Dear Everyone,
Hello again! I don't know about you guys, but time is
seriously flying right now! It's almost hard to think of things to write
because everything happens so fast!
First off, last Tuesday night, President Nelson came and
spoke at the MTC!!!! It was broadcasted to all of the other MTC's, so it was a
big deal. I was in the choir so that I could be in the same room as him because
there were so many people there they had to overflow into like 5 other rooms.
When he walked in, the spirit was SO strong; I have honestly never felt the
spirit come as fast as it did right then. It was amazing! He talked about three
main goals that God has for us as missionaries: 1. to help gather scattered
Israel. 2. families of gathered israel are to be sealed in the temple. 3. we
are to prepare for the second coming. He talked a lot about perfect obedience;
he gave an example of him performing surgery and how if any step was done wrong
or only part way, his success had no guarantee. It was only when he was exactly
obedient that he was sure of his success. We need to be completely obedient to
the commandments and the rules the Lord has set for us, because that is the
only time we are guaranteed the greatest blessings. And purpose in recieving
those blessings is not just to improve ourselves; it is so that we can more
effectively "invite others to come unto Christ." Anyway, the whole
thing was just amazing.
We had another English fast on Thursday, and I could
actually understand and talk in Portuguese! it was seriously amazing! The
blessings we are given through the priesthood and through callings is TOTALLY
real. I would be nowhere close to my level of Portuguese without the gift of
tongues. It was a really cool experience. I planned an entire lesson with Elder
Meza completely in Portuguese, and our lesson with our investigator went really
well.
We have two investigators right now; Laura and Gordon. Laura
can't support her family because both her and her husband are out of jobs and
are broke, and she has prayed before but she felt like she had never received
an answer from God. Gordon is an inactive member. He served a mission only a
year or two ago, but he is really struggling with faith and his testimony. They
are both really difficult to teach, but our best lessons have been when the
spirit testified of truth rather than what we said.
We had our first TRC with a member, which is basically just
a home teaching lesson to returned missionaries who volunteered to come listen
to our awful Portuguese for a half hour. We had two sisters, and one of them
gave feedback to us about how our lesson was inspired and exactly what she
needed! we talked about acquiring Christlike attributes like faith and charity
and love, and she really needed that. It was super cool!
On Sunday, I got released as the branch music coordinator
and I am now serving as our district's District Leader. It is a really good
opportunity to serve the elders and sisters in my district, though it is pretty
difficult. My district has a really hard time focusing during study time and
inviting the spirit through reverence, so that is something i have tried to
work on with them, as well as obedience to mission rules and the sort, and 3 of
the 5 companionship's are not working together well because they don't
communicate effectively and hold in their feelings rather than being honest. Some
also don't see the effect their words or actions have on their companions and
our district... anyway, there are some issues that I have tried to help
resolve, and I have needed to rely on the spirit to help me know what I can do.
If there is anything I want to leave with you, it's that as
members of this church, it is our responsibility to help bring others unto
Christ. The blessings we receive that make us better are to help us become
better disciples of Christ. We watched a talk by elder Bednar where he talked
about a lady who, in the face of losing her daughter in a car crash, was
primarily worried about the other girls who survived, getting the message to
their families, and taking dinner to a somewhat selfish and needy sister who
was angry because no dinner had been taken to her that night. The lady who lost
her daughter had the instinct to serve, even when she had huge problems of her
own. Christ gave two commandments; one, to love God, and two, to love our
neighbors. I can testify that as we serve and lose ourselves in the work of the
Lord, we will receive huge blessings, and be eternally happy as we turn outward
to others rather than look inward at ourselves. This lady had every right to
not want to help others. But she did anyway. We are blessed for being everyday
missionaries. Look for opportunities to serve and pray for those you know are
struggling, and you will receive personal revelation and direction from the
Spirit to help you accomplish those goals. I know our Savior loves us, and that
he wants us all to be happy, but he needs our help to do that. So go serve
someone! Lose yourself in His work, and you will find yourself in it. I hope
that makes sense.
I love you all! thanks for supporting me in my service as a
missionary! Talk to you next week!
-Elder Valentine
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