The MTC Sisters

Here are some photos of the sisters I was at the MTC with. They are all amazing and have such individual personalities and talents. It is simply amazing to see how close we got over those short 3 weeks. It's like someone said as we left the MTC, "Leaving home is sad, especially as you leave your family behind. However, I have come to realize I am not leaving my family, but rather I have gained a whole other part of it." I truly feel that way about the people I have met and come into contact with.

As I said before, there were 6 MTC sisters. The first photo goes Sisters Belliston, Stout, Brooke, Hadley, myself and Sister Hull. We are standing in almost the same order in the second photo, except Sister Hull and I switched spots. Let me tell you a bit about each of these sisters.

Sister Belliston is probably the most amazing pianist I have ever heard. She graduated as a piano performance major and simply has a wonderful touch on the piano. Besides that she has a wonderful heart about her. She is very kind and loving.

Sister Stout is a hoot. Honestly, she has the best stories! She grew up on a farm where her dad had emus, grew dates, and thought it would be a good idea to have 200 dogs at one stage. You can tell she learned how to work hard. Sister Stout had us in tears of laughter during meal time. I loved hearing about her experiences and the good sense of humor she had. She always was positive about all that she learned and was happy to do whatever.

Sister Brooke was our miracle. She was actually supposed to go to the New Zealand MTC and then to Australia. She unfortunately had some visa problems and fortunately ended up coming to the England MTC much to our pleasure. This made it so we had 3 companionships. Also, she is from England so she was our source of knowledge. She was constantly answering all our questions about the culture; it was great to have that first-hand source of knowledge.

Sister Hadley always smiled. I can't think of a time when she wasn't smiling and if that didn't brighten your day, I am not sure what would. It is amazing how something as simple as a smile can make a difference.

Sister Hull was my first companion. It was amazing how we learned to work together throughout the weeks. I definitely saw a change in her as well. She gained confidence as she taught and was willing to take charge. As a result, I learned to sit back a little more and just listen/observe. It was a very pleasurable experience. Mostly she was a great source of faith for me. She wasn't sure why she was on a mission, but she knew it was where she needed to be so she was there. She kept going forth with faith, even when she missed friends and family at home. It was also nice for me to be able to recognize just how good I had it. I feel very blessed to know that this is where I need to be. Also, I feel blessed because I have such purpose and direction in my mission. The contrast between our backgrounds made me grateful for all the experiences I've had that led me to the person I am today with the knowledge that I have.

Both Sister Hull and Hadley are both serving in England Manchester as well, so I am sure I will be writing more about them later. That is all my updates about the sisters I grew to know and love at the MTC.

Hello

Hi family.

I moved to a little town on the outskirts of Manchester named Wigan. It seems like it will be a great town because it is so quaint. The people seem friendly as well, some nicer than others, but still friendly. From what I hear the ward I will be working with is extremely helpful and nice as well, so I am sure that will be great. I will tell you more details as I know them. My companion is Sister Davis and you can look below at the picture and the corresponding info to learn more :)

I arrived in Wigan yesterday early evening, and we went to work right away. We went ahead and got some groceries so we didn't die of starvation. Then we went around and started talking to people on the street as well as taught a lesson. We have a few people that are interested in our message and Sister Davis has been teaching them. I don't really know much about them yet, but as I learn more I will be sure to tell you about those experiences and stories.

There is a new training program out for missionaries. As a result, I will probably be with my trainer, Sister Davis, for the next 12 weeks. Some of you are wondering what trainer means, and a trainer is another sister missionary who has been out in the field for a while. She is in charge of making sure you learn the ropes of how to be an effective missionary. Basically, she can answer your questions and help you understand what your role and purpose is as a missionary. I think you get the drift, but if anyone is lost please ask! And if I can't answer, Annie will. With this new program, they suggest you be together for 2 transfers (12 weeks).

The first photo is of my district, the Ammon district, from the MTC. There were 8 of us missionaries--2 sisters and 6 elders. The elders treated us all very nicely and we had a grand old time together. It is amazing how much I learned to love these missionaries because we spent so much time together. There were great things to learn from each of them. I can give descriptions of each one if people want to know the 6 elders, but look at my other email to find out about my companion, Sister Hull.

The next photo is from today. This is myself and Sister Davis. Sister Davis is from Rexburg, ID and has a ton of energy. She is my trainer, so I will more than likely be with her for the next 2 transfers (12 weeks). I consider myself to have a lot of energy and enthusiasm, but I have to admit she just may have more than I do. I think Heavenly Father put us together because He knew that I was the only one who could keep up with her. It's been really good so far and she is really nice. I know that I will learn a lot from her. She has been out a little over a year now and will go home in February, so it's fun!

