Hey everyone!

This has been a great week. My time at the MTC has gone by so fast, and I am so thankful for everything that I have learned here, and that my testimony has been strengthened so much. If there is one thing I've learned here (and there's a lot of things that I've learned), it is how important the spirit is in our lives. The spirit "will tell us all things, which ye should do" and "bring all things to remembrance." Especially as a missionary. One other thing that I've learned, and has hit me hard, is that we, as missionaries, are set apart from the world. That means in literally everything we do (everything), we are representing Jesus Christ. We forget our old lives and everything we did in our life before we came on a mission. Elder Holland gave a quote that went something like this:

'Some missionaries talk about after there mission, they go back to the "real world." I tell you, that a mission is the closest it will ever be to the "real world."'

I think that that is so cool. And it is true. The Celestial world is the "real world," and a mission is the closest that most of us become to that world. Elder Holland then talked about how he doesn't even have words to describe how members serve a mission, and then fall away. He said "if I am walking down the street, and you see me, and you served a mission and are not active anymore.. you better walk to the other side of the street because I might just come undone a little bit." Missionaries aren't the only ones that should be set apart from the world, but members of the church as well. I want nothing more than to be a powerful instrument in the hands of God. I hope that I can be bold, but not overbearing, like Elder Holland. 

A couple of other cool things happened this week. Elder Renlund, of the Quorum of the 12, came and spoke to us. He said a lot of cool things about Faith, and that we increase our faith by our actions. Think about it: we use our faith to increase our faith. Cool. I really do sustain the prophets and apostles of the Church. 

One last thing that was pretty cool is that I broke the MTC juggling record. The past record was 4500. I got 5000. It felt pretty cool, but I know that that is not why I am here. I am so focused on my purpose as a missionary and as a representative of Christ. 

Thanks for everything!

This is my district, and our 3 teachers.

Hey everyone!

This week as been really good. Time is flying by. We got our travel plans yesterday. We leave on May 30th. I can't wait. One of the first things we do when we get there is street contacting in Frankfurt. I'm kind of nervous, but more excited than anything. 

Not so much happened this week that was new. I just can't wait to see in which part of Germany I will be serving in. 

I had some pretty cool personal experiences this week with personal revelation. I had some questions that I was stuck on. It didn't shake my faith, but I had a hard time explaining certain parts of the Gospel to someone that has never heard it before, and explaining to them why it is important for them to have a testimony of, and follow those aspects of the gospel. First, I prayed so that I could know first, how this aspect of the Gospel applies to my life, and then second, how I could relate it to the lives of those I am teaching. After that, I got into a discussion with my companion. He had the same question. After that, I searched the scriptures. The scriptures didn't give me my exact answer, but it sparked a thought, and then the spirit took over, and gave me an exact answer. I swear my mind almost stopped working after that because I was so amazed. This exact same experience happened to me about 3 or 4 times this whole week, all with different questions. I felt the spirit so strongly all of these times.

I've never felt the spirit so strongly. Ever. I felt the spirit the way it explains in Helaman 5:30, it "pierced my soul." I know that God loves His children, and that He is "the same yesterday, today, and forever." He reaches out to us. We have to "ask and ye shall receive. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you." We have to act in Faith, believing that we will receive. Revelation is so powerful, if you let it be. 

I know that this is God's work. We, as missionaries, are "instruments in the hands of God." We are called to "teach repentance and baptize converts", so that others can have the opportunity to be cleansed before they stand before God to be judged. This is the purpose of the Gospel. It is real, and it is God's plan for us to live with Him again. 

Love everyone! Thanks for everything!

Hello Everyone!

Everything is going great! My whole zone left to the field last week, so I was left alone. Kind of sad but more nostalgic. I don't think I've ever felt so close to God and so in tune with the spirit over the last 4 weeks or so. It's amazing. It's amazing to look back and to see how much I have been blessed through the Gospel. I don't think I've ever smiled so much. Really, I do smile sometimes. 

On Tuesday I switched into the German Branch and, oh, how it is good to hear German. It is definitely the Celestial language. The German branch is a party. There are a lot of traditions that are passed down from generation to generation of German missionaries in the MTC. The big thing here is 4 square. Yeah, I know. It gets pretty intense. My new companion is Elder Kramer, from North Carolina. He is really cool and we get along great. I'm excited for the next TWO WEEKS!

I speak and understand a lot more German than I thought. However, the more I learn, the less I know. I've noticed that the spirit guides me a little differently during discussions in German, as opposed to English. In English, the spirit would inspire me what to say. Now, the spirit not only helps me to know what to say, but how to say it. It's hard sometimes to say what I want to say in German, but through the spirit I can become an instrument in the hands of God, whether in German or English. 

