important to me.  I am grateful for a loving Father who knows me and knows how to help me before I even know I am in need of help.  I am learning how to recognize answers to my prayers - prayers that I offered long ago and prayers that I have sought answers to for years.  I am finding that I had an answer all along.

 

I was so brave yesterday.  I played my pretty arrangement of I Know My Redeemer Lives in sacrament meeting and my companions sang it!  We were all so unreasonably nervous but I'm so glad we did it.  Nothing brings the spirit like music.  So many people were brought to tears and it was a special experience.  My mtc president's wife even had us do it again in Relief Society haha.  The branch president emailed you about it :)  I think he tried to attach a recording of it.  He totally pulled out his phone and recorded it in sacrament meeting!!  haha he comes up to us after and said "It's for me.  Muy bonita.  I cried.  I love it"  and he walks off holding it to his ear smiling from ear to ear. I love the people here so much.

 

It finally came.  My sick day.  It was just a matter of time before I got sick from the food!  I spent a day in my room sick to my stomach.  I didn't even get to enjoy not studying because I was stressed the whole time about what I was missing.  I'm fine now though!  I just got a lot of mysterious medicine from the nurse and stayed in bed all day.

 

I CAN'T BELIEVE HERMANA ALVARADO IS COMING TO OUR HOUSE!!!  That's so crazy!  I am giving her a note to bring to you :)  I'm super jealous she gets to hang out with you all but she is so awesome.  Give her a big hug for me because I won't see  her after wednesday this week :(

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!  I love you with all my heart.  You are my hero.  Thank you for being a light in my life and for being so selfless and inspiring.  You are amazing and I love you!  I'll be thinking about you on your Birthday during Conference!

 

Thank you for your letters every week.  You fill me with happiness.  Thank you for your words of wisdom.  I love you all so much!  Be safe and play in the snow/ sun for me!  Whatever weather Utah decides to be this week!

 

-Hermana Yatés

What is time?

March 25, 2014

Familia,

The days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. Time is so cruel here it makes zero sense haha.  I'm halfway done with the mtc.  What?  I'm so confused.  

Well another week in the mission means another week of highs and lows.  The new nortes make me feel like a wise old woman when it comes to mtc life and spanish. I have the most amazing teachers who help me in ways that no other person could.  Time and time again I write down what they say because they just know how to touch my heart.

"I love you. Because you are representatives of Christ.  I wish I could be where you are but I can't.  Our time is over.  Cherish this.  Enjoy it and be the best you can be.  The Lord will qualify you."  

"Fear is not from God"

"Jump to the sharks every time.  Every time you can.  You are my heros.  You are going to make billions of mistakes.  Start today."  

I am so grateful for them and the way they listen to the Spirit to know exactly how to help us and prepare us. My teacher, Sister Alvarado added me on facebook, accept her!!  She is the cutest person ALIVE. AHH I'm obsessed with her.

I'm glad you got that picture!  Elder Burningham was randomly there to take pictures because they are about to rededicate the CCM (MTC).  So he got your email to help me send a you a picutre!  We can't take pictures in the MTC so I haven't had my camera yet.

My CCM President is President Cox.  He's The Man.  We are the most strict MTC in the world, literally, so it is hard at times because we are always in trouble for something.  We can't even hug our own companions anymore.  But he has good intentions.  We get a lot of one on one time with him and his wife, considering

there are only 60 of us here haha.  Every Sunday night we get to go to their apartment upstairs and have a personal devotional with the nortes and get cookies and stuff haha.

I love the scriptures so much. There are days where I feel completely worthless here.  It's obvious that I struggle with spanish and always need individual, specific help.  But the scriptures bring me so much peace and hope no matter what I am feeling.  I take my book of mormon with me every morning and

set it on the elipticle thing and read while I run 2 miles haha.  You do what you gotta do here, since there is no time to study for your personal enjoyment.  Actually, let me rephrase that, there is no time to do anything period.

I thought about how important the book of mormon is for our investigators.  If you were walking to a lesson and Alma saw you and said, "Can I come?"  "Well YEAH.  You should teach the lesson while you're at it."  At the end of the lesson, you say, "We have to go now but here is Nephi and he wants to talk to you, okay?"

