HEY FAMILY!!!
This last week has been a blast. Last wednesday was Hermana Luke's BDAY so we
decorated the room with streamers and balloons and her favorite candy. She
really liked it and was happy that we did something for her. And her companions
Hermana Earl, and Hermana Aagard wrote us thank you notes for what we did. I
did some crazy stuff with the balloons afterwards that night. I grabbed 3 of
them and stuck them inbetween my legs and had my companion pop them. It felt
really weird but everyone was laughing because i was talking spanish gibberish
the entire time. And spanish by the way is coming along amazingly, and only due
to the fact the Lord has blessed me with it. We all know what happened when i
tried to learn it without the Lord's help. FAIL! But im really happy to be
picking up the language so fast. I will def need it for when i head out to
Peru, cause it will be all spanish all the time. I will most likely forget
english, so dont feel sad dad when i can only talk to mom for a while when you guys come pick me up haha. It's not because i dont love you, just the fact
that im retarded and cant remember more than one language at a time.
Thursday equals the longest day of classes for us. We literally are in class
when we don't eat and that's it. SOOOOO LOOOONNNNNNGGGGG!!!!!! But definitely
necessary to learn all this stuff in such a short period of time. Our district
also really bonds during that time. We crack jokes and play assorted spiritual
games with one another. But what i love the most are the super deep gospel
conversations that we get into. We have talked about the second coming, how the
earth was created, how we will create worlds and different things like that. It
is absolutely amazing to go so deep into doctrine and try to sort out the
mysteries of God. Afterwards my head hurts though lol, most likely from the
Lord trying to keep us from learning too much haha.
Fridays are pretty fun, but still very similar to thursdays. Long hours of
class and what not. But something did happen that was pretty funny. Elder Manders is this really tall, and really
smart elder from CA. Anyways, he was sitting on the toilet when i threw a wet
paper towel over the stall and almost hit him. Afterwards he threatened my life
in a really funny way. Its funny cause he doesn't mean it and we all make
threats to eachother all the time anyways. Well, during class he wrote "There
will be Consequences" on a piece of paper and showed it to me. I couldn't stop
laughing for the next 10 mins. The look on his face was priceless. But that
pretty much sums up friday.
Saturday.............nothing happned, sorry
Sunday!!! A fast sunday was just what i needed. Elder Green and I had been
having trouble teaching with the spirit, so we fasted to learn how to teach by
the spirit, and to help us with the language and the gospel. We were
immediately blessed the next day, but i will get to that shortly. We also got
to watch the Joseph Smith movie that night after a little devotional. That
movie is always such a strong testimony builder, and after we watched the movie was when i got the
answer to my question of how to teach by the spirit. We had not been BEARING
our testimonies, rather we had been reciting them. We were using the strength
of our testimonies to their fullest and letting people know how much we love the
gospel.
Monday was when we put the answer to our question into action. We taught the
Elders that had shown up the wednesday before the First Discussion. The first
principle in spanish, and then the rest in english. Our spanish was a little
shaky, but we had only learned to teach it in spanish a few minutes earlier. But
after the spanish part, and during our testimonies throughout, the spirit was SO
strong. The new elders told us afterwards that it was one of the most powerful
lessons they had experienced. That was a great thing to hear for us. We really
needed to know that all our hard work had really payed off. AND IT HAD!!!
Tuesday was the best day of the MTC so far. Classes and everything were normal but it wasn't until the devotional, did it become amazing. Pres.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf and his wife came to speak to us. It was the best talk that
i have ever heard. I will give you some of the highlights of his talk that
stood out to me. The First being asking the question are we on the Lord's side
and NOT is the Lord on my side. It is us that ask him for guidance everyday,
and not us telling thim. We are asking him where and what to teach, and not the
other way around. The next big thing was, don't go through your mission with
one pair of shoes. I plan on wearing at least 3 or 4 pairs of shoes to death
out on my mission. No person should go untaught while i am out there. So be
prepared to send me some shoes in the near future. And lastly, 4th Floor Last
Door. The conversion story of his wife should be the motto of all missionaries.
Go to the very last door and leave no one untaught. I left that talk with new
vigor to not waste anytime on my mission. Heck, it's not my time anyways.
Well that is it for me. I love you all immensely and pray for you everynight. I
also feel your love and encouragment throughout the day. It is what keeps me
going.

Love,
Elder Washburn