So these weeks are flying by at the MTC! I´m glad though. I do love the MTC and love the things that I learn here, but I´m real exited to just get to Orlando already haha. But I know I still have a lot more to learn here at the MTC. The work here is really hard! It seemed not to bad at the start, but it seems like there is always something to improve on! Or in my case, like 50 things to improve on haha. It´s nice to always be working on things and getting better, but sometimes I just get overwhelmed. Its real hard stuff here. For example: Its hard during personal study time to concentrate on the investigators that are being prepared for me. In every thing that we do, we are to ask ourselves, "Is this helping my future investigators build their relationship with Heavenly Father?" EVERYTHING! haha... And I'm a really selfish person so it is tough, but I think that I am improving on it. Another thing is just listening when we are teaching a lesson. Listening to the spirit, listening to my investigator, and trying to figure out what the investigator needs by listining to the spirit. As I'm teaching, I am trying to figure out what I want to say next and how to conjugate it. So in one of my lessons I just really tried to listen and it went well. I'm also getting better at listening. Sometimes when I teach and I'm listening and thinking about the investigator, instead of myself and what I want to say, the words seem to flow out of my mouth. It feels so cool and a lot of times I will come out of teaching a lesson and wonder how I said everything. It's not like the spirit just gives me words that I have never studied before and I just rattle off everything perfectly. Its just a lot easier for me to speak when the spirit is helping me than when I try to speak Spanish at lunch with my friends. The gift of tongues is real. It's not like I can say whatever I want to say, but I have learned so much so fast, and when I first got here, I started remembering things that I learned in Spanish in high school that I couldn't remember before. I'm grateful for the Lord's help in all things because without Him, I would be nothing. But everything is just going well even though I have so much to improve on and I'm loving it and Spanish is going well.
This Monday the oldest district in our zone left to go to Villahermosa, Mexico and some other Mexico cities. They were real cool, it stinks to watch them leave because they become family. But on Sunday, when we sang them a song that is just kind of a tradition in our zone to sing to those who are leaving. It's hymno #88 "Placentero nos es Trabajar" (I'm pretty sure).. It has a real cool story about it. If you can, you should research it and what the lyrics mean. Some like missionary wrote it in Mexico or something like that and he almost baptized the President of Mexico, so if you can find a story like that one, then you found it haha. But it is real cool and when we sing it, it brings the spirit like crazy. The first 2 verses we sing regular, then the 3rd really soft until towards the end when it says más allá (I think haha) and we belt that part real loud. Its awesome.
Our Sunday devotional was awesome. Brother Heaton gave it (he does something at the MTC haha I'm pretty sure).. But he gave a great talk. I loved it. I was also right in front of him in the 2nd row listening. His family got the 1st row haha. We got really lucky somehow with the seats. It was a talk about how what we think when we hear the word repentance. For me, I didn't like the word repentance. But he taught me to love it. Be excited to repent because it is great! in PMG it says "We will come to feel great joy in repenting daily" its true. He said repent in:
Hebrew is schub: to turn toward God and away from sin... Therefore positive word.
Greek is metanoia: Change of mind, a fresh view about God, oneself, and the world. Therefore another positve word.
Latin is paenitiere: (word came about during apostate Christianity) means to feel regret or contrition. Words like it: Penitent, Penitentiary, Penance... All negative words...
English is obviously repentance: John Wycliff made this word when writing the bible which is a positive word. The people wanted him to make it a word that meant to like pay someone like a bishop or priest or somehthing. John Wycliff was killed, he was a hero.
I'm grateful to be at the MTC and on a mission. I love it. I love my Heavenly Father, I know he is my father in Heaven. I am grateful for my older brother Jesus Christ, I know he lives. I love this gospel.
Times out, Love you all, thanks for the packages and lettters!
Love Elder Christiansen
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