Sunday, September 8, 2013

Tory MTC Week 3

Fam/Friends,

Hello all! I hope all is going well back home in good ole Cache Valley! I have had a really good week this week and have learned so much it is ridiculous. I am really learning to absolutely love being here and how great of an opportunity and experience this really is. Everything is going well as far as the language and the gospel goes. I have been picking up Spanish pretty fast now, and I almost have all the tenses down and now just really need to work on expanding my vocabulary. I was joking with another missionary the other day that it is funny what they teach us for Spanish class cause it is all gospel related. I joked that I can say "through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can be cleansed from sin and return to live with him again after death" but struggled and always forget how to say "Where are you from?" or get lost when people try to talk to me like a normal person haha. Oh well I guess I will just have to pick that kind of stuff up as I go! And besides maybe if I get lost talking to someone in Argentina I can just start saying things I know and then I can teach them something!! Haha 

Anyway I am having a good time with it and learning a lot. It is crazy how fast time has flown here as I only have about 2 1/2 weeks left here in the MTC before I fly out into the field. I feel like I have so much more to learn before I am even remotely ready for the field, but I am sure I will have everything I need to be successful as I head out there here soon. As far as other news goes, my entire zone is moving out to the West Campus of the MTC on Tuesday, so I am going to be packing up all my things this weekend and getting ready to completely move everything. I will probably be getting a new schedule and probably even new address so I will try to let you all know ASAP if that happens. I know that may mess up birthday packages but I really don't know how the address thing will work. The West Campus is somewhere where we have to ride a bus to get over here to the regular campus to go to the bookstore or get haircuts. But we will have all of our classes and things over there as well as on P-days we can go to a jamba juice apparently so I am not complaining!! Anyway I will try to do my best at getting you all the new address if there is a change for that. Sorry!!

Anyway this week we have learned a lot about teaching people, not lessons. This pretty much means that we focus all of our efforts at getting to know our investigators, finding out what they are struggling with in life, and apply our knowledge of the gospel to help invite them to come to Christ and receive the restored gospel without any set lessons that we have to teach. It is really amazing as we really just study the scriptures and our handbook and make a basic outline of what we think and what the spirit testifies to us about what we should teach our investigator, and then we just go in and talk with them. It is really more of just a talk and helping them apply doctrinal principals to their life to try and help them with what they need. It is a lot of fun seeing people come closer to the Savior as we teach them the truth and about his love and sacrifice for us. And the best part is we are only working with practice investigators right now who teach here!! Haha I haven't even taught an actual investigator yet and yet I still can feel such joy when I try to teach others the truth of the gospel. The spirit is so strong here and it pushes me every day and helps me learn way faster than I ever could without him. I am really excited to get out there and teach real people in a few weeks, even if I have no idea what I am saying haha.

Cool part about the language thing is as I was teaching a lesson yesterday, I was asked a question about receiving answers to prays and I had no idea what the guy was saying, so I just asked him if I could take a second and I said a silent prayer for help. When I started talking I just started saying things in Spanish I and honestly have no idea what I said, but as I was saying it I looked at him and I could almost see the spirit touch his heart and when I was done, I asked him if he understood what I said and all he said was "yes, very much so". I had to try really hard not to both cry cause of the spiritual experience it was and laugh because I honestly could have said anything to the guy as I had no idea what I was saying haha! But whatever it was it was what the Lord wanted him to hear cause he was very much touched by it. Other than that, this week has been a very normal one with nothing all that huge or exciting to report on. 

I really enjoyed getting the packages this week and all the letters! Thank you so much for all of those! It is such a boost to get letters from the fam throughout the week. Mom, if you want, please put up an invite on my wall to my friends and tell them about my blog so that all my friends can see it and see these emails each week. Also, thank you for getting that bag ordered for me! I will have to talk to my branch presidency about getting it if my address changes though, but I am sure it will work out. I am going to try and send my backpack home here soon, although I have no idea how I am going to do it yet haha. Anyway, thanks again for all the love and prayers, I can really feel the power that comes from everyone's prayers on my behalf each day. I hope everyone who reads this is doing well and don't hesitate to email or write me if you want to! 

Also, just so everyone knows, the Church is most definitely TRUE! No doubt in my mind about it. How do I know? Cause I have read the Book of Mormon along with the Bible and prayed with real intent and asked our Father in Heaven if it is true, and I received my answer straight from the Holy Ghost, just like Moroni said I would. And if anybody who reads this doesn't know or isn't sure, I PROMISE you that you can know too! Just read it and pray about it, and an answer will come. El libro is azul and la Iglesia is verdadero (the book is blue and the church is true)!!! Yep that rhyme definitely sounds better in English haha! Love you all!!

Love,
Elder Zollinger

Tory and West Point Friends (All going to Argentina except one going to France)

Tory and West Point Friends

No comments:

Post a Comment