1st P-day email - Provo, MTC (Wk 2)

FAMILYYYYYY!!!!!

Hola de aqui en el CCM!!! (*Hello from here in the MTC)
I have a hard time remembering what happened last week (before I last wrote you) and what happened this week, all the days kind of blurr together... in a good way!

At this point Hermana Tidwell (mi compañera) and I have taught our "investigator", Vicente, 5 times (IN SPANISH). We've got a "solid" 4/5 score as well...unfortunately, we had a lesson monday night then another tues afternoon, and normally we have more time, and a teacher there at some point to help us, but between the two lesson we didn't have either of those things, and in our 4th lesson with Vicente on Tuesday we KINDA crashed and burned, it was tragic, he didn't even accept our challenge (up until then he had accepted all of our challenges)! And the worst part was that another companionship in our district was in there observing. We weren't really sure what happened at the time, but we both understood one thing: the Spirit wasn't there guiding us, so we kind of hung out to dry. Since then we have figured out that the reason that was, was that we didn't use our time as well as we should have in the morning leading up to our lesson, for example, during personal study time (which I understand now is crucial) our district is all kind of messing around a little bit and being chatty instead of getting to it.  In short, Hermana Tidwell and I didn't prepare enough/the way we ahould have. It CRAZY how strong the spirit is here in the MTC, I LOVE IT! But it is also very easy to tell when you have colored outside the lines even just a little bit, because you don't have the Spirit with you as much. Some one said (like the MTC Pres or something) that Obedience brings blessing, but EXACT OBEDIENCE bring miracles, and I have definitely seen that! After our 4th lesson with Vicente, we finally get to meet him as our teacher, Hermano Urquhart. He came into class and taught us the next night. He is a really interesting fellow! He's like OCD and really straight forward/serious, but at the same time he is really funny, he told us that whenever he is being nice it's sincere, but if he is ever being mean, just know that he's joking.  The night after we met him as our teacher, we taught him another lesson, and between the two lessons He and Hermano Stallings (another of our teachers, who is currently a teacher in training) taught us about the importance of personal and companionship study and how we should be using that time not to study for our own benefit, but to study for our investigators needs, like study the material we want to teach them next.  Hermana Tidwell and I worked really hard the next day to use our time the way they taught us to and used our personal and companionship study to study about the comandments, specifically keeping the Sabbath day Holy and following the prophet. Then we also did some more preparation with Hermano Beesten (who is AWESOME) during language study, then we went in with out any notes (like Hermana Jeanfreau challeneged us to on Monday), ready to listen to Vicente and teach by the Spirit. The lesson went GREAT! Last lesson our challenge was for him to come to church this week and he said, "No, I;m busy (in spanish)." But then when we taught him more about the commandment and listened to him so that we could better understand how we could help him understand why he would want to do that in his life, we asked him some great questions and related the blessing of keeping the sabbath day holy to his life, THEN challened him again to come to church this Sunday and he instantly said yes! ... I guess his plans magically fell through. ;)  Tomorrow we are planning on challenging Him to be baptized! Wish us luck! lol So after our lesson ended, Vicente put his Hermano Urquhart "hat" back on and gave us some feedback, he even complimented us on how well we related why the priciple of keeping the sabbath day holy was important in his life!

HOLY CROW I JUST REALIZED I ONLY HAVE 4 MINUTES LEFT! AHHH 30 mins is NO time at all! lol

ummmmm... what else? I LOVE my district, sometimes I think we have a little too much fun, or too many jokes! LOL  But it makes the time here in the MTC more enjoyable. OK so after our whole experience with Vicente and trying studying differently I understand and LOVE Doctrine & Covenants 84:85***, it is SOOOOOO true! and being a missionary is AWESOME!!! I love it SO much!

Well... it's about that time! I LOVE YOU SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! and miss you like CRAZY!!!!!!!!! Hasta luego mi familia. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

***Doctrine & Covenants 84:85 reads as follows:
85 the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man. 
86 Therefore, let no man among you, for this commandment is unto all the faithful who are called of God in the church unto the ministry, from this hour take purse or scrip, that goeth forth to proclaim this gospel of the kingdom. 
87 Behold, I send you out to reprove the world of all their unrighteous deeds, and to teach them of a judgment which is to come. 
88 And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up. 
89 Whoso receiveth you receiveth me; and the same will feed you, and clothe you, and give you money. 
90 And he who feeds you, or clothes you, or gives you money, shall in nowise lose his reward. 
91 And he that doeth not these things is not my disciple; by this you may know my disciples.