Fortune Favors The Brave

PACKAGES!!  THANK YOU!!

Ok here we go. Onto the week and so much to tell you and literally NO TIME! If this is so scattered, please forgive me. 

I don't even remember what happened at the beginning of this week. I got Adelide's wedding invitation and it is so cute!! Sad I am missing it, but very nice of them to send me one. ALSO the church is true. On Monday, takeout out night we got CHIK FIL A!!!!!! What??? Haha it was so good. I can't believe no one told me it was Father's day. Our teacher on Saturday was like oh yeah tomorrow is Father's Day. WHat??? Haha I probably should have known that so shout out to JLG (the older JLG) for being the best dad ever and all of the other awesome dads. And Heavenly Father who, with all of the titles of deity, he asked us to call Him, Father. That is so incredible. Anyway. 

I am so grateful for the packages. Honestly I really feel bad for everybody else and every time we go to the mail room all of the elders are like oh typical mail run today, Sorella Gochnour got another package. 

Ok now I will dive into my week a little bit. Like I said I don't really remember what happened at the beginning of last week. I said goodbye to Elder Blackham which is really sad. It was a, "see you in two". Haha with a handshake. Terrible, but it's ok. We miss the loud french people across the hall. 

The MTC is CRAZY right now. I feel so lucky to be here at this time. It's like so lucky. This week at the MTC all of the quorum of the twelve will be here except for Elder Hales. I believe the first presidency is here as well, but not President Monson. There were 758 NEW missionaries that entered the MTC yesterday and 171 new mission presidents that entered the MTC yesterday. We are not allowed to go in 1M because that is where they are holding the big mission president seminar. 1M is literally where everything is so our meals have now been moved to the gym, which is also where we have devotionals so I'm not sure how they are going to handle that. 

My mission presidents, the Pickerds are here now!! We get to meet them on Saturday night so I am very excited about that. We are the first missionaries in their mission that they will meet!!!! That's pretty lucky. Also, rumor has it that we have a special devotional tonight where one of the twelve will speak to the missionaries, which doesn't happen often. I believe it is Elder Anderson. My companion knows who it is, but she can't remember his name hahahahaha. So we'll see how that goes tonight. I have now heard from Elder Bednar and will hear from another Apostle of the Lord, which is pretty special. Again. I feel very lucky to be at the MTC right now. ALso due to all of the change, the food has become MUCH better. Last night they catered this place called Aloha Barbecue which is basically just Hawaiian plate food, not as good as Mo Bettah's but still good. So that is super lucky actually. And we had WATERMELON!!! That is very different from the cantaloupe and honey dew that is there every other day. 

Yesterday was crazy with all of the new missionaries. We were asked to host and there were like 368 missionaries hosting 758 new missionaries. I only hosted one person the whole time. I saw HEATHER CHARD!!!! I was so happy. I saw her and just ran and like started crying kind of because I was so happy. Some other girl was already hosting her, which I should have just taken her, but it's ok. She's so cute. She's right across the hall from me now, all the new frenchies!!!! And I felt bad because this morning we were like walking past and she was like what do we do if our teacher isn't here? There teacher hadn't been there and class had started one hour ago so I just told them to study their french books haha I have no idea. Tell Allison that she is doing great. I will attach some pictures of her. So then I was just standing there on the curb hosting, sweating because it is SO HOT. And I have a farmer's tan now, so that's fun. It honestly is pretty heart wrenching to watch though. These families just come and are so sad and the missionaries look so scared haha it's so sad. But I saw this car pull in and Leticia Da Silva was in the back and I was so confused because she's not serving a mission, as far as I know, and her sister is already on a mission so I just ran after their car. She took a picture of me and put it on her snap story and I look so frazzled haha, but it's ok. The girl was really good friends with Leticia's sister Alana in her mission so Leticia and her dad dropped her off so that was exciting. Then, the Johnsons came to our classroom building to talk to Tanner and it was really fun to see them. They are so nice and are going to be great missionaries. I took a picture with Camille on the way to TRC. 

