I've been here for 6 weeks. I'm starting to forget that I ever had a life before coming here or that I will ever have a life afterwards. I haven't quite decided if that's a good or bad thing, but I'm enjoying it. This week was so full of tender mercies. Last Friday Hermana King and I went to teach in the TRC and one of the member volunteers was a friend of mine from BYU-Idaho. We ended up having this incredible discussion about miracles she had seen when she was a missionary and how she has continued to experience them since. I think my favorite thing to hear from her was how her investigators lives would change by reading the Book of Mormon. I'm so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the blessing of having it as a part of my life my whole life. There are so many lessons and comforting words to be found in the pages and I can only imagine how being first introduced to it would be a life changing experince. I'm excited to meet those in New Jersey who will benefit from reading it, who will feel the Spirit and will gain a knowledge of Heavenly Father's love and plan for them. Incredible stuff.
One of the districts in our zone left this week, and took my dear friend Hermana Cardenaz with them. She is now in Costa Rica. I learned so much from her example of faith and service. She was the previous coordinating sister and was really like a mother figure for all the girls in our zone and it has been hard for some since she left. I hope that I am doing a good job as her replacement and that the sisters in my zone feel how much I love and care for them, but more importantly how much Heavenly Father loves and cares for them and will support them in this work. I am trying really hard to be attentive to their needs and follow the Spirit in serving them. One of the sisters is not well respected in her district and it's become a miniture battle field in their classroom. I encouraged her to stop feeding the fire and follow a 3 for 1 rule so that for every mean thought she has against someone in her district she has to think 3 nice thoughts. It sounds a little childish, or maybe I just think it does because it's something my mom instigated in my life when I was really young, but it seems to be helping her a lot. I don't know if that's anything profound, in fact I'm sure it's not, but it's the best I've got right now.
We received two new districts in our zone this week, all elders. The zone leaders and I gave them the tour of the MTC last night and I gave my weekly "grow up and be gentlemen" speech. I decided I really like giving it, mostly because so many of the new elders need to hear it. They grow up really fast in the MTC, but when they first get here some of them are a little rough around the edges. After the little lecture one of the elders told me that I'm a stud...I guess I'll take that as a compliment, even though I'm pretty sure that "stud" is a masculine reference...oh well.
Teaching is getting a lot easier, I'm learning how to ask better questions and not sound so much like an interrogator. My companion is very grateful. More importantly I'm learning how to find out about people's needs and teach to them instead of at them. I'm by no means a master of this skill, but I'm leaps and bounds ahead of where I was. I really like it too because I'm seeing how much it is helping my other relationships. I'm really grateful that our purpose as missionaries is to invite "others" to come unto Christ. Not just those who are not members of our church, not just those who are less active, not just people who could increase our numbers; but every single other outside of ourselves. My district has been a lot better at implementing that and even here at the MTC where everyone is a missionary or missionary teachers I have seen and been offered invitations to come closer to Christ. What a beautiful life to be surrounded by constant invitations to better know, love, serve, and accept our Savior.
My whole life is great! I can do anything good!
Hope life is treating each of you well.
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