Finally got pictures with Anna Pronk and Matt Spataro! And saw some friends from BYUI that I didn't even know were coming on missions! So that was awesome.
The new buildings are amazing! They have such beautiful pictures and murals on every floor. There are places to study everywhere. So I love finding a new spot everyday.
My schedule kind of sucks, we have exercise time right after lunch. But my district all goes and plays volleyball which is super fun! Definitely getting a nice farmers tan. Although the heat here is killing me, and yet I'm the only one who actually thinks it's hot... So I'm actually going to die in Arizona! Hahaha.
Had the best experience with one of my TRC investigators this week! We didn't focus on Christ in our first lesson. She asked a ton of really hard questions, and the whole time it was like playing whack a mole with all the questions. We didn't have the spirit, she kept trying to argue with us and see if we'd break. We left feeling awful. But I asked her to read the book of Enos. And honestly, I had no idea why I asked her to read it. But we went to class and asked our teacher what to do and how to fix the situation. He just said to put her and Christ together in the middle of everything we talk about. So I went back and read the chapter I assigned her, and I realized that even though I was feeling bad, there was no way I randomly gave her that scripture. It was absolutely perfect. So in our next lesson, all we did was read that chapter together with her and put her and Christ at the center of everything we said. Every time it said Enos, I had her read her own name. And I bore my testimony as we went along. The spirit was so strong! She was getting all misty eyed. And then at the end we showed her the Mormon message of Holland's testimony of the book of Mormon. We were all in tears by the end. We had her say the closing prayer and it was amazing. It just showed me that I have no purpose as a missionary if I don't put Christ first, but when I do, lives really can change.
And as for my last TRC investigator, things were not as pretty... We had to go into one of the old buildings that no one ever goes into. And before our lesson sister Moffett had to go to the bathroom. So we go in, and we found this creepy room with a single bed, 2 stools, and a doctor's tray. She was totally freaked out and refused to go. So we walked around to find another bathroom. And as I waited for her we were talking about all the scary movies that room could've been from. And in the middle of talking, the door slams open, making us totally scream! And it turns out, it was our brand new investigator from Taiwan! Hahaha, we were so embarrassed! It made our lesson really awkward. So I hope we can fix it for next time.
Sunday was great. Watched a bunch of Mormon messages for our district meeting. I totally messed up putting up the lyrics to the hymns in sacrament meeting, (it's part of my calling) I am supposed to get the lyrics to show on the massive tv behind the pulpit. Pulled up the wrong song twice and we had to keep starting over. It was pretty funny.
Elder M. Russell Ballard came and gave our devotional on Sunday. I sat in the front row on the side of the stand. I was probably like 20-25 ft. from him, and he even waved at me as he walked up. Pretty cool! And my district made it in the background of the broadcast which is also pretty cool! Then we went and watched an older talk by Holland called open your mouth. All good things.
This morning my district got to go do a session in the temple. I had been looking forward to that all week. And honestly, the best part was going to eat at the temple cafeteria! I ate SO MUCH FOOD! It felt amazing to eat food that wasn't from the MTC or a vending machine! It was the absolute best, the food here is going to kill someone one of these days. I don't eat very much because I don't trust it. But I think I probably ate the most out of my entire district. So it's been a great day!
I'm excited to start my last week here at the MTC. I have a lot to learn still so I'm excited to see the progress I can make in one week. They gave my district our flight plans already, and the challenge to place our first Book of Mormon. I am super excited because I get to call from the airport! I'll probably call around 6:30-7 your time Monday morning. Sorry for the early hours, please don't forget to pick up the phone!
Love you all, and love getting all the pictures! Next email will be from Tucson!!! Can't even believe it!
Photos from Hunter Warren:
 |
| Got into trouble for taking a picture with Hunter without companions |
 |
| Brad Warren Bobble head |