Well hello there!

Alright, we're 9 weeks into the MTC. I can't believe how fast time has flown, and I can't believe how much I've grown, intellectually and spiritually.

 

The other day I was sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch, and looking at all the different name tags that people are wearing. It still amazes me how many languages we can preach the gospel in, and I can't help but think of the primary song - "All over the world at the end of day, Heavenly Father's children kneel down and pray, each saying thank you in his own special way..."

It's so wonderful. On the floor of the building our classroom is, we also have the classrooms for Thai, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, and some Spanish. Just being around all of these different people, I can say "hello" and "how are you", and sometimes "thank you" and "I love you" in several languages now. I can bear a brief testimony in Mandarin! Languages are so interesting and awesome.

 

Last Tuesday night we had Elder Alonso of the 70 speak to us at the devotional, it was really awesome! If you remember last general conference, he gave the talk about doing the right thing, at the right time, without delay. It was really cool to hear him speak!

Tonight, the First Presidency is supposed to be here! I'm so excited!!! It's the MTC's 50th anniversary, so the devotional tonight is going to be a big deal. I'm psyched! I'll be sure to let you all know about it next week.

 

At the suggestion of Sis. Taylor (the one sister missionary in our district here), I've started a gratitude journal. I write things in it that I'm thankful for, obviously, but what surprised me is that once I started writing, I couldn't stop! I've filled up several pages of my little notebook already, and I only started writing last night. The Lord is constantly showing His love unto me, and I am so grateful for His tender mercies in my life.

 

Elder Taylor (not related to Sis. Taylor) and I sang in church this last Sunday! We sang a duet of "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief", and it went so well. We were well-received, too. I'm grateful for the chances I have to bless the lives of others and to bear my testimony through music.

 

Speaking of music...as I mentioned before, I got added to the MTC accompanist list, so I've been accompanying musical numbers for firesides and meetings left and right. It's a little stressful, but it's alright. I'm glad to have the opportunity to assist others.

 

And speaking of the piano, I'm teaching one of the Thai-speaking Elders, Elder Adams, how to play the piano. It's really interesting having to get into the mindset of a beginner and teaching them the things I've known for over 12 years now. Those basic skills are second nature to me, so it's difficult to teach them sometimes, but we're having a good time.

 

Another one of the Thai-speaking Elders, Elder Federico, has become a good buddy of mine. He showed me a couple days ago a better way to tie my ties - it was crazy trying to learn, since I've gotten in such a habit these last 19 years. It's all good though - my knots look much nicer now. =]

 

We had a funny experience with one of our "investigators" yesterday. His name is Som, and we had planned to teach him about the end of the Plan of Salvation (Spirit World, Resurrection, Judgement, Kingdoms of Glory, etc.) - that all got scrapped though once we got in there. We were asking him about how he likes church, since he's been "going" every week and he's been "reading" the Book of Mormon. He's really progressing in the gospel, and we asked him if he had any questions about church. He asked us something, and I didn't quite understand what he was saying. I asked him to repeat his question for me, and then I tried to answer it according to what I thought he said. To me, it seemed like someone had quoted a scripture that he wasn't familiar with, and he didn't know where it was. I assumed he meant the Doctrine and Covenants, so I explained to him where that book of scripture comes from and how God gives us modern-day revelation. Elder Nicholson was even more off than I was, and so he goes off on a tangent about how the Book of Mormon and the Bible support each other and how they compare and contrast. After about 15 minutes of trying to answer his question (in our given 20-minute time slot), I asked if it all made sense, and if we had answered his question. He said that what we said made sense, but that we hadn't answered his question at all. He repeated his question again, and I finally got it. He wanted to know how everyone knew where all the scriptures were and how they could all turn there so quickly after the speaker or teacher gave the reference. He was concerned that he didn't know where everything was. I laughed a little bit at my own foolishness, and addressed his worries by telling him that he would learn the order of the books in the scriptures in time, and I promised him that he would be blessed if he continued to read each day. Oh, the joy of language barriers! Not so much of a barrier anymore though, I'll tell you that. The Lord has blessed us so much! I wish you could all hear me now. 

 

I had another experience that I wanted to share from this week - lately I've been praying for boldness and the courage to be able to speak up and talk to complete strangers without reservation. I want to be able to teach with power and conviction to people I've never met before, and be able to bear my testimony to strangers with boldness. That's something I've been scared about, so I want to be ready when I get to the field. I've wanted to work on this, but I'm scared to talk to people, even to set goals to bear my testimony in Khmae to other missionaries here.

In my personal studies on Sunday, I was reading a few talks from this last general conference, and I got to the talk by Elder Holland at the start of priesthood session - "We Are All Enlisted". My goodness, if you haven't heard or read that talk, I would EXHORT you to read it! It's incredible. He calls for more and better missionaries, calling the young men to be worthy and active in the church and to prepare for service, and calling others to preach as well. The main point of his message wasn't what I needed, but there was something he said in there that really, really struck me. He said, "I am looking tonight for missionaries who will...with the Spirit of the Lord and the power of their priesthood, open their mouths and speak miracles." Jumping to the end of his message - "I ask for a stronger and more devoted voice...unbind your tongues and watch your words work wonders."

Wow. Powerful stuff, right? What better pep talk than from Elder Holland! It was a real kick in the rear, and also a motivating message of love and encouragement from the Lord that I needed right at that moment. I realized that I can't afford to keep my mouth shut as a missionary. I have a mission to perform, and I will not let my Father in Heaven down!

 

Thanks to all of you for your continued love and support. =]

 

Sincerely,

Elder DeLong