We have the testimonies of the most incredible prophets.  We should take every chance we have to share that with those who don't have it yet.  

Things I learned this week:

1. Joseph Smith is my hero.  I am just starting to learn how amazing that prophet was.

2. Ice cream for every meal is always a good option.

3. Spanish is muy dificil but I can do it.

4.Christ is my anchor.  I love Him.  

I love my family and I love being a missionary.  I'm sorry I didn't have time to write more. There were a lot of emails to read!  Until next week familia!  

Much love!  

NEC  

Hermana Yatés

"The Princess of the MTC"

Mom, thank you so so much for the pillow case!  I love it!  I had no idea you were doing that!!! I tied the ribbon from it on the bottom of the bunk bed above me.  It might be weird but I miss coming into your room at night and having you hold out your hand for me to grab and tell you about my day.  So I just hold the ribbon for a minute and tell you about my day still:)

Daily Schedule - study at 6:30, sports, breakfast at 8:00, classes until 12:00, lunch, classes, dinner, classes, planning, bed.  It's soooo long.

Talk about stress.  The time is counting down on my screen and it is giving me anxiety!  25 minutes let's do this.

So yeah I got called the princess of the MTC.  Anyone surprised?  I get my fruit specially cut and hand delivered to me every day from people in the kitchen.  Haha the male workers love to make it all pretty and shape it into dolphins or things like that for me.  It's the best thing ever.

P-day is tomorrow but we switch off days to write every other week...?  I'm not really sure why because they say it in spanish.  I just follow everyone haha.  Tomorrow we get to go to the temple again and to wal mart!  I don't think I have ever been so excited to go to wal mart haha.  Maybe I'll buy some crocs while I'm there ;)

Last week in the temple I was seeking further confirmation of my testimony of the church.  As I was sitting in the celestial room I just thought, "I already know.  Why am I seeking further confirmation?  I wouldn't be living in guatemala on a crappy bunk bed, with freezing cold showers, speaking spanglish for a year and a half if I didn't know."  I want to do everything I can to make it back to Heavenly Father.  I am willing to walk the path that Christ walked.  My chair will not be empty :)

I love the mornings here.  Working out in the morning or skipping out on running and reading my BOM is so amazing.  Even if it is at 6:30.  The rest of the day is so noisy.  The sirens here are insane and the traffic is always going and there is an outside bar/club thing right next to the mtc so all you hear all day is screeching tires and music blasting haha.

The rumors were true. The whole district is insane at this point from being trapped in here together all day long.  We cope by quoting movies all day long.  I love my district!

Como se whaaaaat.....??

What. A. Week.

  

I feel like I've been here for a lifetime.  It is amazing though, I love it here.  It's so great to see the same people all the time.  I am one of 15 nortes (north americans).  The latino people are awesome!!!  So loving and so nice.  I don't have a lot of time.  First off, mom when you send packages, don't put Jesus or the Virgin Mary on them!! And put my whole name, Hermana Morgan Yates. Sorry my enter key isnt working again.  

We are teaching a real investigator!!  It makes me so nervous because I don't speak Spanish very well but he is so patient with us.  And yes, we teach in SOLO ESPANOL.  The first lessons I didn't feel like I offered much but last night was amazing.  Let me tell you, the gift of tongues is so real. We taught an amazing lesson in spanish and had so many things brought to our minds to say to him that he needed to hear.  We all left the lesson and just cried and prayed together hahaha.  I have never felt that kind of happiness!  we were all smiling from ear to ear the rest of the day.  I got a small glimpse of what is possible with the Lord on your side.  

The food here is really good most of the time and then every once in a while it's hard to swallow.  I never knew that I was a picky eater until I got here..... Everyone here is so nice though! They bring me a custom made bowl of fruit every day because I'm allergic to everything haha.  They give you SO MUCH FOOD though. Haha my skirts get a little tight after every meal because we have to eat it all.  Of course we all get ice cream after because no self control.  Ice cream always wins.  

Sacrament meeting is in spanish so we all sit with blank stares on our faces and try to sing in spanish.  I forgot my hymn book that day so I was the only one singing in english.  I have already learned so much though.  The hermanas leaving next week already know so much so it gives me hope!  

