Week 7--MTC

I am doing incredibly well! I am so excited to leave the MTC though. This past week, E. Wagner had a checkup for his appenidix, and the doctor's office was sooooooooo close to our house. It has been a little difficult at times to not get homesick when I am so so close to our house. It usually only happens when I have free time and I am just thinking, so I try to cut that down. Anyway, I miss you all, and hope you are doing well. But, I am doing a great work and cannot come down.

This next week is the week where they train all the new mission presidents. Every single member of the Twelve and Presidency will be on campus at one time or another this week. I'm so excited for devotional tonight, and we also have a special devotional on Friday. I am so excited! I wish before my mission I had paid more attention during general conference. I love it now! I think one of my favorite talks of all time is, "Come what may and love it." Elder Wirthlin has become one of my favorite apostles. I also recommend to all of you to go get on LDS.org, and watch the new Mormon Message this week. Its by Jeffery R. Holland, and its incredible. He talks about how there are good things to come. We all need to remember that. When times get tough, and it looks like there is now way out, good things will come. Sometimes we have to wait till heaven to get those blessings, but we are promised that we will receive them. I also like another talk by Elder Wirthlin also called, "Sunday will come." He talks about the Friday when Jesus was crucified, and how sad Mary Magdelene, and Mary were. He goes on to say that Sunday came, and Jesus was resurrected. Sunday will come. No matter how hard the things we go through are, Sunday will come.

I am so excited to get my travel plans this Friday. I think I am leaving on July 5th. I am going to make sure that its okay to call you, and if so, I will be calling you that day or that morning or something. I would love it if Connor would write me a lengthy letter with Robbie's number included. I miss that kid! He was so fun to be around! Were you able to get the letter to him?

Well this week, we re-committed to only speak Spanish. Our class kind of lapsed back into using English in important situations. Its bad to do so, because then we teach ourselves that its okay to use English when its really important. But guess what? Nobody speaks English in Chile. Well, there are some, but I need to be ready to speak Spanish. Anyway, since doing so, my Spanish has grown leaps and bounds. We learned how to use the subjunctive another time, and now I can use it easily. The first time we learned it, I thought I was going to die. Its actually hard to write my letters kind of, because I think in Spanish. I have to translate in my head throughout my writing!

The speaker for last week was a member of the Presidency of the 70. I can't remember his name right now, but he spoke in General Conference. He added to my excitement to want to serve in Chile. It was like a pump up talk! One thing he told me that really stuck with me is that we only have 2 years to do this work. The time will fly, and sooner than I know it, I will be on the plane coming home. Its crazy to think about my life after my mission, I won't even go into that. But, he told us the very same thing that Grandma told me, and that Grandpa Bowen would have told me if he was here. He said, don't have regrets. Live each day of your mission, so that when you are done, you won't have any regrets. The saddest words that have ever been are, What could have been. I butchered that, but you all know the quote I think.

Thinking about Grandpa reminds me that I want to tell you all that he has helped me. I have felt him, as well as others in my life. There have been times when I was sitting in the temple, and I knew that Grandpa was there. Also, I know that Great-Grandpa King is helping me out as well. I am so blessed to be born in the covenant, and have my ancestors help me out in this difficult work.

This week has flown by faster than the past weeks, my time here is growing short, and I hope and pray I can use every second effectively. Every night I pray to be a more effective missionary. The power of prayer is real. "Fear not, I am with thee, Oh be not dismayed, For I am thy God and Will still give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by my Righteous, Omnipotent Hand." All we have to do is ask. I have learned that over and over here.

Mom or Dad, could you possibly purchase one of the nicely bound Jesus the Christ from like Deseret Book? Its blue i think. Its an incredible book, and my paperbound version won't last too much longer. You can take the money out of my account. I would really like it if you could. :) Other than that, I think I am good. Actually, could you possibly print off a copy of Come what may and love it? we cant print off here. Thank you :)

I love you all so much. I think about you every day. You are in my prayers. Thank you for everything

Love, Elder King

Weeks 5 and 6 in the MTC

Week 5

Hello Everyone!!!
This week has gone by super fast! I can't believe that I only have 3 weeks more after this one. The General Authority for last Tuesday's devotional was Elder Foster. He gave an amazing talk about how our Heavenly Father knows each and every one of us. He told us that in the D. y C. 130 different people are mentioned by name. Its crazy to think about haw many Billions of people there have been and will be on this earth, and Heavenly Father knows, and loves each one individually. Not to mention the other worlds that have been created as well. He also talked about the faith that children have when they pray. We can all work at being more like a child when we pray. Elder Foster's talk was amazing. Its funny how every week we think the speaker was better than the last week. Looking back on it, I think they are all amazing.

