Onward, Ever Onward

Emilye leaves for Kentucky tomorrow! Here's her new mailing address and her most recent letter that outlines her time in the MTC.

Hermana Emilye Messerly
Kentucky Louisville Mission
1325 Eastern Parkway
Louisville, KY 40204

9 de julio

Mis Amigos!

I've decided to write you all a little epistle (I'm so biblical. Epistle.) of my time here at the MTC. Life here is a bit strange, but mostly awesome. It's so funny looking at my journal from the first few days. Most of them consist of something like "Wow. It's only the second day. It feels like it's been a week." Now I'm about to leave and it feels like it is too soon. Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic to be leaving the MTC, but I'm going to miss all the study time we have here and all the people in my district. My district is amazing, but none of them are going to Kentucky so I'll probably never see them again. Ever. Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh, but I won't see them at all on my mission.

First I guess I'll just give a run down of the day-to-day goings on here at the MTC and the basic feel of this place. All days you spend your time from 6:30-9:30 either studying, in class, or eating. At least 1 half -hour (sometimes 2) every day is spent teaching an "investigator," which is either your teacher or another missionary. My P-days consisted of temple, laundry, and letter writing. P-day ends at 6:30 and it's back to class. You spend almost all of your time in your classroom (you only see your bedroom from 9:30-10:30), so it's very important to have a district who is focused or everyone gets distracted. It's a place of encouragement, but also a place where you are reminded often how big the work is that you've been called to do. Also, something you should know about the MTC: it ages people. At a remarkably fast pace! It's really weird but every district that had been here longer than us seemed so old and wise. It felt like they'd really experienced life, but the most they could've been out on their mission is 9 weeks! The opposite is also true, every new missionary that comes in seems roughly 12 years old. Some how they seem WAY younger than all the Elders in my district.

Now I thought I'd write about the things in the MTC that I really enjoyed while here. By far the best treat they give us here are the devotionals on Tuesday and the firesides on Sunday. Life in the MTC can be rough some days. Those spiritual devotionals really lift your spirits and renew your desire to do the Lord's work.

I also really liked the food here! Most people complain about the food, but for me as long as the wrap/salad bar was open, I was happy! And any meal that doesn't require me to shop or cook is a great meal.

I'm also really going to miss feeling like a part of a missionary army! It's just such a unique feeling to be completely surrounded by men and women who are committing their lives to the Lord. I know I'll love meeting the people of KY, IL, & IN, but I think it'll be strange to go from being 1 of 2,500 missionaries to just me and my compañion most of the time.


Along with the things I'll miss about the MTC, there were LOTS of things I'm looking forward to in the field. I know it's going to be really hard, but I also know if I get through the hard parts with an increased faith in Christ the good that I see will out-weigh the bad. In a talk by E. Holland that we were able to watch last night (every week we can watch a talk that was given at the MTC in the past few years), he asked the question, "Why is [missionary work] so hard? Why don't we just have people lining up at the font, and the only danger to the work is getting pneumonia cause you just never get dry?" He said he'd been wondering about it for 40 years and the answer he'd come up with was that Salvation isn't a cheap reward. We have to take a quick trip through Gethsemane, maybe a step up the Calvary hill to reap the rewards of salvation. Christ did it for us. I wish you all could've heard it because it was a VERY powerful talk. 


I guess the point of this letter or blog post is just to tell you all that I'm doing well. I'm carrying the message of Christ and his Atonement to others, is there anything better I could be doing? I've had quite a few downs and I'm not even in the field yet (soon though!!!), but every down comes with a higher up. As long as I stay focused on the Savior and learn how to stop thinking of myself and how I'm feeling, I'll be a successful missionary. I know that. The Lord is helping me. He's making me stronger. I love you all!


P.S. I promise if you write me, my letters aren't just me bearing testimony the WHOLE time.