MTC #7: Teaching with the Spirit

Well, there's no verdict yet about Elder D. We found out some time last week that Elder de Menezes will have to wait for a consultation with the surgeon on March 5th (11 days before our scheduled departure date). It looks like the surgery to reconnect the severed nerve is quite expensive - VERY expensive. The only way Elder de Menezes will get to have the surgery performed is if the surgeon will offer a discount - something that has happened in the past. Please pray extra hard for this whole situation. As I thought about it a few weeks ago, I got a good feeling about Elder de Menezes serving in Utah for a few months before Japan, but who knows. . . Only the Lord.

Wow, last night was amazing. We practiced teaching Lesson 2 in Japanese with another district. We were all really worried, because our district didn't have all of our outlines finished yet, and hadn't gone over all of the topics in Japanese yet. Oh, and we had just barely learned about the Atonement in Japanese. Yeah, it was a little frightening. Anyway, Elder D and I started teaching Elders Allen and Dadivas. At first, I had my outline notebook out, flipping through it to try and find ideas. I got the feeling to just close it and not worry about it. So I did. I started focusing more on what Elder de Menezes was saying, I started praying harder for him. It was taking us quite a bit of time to explain some of the doctrine, and then Bro. Durney popped his head through the door saying that we had three minutes left.

At that point, I moved into teaching about the atonement, or testifying about it, or both. . . I can't remember exactly what I said, I just remember how it felt. Yeah, Elder De Menezes and I have taught with the spirit before, but never quite like it was last night. I can't really describe what it felt like, just that it was so amazing. I wasn't saying anything profound, they were little, simple statements - but they came from my heart. Wow. . . I hope and pray that we will be able to have that spirit every time we teach.

Hey, can you remember Elder Rea (Ray) and Elder Childs in your prayers. Last night after we got done teaching, Elder Rea wasn't doing too well, he was really frustrated. I was talking a bit with Elder Childs after and he's having some hard times with patience and loving. Please think about them. I think sometimes we get caught up in not knowing what exactly to say, or how to say it in Japanese. But that's not what matters. As Elder Allen said last night, "The investigators won't remember what you said, they'll remember how they felt."

Thank you for the packages and goodies. I'm going to make a confession. . . At first, I tried to give up sweets. It lasted for a few weeks, but then people kept sending me cookies and goodies and sweets. There is NOTHING wrong with that, however, as I have decided to give up my anti-sweet crusade. I figure that when I get to Japan, goodies won't be as readily available, and the food will usually come in really small proportions. I'm sure I'll be able to stay healthy. Although I do have a request. . . Maybe sometime, like at my half-way mark in Japan, you could look up this service Bro. Jacobson told us about. I think it's called Flying Pig (search for it), it's a service that will send actual Costco Food to Missionaries in Japan (yes, they have Costco in Japan). It might be a little pricey, so if so, don't worry about it. But wow, it'd be nice to get something like a nice Costco Apple Pie, chicken bakes, or tortillas - items they don't normally have in Japan, but which do exist at Costco. Again, if it's too pricey, don't worry about it :)

Hey! I just remembered some tender mercies I'd like to share.

Last week, as we were walking up to the temple early morning, we passed some ROTC cadets from BYU. I didn't know any of them, but I called out "ROTC, Hooah!" They responded with "Missionaries, Hooah!" That was pretty cool. THen, on my way back from the temple, I ran into Chris Dunning from my math class, the one we ran into at the Distribution Center that day. Okay, and this morning, my alarm didn't wake me up! But, someone pounded on our door when I needed to wake up. It woke me up, they pounded again. "Oh, sorry, wrong floor". They had unintentionally gone to the wrong room, but it was awesome! We wouldn't have made it to the temple on time if they hadn't made that mistake.

I want you to know how much I love you, and how much I love this Gospel. My testimony of the atonement has grown quite a bit since I've been here. Sometimes, I think the adversary wants me to forget, and those are the times when I get a little down. But then I just get back on my feet and head on upward, remembering that this isn't about me. I know I've got to focus. There is a lot I still have to work on and learn here, so I will.