English is So Boring!

(Note: TRC is the Teaching Resource Center and the RC is the Referral Center)

Dear Family- August 10, 2010

The TRC is the best place besides maybe the soccer field and the RC. We have taught two lessons, the first lesson (the message of the Restoration) we taught it our first week in English and last week in Spanish. Usually missionaries don't teach in Spanish in the TRC until their 4th week, but Hno. Haight said he thought we were ready. Everybody was so nervous. All week we practiced for it by preparing a bosquejo (lesson plan) in Spanish and bearing as many testimonies in Spanish as possible. The mood in the room right before we went to the TRC was super tense, but I think being pushed so hard humbled us. When we got there, it was a miracle. Words just came out of my mouth, I was using tenses that I wasn't very good at. I know we were blessed with the gift of languages. It's not that we were saying things that we had never practiced before or saying things that we didn't know, but God gave us control over those principle of the language that we had practiced. I'm sure to the people we taught (natives from Mexico) thought we were pretty bad, but I felt the Spirit. It doesn't matter how bad your language skills are, if you can invite the Spirit then God will do the rest. We even invited them to be baptized in the first lesson, when they came to know the truthfulness of the Gospel. I don't like teaching in English anymore, it is so boring. I love having to rely on Heaven's help for Spanish. Not that I shouldn't rely on God for English it's just we are compelled to be humble when it comes to Spanish.

We haven't really gotten any food/culture lessons, they save that for your last week. But there are 4 Elders in my district leaving tomorrow for the Peru MTC, they are soo lucky. I really only get hungry in the morning. It's really hard to read at 7 in the morning, but other than 1 hour of soccer a day we just sit in class for 12 hours a day so I don't really use that many calories. I thought you would like to know that I have only gained 27 pounds mas or menos, but even that is debatable because I was wearing my suit. By the way that was a lie....sorry. I have only gained 1 pound, if that. But I loved the fruit snacks and thank you so much for the package. Now I can go to gym without smelling like a dead cow. Melissa thank you for the pillow case, I use it everyday. I like the cactuses. Yes I will use the phone card, I haven't really looked at it but I'm sure I can figure it out. My companion and I get along well, he and I are both pretty easy going so it works out. I took pictures of the whole district with our teachers yesterday so I will send those home maybe next week or something.

I am having trouble thinking of words in English because all I hear is Spanish. Brendan (Hunt) is going to change a lot when he gets here. There is just so much to say when it comes to the Gospel that I'm sure he will change.

This last week in the RC ( I can't remember if I told you this already so I'll tell you again) I called a lady from Jamaica, NY. We talked for 35 minutes about Christ. She had received a bunch of materials from us and thought that our Church was the real deal. But for some reason she wasn't coming. She said that all truth could be had through the Bible, so even though I tried really hard I couldn't get her to kneel down and ask God if the Church is the only true Church. It was very frustrating, she just didn't understand how important have the plentitud del Evangelio del Jesucristo (fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ) on the earth today.

It has been raining here a lot. We had two thunderstorms and 1 other rainstorm this week. It was awesome. I started setting new goals this week to try to push myself harder. I am reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish for 30 minutes a day out loud so that my pronunciation and sentence structure will get better. It is kind of weird when people walk by and I'm just reading to myself but I know it will help. We had a testimony meeting for our district before the 4 Peruvians left (in Spanish), and it was soo cool. Sometimes even people who you think have no clue have the most awesome testimonies in the world. Vivieron por la gloria, murieron por la gloria, y gloria sería la recompensa eterna. (They lived for glory, they died for glory, and glory be eternal reward) That is what I shared and bore testimony about because for the Sunday night movie we watched the Joseph Smith movie. Now is the time for glory, everyday God gives us opportunities to glorify him. What have we done with those....that is the eternal question. Well time is running out. Love you all.

Braden