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| My district |
It's so good to be able to write to you all again, this week has been a rollercoaster as the MTC seems to be but has gone my very quickly. I have been blessed with so many miracles here in the short time I've been, I am so grateful for it all and for all of your prayers, I will try to write them all, and I hope you all are doing well back home.
So, first things first, we got our departure date on Sunday, we are leaving on September 10th, which is kind of cool because it means we skip a day to get there, so September 11th, 2018 won't actually exist for me. That is, if my visa goes through I guess. It was a very exciting announcement, however, and our whole district is so eager to go out and spread the gospel to those kind and humble people. I still have much to learn in both the language and the wonderful message I will be bringing, but I am very excited and know that I will be ready as I work my hardest and trust in the Lord to make up the rest. The first couple days after that were kind of hard for me, however, I was feeling kind of inadequate and discouraged, but on Tuesday I decided I was going to approach the day with faith and trust in the Spirit, and then as soon as I made that commitment, we had a workshop about preaching repentance and baptism, and I just got so much hope and spirit from that. Then, that wasn't even close to the best part. I got to do choir on Sunday and Tuesday, which has become one of my favorite activities here, the director turns every practice into almost a devotional, he is so smart, and I just love to sing too. We sang "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" and were practicing to sing it on Tuesday night for the devotional. And in that devotional, Elder Christofferson came to speak to us, the first time I've ever been in the same room with an Apostle of Jesus Christ, and he brought the Spirit so strong with him. He spoke on the new movement to calling the Church by its true name, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and his talk was so informative and inspiring, it is so amazing to witness modern-day revelation through President Nelson and to be able to play a part in all of that, I know that he is a prophet of God and has the authority to lead Christ's restored church here on the Earth today. And it
really strengthened my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith that day as well, between the song and another incredible experience where I just felt the Spirit so strong confirm it to me after the devotional as I looked at a picture of him just in the hall. And after the devotional, our district had a review and really enjoyed that, I am getting closer to my district every day and I'm so grateful for that.
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| Philippines Flag at the MTC |
On that note, Elder Powell and I have been getting closer daily, and I keep praying for charity and love for my district while I am here as well as the people of the Philippines. They are all such wonderful spirits, and I learn something new from each one of them almost every day. On Wednesday, during one of our lessons to our "interested person" (our teacher), Elder Powell and I were teaching about the Savior's earthly ministry and His Atonement, in Tagalog, and I don't really know how to explain it but we were just able to explain it all and find the words and use the Book of Mormon and work together to teach each part of the lesson, and at the end I felt like I should invite her to get baptized, because we talked about it a bit, and I did and she accepted, the Spirit was so strong even though it was a mock lesson, especially as we read the Book of Mormon. I have a renewed testimony of the power of the Holy Ghost in teaching, as well as through the Book of Mormon, and also how much easier the language comes when I am testifying of truth and teaching with the Spirit, it is truly a modern-day miracle. Every day here I have been blessed to grow in my faith, in my testimony, and just in general becoming more like Christ, even when it gets really hard, which I am going to be honest I'm talking about the positive experiences here, but there are so many times here where I feel hopeless, or discouraged, or just lacking in faith, but I have found when I turn outward to helping others, or just get to work and strive to be exactly obedient, I find my doubts being swept away, and I love that every night I go to bed happy, after thanking my Father in Heaven for all the events of each day. I know that through gratitude and service we will find the most joy, through both trials and happy times, because when we trust in Christ and follow His example in serving others we in turn feel peace.
I need to better emphasize to myself the importance of diligence in my studies, as well as trusting that after all I have done the rest will be made up by my Savior. It's been really tough trying to balance my perfectionist mindset of just wanting to study constantly with having fun with my companion and district, because I know I'm on the Lord's time and represent Him and all I want is to be the most effective missionary I can be, to repay Him for all that He has done for me and all He continues to do, so the struggle comes in staying diligent in studying and focused in my purpose, but remembering that I have to be joyful and kind to my district and those around me as well, so that has been a huge revelation to me this week, that in addition to being exactly obedient and diligent in my studies, I also have to enjoy my time with others and serve them as well, because ultimately that is why I'm here. It's been a real shock feeling the truth of that, and I continue to strive to better understand what it all entails, but I will work through it with hope and faith that if I am just working all I can and focused on serving, and make sure all my actions reflect the actions of Jesus Christ, then can I find comfort in just striving to be a better missionary every day, and setting goals and learning and growing in order to do so. This MTC stay is coming to a close quickly, and I need to make the most of it, but I also need to be joyful and happy through it all, because I am in the service of my fellow beings, so that I can be in the service of my God. I'm so grateful for the miracles He provides to me through faith, and the trials that help me grow. I'm so thankful to all of you who give me so much, who have prepared me over the years to be a better missionary. I love you all so much, I'll see you soon!
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| Birds eye view of Provo from the MTC! |
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| Cougar Tail—a 16-inch-long maple-topped pastry, the equivalent of four maple bars. On average, 2,300 Cougar Tails are consumed at a BYU game! |
Paalam,
Elder Griffitts