I just want to close this letter with my testimony: 

The Church is true!

Vielen Dank für Alles! Ich liebe euch!

Hey everyone!

Things are going really well here at the MTC. I'm learning a lot (like how to actually talk to people). My whole zone leaves to the field on either next Monday or Tuesday, so I will be switching into a German branch for the next 3 weeks. We had an "in-field orientation" meeting yesterday. I went with my companion even though I won't be going to the field for another 3 weeks. However, after that meeting I feel that I should be leaving. 

So there is a sister in my branch that was in the movie "Meet the Mormons." It's kind of cool. She is the daughter of the guy from Nepal. 

Every Sunday night in the MTC we have devotional, where someone comes and speaks. After the speaker, we all have opportunities to go to different rooms and watch different films. I got to watch a talk that Elder Bednar gave a couple of years ago to the MTC. It was amazing. It was probably one of the most insightful, and most powerful talks I've ever heard. He talked about what is called the "Character of Christ." He said that His character is a lot different than His attributes and His actions. His character is what caused Him to act the way He did. Elder Bednar then gave a couple examples from the scriptures, and invited us to not learn ABOUT the character of Christ when we read the scriptures, but learn OF it. Now that's one of my goals. I want to read the New Testament with that goal in mind. Something else really stuck out to me from his talk. He was very bold. He said very bluntly that "this is not. Your. Mission. You might have hard times that you go through on a mission, you might miss people back home, and you might be depressed and stop working so hard because of it. Elders and Sisters, who cares. You need to forget yourself and go to work. The Lord will provide. Do His will." That's not a direct quote, but that's what I got out of it. We need to get over our fears, and anything else, because we are the Lord's tools, not our own. Our thoughts and actions should be His thoughts and actions. 

As much as I like learning here at the MTC, I can't wait to get out to the field and start working with members, serving, and teaching others about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It's amazing to see, just in the MTC, how the gospel blesses and changes others. I can't even imagine how it will be out in the field. 

Love you all! Thanks for everything!
Auf wiedersehen!

Hey everyone

So much happened this week. I am learning so much here at the MTC. I love how much study time they give you. I like to be able to lay everything aside and just focus on the work. 

So we have devotionals in the MTC every Sunday and Tuesday, where we have a speaker come speak to the MTC. Last week Elder Dallin H Oaks came and spoke. I got to sit in like the first 5 rows. I was about 30 feet away from him so that was really cool. I dont think Ive ever felt the spirit so strongly, than when he walked into the room when we were singing the opening hymn. He said so much good stuff, so I'm just going to name one thing he said. He said some stuff about forgetting ourselves. This is not our work, but he Lords. We are like a pen in His hand. We do the writing, but He chooses what to write and how to write it. Then he quoted one of my favorite scriptures, Alma 29:9. I've never been so confident that this is the Lords work.

We found out yesterday that my companion will be leaving to the mission field on Tuesday, so then I will be in a trio with the other 2 Elders in my district. Unfortunately, I will be here for 6 weeks. I don't mind that though. It will only give me more time to learn. I am meeting 4 days a week with a German tutor so that is helping a lot. I am starting to understand the Book of Mormon in German, and that feels really cool. 

They bring in real investigators to the MTC for us to teach. It is amazing to see how people change through the gospel. Not only am I beginning to understand the gospel a lot more, but I am starting to see how the gospel blesses, not only my life, but the lives of others. I've never been so sure that this is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Hey everyone

This is my third day at the MTC. Time is going by really fast already. I don't mind the MTC. I like to learn and listen to what others have to teach me about the gospel and my calling, and what I can do better to be a more successful missionary. The only thing that is hard is that we sit in classrooms for like eight hours a day. 

My companion is Elder Duong (Pronounced Elder Zung). He is from Vietnam. He is going to serve in the Anaheim, CA mission, Vietnamese speaking. He is a very enthusiastic missionary and is (very) strict in keeping all of the rules and commandments set by our leaders.

My classes are all taught in English, not German, because they said I'm proficient in German already. I don't feel that way though, so they will give me a tutor to help me better learn German. I literally haven't spoken German since I've been here, so that kind of makes me nervous. 

Since I've been here, they've talked a lot about our purpose as Missionaries. Our job is to help and Invite others to come unto Christ. We watched a video yesterday, and Elder Holland said a quote that stuck out to me:

"When we teach through the spirit,

 that is when the lesson becomes not ours,
 but Christ's."

This is a really powerful truth. We, as missionaries, are not the ones doing the converting. We simply present the gospel and invite and help others to come unto Christ. The spirit is what converts people, not us. We are called to be representatives of Christ. What an opportunity!