Love always,
Sister (Becca) Jack

Off to the Field

Hello everyone!

Who can believe that the day has finally come that I am reporting to the mission field. Tomorrow I get to wake up at 5:15 am and then be ready to leave at 6:30 am. I am heading to Manchester where I will be assigned to a companion and also an area. It is an exciting time and I am definitely looking forward to applying my teaching skills and all I have learned. Sorry but we don't have much time this week; however, I will be sure to write more next week. Know that I love you and am happy :) This work truly is amazing and I am loving almost every moment of it!

Thank you for all the support and encouragement. I appreciate it and am grateful for all the small things everyone has done for me!

Love always,
Sister (Becca) Jack

Becca's Farewell Talk

Click on the title of this post for an audio recording of Becca's farewell talk from July 31, 2011.

Week 2

Hello family once again!

Another week has flown by. I can't believe I will be leaving the MTC next week. It is crazy to think soon enough I will be a real missionary. Well technically I already am a real missionary, but it doesn't quite feel that way since I am in the same building for a majority of the week. I do know that next Wednesday I will be heading to the mission home in Manchester and will be assigned an area and companion from there. I am not sure when I will be emailing because of the transition, but I will try and email about my exciting adventures. We only get a half hour to email in the MTC, so I am not attaching any pictures. When I have more time, I will email some pictures as well and be sure to send you some descriptions about all the people I am meeting.

One thing I forgot to write about last week is the fact that I am the coordinating sister. Yeah, what is that? Good question. That was my initial reaction as well. We are broken down into zones and then districts below that. The guys (or elders as we call them), then overlook each of those groups. However, I am in charge of looking over the five other sisters and making sure we are keeping our living areas orderly. It is actually fun and I enjoy having a little extra motivation to get to know all the sisters. They each have unique personalities and exciting stories, so it is fun to get to know them better. I will be sure to send a picture and some descriptions of them when I get some photos uploaded.

This week has been fairly similar to the week before. We studied, taught, learned, etc. However, we have had some really neat experiences as well. We sang at a ward's sacrament meeting on Sunday. We sang five songs before and during the meeting. I will admit it is a little hard to sing balanced when there are 44 elders and only 6 sisters, but we did a pretty good job. Some of the ward members said it was one of the best sacrament meetings they ever attended. Then yesterday we went and made a recording of the singing. I think they may post the songs to the web or something, so I will be sure to keep you updated because I am sure you would enjoy hearing the singing.

In addition to singing on Sunday, we had the opportunity to visit some of the church history sites around here. We went to some of the first places the missionaries ever taught at and where they baptized some of the first people in England. It honestly was a neat experience. My favorite part of the whole tour was visiting the site where President Gordon B. Hinckley received a letter from his dad. At this stage, President Hinckley was a little discouraged and wrote home telling his dad that he was wasting his dad's money and his time. His dad wrote back and said, "Forget yourself and go to work." The message contained in this letter is great. It reminds me about what I learned last week about forgetting myself and truly focusing on the work ahead of me. The more exciting part about it was that Sister Walker, the MTC president's wife, is actually President Hinckley's daughter. As a result, I feel the experiences and stories she shared were all first-hand and had a special spirit about them. She even told us that every time she asked her father how many people he baptized on his mission, he never gave a clear answer. From records, it appears he actually never baptized anyone. This idea really stuck out to me because it doesn't matter whether or not you baptize someone on your mission, but rather the influence you have on the people around you. Sharing the message and helping others feel of Heavenly Father's love is more important than adding another number to the statistics. It has been great to learn more about the church history and look toward the example of so many other great missionaries.

While studying how to be better teachers this week, we had a lesson titled, "Teach People, Not Lessons." This kind of goes back to the thought about President Hinckley and how we need to focus on people. While sharing our message is important, we need to get to the know the person and see what part of the message best applies to them. We are learning how to be sincere and truly show interest in people's lives. I have to admit, I really enjoy that part because I know I will meet a lot of different people here. However, the only way I can help them is if I am truly concerned about them and not about the lesson I want to teach them. By getting to know a person, I can be a more effective teacher and better recognize how my message is applicable to them in their stage of life right now.

