Thursday, August 7, 2014

Fear Not, I am With Thee

July 22, 2014 (week 1- MTC)

Hello everyone! 

So it has been almost a full week and so much has happened! Gah! It is awesome!

 So I have to start with saying that I am so happy to be back in the MTC! It is the greatest spiritual places close to the temple and church! So the first day we got here and of course I had to pretend that I don't know anything but it was so good! Still the same as before! I'm at the west campus with all the Spanish speakers! There are 12 Elders in my district! Muy Loco! We are all in one classroom! See the pictures to get a better idea of how small our classroom is! My companion is great! His name is Elder Pace and he is from Highland UT! He just graduated from Lone Peak HS and is a Lacrosse player! Awesome, right?? He is so spiritual and such a good companion! We study all day to teach our first investigator "Nicolas" as you can probably guess the language is a barrier for teaching but surprising the spirit gets past those barriers when we are in tune with it! So we already have had him read some of the Book of Mormon and taught him how to pray! We teach him Manana en Manana (Tomorrow morning) about feeling the Holy Ghost and the restored Priesthood on the earth.

Another cool story is that you all already know that I found Elder Butler in the Main MTC campus in just one and a half days! Ha! I am good at playing where’s Waldo- I guess! But to understand what a tender mercy it was for us I'll tell you the proceedings of the day. My companion and I had to go to the MTC to see the Vaccine people because there were some problems with his vaccinations. So we were already late to get to the appointment and we had to wait at the bus stop for 40 minutes to get there! I was thinking that this was going to be forever! So when we got off the bus and into the main MTC Campus I was walking to the building and lo and behold, "ELDER BUTLER!!!" I ran up and tackled him with the same equivalent force of four generations of family hugs (Malia is the fourth generation I would presume if she could hug) and crushed his body and spirit with love! He told me today (Yes I saw him again in the MTC Cafeteria, next story) that that day he was late to class and feeling very home sick and I must have answered his prayers as I took his breath away with my bear hug! What a tender mercy because once we got to the Vaccine place... they said everything was fine! So I look at that time as being able to see family and deliver the promised hugs (You're welcome Toni ;))

So today was our Temple Day and P Day so I got to go to Provo's Temple! It was so nice to be inside my favorite place in the world. It was good for me to go today and then go straight to the MTC Main Campus for lunch. They have so much food there it's awesome! We got bacon cheese burgers! Mmmmm... BACON! And I got to talk with Holly and Michael at the same time!!! It was great! The Spirit... Family... Bacon! Today is just a good day and I don't know who will teach us today but I hope it will be an apostle of the Lord! On Sunday's devotional we heard from the movie writer T.C. Christensen and of course talked about pioneer week and the pioneers! It's like a big holiday here I think ha ha. 

So the message I would love to tell you all is the one in the subject title: Fear not I am with Thee. Over the past 6 day in here I have relied more on the spirit than ever before. The amount of studying can be nerve racking as we try to teach in Spanish and face the hardships of missing families and loved ones. I miss all of you but I will be staying out for two years guaranteed! God is with us in everything. From the creations he has made for us to the people we see every day. Never feel that you are ever alone. In our first discussion on the first day there were 50 elders in one room teaching Jorge (in English). He was suffering depression that was the result of losing his 11 year old son. Elders all passed the spirit around saying how prayer could help, it was just what we all felt was right. Not right after they finished teaching him how to pray I said "May we pray to show you an example?" there weren't my words though! I realized that the spirit was leading me as all 50 of us bowed our heads in prayer. The spirit was so strong in that room that tears were flowing out of my eyes but my speech did not stutter once. I was overcome with the spirit and prayed for Jorge to be helped and to let him know his son was ok. 50 elders and Jorge felt the spirit there and there was no denying it. I can testify this to you now: God is real. He is in everything and is always with you and will give you blessings in your life when you turn to him. Love him and have faith in him to give you the answers to your prayers and questions. The power of the Holy Ghost is real. And if you ever fear that he won't want to be there for you whether you are wanting to know more about Him or if you are teaching about Him, don't He will be there, always. 

As always strive to do what is right and be like Christ, It will only bless you and those around you. I love and miss you all! If you want to send me emails on here go ahead, we go and print them out on the main campus on Tuesdays or use DearElder.com. I would love to hear how all of you are doing and what is going on in your life!

Love,

Elder Burke                              
                                          Elder Taylor Burke and Elder Michael Butler 

No comments:

Post a Comment