So make it through my first full week in the MTC! Its feels like i have been in here forever! But I wouldn't trade it for anything.
So this week we got TRC's (training resource center) this week and thats when we teach real investigators that come there to the MTC. Sister Jensen and I got Emi and Olivia.
Emi is a cute little 50 year old Japanese lady who moved to the states about 2 years ago to study English at BYU. She is the sweetest and barely speaks english and has a heavy japanese accent (Gift of tongues is so real even when your speaking english.) But she had a LDS friend over in japan and that took her to church and a few places. When she moved here she said the LDS were so nice she wanted to know more. Monday was the first day we taught her and we had a huge lesson on prayer and how to recognize answers through the spirit. She has been stressing about school and a huge argument paper she had to write but didn't know how to choose a topic. We taught her that heavenly father wants to hear her prayers and anything that she might have questions on. So she asked us if it was okay if she prayed about the topic of her paper and we said of course! (mind you we can barely understand her but gift of tongues again is so real). The next day when she came back she had a huge smile on her face and said after she prayed and felt the spirit, but then later had 2 topics to chose from. So she prayed again and felt the spirit strongly with one of her topics. She was so excited to tell us about how her prayers had been answered and now she prays all the time! which is great. We also got through the whole restoration with her and asked to pray about the book of morman and joseph smith. She is so open and willing to learn to become a better person and it builds my testimony every time we teach her. anyways she came back again and told us that she knew the book of morman was true. she prayed about it all the time and continues to keep reading it everyday. I feel so blessed to be apart of seeing her grow closer to our heavenly father. But last night she told us she had a boyfriend and he is lds and wants to get married in the temple. She prayed about temple marriage and knows that its right. So she wanted to know what she could do as part of being worthy to enter the temple. We had a huge lesson on baptism and repentence which she totally took to heart. She almost wanted to get baptised right then and there but said I will pray about it and let you know. She offered the closing prayer for us and included me and sister J in along with thanking us for the lessons that we have gotten to teach her about and asked if baptism was true. Sister Jensen and Emi had such a cool bond when it came down to talking about the gospel. They connected on such a spiritual level that it was so cool to see her really understanding and growing from her. I had cold chills the whole time and the spirit was so strong. Im sad because tonights the last night we get to teach her cause we get new TRC's next week. But she has helped me see how the gospel blesses lives and I could see the spark in her as she wanted to strive to be closer to our heavenly father.
The next girl we had was Olivia Galletta. She just moved from portland oregon about a year ago because her LDS friend got her a job at the dental office. She said she has always been intrigued to learn more about the LDS faith. Her roommates are LDS and many people she dated were LDS so she decided to come to the source in order to know more. The first night we really didn't get to teach her a ton because the missionaries that taught her before went 10 minutes over. So we got to know her and kinda of where she was spiritually at the moment. The second time around though we had a huge lesson on the savior and his atonement. She had so many question on baptism, repentence, bishops and prophets. She wants to know everything before she committs to baptism. I love her so much though. All of her questions really make us think which is so good because I know that they will be common questions out in the field. but last night we had a huge lesson on the apostacy and joseph smith restoring the church on the earth. We went through a few passages in the book of morman and had her read it. She loved that we went into the scriptures to teach her cause the other missionaries hadn't done that before. We also went into baptism and repentence with her and the spirit was so strong as we were discussing all of this. You could tell she was really thinking about everything that we were telling her. last night she said she would pray about baptism and we gave her a few scriptures to read on her own as well. Tonight is our last night with her and she wants to know more about the word of wisdom and what we believe about that. So sister J and I gotta get that lesson together. But I love that she asks questions and really makes us think about things. She has helped my testimony to grow because if your in tune with the spirit and so are they words just seem to come out of my mouth and I don't recall alot of what I say because I know its coming from the spirit. Im so grateful for olivia and hope that she comes to know the truth of what we have taught her as I do.
But we yesterday we got to have a lesson from the new mission president of the Ohio, Cincinnati Mission (Thats right Sister Iketau I met your mission president before you did! lol) but they are super cool. We had a lesson on stress management and how to deal with everything. But the coolest thing is one. they are going to Ohio (the coolest place ever) and 2. His wifesgreat great grandfather was a morley. So the issac morley farms in my mission is part of her ancestry. So Sister J and I connected with her about that! I feel like Ohio must be the place to go lately haha
Oh funny story. So sister J and I have a tutor to help us with a few things her and there. but we met her for the first time this week and she is the sweetest crazy lady ever. We met her and followed her to a classroom, but when she turned around her skirt was tucked up in the back so you could see everything. It was so funny we were laughing so hard and trying to figure out how to let her know that. But we told her and she was so embarrassed. She said she was glad that she hadn't seen anybody else while coming to get us or she would have been even more embarassed. anyways we still laugh about that because that was our first impression of our tutor lol
But other than that the MTC is great and I love my district and my Zone. The teachers here are amazing and I feel like I have grown so much here in the last week. The food here is alright. It has been better the last week because they are having a New mission Presidents Seminar here at the MTC and we get all the leftovers and stuff from them which are amazing haha. But the first presidency has some meetings hereto so the security has also been on high alert. They are by like every door and its nuts. I feel like im in a spiritual prison with all the security. But Anyways the BYU people have been feeding us this week because we got kicked out of the cafeteria and are now eating in the gym. But we have had some good food. We had chick fil-e, Polynesian food (it was alright still good tho lol im not complaining lol), taco bell, grilled burgers, papa johns and subways. Lately I have been on this huge fruit kick and thats alot of what i eat. a big bowl of honey dew, watermelon, cantelope, and pinapple. So I guess we are spoiled cause the food I hear usually isn't that great hahah anyways I love you all and pray you have a great week. This church is true and im so blessed to be able to share a little but of what i know with the people of the MTC right now and then later on Cleveland Ohio!!!
Oh I heard from everyone that the Cleveland Caveliers won. Must be the land of the chosen people hahahah the church is true.
