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..