Tambo

​Not too much happens in the MTC but I still love it here!! I am learning a ton. Time has flown by and I have a lot of things to look forward to in the next couple of weeks! In 3 days I will have officially bee on my mission for a month!  Friday I get my travel plans for Argentina.  Next Thursday is Thanksgiving AND the MTC Christmas lights will officially be turned on that night!  A General Authority is coming to speak that day and i am super excited.  12 more days until I leave for Argentina and 12 more days until I get to call and talk to my family in the airport (get excited mommy)! WOOHOO!

This week my testimony of the Book of Mormon, my Savior Jesus Christ, and the Atonement has grown immensely.  It amazes me how a true testimony of one of these things can flood the room with the Spirit.  In our lesson this week with Marco, we taught about the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  The lesson went really well and Marco started to cry as he bore his testimony of his brother, Jesus Christ. The sacrifice Christ made for us was so great and he did it all out of love.  Yesterday i was reading 3 Nephi 17.  WOW this chapter is awesome.  As I read this chapter, I tried to imagine myself as one of the Nephites and truly feel as they did.  Verse 5 & 6 say: 5 And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them.

 6 And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you.

I love these two scriptures.  They truly show how much the Nephites loved their Savior and how they wished he would "tarry a little longer with them."  Christ then says how he is filled with compassion for them, and I know that he is filled compassion for each one of us as well.  He knows how hard it is for us to live on this earth, and how we all wish we could tarry with him.  He wants to be by our sides, to help us through our lives.  The thing that I love about my Savior and the Atonement is that he truly is tarrying with us every second of every day.  Through the Atonement we are blessed to have relief, hope, and comfort.  I know that if we have the desire and true FAITH in Jesus Christ and the power of His Atonement, we can receive the blessings of Salvation.  not only can we feel clean and forgiven, but we can also have hope that our Savior is tarrying with us every step of the way.  I also really like verses 14 & 15 which say:14 And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel.

 15 And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.

Christ kneeled for the Nephites and cried for them.  I know that every day our Savior Jesus Christ is kneeling for each and everyone one of us, praying to our Heavenly Father.  He is troubled because of the wickedness in our world and he is crying for the salvation of all his brothers and sisters on this earth.  I love this chapter of the Book of Mormon and i challenge all of you to read it and feel of your Savior's love.  

The Book of Mormon is amazing.  Read it, study it, feast upon the words of Christ.  When I first got the the MTC, my second day here the Mission President challenged us all to finish the Book of Mormon in the 6 weeks before we leave to Argentina.  I have absolutely loved this challenged as I have read for about 30-45 minutes every morning to start my day.  The power of this book is almost tangible.  I am drawn closer to my Savior the more and more I read it and I cannot wait to see the true power of this book work in the lives of people in Argentina.  If you aren't reading this book, read it.  And if you are, read it even more.  In our Sundaydevotional this week, Richard I. Heaton (MTC administrator) spoke about the power of the Book of Mormon and how we should never lose sight of our testimony.  He said, "Christ does not want to lose any of his sheep, but he definitely doesn't want to lose any of his shepherds."  Never lose sight of your testimony whether it is of Christ, of the Book of Mormon, or of the happiness that can be found when we are doing what is right.  Hold fast to your testimony and strengthen it each and every day through the power of the Book of Mormon.

I love you all and am thankful every single one of you!  

xoxo Sister Anika Van Boerum

P.S. Big shout out to the Reinemers and the darling package you guys sent me!! THANK YOU!  I love it so much and it made my day!  You will be getting a letter from me soon!  My district loved the candy, signs, and sticky window snowflakes. They all say thank you as well!!

Funny moment of the week: In our lesson with Marco, I was trying to say "Also, when..." which in Spanish you would say, "Tambien, cuando..." but for some reason I mixed the words together and instead said "Tambo..." Marco replied with a sarcastic comment and said, "are you from Africa?" Super embarrassing moment (I have these all the time) and Marco couldn't stop laughing for the entire lesson.  I love being a missionary and I am learning from all my funny mistakes! Have a good week y'all, Tambo!
​ 

Picture #1: we celebrated the birthday of our teacher, Hermano Stevenson, with balloons and cupcakes!  He loves to play Dungeons and Dragons and makes us laugh all the time.

Picture #2: this is my zone! Too many people to type all the names, sorry!

Picture #3: my cute district and my temporary family.  top row from the left: Elder Fuga (plays football for BYU and is from Huntington Beach, California), Elder Brazell (from Logan, Utah), Elder Skousen (from Chico, California), and Elder Urmston (from Benjamin, Utah)------bottom row from the left: Hermana Houston (from St. George, Utah), me, Hermana Taylor (from South Carolina), and Hermana Eppley (from Elkridge, Utah)