Tuesday, April 8, 2014

4th Letter from the MTC


As you know, we get to go to the temple at 7:20 on P-Day. As we were walking to the temple this morning, it started hailing! We were soaked by the time we made it in. It's been raining and shining sunbeams on and off today, so that's been interesting. I do love the weather though. It helps that most of the places we walk are covered. 
I read the Book of Mosiah this week, and found a scripture I'd been looking for -- Mosiah 28:7, a promise from The Lord to King Mosiah, though it wasn't addressed to the king of the Nephites, but the father of missionaries. What He says to one, He says to all, so I think it's appropriate to think of it as applying to all parents of missionaries. 
I've been reading the Book of Mormon like I never have before, in part because of a commitment I made to Brother Snow, a member of our branch presidency, during my half-way interview. Half-way! Can you believe it? The time is passing so quickly, it reminds me of a phrase from Jacob 7:26: "...the time passed away with us, and it were like a dream unto us..." Time really is passing like a dream, and I'm sure it'll feel like a dream when I get back. 
Back to the interview: he asked me about my goals. One of the goals I mentioned was to finish the Book of Mormon before I left the MTC. At the time (last Sunday), I had just started 2nd Nephi. He nodded, then asked me how long I had left in the MTC. I realized I only had 4 weeks left, and has just committed to finish the Book of Mormon. He told me he'd commit to that same goal, and would use me to pace his reading!  I'm happy to report that I'm in Alma 37 now, having read like crazyyyyyyy. It's been a huge blessing though. I'm excited to finish it in the next couple of weeks, so I can take up Elder Holland's challenge from "The Character of Christ," (which we watched last Sunday; it's incredibly powerful) and read through a small paperback Book of Mormon focusing on one topic, question, or thought.
We watched a fantastic Mormon Message, titled "The Will of God," that I am thinking about constantly. 
On Wednesday, we had the chance to host new missionaries! I had the chance to host two of them, and we'll be hosting for the rest of our stay, if we desire to. The feelings of joy and nostalgia were so strong hosting, that I will definitely be doing it for the remainder of my stay here. It was a wonderful opportunity.
We got 9 natives this week! There are 4 Elders and 5 Sisters. They're very fun to talk to, and just generally excited to be around us. We love them already. We memorized our purpose as missionaries in Korean this week, and that was really cool! 
Finally, shout out to Sister Shelley Jackson and Mariah for sending me a package! Thank you so much! 
Faithfully,
Elder Austin Lynn

No comments:

Post a Comment