TRC is so awesome. They bring in members that speak Italian and we teach them a member lesson and I honestly love it. Our teachers watch our whole lesson, which is kind of creepy and intimidating, but it is nice to get feedback. One of our "investigators" served with our teacher Fratello Hatch and we gave him a lesson about hope and asked him to share a story about when he had to have hope in his life and he shared a story about when his dad died. It was really cool because my companions dad also died and they were able to connect through that and we were able to feel the spirit so strongly. Fratello Hatch said he had only heard our investigator share that story like one other time so it was really special that we were able to have him open up to us. The spirit is real and the spirit is the teacher. I testify of that.

Also I just wanted to leave with a spiritual thought kind of this week. You can skip this part if you want, but it is something I really learned that is super necessary for me. It comes from something my mom sent me from a book written about Harold B Lee. In John 16:33 it says, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." This is so comforting for us in our lives and in our day. Christ has overcome this world. He has overcome the terror and the sickness and the hardships of this world. We have the opportunity to become like Him and that too means we can overcome this world. There was a quote in this book that says, "Rarely, if ever, is there a truly great soul except he has been tried and tested through tears, and adversity - seemingly pruned by a master gardener." As a missionary we are VERY pruned. We are pruned down to our very foundations and the purpose of that is so that we can bear fruit. So that we can grow and become what it is that Heavenly Father has destined us to be. In a devotional we had this past week the speaker said, "Sometimes we think our successes as missionaries depends on those two years or eighteen months, but in reality, it is measured in terms of ETERNITY." All of the fruits of our labors don't happen just in those 18 or 24 months. That is something that is so important for me because who knows if I will even baptize one soul in Italy, but I will be planting seeds. Heavenly Father is the master gardener and He knows what it is that needs to be done. I am grateful for that testimony. 

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week. Thank you for all of your love and support. I miss you.

The Italian is coming. I have a lot of stuff memorized, but I know when I get to Italy I won't understand anything. I am doing well. I miss you all more than you know. 

VI VOGLIO BENE!!!!!!!

Ciao! Ci vediamo! Arrivederci!!!

Sorella Lucy Ann Gochnour

ps it's funny when people try to say my last name haha. And SOOOOO many people have asked me where it comes from so good thing I know the answer to that. Also I met a guy this morning who went to Coast Guard Academy with Gretchen and he knows her! He is in Heather's district so I am sure I will see much of him. I'll let you know how everything goes this week!!!! I hope all is well. LOVE YOUUUUUU

Always remember that FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE

Sister Camille Johnson - Peru and Sorrella Lu!!

excuss the selfie but I wanted to show you Heather Chard across the hall!!

Saying goodbye to Elder Blackham

My cute wall!

Ok IT'S THURSDAY AGAIN...YAHOO!!

I have been in the good old MTC for two weeks now. That's weird. The food is starting to get to me haha. I don't think I have eaten this much salad in my whole entire life and now they are doing renovations to the cafeteria because all of the mission presidents come this week or next week and a lot of the apostles will be here, so they built this huge stage that takes up half of the MTC cafeteria and have now made it so there is only one option unless you want to eat leftovers haha, but I am grateful..............it's food. 

I hope mom's and Jake's bdays went well. I love you both so much and you are both such incredible examples to me of love and service. 

Mom good luck with your show this Friday!!! I don't know how you manage your life honestly. The peaches you sent are like a miracle/answer to prayers and I pressed a couple of my peonies so I can always have them with me. 

Hogg leaves on Monday and I am so sad. He and his companion Elder Sellers are so funny. They always come in our room and hide all of my books and speak to me in french which I don't understand at all. Yesterday they went and got orange dots that they give to all of the missionaries on their first day and they were acting like new missionaries. It was so classic hahaha.

The weeks in the MTC get kind of boring after the first week. You do the same thing every day. We got two new investigators and they are way harder than our first one haha. Go figure. But it is good because we are forced to teach with the spirit a lot more. We did TRC for the first time yesterday which is like where they bring in people who speak fluent Italian and the missionaries just share like a member message with them in Italian. This man we were teaching shared an experience with us from his mission. He said he spoke perfect Italian and they gave him a companion who came straight from Uruguay who didn't know one word of english or Italian. This guy gave an amazing lesson in Italian and the lady was like ok ok interesting and then he said his companion bore his testimony in only spanish and this lady just started crying because of the spirit that she felt when he bore his testimony. In the MTC it is hard not to be so stressed about learning the language. They push and push you to learn the language and it's so easy to want to just focus on that, but that is not our purpose as missionaries. Our purpose as missionaries is to invite others to come unto Christ. We have to be close to Christ if we want to bring them closer so just learning the language isn't going to help us in that aspect at all.

