Week 3

Week 3 is done here at the MTC (Missionary Training Center!!) It was such a long week, and we got so much done! First of all we had two new Elders move into our room. Their names are Elder Stapley and Elder Young. They are pretty cool guys and I’m glad that they were put into our room. They struggled a lot the past few days and it has been great to help them feel loved and comfortable like in Mosiah Chapter 18 verses 8-9. We got to play basketball with them yesterday and it was a blast introducing them to the court. With a little bit of flare we humbled them within minutes. But we all had a great time and they were smiling and loving the competition the whole time.

Another thing that happened this week was we started teaching non-members the gospel in Spanish!! It was really nerve racking because my companion and I still barely know the language. The first lesson went wonderfully. We taught him that God is our loving Heavenly Father and that we are all his children. We asked him to go to church with his wife! We were able to understand the majority of what he said, and he was able to decipher what we were trying to say. The second lesson was a lot harder. Elder Brown and I tried to teach the Plan of Happiness but we were not able to understand David’s questions, and we were not able to explain everything to him. After the lesson we were both very frustrated, and used that to motivate us to learn the language better.

The weather this week was insane. It was snowing one day and sunny the next. All throughout the day the weather was changing and somehow I lost my umbrella. On Friday there was so much snow falling from the sky. I have never seen snow like this.. the snowflakes were about two inches around and they were extremely dense. They were coming down so fast it was like a rainstorm. By the time we got to the cafeteria (which is not that far) we all were absolutely soaked!!

This week we were blessed to hear from Elder Cook of the Seventy (General authorities of the church) and he gave an amazing talk on surrendering our will to Christ. He explained that in order to become like Christ, we need to be humble and allow his will and charity to guide us. He brought his grandchildren on stage and had all the missionaries sing “Called to serve” and it was so powerful. He told us to be an example of Christ everywhere in our lives, because everyone is looking at us and paying attention to the things we do. So for all of you younger ones who are reading this, know that Im thinking of you and love you all so much!!

My companion has been amazing this week and I am so thankful for him. We are both growing so much and working hard to learn the Spanish language. We are doing flashcards, quizzes, writing phrases multiple times, and speaking literally as much as we can. Our entire district is growing and learning so fast and we all have become such great friends. We all laugh so much at meals, while we walk, and during breaks in class. It helps our homesickness and makes us feel like we are in the right place.

I have still been having stomach pains and sickness. I am getting tested for the Flu today, but after throwing up yesterday I feel a lot better. Being sick on top of my crazy busy schedule is hard. I still have to get up at 6:30 and work all day. I pray constantly for strength, and I feel all of your prayers and support pushing me. I know that you will receive blessings for supporting me, and that without your support I would not be able to do this. I love you all so much and have to go, but I will send more pictures in another email!

Be sure to check out my website ElderPetty.com to read my previous emails and see my pictures! Love and miss you all!

-Elder Petty