Hey Family!
It's always great to hear from you guys. Yeah, I talked to Spencer Call and he told me he got reassigned. I think he is just excited to get out of the MTC. Some missionaries that go to Mexico end up staying here longer because they get their permisa but not their visa; I know one elder who is finishing up his 13th week and he still isn't sure when he will leave. 13 weeks in the MTC would be a little rough I think.
Bummer to hear about BYU. I ran into Drew and he was telling me that this is a good year to be on my mission, haha. Hopefully they'll be really good when I return home. Tell Mason good job and to keep it up. He should just play soccer in high school, hah. The gym is finally going to open tomorrow here in the MTC so my soccer days at the MTC may be coming to a close. Elder Durrant is a big basketball fan so I think we will probably switch over to that tomorrow. But I like to play anything so no biggy.
On Tuesday, we heard from H. Bryan Richards. He used to be in one of the presidencies of the 70 but I think he was released to be a mission pres or work in the mission dept or something like that. But anyway, he was great. One thing he said that I really liked was that 20 minutes of my time can change a family's life for generations. That really helps me realize the importance of my decisions and how I need to always strive to do what's right, and work hard so that I can have that positive affect on people. Another thing he touched on was the power and the blessing that missionaries are endowed with. D&C 109 is a really cool section that talks about the power we receive from the temple.
Then today for p-day I did some sealings as a proxy for a son for the first time. That was really cool
On Wednesday, we did a self-evaluation on how we feel we are doing as missionaries. The things that I'm working on the most right now is being patient with myself and more patient with others. Wednesday, I started to feel a little bored and I felt like I'd maxed out on MTC Spanish and that I just needed to go to the field in order to learn more. But on Thursday we were talking about that a little bit in class. Hermano Milne shared some really good ideas about focusing in the MTC and trying to avoid counting down the days but rather counting up in what we are learning. Now I''m trying more to focus on how much knowledge I can gain and things I can learn in the language before I leave for Paraguay rather than count down the days until I leave. This has really helped me focus and work harder. Thinking about how much I study here is how much I will be able to share with the people in Paraguay really helps me to stay focused and remember that I need to use my time here wisely.
We also watched this great video of Elder Bednar giving an MTC Devotional last year. I think it might have been when Jake was in the MTC, and if so, he was lucky because it was an awesome talk. He answered the question "How do we recognize if it is the Spirit talking to us or if it is just us thinking something?" His answer was a little different, "To not worry about it!" What we should focus on is being a good person, doing what we're supposed, and pressing forward. If we do these things, we will make the right decisions and not even realize it sometimes. A lot of the time the spirit directs us and we don't even know it. If we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, we'll be where we need to be.
On Friday, Elder Durrant and I had a really good talk about the positive influences that our families have had on us. I am really grateful for you guys and for everything that you have done for me. Learning the gospel better has helped me to realize the great importance of families and how I should really cherish my family. We also talked a little about how we came to make the decision to serve missions. It was a good bonding experience and helped us to grow closer together as companions. We also decided to work more as a companionship on having patience with others and always being good, nice people.
On Saturday we did an activity in our class building where we rotated thru the rooms and talked about Christ-like Attributes. Hermano Milne talked a little bit at the end about consecrating our time to the Lord. While on a mission, I am working with Heavenly Father's time and always need to remember to be doing productive things.
On Sunday at the devotional we heard a really good talk on the things we need to do to become what the speaker (can't remember his name) called a "100 Watt Light Bulb Missionary." Everything we do builds up to having and teaching with the Spirit.
Love,
Elder Snow
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