I had a day that was pretty hard.  I am sooo not good at learning spanish.  It's frustrating to see everyone around me succeeding and understanding when I'm clearly not, but I'm trying to be patient with myself.  In my district of 7 people we have a range from very humble to very prideful.  It's tough sometimes to bite my tongue and not say anything to the elders who need a little help getting off their high horse.  I'm in a trio companionship.  It's super awesome sometimes and really really trying at other times. My companions are Hermana Pack and Hermana Wise.   Hermana Wise is a sweetheart.  A talkative, huggy, sweetheart haha.  She definitely carries us on most of the lessons.  She has been waiting  for this her whole life!!   We all went to usu before this, how crazy is that?   

Lessons learned this week: 

1. When you are sleepy.. skittles are LIFESAVERS. 

2. patience is a virtue  

3. prayer is amazing  

4. BE BOLD  

5. dilligence, faith, and obedience = miracles.  

The Lord sends tender mercies right when we need them the most.  My night time teacher gave a lesson a few nights ago right before bed.  At the end, he stopped and said, Heavenly Father is so proud of you.  He knows you are here and he is so proud.  After months of confusion and unsurety, in that moment I knew I am where I am supposed to be.  I just knew it.  In the temple today I felt the same thing.  "What are tender mercies?  They are very personal and individualized blessings.  They are blessings of strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving kindness, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts.  They do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence.  Faithfulness and obedience enable us to receive these important gifts."  

I haven't read all of your letter yet mom, I'll send answers to questions if I need to as I go back and read.  We just have no time.  So please try not to send long letters. I had to write this before I got here.  I wanted to impress you with my testimony in spanish but I just don't have time.  Next time ;) 

Haha try to make my letter into paragraphs so it is easier for other people to read!!!  This keyboard is impossible to figure out.  I love you all so much.  I hope you are doing well!  I keep randomly finding letters in my bags and scriptures and they make my day.  I have the best family ever!!!!  

Love youuuuuu.  

#NEC  

-Hermana Yates <3

HOLA

Familia!  Greetings from Guatemala!!  After a long night of flying and no sleep... I. Am. Exhausted.  We got a 2 hour nap when we got here,slept in the same clothes, and got woken up to go to class!  Honestly,I hardly remember driving to the CCM because I was so out of it.  It seems like forever ago.  We have eaten weird food, listened to our CCM presidents, and learned some spanish!  I hear we will be able to go to sleep early tonight, so fingers crossed that it's not just a rumor! Sorry I don't know how to enter to a new line.. these keyboards are super weird..!  I LOVE YOU GUYS.  

I didn't have much time to be sad because we went to find our flight and started talking.  The other hermana with us also went to USU and she went to Belize with Hefy two summers ago!  So crazy.  Also Elder Breinholt passed on the message to my teacher here to tell me hi!  I wish I could write a huge paragraph in spanish already and blow your minds but I am struggling to learn the alphabet still.  At least we got to go outside and play basketball to try and learn the alphabet better!  It's going to be a long day haha.  There are about 10 american hermanas here and a lot of latino hermanas and elders.  As we have been learning spanish it is already hard not to get discouraged.  The other people I am with know a lot more than I do to begin with but I'm not going to compare myself to them!  It will come with time and sleep haha.  It is not very pretty here.  The city is dirty, noisy, and chaotic.  I was sitting in the back of the car of a lady who picked us up from the airport and I really thought I had flown all that way just to die on the way to the CCM.  The weather is so beautiful though!  It is so perfect outside. There are purple and pink trees and mountains covered in trees that make the city a little more bearable.  Sorry this is so scattered, I didn't know we would be writing so I didn't think about what I wanted to say!  I can't find anything in my bags haha.  Luckily we get time tonight to unpack.  I won't get my camera until my second p-day so sorry I won't be uploading pictures for a while!  Oh p.s. we were talking to a man in the airport from Guatemala and he is lds and was nice to talk to but he said that the doctors made a huge mistake by taking out my gallbladder because I could just eat pineapple to cure gallstones?  Yeah I don't really know haha people here are interesting but very nice!  I don't care if you post this letter or not.. haha it's all over the place but I just wanted to tell you all I'm okay!  A little scattered but I'll be good :)  I love you all and I hope you are happy happy happy!  Talk to you soon I think..?  -Hermana Yates