If you are going to be in the MTC as a missionary ever, YOU HAVE TO BE IN THE CHOIR. It is my favorite thing ever. There isn't another experience like it. To find comfort during the week I read the words of hymns and the ones that have really strengthened me this week were, Praise To The Man, Lead Kindly Light, and Be Still My Soul. That is my favorite hymn ever. If you need a little extra boost, listen or read the words to those hymns or hymns of your own choosing.

I am doing well I really am. My comp has been so sick this week and I have tried so hard to not get sick. Sorella Rohner has onguard mom the oils and I have been putting that straight on my tongue for the past week!!!! So NASTY! but worth it and it has helped. Missions are hard, but they are supposed to be. 

If your mission isn't hard then you're not doing it right. 

We went to a movie on sunday night and watched a talk given by Elder Holland and I just want to share a few things with you all from that talk. The talk is titled Missions are Forever. He talks about how we are on the same team and how we have to go every day, every way, NO REGRETS. He asks the missionaries, "Why are missions so hard?" I think this concept applies to not only missions but also life. Why is life so hard? It is hard because it has to be. Salvation is not a cheap experience. "WHY SHOULD IT BE EASY FOR US IF IT WAS NEVER EASY FOR HIM?" Our road to salvation goes through Gethsemane. We are His disciples and we can't take on that name until we understand Him and what He went through. There will be suffering and sorrow and tears, but we have to be strong because Christ was strong. This can't be easy. It cost a lot of Him and will cost a lot of us. Every mission, along with everyone's life is hard if we do it how we're supposed to do it. I love that message. It is so powerful.

I think I am out of time unfortunately. They give you no time haha but I am doing well. I am learning and growing. 

Thank you to everyone who has showed me love and sent me letters or emails. You have no idea the impact they have on me. The MTC is also full of fun times, I hope it doesn't sound like I'm dissing the MTC haha. I laugh so much every day because the elders are hilarious and talk about the dumbest things and have the dumbest stories. I had to do a wall sit because I was sassy and used the word purple in english and said if any of you can say the word purple in italian I will do a wall sit and sure enough Elder Simcox was like "viola" haha oh man that was so embarrassing. I will never forget that color ever. Experiences like that. 

The elders gave a lesson and were talking about the law of chastity and accidentally used the law of castration and their investigator just started laughing. Also Sorella Rohner was trying to express how excited she was about going to Rome and used the sexual type of excited hahahahahahah. Oh man classic mistakes that happen every day and you just have to laugh about them. I love you all so much and I miss you more than you know!!!!!!!!! Have a good week everyone

CI VOGLIO BENE

CIAO

ARRIVEDERCI

Sorella Lucia Gochnour

Week ONE DOWN!!!

BUONGIORNOOOOOOO FAMIGLIAAAAAA!!!!

Holy cow it feels like I haven't talked to you all in like four thousand years. I have a billion thoughts and so many things to write you so we will see how this goes. If it is super scattered and way confusing I'm really sorry. I'll do my best. 

I also just wanted to thank all of my wonderful siblings for leaving me the most heartfelt notes. I wish Abby and Ralph the best on their new adventure. I love the Dear Elders. And thank you to everyone who has written me letters. They honestly mean the world to me and I cry pretty much every time I read them haha hopefully that will change. I'm working on writing letters back, it's a little hard because NO TIME to do anything except study, but it will come. I feel sick about Grace's knee but Heavenly Father is VERY aware of her and her needs and I know that everything will work out.  ALSO mom the peonies are my favorite thing ever. They are GORGEOUS and smell so good. I cried when I got them. Thank you for being the best mom ever.

Ok now onto the week. So no one ever told me, but the first day at the MTC you're walking around and you have this little orange dot on your name tag where practically every single person screams at you WELCOME TO THE MTC!!!!! Oh I was so sick of those four words. 

My companion is from Eagle Mountain and she grew up on a farm so she's a cowgirl, but we get along really well. Her dad died of brain cancer in March and I honestly don't even know how she is on a mission right now. She also says that's siiiiiiiiiick like every two seconds and I want to just die. 

