Dec 16 - From the MTC

Packages for Christmas!

This has been week 3 of my MTC experience, and things have started to fall into a routine, which is dangerous for me. When I fall into a routine, I don't put as much thought into the things I do, and I've had to make a conscious effort to keep the Lord in my thoughts and to keep my prayers thoughtful.

Last Saturday evening, we had our first Training Resource Center experience. It's where members who speak the language come to the MTC and are taught by the missionaries. It's pretty nervewracking, because you have no background on the people you're teaching before you walk into the room. Right now, the TRC is set up to be two twenty minutes lessons, though I'm told that later it'll become one forty minute lesson, and that our last TRC visit will be a skype session with Filipino natives.

Before we went to TRC, we prepared a brief lesson, and we were impressed to teach about the atonement. Our vocabulary isn't very well developed, so most of the lesson was centered around the scriptures.

Our first visit was with a return missionary who served in the Philippines and his girlfriend, who had recently gotten her mission call to the Philippines. She didn't speak any Tagalog, but she wanted to get some exposure to the language, and her boyfriend agreed to translate for her. 

We dove into the lesson, and it started off really well. I don't remember exactly what was said, but about halfway through, I was impressed quite strongly to share about losing two sisters. The first thing through my head was panic, because I definitely didn't know how to say something like that in Tagalog. Most of our vocabulary up to this point was gospel based. After that, I just jumped in. I knew the word for sister (I'd had an impression about a week before to learn that word) and I knew the word for death, and the tears streaming down my face communicated the rest. I shared about how I knew that through the Atonement of Christ, I could live with them again someday. I then was impressed to share Alma 7:11-12. This wasn't one of the scriptures we'd prepared, and if you don't know me, you know that my memory is pretty terribad when it comes to historical dates and scripture references. I had no idea what was in that scripture until I opened to it with the couple we were teaching and read it. Feel free to do so yourself. I remember reading that scripture and loving it, but I never could remember where it was. I know that the Holy Spirit guided me to that scripture and made up for my own weak memory.

After I read that scripture, the Brother we were teaching related a story of his own. I couldn't make out all of it, but I understood that he had lost four siblings of his own, and that he loved the scripture I had read because it makes it clear that the atonement didn't just cover sin. Christ experience every difficulty and every sorrow that we have, and that he understands our trials perfectly. He pretty much stole the words right out of my mouth (though his Tagalog was much better)

I know the Holy Spirits guides those who will allow it to. I know that it guided me when I needed guidance. 

I love you all, and so does your Heavenly Father

Elder English