Hey everyone,
Wow this week has been great! My time thus far at the MTC has been such an amazing learning experience. I am so grateful that I am able to put all my time and effort into learning and striving to know more of the love that the Savior has for each of us. I know that one of the greatest things that I can offer my investigators is the testimony that God and the Savior Jesus Christ love each of us soooo much. I absolutely love being able to study the scriptures everyday looking for answers that would touch our investigator's hearts. I know that some of our investigators are just acting out their part, but it is still amazing to see the spirit touch their hearts and help them come to know of the truth. It has also been amazing to see some of our investigators really having that desire to learn more and being willing to work as hard as they need to in order to find out the truth for themselves.
One of the people that Elder Otterstrom and I teach is a student at BYU and has always wondered some of the funny things that mormons do haha. It was pretty funny because one of our lessons with him was devoted almost entirely to differentiating the LDS Church and some of the things "Mormons" or people at BYU do. He wondered why in the world people get married after two days of meeting each other. We laughed so hard, because he truly felt like being a Mormon meant that you had to get married almost immediately after meeting someone. We assured him that God has a plan for each and everyone of us and that He wants us to be happy. He looked a lot less stressed out when we helped him know that it is up to him when he wants to do that, and that he need not fear. I really enjoyed teaching Parker because he really had the desire to come unto Christ, but he was just afraid that it meant getting married quickly haha :)
I am already loving to search the scriptures or answers for our investigators and know that the answers not only help the investigators come closer to Jesus Christ, but I know that I am gaining an even stronger testimony of its truthfulness every single day. The spirit is such an important aspect of teaching someone and helping them feel of His love for them. I know that as Elder Otterstrom and I have taught a few investigators and haven't been able to fully help that person feel the spirit enough. We have learned that in order to access the full capabilities of the spirit in converting the investigator and helping them feel of God's love for them that we must strive to allow the spirit in. I know that God loves each of us very much and that he sent his Son Jesus Christ to give us the opportunity to return back to him one day. The Book of Mormon is such an amazing resource to feel of that love. I am so glad that I am able to look to Christ for anything and the happiness that I feel as I strive to come unto Him is unreal.
We have had a few really amazing devotionals while I have been here at the MTC. Our first Sunday night devotional was the Nashville Tribute Band and it was incredible. I would highly recommend you look that up on.... what is it again... oh yeah google :) Some of the lyrics that I really liked were:
"The gospel is like a lighthouse in the dark. It makes us stronger. We are here to serve our God and King. It is good news that we bring."
Song: Tears at his Feet- "I tried to speak, but all I did was weep tears on his feet. Thy sins are forgiven. My sins are forgiven. I tried to speak, but all I did was weep tears at his feet."
The songs were so beautifully written and bring such peace and happiness to the soul.
We had another remarkable devotional given by one of the Presiding Bishopric members W. Christopher Waddell. I absolutely loved it and was glad I could sing in the choir. He talked about looking outward and serving everyone around us and putting everyone else ahead of ourselves. He testified that as we look outward instead of inward that we will be successful missionaries striving to do as the Savior did.
This is the last week at the MTC! I fly out to Louisiana on Tuesday. We leave really early Tuesday morning and fly into Atlanta, GA before switching flights to Baton Rouge. It is about a 6 hour flight to Atlanta and then another 30 minutes to Baton Rouge. I am super excited to get down there!
Well, that is all the time this week. Love you all very much! Have a great week!