Well, things have been good here. Mom, thank you so much for the Half-way package. My treat stash is so full! I need to work on it. Thank you mom. This last week, we got invited to host the new missionaries. It brought back memories of when I got dropped off. One of the new Elders that I hosted had the heaviest bags ever! To make matters worse, I had to carry them all the way to the 4th floor in his building. One thing that was good about hosting, is it made me remember that I was a new missionary in the MTC too once. There are a lot of Elders here who are mean to the new Elders, or make fun of them. The truth is, everyone in the MTC is a new missionary.

Anyway, the Spanish is coming along really well. I have learned so much. Its not hard at all to speak only Spanish to my companions. Its so helpful to use the Spanish we learn every day. After this week, we have learned everything in our curriculum once, and we will review it all before we go., My teachers are so awesome. Hno. Brodegard is really the best example that I could hope to be like. His outlook on life is amazing. His teaching philosophy is so amazing as well. Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ. Hno. Brodegard told us that we should imagine that the Savior will be outside the door of the homes that we teach in. When the lesson is done, and we walk out, the Savior isn't going to care how well I taught, or if the lesson was totally covered. All he cares about is how that person is doing. Like haw they are really doing in their life. Did our teaching help them come closer to Christ? That is the outlook I have tried to adopt in my teaching. Its hard to convey everything that I want to say in Spanish, but I am able to say 99 percent of what I want. I’m so grateful that I am learning Spanish and not Mongolian or one of those crazy languages. I am so blessed to have an easy language to learn!

Mom and Dad, thank you so much for everything you have done and taught me. I am the person I am today because of you. I love your testimonies. I am so grateful that I have you as my parents. I can't say enough how much I love you. Thank you so much for everything!

I love you all, and I look forward to hearing from you. Love you!!!

Week 6

Hey Mom, Hey Dad,
This last week has been one of the best weeks of my life. Our companionship got to experience some things that not a whole lot of missionaries in the MTC get to see. Elder Wagner was feeling sick last Wednesday, and we ended up taking him to the doctor on Thursday. Long story short, he had acute appendicitis, and it needed to be operated on that day. Before his operation, he asked Elder Hunter and I to give him a priesthood blessing. It was an amazing experience to grow closer together, and to feel the love that our Heavenly Father has for Elder Wagner, through the words that I was prompted to say during the blessing. His surgery went well, and after he came out, we stayed with him for about an hour. It was getting late, so we called a shuttle to come and pick us up from the hospital, and we were waiting on a bench, when the lady came up to us, and asked us if we could give her father a blessing. We told her we could, and went inside to wait for her while she parked her car. When she got into the lobby, she told us that we were supposed to be on that bench at that exact moment. How cool is that? Elder Hunter sealed the anointing this time, and it was amazing for me to see the words come to him for a man that we had never met. The man was going to get a pacemaker in the next day, and I know that the blessing will help him heal faster, if it is the Lord's will.

Needless to say, Thursday was an incredible day for us to feel what real missionary work is. Here in the MTC, it gets a little boring after 6 weeks. The food is the same, the things we learn are the same. It’s all good stuff, but it was awesome to see real missionary work. Friday was even better than Thursday! We went to visit Elder Wagner in the hospital, and from the moment we arrived, the Lord was working through us. We were asked to give another blessing, and this time I got to seal anointing. It was a sacred experience for me to really feel the love that Heavenly Father has for someone that I don't know. This man had crashed on his bike in the Canyon that morning, and he had not been wearing a helmet. He was going to have brain surgery that day, and I know that if he has the faith required, and it is our Heavenly Father's will, he will be healed. Blessings are powerful, and in the last couple days, my faith has grown by leaps and bounds.

After that wonderful experience, we stayed with Elder Wagner for a couple hours and then went to call our shuttle. As we were walking past the receptionist's desk, she asked us if we knew how to speak Spanish. A lady needed help finding where someone was, and I was able to translate for her and give directions to where she needed to go as well. She understood me, although I'm sure it was awful Spanish. There were other small experiences that day that were so amazing to see, but I will have to save those for later.

The MTC has been great! Today was our last time in the temple here because they are closing it down for cleaning. Next week, the prophet is coming along with every single apostle for new mission president training. It should be really cool to see some of them hopefully. We had Elder Hales last week, and he was unreal! The power that those men speak with is real. You can feel it when they walk in the room. I love devotionals because before them, we sing hymns together, and every Tuesday devotional, we sing hymn # 249 Called to Serve. It’s an experience you can't really describe, and you’ll never know unless you’re there. The spirit is dominating everyone, and I swear the roof is about to be blown off. I love the enthusiasm that every missionary here has. Well not every missionary, but most. I'm trying to be the best missionary that I can be, and I think it’s working so far! I'm working really hard to study diligently with every second of my time. There is so much to be learned and I have so little time.

Love, Elder King..