#5

Bonswa, tout moun! 

Well this week has been great! Last week was a pretty hard week for me, but I got put in a new companionship and tried to move forward and work my hardest all week. The rest of our district besides the five of us going to Fort Lauderdale are all heading out next Monday. The Fort Lauderdalers got held back a week so we can fly down there with the English speakers or something like that, so I won't be leaving here until the 24th. Anyway, everyone's starting to realize that there's more to the mission than the MTC, and we really do need to learn this language now so we can teach. It's been cool seeing everyone help each other out with learning lessons and the language and culture and what-have-you. It made me realize how much I'm really going to miss my district here though. I feel so close to so many of them, and it's going to be really sad saying goodbye.

So on Saturday, our companionship taught our investigator, Ruby. He's been having problems accepting that the Priesthood authority on the Earth is real, but we had our big breakthrough lesson and he is being baptized on Saturday! Even though we know he's not a real investigator, the spirit was so strong, and I felt so much love for him. I was so thrilled when he said that he would definitely be baptized next week. After we taught, our teacher brought in a tape recorder and played a tape of some of the Haitian he taught bearing their testimonies. It was the best thing ever. It was so cool to hear people bear testimonies on the gospel when they didn't even know about it a few weeks previous. I just keep getting more and more excited to actually serve people, even though it's very daunting. Things like this, though, always make me a lot more excited!

On Sunday, we had a devotional by Brother Heaton on the power of prayer, and I decided to try out sincerely praying and asking what the Lord expects of me. So this morning, at the end of a temple session, I was sitting in the celestial room and asked Heavenly Father what I wanted to do. I felt the spirit, but nothing really came to mind. I decided to ask him if the things I had in mind were things that he wanted me to do or if they would just be a waste of time. The feeling I got when I asked was immediate and almost overwhelming, and there's no way I can ever deny that it was the spirit telling me what I needed to do. It was such an amazing experience, and another reason why I really love it here at the MTC. 

After the devotional on Sunday night, we watched a video called The Testaments, which was about when Christ visited the Americas, and the events in the Americas before that. There were little clips throughout it of the Savior performing miracles and serving everyone, and I felt this overwhelming sense of love every time they came on. When it showed Christ in the garden and on the cross, I just started crying. It was the first time that I appreciated just how much the Savior did suffer for us, and how much he loves us. I know I can never fully comprehend what he did go through, but I do know that he only did it because he loves us and wants to give us the chance to live with our families and God forever, so why not take advantage of the Atonement everyday!

Well, that's my spirituality of the week. Hope you guys are all doing alright! I miss you all a lot, but I have work to do out here that can't wait. Please keep writing letters/emails, even though I can only answer once a week now at best. Love you all so much!!

Lanmou, Elde Skidmore