Those are just a few of the cool experiences and things I have learned this week. It's funny because I always feel so busy. I am learning a ton, but yet at the same time, there are many instances where I don't feel I have enough time to study. I am excited to get out to the actual mission field next week. Tomorrow we get to go street contacting, so I guess that will be one of my first experiences out meeting people. I will be sure to report how everything goes. Thanks for all the love and support! Know that I am doing well and loving life in England!

Love,
Sister (Becca) Jack

One Week...

Hello family and everyone else who may read this email!

It has been almost a whole week that I have been out in the mission field and let's see 18 months times 4 weeks makes 84 weeks minus one so 83 weeks to do some work (that is if I did my math correctly, but let's hope I haven't lost my mathematical touch yet)! The mission so far has been good, but I can't say there is much to report. It all seems like second nature by now, so I have to remember that you aren't right here alongside of me learning all that I am and doing the same routine.

Well our schedule is basically planned out for us every day. We wake up 6:30 a.m. and go to bed at 10:30 p.m. Throughout the day, we eat, study, exercise, learn from our teachers and practice role plays. It surprisingly enough reminds me a lot of school. There are two big differences though: I actually enjoy all the work I am doing and see the value in all that I am doing. It's interesting because I notice how much more knowledge I can gain and when I figure out I don't know or understand something, I go ahead and study it more. I have always considered myself a fairly driven and motivated person, but I will have to admit that there is definitely a little extra push here. I am grateful for all the good study skills I have learned beforehand because it makes it that much easier to study and focus now.

I will have to admit, in many aspects a mission is exactly what I had thought it would be, but at the same time, there are some things I could have never expected. This week I found out personal study isn't exactly personal. You would think that personal study would be time that you can take for yourself to study and learn more about questions you may have. While in some essence that is true, the personal study isn't so much about your questions, but rather your investigator's questions. It is a time when you can sit down and learn more about the concerns or questions the person you are teaching may have. It's when you take a moment to become a better teacher by preparing yourself more. With this in mind, I learned that this work truly is not about me, but is about the people I teach. While there are many ways I will benefit from this experience and my time in England, it is truly a time of selfless service that I can help the people around me understand more about this gospel and church. Second thing I realized is that it rains...a lot. It reminds me of Doug when he was at Syracuse for college and one time dad asked if it was snowing. Doug then responded, "Dad, it is never a question of if it is snowing or not. It is a question of how much." It rains literally every day here, even if it’s just for a brief time. As a result, I am understanding how important it is to be prepared for any weather because you never know how the day will turn out.

My last thought this week is about the doctrine of Christ. I will admit, I felt pretty prepared for a mission. I have been a member for the church for the past 10 years, so I kind of figured I knew a majority of things. Plus I have practice teaching, so how hard could it be. However, no worries, I have been humbled. Don't worry I think the mission will be full of those experiences. The first few days we learned our purpose as a missionary. Our purpose is: Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. The whole latter part of that purpose (faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end) is Christ's doctrine. It is what he taught during his ministry on the earth. It is also what Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost testify as well. It is this doctrine that I am going to be teaching and is essential to understand. It is clear to me that I knew about this doctrine before I came, but it is great to know of its simplicity when it is laid out before you. I think it is wonderful how much I am learning and coming to understand. I know that I will continue to learn throughout all my days in the mission field.

Hope all is well and that you are doing good things. I look forward to hearing from you!

Much love!
Sister Jack

Safely Arrived

I just wanted to let you know that I safely arrived at the Preston England MTC. I traveled all the way to England by myself and the layover at JFK seemed long, but it's alright because I am here now. There are 50 missionaries at the MTC now and 6 of those are sisters. I don't know any of them wicked well yet, but once I learn some more I will tell you about all the cool people I am meeting.

Farewell Talk

Hey everyone! This is an outline of my farewell talk. Eric (my brother-in-law) will be posting an audio recording of the talk, so if you wait till next week, you can hear it rather than trying to figure out my notes. Thank you for all your support.

