Mission Week 3

Vriends en Familie,

Thank you for your love and prayers. I'm already halfway through the MTC and I'm feeling great!

Scripture of the Week

(Actually a verse of the hymn - O Savior, Thou Who Wearest a Crown) -> No creature is so lowly, no sinner so depraved, but feels thy presence holy and thru thy love is saved. Tho craven friends betray thee, they feel thy love's embrace; The very foes who slay thee have access to thy grace. 

Dutch Word of the Week

zekker = sure

My Week

Wednesday - June 10th

So probably the most notable parts of today were getting my first MTC haircut. I wasn't even really supposed to but Elder O was going for it so they just kind of pulled me in too. It wasn't too bad. Just a short trim. Also I got to go to the temple again and that was amazing as usual. It really gets me through the week. Oh and maybe the best part about the day was getting the homemade cookies from Mom (they were all gone by the end of the day)!

Thursday - June 11th

Today was a good day. Elder O and I had this thing called TRC (no idea what that stands for) where we just kind of had gospel discussions with Dutch speaking members in the area. It was kind of weird but it was a lot less stressful than the "onderzoeker" (investigator) lessons we have. The coolest part was that one of the guys we talked to, Elder H, and his wife are here teaching my mission president! I get to meet him next week so I'm really excited for that. 

Friday - June 12th

So during our first lesson today we had a discussion with a new teacher, Sister L, about the Plan of Salvation (God's plan for us). It was really nice and I just thought about our purpose here on Earth a lot. Our life here is like a test. God gives us trials, hard problems to get through, and weaknesses to help us live good lives and become more like Him so that one day we can live with Him again. The thing is though, that this test is not just for us. We are not just here for ourselves. We are here to help others to live good lives and to come unto Christ. I love that God has a plan for me and everyone. He really loves us.

Saturday - June 13th

Saturday was great. I had classes with Sister M and Sister H in the afternoon and night and they were two of the best lessons so far. Sister M was awesome and told us some really cool stories about her mission. Sister H did a demo lesson with another teacher, Brother N, and it helped me so much. It made me realize that I really need to focus on loving my investigators more and trying to figure out what they need and how I can help them to come unto Christ. It's hard for me especially when I'm working with the language but it is really important stuff.

Sunday - June 14th

Sunday was awesome as usual. Haha I just realized that I keep switching from present to past tense for each day but whatever. Elder O and I will get to room with Elder P (going to the West Indies) for the rest of the week because the Danes, who were his roommates, are heading off to Denmark and he can't sleep alone so that will be kind of cool. During church we talked about repentance and how important it is during Priesthood. It was a really good discussion. During Sacrament meeting our Stake President spoke with his wife. So that was cool because I found out that he served as the mission president in Australia at the same time that Dallin's (my cousin Kristin's husband) dad was serving as a mission president there! So yeah President R knew him and wow what a small world. So our devotional that night was with the MTC Administration President and it was super good. He talked a lot about prayer and it was just really cool for me. He talked about a guy that was kind of at a really low point in his life and he started praying again and he prayed for like 40 straight minutes just thanking God for everything and he was just pouring out his heart. After those 40 minutes he just stopped and was kneeling there and he hears a voice in his head saying, "It is ok. You can tell me what you need now". I just think it's amazing that God will speak to us because he just loves us that much. After the devotional our whole zone came together and sang The Spirit of God in our respective languages because it was the Danes last night. It was really powerful.

Monday - June 15th

Monday was a really good day. I made a goal to really try and focus on having the Holy Ghost with me at all times each day and it was amazing that after I prayed about that almost all of our lessons that day were about the Holy Ghost. We watched a talk by Elder Bednar and he told an amazing story of an experience he had had with Elder Packer and the Holy Ghost. I think Elder Packer tells the same story in his talk "The 20 Mark Note" so I would definitely look that up. Also, a new elder came in today from Switzerland who is serving in Denmark. He is a very good man, but wow he is proud to be from Switzerland. I can't wait to start teaching Europeans about God and His gospel... Haha I know God will help me to reach the hearts of some people at least.

Tuesday - June 16th

Today was probably the hardest of the week. I was feeling a little sad just for no reason but it turned out being a pretty good day. We had a devotional with Elder Evans of the 70 and it was really good. He talked a lot about just obeying the rules and the blessings that will come from exact obedience to the mission rules. It really inspired me to start trying harder to be the best missionary I can be.

Spiritual Message

So this week I've really thought a lot about prayer and how much it blesses people's lives and makes people feel so good. I love being able to pray and it really makes me sad to think that there are so many people who don't pray or don't know how to pray. Prayer is so so important. God is our friend. He is not some all-powerful being that we should be afraid of. Like a friend, He is someone you should keep in touch with and confide in. He is our Heavenly Father and who loves us. Prayer is a two-way connection. When we pray we are not just speaking to empty space. God hears our prayers and He answers them. I would like to encourage anyone who reads this to just pray more. If you don't pray at all just try maybe once a day. If you do pray often then pray more. We can always talk to God.

I love this church and I love our Father in heaven. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that I can live with my family again through His atonement. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It is truly another testament of Jesus Christ and of His love for us. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Tot Ziens!

Elder Wright