The French people are right across the hallway from us so everytime he or his companion have to go to the bathroom, I see them. It has also been a challenge calling him Elder Blackham haha. The food is nasty. Just kidding it's just cafeteria food so you can imagine what that is. I eat salads pretty much for every meal and they're pretty good so I'm fine on the food. The granola bars have saved my life and also the candy. Toward the first couple of days I felt super light headed and then every time after we would eat I just felt sick and then light headed and then sick, but it's ok now. That doesn't happen anymore. The first two days in the MTC I was totally fine. Day 3-5 were ROUGH. I fought tears like every second. I sleep in my sweats, sweatshirt, and a jacket because it's FREEZING. I'm the top bunk and they give you like this tiny blanket and I don't want to unpack my comforter, but I just got another blanket so I think I'll be set. 

Our first lesson with Antonio went really well and our second one went not really well.  As for my Italian I think it is going pretty well. I have Our Purpose as missionaries memorized in Italian, the baptismal invitation, and Moroni 10:5. I still have to learn verse four and the first vision. We also have like this sheet of at least six hundred words and phrases and I almost have all of that memorized. Madame Durst has saved my life!!!!! If I didn't take Italian before my mission I would be so discouraged and lost. It is very overwhelming, but it is coming. Our teacher is Sorella Russell. She is so awesome and served in Milan and I can understand pretty much everything she says in class, but I'm pretty sure everyone can do that now. We also pray in Italian and bear our testimonies in Italian. On your mission you say like four billion prayers a day. Basically every hour.

There are 12 people in our zone going to Rome (8 Sorelle and 4 aniziani. One of these is Anziano Pesci who Heather Chard knows really well). The other 21 people are going to Milan which is so sad. The Anziani in our district are the best people ever haha. I love them. Anziano Simcox is the weirdest person ever but could make anyone laugh and I'm pretty sure he has a photographic memory because he doesn't ever study, but can speak Italian like better than me. Anziano Moss is from Idaho and he knows Hoggan really well. Anziano Johnson (not Tanner Johnson) is also in our district. He is from American Fork and played basketball with Miles Keller I guess I don't know. They are the best though haha. I'm so jealous that Carly and Miles get all of these awesome missionaries. But Rome is awesome too haha not trying to downplay the Romans, we're obviously the best.

I am one of the Sister Training leaders of the zone. I feel very humbled at the call because there are so many other girls who are way more qualified than I am but obviously  there is something I need to learn so I am doing my best. We are branch 22 and our branch President, President Taylor is like the most strict person I have ever met. Remember when Will was describing how you get to the MTC and chew you out for being disobedient and scare you out of your shoes that you have to be obedient? My branch president to a T. 

Now onto the more spiritual side. So like I said I was really struggling my third and fourth days of my mission. Italian is frustrating and feeling like you don't have the spirit when you're teaching a lesson is like the worst thing in the world and all of that on top of missing my family. BUT on Sunday night I finally got to watch the Character of Christ by Elder Bednar and I can honestly say it changed my life. 

It changed my mission. 

If you can somehow find it, you have to watch it. For some reason in that one short week I had completely forgotten why I was on a mission and was just feeling sorry for myself. 

If you were at my farewell talk you can remember how I stressed that my mission IS NOT ABOUT ME. I don't know how I forgot that?? It is so important for us to turn OUTWARD. Christ turned outward every second of his life. He never turned outward. He talks about how the natural man is an enemy to God and that we never find Christ when we are turning inward. He talks about missionaries who come home from their missions and fall away and he told us why that is. He talked about the difference between a testimony and being converted. I have a testimony, but am I converted unto this gospel? I don't know yet. I am working on it. If you just have a testimony, YOU WILL FALL AWAY. Especially in this world of so much confusion. Conversion is between me and the Lord. I am not going to become converted because I want to become converted, but I will become converted by turning away from the natural man and this happens hour by hour and day by day. It takes work. With the strength of Christ I can do a mission. Without that strength I probably would have already gone home. It is because of Him that I get to have the sacred calling of being a missionary and helping others know how much joy this gospel brings. 

