Hello everybody!
This week has sure been great! Of course you can't go wrong when you're in the MTC.
To be perfectly honest, there isn't much to report on this week, it's pretty much the same as last week, and every other day I've been here. We get up, study, go to class, eat and go to sleep, in different orders different days. So basically pday and Sunday is the best because it breaks up the rut of Groundhog day at the MTC haha.
Here are some experiences at the MTC from this week.
Last Tuesday, we had an excellent devo about faith and how to keep it in a world that is growing more and more doubting, and cynical. It was really instructive.
On Wednesday, Elder McDonald and I had a rough lesson. We couldn't understand what our investigator Phii Faa was saying and we didn't have the spirit with us and that was pretty sad. Having the spirit with you is soooo important when you are teaching lessons.
Thursday's lesson was much better, the spirit was with us and I could bear my testimony 100% in Thai. It was incredible. As we come to love those we teach, and focus on helping them understand the doctrine of Christ, the gift of tongues really kicks in. It is incredible. I can now pray and bear my testimony 100% in Thai, which is awesome. Our district has a mini devo every night, and the spirit was really strong Thursday as well. It was awesome. The Thai missionaries are the best.
On Friday we found out that our "investigator" Phii Faa, is actually another teacher we will have for the next 9 weeks!! What a plot twist! Whenever she speaks English I seriously experience PTSD symptoms I swear. We floundered in Thai in lessons with her, and now she's our teacher and fluent in English?? What the heck. But she is an awesome teacher, so it's all good. She had some good laughs, and told us about some of the funnier things we said in our lessons.
The weekend pretty much flew by, and days here are beginning to speed up here so that's good. I hear the weeks in the MTC are the longest.
Sunday was a pretty normal Sunday, we had all the normal meetings and such. I struggled to stay awake in most of them to be perfectly honest, but I'm working on that. After our normal meetings, we had a Sunday temple walk and our ponder assignment was to think about how to be a better missionary. It was really refreshing and a beautiful day. I really admire the example of Paul in the new testament and how bold he is.
Also, the MTC is soooooo crowded now that we have a lot of new missionaries, and it is crazy! Hopefully lots of people ship out here soon.
Our basketball win streak ended this week when I rolled my ankle and had to sit out ant rest it until yesterday, also Elder Borg hurt his knee and can't play at all right now so that's no bueno.
This week we starting giving tours of the new buildings at the MTC. A family that was part of our group asked up to stand in picture of their boys, and told them that we're basically spiritual superheroes like Superman and Batman. Wow. I've got a lot to live up to then. It wasn't until that moment when I realized how much of an example I need to be as a missionary and official representative of the Church and of Jesus Christ himself. Wow.
My thought for this week comes from my personal study. Alma and Amulek, 2 great Book of Mormon missionaries and bound and imprisoned for preaching the gospel. In Alma 14:24-25 we read that they are smitten by chief judges and lawyers, and starved and all manner of things, and they still don't deny the faith. In the end, the Lord blesses them with strength to break the ropes that hold them bound and the prison falls over, and everyone dies, but they live. but none of that happened until they stuck to their faith and didn't deny it. They endured the trial they were called to bear. The verse actually says even to the last, and then [and only then] did they have the spirit and performed that miracle. Super cool if you ask me.
Have a stellar week everyone!!
Elder Ellsworth
ps go read Alma 14, its great
24 And the chief judge stood before them, and smote them again, and said unto them: If ye have the power of God deliver yourselves from these bands, and then we will believe that the Lord will destroy this people according to your words.
25 And it came to pass that they all went forth and smote them, saying the same words, even until the last; and when the last had spoken unto them the power of God was upon Alma and Amulek, and they rose and stood upon their feet.
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