Week Three

From: Elise LaPorte
Date: Fri, Jul 13, 2012 at 9:55 AM
Subject: This is it!!!

HELLO FAMILY!!!!!

I am sorry it took till Friday I did start Visitors' Center training this week, so my p-day got moved to today!!! I LOVE Visitor Center everything!!! haha I don't know a lot about what is going to happen in life but I know one thing is for sure i was born to do this!!! :) On Wednesday we went to TEMPLE SQUARE!!!! I haven't been there for long that I didn't even realize what being there would mean!!! SO blessed...the spirit is so strong there!!! The neat thing was as we got on the bus and walked around I just had this feeling like I was coming home!!! I just felt like I was walking around on a cloud!!! When we went to the bathroom before we got back on the bus, I was just like I don't want to leave this place...haha! I still love the MTC, though...haha! Soooo...I know more of what I will be doing. Haha...yesterday, I started REAL teaching!!! When you go on to mormon.org and it says "chat with us!" Well, the sisters missionaries at Visitors are US!!! We get to teach lessons, set up appointments and follow them to baptism.. SOOO neat!!! A lot of people don't want people coming to their homes so the program is taking off!!! They trained us on Wednesday night and BAM the next day we started! Sister Creal has a new comp till Monday because...well I am with all Sisters from here on out...haha! Sister George and I are comps and we are having a BLAST with LOTS of work...hahaha! So yesterday, we taught out first person online! His name was Mark and he taught and discussed a lot! It was SO neat to be really teaching as a missionary. After we got off, Sister George and I were saying a prayer for this son of God...it was really moving. I even teared up...haha...I am just SO happy that I get to have the blessing of teaching and sharing the joy and hope I have from Jesus Christ! To being able to seriously teach the whole world SO neat!!! haha I still can't comprehend it!!! Haha!

Okay, second neat thing was also yesterday night! During the day, we were taught on how to prepare, plan and teach...since its different in a Visitors' Center, because you never know who is going to come.  Our teacher said, "Make a plan in your head.  Pray and then visualize the person, what they look like,age, what they are wearing..etc. Then after you physically picture them spiritually picture them and what you think they are like, struggles, what they need.  Then you make a goal of who you see them becoming with the gospel in their lives and the goals you have for them."  So last night, we gave tours in the MTC to visitors that were coming but we didn't know anything about them so they asked us to practice this method.  I had an idea of an old lady before we prayed because that is what we got a lot of the night before but then we prayed. Sister George and I said a prayer. She turned to me after said what are you thinking and I told her what my thoughts were before the prayer and she said what are your thoughts now after the prayer. I thought about it and said I am not thinking about a old lady anymore...I am see a guy. She got really excited and said me too!!! We both went on to explain exactly what we thought he looked like and to both of us it was the same.  A man in his late 20's to early 30's, tall, kind of crazy hair, dress casual and then we talked about what his needs were and what we thought about him on the inside.  We planned a concept to teach based on what we thought his needs were. Well, prayers are real and the spirit is real.  That night, as we were standing in the "visitor center" room we were waiting for our teacher to sent a visitor our way! We looked over waiting seeing our teaching in the doorway and then around the corner came the the man that we had seen and pictured.  Our teacher could have sent him to anyone but pointed to us.  As he walked up to us my heart was beating SOO fast and I was just SOOO overcome with emotion. Man, I am crying just typing it...haha! We taught him and the spirit was SO strong!!! Hands down one of the neatest experiences of my life!!! Sister George and I were just SO moved! I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that watches over all of his children.  That he knows them by name, what they need and who they are!!! It will be a moment I will never forget!!!  I have to go!!! I know I am leaving a lot out but in the words of you mom!! I may forget all my stories to tell but I will never forget how much I really love all of you!!!

Love, Sister LaPorte