THEN on Tuesday Elder Bednar CAME TO THE PROVO MTC. It was so incredible. I will never forget this experience. Elder Bednar wrote a song called ONE by ONE and it will come out in the new era next month but it was the first time the song was ever performed live and I got to be a part of that choir. It was an indescribable experience. He gave his words and then the song was the closing hymn and I have never felt the spirit more strongly than when we all stood up so he could leave. I know he is called of God. I will never forget that feeling. His whole talk was about having an intersection with the ONE. The first words he said were, "You can do this." The Lord knows us ONE by ONE. He touched people one by one. He let people feel His wounds one by one. He knows me as a ONE. The first words Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ said to Joseph Smith in the sacred grove was JOSEPH. He knew him by name and I know that He knows us all by name. Elder Bednar said we are to go TWO by TWO to teach ONE by ONE. That is what is so special about our gospel is it is so personal. I know that there are no coincidences on the Lord's errand. Only tender mercies. I hope you all know that you are a ONE. You are so incredibly loved. During this talk I just kept thinking about my family and all of my friends. You are all loved. Try to be somebody else's coincidence. It is the most simple, but powerful message. ONE BY ONE. 

I can't tell you how grateful I am mom and dad to be able to serve a mission. It has been the hardest week of my life but I think I have learned more in this one week than I have any other week of my life. It is incredible. I love you all so much. I miss you like crazy. I can't thank you enough for raising me so that I could have this opportunity to help others experience the joy of being raised in the gospel like I have.

I want you all to ask yourselves,

Voi siete convertiti?

Have you been converted?

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!! I am going to try to figure out how to send pictures. 

UNTIL NEXT WEEK

Ti amo molto molto molto motlo famiglia

Love,

Sorella Gochnour (aka Sorella Lucy G  - ps I really miss my first name haha)

BUONGIORNO FAMIGLIA!!!!!!!

We're only allowed to be on the computers for like three minutes to basically email you and tell you I'm alive so this will be short and scattered probably. The MTC is just great haha. My companion is Sorella Bishop and she is from Eagle Mountain, Utah. She went to USU in Price at like the extension. We actually work really well together so I'm glad. My p day is on Thursdays and yesterday we didn't get one because it was our second day in the MTC I guess. Today we rode the tracks to Salt Lake because we had to go get our visas. I do feel a little bit like I'm in a prison because you're in class for like a bazillion hours a day, but I like my district and my zone a lot so that's good. And I LOVE learning Italian. The French missionaries are right across the hall from us and I have to admit French is like the prettiest language ever, but Italian is just so awesome. Anyway. I am doing well. The days are pretty long, it feels like I've been here for weeks but it's ok. I was able to see Sister Bengtzen and Elder Blackham (he's the best and it's so hard for me to not call him Hoggan when I see him haha) but it's sooooo nice to see a familiar face. I'll send more pictures and a way better email on Thursday and I'm not allowed to read or look at other emails today so that's why I'm not responding. I love you all and miss you!!!!

Ciao!!!

Arrivederci!!!!!!

Our teachers always say C'e la fate! You can do it!!! because it's crazy how much they throw at you haha.

LOVE YOU

Sorella Gochnour (also no one knows how to say my last name)

PS: we know how to pray in Italian and we just taught our very first lesson in Italian and it went pretty well acutally. My Italian is coming back haha. 

Day ONE....

Provo City Center Temple

God Speed Sorelle Gochnour!!

Oh how we will miss you!

Homeward Bound 

Lyrics by Marta Keen Thompson

“In the quiet misty morning

When the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows stop their singing

And the sky is clear and red,

When the summer’s ceased its gleaming,

When the corn is past its prime,

When adventure’s lost its meaning,

I’ll be homeward bound in time.

Bind me not to the pasture;

Chain me not to the plow.

Set me free to find my calling

And I’ll return to you somehow.

If you find it’s me you’re missing,

If you’re hoping I’ll return,

To your thoughts I’ll soon be list’ning,

In the road I’ll stop and turn.

Then the wind will set me racing

As my journey nears its end,

And the path I’ll be retracing

When I’m homeward bound again.

Bind me not to pasture;

Chain me not to the plow.

Set me free to find my calling

And I’ll return to you somehow.

In the quiet misty morning

When the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows stop their singing,

I’ll be homeward bound again.