Well, its official! I head out on Monday the 14th for Chile! We got our flight plans yesterday during dinner so my whole district was really excited (all of us are headed to Concepcion.) It's not necessarily that we want to get out of here just to be out of the MTC, but we are just so ready to serve the people of Chile! If it means crying repentance or building houses- we just want to serve!
I saw Elder Smith, Elder Gatlin, and I see Elder Gordon everyday pretty much because we are on the same floor. Elder Young, who is Elder Smith's companion, is really nice and driven. Elder Gordon's companion, Elder Eindfeldt, is awesome and we were able to teach them last week.
Yesterday one of the other maestros from our zone came and taught us for an hour. His name is Hermano Richardson and is really built with an extremely low voice. He spoke to us on the meaning of sincere prayers. He shared a few experiences in his life and on his mission and asked us to share some thoughts. It was definitely one of those mission and life changing events because the Spirit testified of the things said so strongly. As Brother Bradley D. Foster said last Tuesday, which I'll talk a little about, our Heavenly Father knows our thoughts and emotions and wants to give us those things, but we need to ask through sincere prayer. Prayer opens the door for these blessings. The Lord is very careful to never interfere with our agency but prayer shows our use of our agency to try to be closer to God.
Spanish is coming along! It's sort of turned into a game each day to see what new words I can learn and incorporate into lessons. This week we taught the Plan of Salvation in the TRC to someone who's brother passed away. He coped with this by drinking and so we taught the Word of Wisdom also. Elder Martell did awesome but that's all I'll say concerning how we did as missionaries during the discussion because how we did isn't what's important. How the investigator felt is what's important and I will say thought that I feel the investigator, Angel, came closer to Christ both as an investigator and as himself in his own life as well. It's amazing what the Spirit can do!
Robert D. Foster of second quorum of the Seventy spoke last Tuesday. He spoke on mainly two things which one was prayer (I guess prayer was the theme of my week!) and the other was of the importance each and every one of us are to Our Heavenly Father and Lord. He used many scriptures in the first chapter of Moses to explain how many worlds there are and how many brothers and sisters we have. He showed some clips of scientists trying to figure out how many other worlds there are. They used a device to show a picture of little dots of light scattered all over a screen. All of these little dots were different universes. Now, he didn't use all this to scare us to show how little we are, but to show that even with all of these worlds without number, each of us are so important and special to Him. He said that "you are a son or daughter of God! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!" The second half of his talk was of prayer. He gave a couple stories of prayer-
One was of a little boy who was sitting in class in early elementary school. He had accidentally peed his pants and was devastated. He knew that if the class found out, the boys wouldn't want to be his friends anymore and the girls would never, ever talk to him again. He put his head on his desk and pleaded with his Heavenly Father, "this is an emergency! Help!" and told him his thoughts. The teacher started to walk towards him and he knew she would see when she got there. Right before she did, a girl walking with a fishbowl tripped right next to the boy and spilled water all over him! The girl was blamed by the teacher and got in trouble but the boy was safe! Nobody could tell! At the end of the day after the girl had gotten in trouble, the boy walked up to the girl and said, "you did that on purpose, didn't you?" The girl answered, "I peed my pants once too."
The second was of a man name Joseph Millet in the late 1800s. Brother Foster brought a page from this brother's diary from the church history museum. A man name Bro Hall, had run out of flour and tried everywhere he could think of to get some. He decided to pray in the "cedars" and spill his heart out asking for help and guidance. The Lord told him to go to the house of John Millet. He showed up at the house of John Millet and before Bro Hall even asked John Millet for some flour, John Millet asked him, "How are you on your flour, Brother Hall?" His prayer was answered.
We should all strive to be that little girl or a "John Millet" that the Lord trusts enough to lead his children to so that we may be a tool in answering other's prayers.
I've been reading a whole lot in Doctrine and Covenants and as I do, I gain a stronger testimony and love for the Prophet of the Restoration, Joseph Smith. Se que Jose Smith fue y es un professor de Dios. Testifico por medio de a Jose Smith, Dios restauro el evengelio verdadero a travez en este tierra. Se que el Libretto de Mormon es la palabra de Dios y tambien con el espiritu de Dios, Jose Smith tradujo el Libro de Mormon para nosotros. Este iglesia y evengelio es todos cosas en mi vida. En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.
Love y'all!
Elder Gregory
Padre- Elder Petersen (the marine) was amazed and his words were, "it's crazy, but possible" or something like that. He said its the youngest he's ever heard. He enjoyed it.
Mi Familia- I can call home on my layovers which I have one in Dallas for a couple hours. It's on the 14th from 6 30-9 10 pm. I'm not sure all the rules about how long I can talk and if I can call a few different phones but I'm sure I can because y'all won't all be together. They will probably tell us in a meeting this next week. I'm looking forward to talking with y'all!