First, desire and do what is right.
• In D & C 64: 34, it says “the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind”
• D & C 4: 2
• We know what is required, but are we willing to say as the Savior did in Gethsemane Luke 22:42
• Despite the pain and suffering, are we willing and desire to do Heavenly Father’s will for us
• Dallin H. Oaks stated, “Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming.”
• There is a difference between action—notice how in the song it states I’ll go, I’ll say and I’ll be
• Lynn G. Robbins talked about this during the last general conference in his talk titled “What Manner of Men and Woman Ought Ye to Be?”, he said:
o “To be and to do are inseparable. As interdependent doctrines they reinforce and promote each other.”
o “To do without to be is hypocrisy, or feigning to be what one is not—a pretender.
o “Be without do really isn’t being—it is self-deception, believing oneself to be good merely because one’s intentions are good.”
• However, as we are willing to go, say, be and do what is good and right, we will be able to do Heavenly Father’s will

Second, recognize Heavenly Father’s will for us. (Be)
• “… It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become” (“The Challenge to Become,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 32).
• Be willing to ask
o D&C 88:63
o We are promised that if we ask, we will be told—it may be gradual or not when we expect it, but it will come
o I know that as we search, are patient and listen, He will show us His will
• How do we be who Heavenly Father wants us to be?
o Start with the obvious—your callings (Relief Society president, bishop, Sunday school teacher, counselor, etc.) or as simple as home and visiting teaching
o Home and visiting teaching story
o Thomas S. Monson said “our personal influence will be felt for good wherever we are, whatever our callings.”
o Lynn G. Robbins also talked about becoming lists (vs. to do lists)—you can’t just check it off
o 1 Timothy 4:12
• Part of that is Matthew 5:14-16
o President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in April 2010 conference told a story
“A story is told that during the bombing of a city in World War II, a large statue of Jesus Christ was severely damaged. When the townspeople found the statue among the rubble, they mourned because it had been a beloved symbol of their faith and of God’s presence in their lives.
Experts were able to repair most of the statue, but its hands had been damaged so severely that they could not be restored. Some suggested that they hire a sculptor to make new hands, but others wanted to leave it as it was—a permanent reminder of the tragedy of war. Ultimately, the statue remained without hands. However, the people of the city added on the base of the statue of Jesus Christ a sign with these words: “You are my hands.”
“There is a profound lesson in this story. When I think of the Savior, I often picture Him with hands outstretched, reaching out to comfort, heal, bless, and love. And He always talked with, never down to, people. He loved the humble and the meek and walked among them, ministering to them and offering hope and salvation.
“That is what He did during His mortal life; it is what He would be doing if He were living among us today; and it is what we should be doing as His disciples and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“On this beautiful Easter morning, our thoughts and hearts are drawn to Him—the Hope of Israel and the Light of the World.
“As we emulate His perfect example, our hands can become His hands; our eyes, His eyes; our heart, His heart.”
o Joseph B. Wirthlin at this last general conference said “I urge you to examine your life. Determine where you are and what you need to do to be the kind of person you want to be. Create inspiring, noble, and righteous goals that fire your imagination and create excitement in your heart. And then keep your eye on them. Work consistently towards achieving them.”
• As we recognize not only the person we want to be, but also who Heavenly Father wants us to be we will align our own will with His will for us

Third, follow through with His will and the promptings of the Spirit.
Follow through (Go)
• 1 Nephi 3:7
• Feelings of inadequacy arise
o Henry B. Erying reminds us “When those feelings of inadequacy strike us, it is the time to remember the Savior. He assures us that we don’t do this work alone.”
• Poem titled “Footprints” by Margaret Fishback Powers
“One night I dreamed a dream.
 I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.
“When the last scene of my life shot before me I looked back at the footprints in the sand. There was only one set of footprints. I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life. This always bothered me and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma.
“'Lord, You told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk and talk with me all the way. But I'm aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I just don't understand why, when I need You most, You leave me.'
“He whispered, 'My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.'
• In times of doubt, have the faith to ask the Lord?
o The spirit
o Patriarchal blessing
o The scriptures
o Music
o Temple
• He will reassure of His will whether it be big or small, but we need to be willing to search and listen

Follow promptings of the Spirit (Listen and action, which may include say)
• 1 Nephi 4:6-7
• Alma 5:46
• We may not know Heavenly Father’s will for us as we are prompted, but know that He does have a will and purpose for us to accomplish while on this earth
• Henry B. Erying “We can expect in our service to have help sent to us at the right time who will see strength in us and lift us up. And we can look forward to being the one sent by the Lord to encourage another.”
• David B. Haight who said, “As time goes on, it is the love that we give and the service that we render that becomes so important in our lives,” nicely summarizes the key to Heavenly Father’s will for us.
o Look back at high school and those events that seemed so important now seem so unimportant (not to belittle those events and emotions): I remember the little events of service (visiting teaching, service projects, helping a friend in need)
As I look toward my college experience so far, it has much been the same—lots of little acts of service