Prayer

     

This week was awesome! I got to see 3 apostles! Elder Christofferson came and talked to us about the Book of Mormon and the history of it and brought one of the first ones ever published from the church historical center. Also Elder Oaks and President Eyring came to dedicate the new classroom buildings here at the MTC. It was so cool seeing them all and you could really feel the spirit. Also, I have a lil story for you all.

This is the story of my companion Elder Wilson and an example of the power of prayer...(Told in his point of view).

"This last Monday night, I had been pretty down on myself because I felt like I was lacking faith where everyone else had it. I had been praying every night for something to help build my faith, but after almost a week, still nothing. The trivial details of the day had gotten me in a really bad mood and the Spanish was stressing me out. After dinner, I went to grab my jacket from off the back of my chair and my name tag went flying across the lunch room somehow. I went and picked up my tag, but the neon green magnetic back was nowhere to be found. Me, my companion, and a few other Elders helped me look for it for almost twenty minutes. Finally, I decided that I'll just figure out how to order a new one and wait a while to get it. After talking to some of my friends, I asked my companion if we could go back and look one more time. We went, and he asked me if we should say a prayer about it. I was thinking, yeah no that's dumb, it's just a tag. I said that we should just look a little longer. We looked absolutely everywhere. In my pockets, the lining of my jacket, in my shoes haha. It wasn't under the table, on a chair, or laying on the ground. The whole time, Elder Steward kept mentioning that we should just pray about it. Finally, I caved in. I offered to say it just to make Stewart happy. We knelt down in a crowded lunch room, and I looked around the floor one last time in desperation. I closed my eyes and half heartedly offered a prayer to find my tag. I closed the prayer, and stood up. Stewart went to keep looking, and I looked at the floor, two feet away from where I was just kneeling. In the middle of the aisle was my bright green name tag backing. I took a second glance just to make sure I wasn't imagining it, and then went and picked it up. There was no possible way we could have overlooked that spot. The tag was laying in the spot that I had checked 30 seconds before. THAT was the help from God that I was looking for. I spent the rest of the week piecing together every second of that night, but I still can't explain how the tag was there. 

That experience told me that God isn't someone that you can only go to when you have serious problems. He hears everything. Even the stupid cries for help with a nametag. More importantly, it showed me that God is there, and everything I'm teaching isn't just philosophy of men, but it is the teachings from God. 

My nametag means so much more to me than it did before. Not only does it say that I'm one of God's missionaries, but it says that I have faith in Him..."

It was so cool seeing his eyes light up knowing that God hears and answers prayers. I have a testimony of the power of prayer and that God is always listening and wants to talk to you. You just have to reach out and talk to Him. I love you all!

Extras from additional emails:

-We taught 45 min discussions this week to investigators and it was really cool! Also we keep finding birds everywhere not being able to fly cause they are so cold. We keep finding dead birds everywhere and I saw one drop out of the sky and hit the ground:( But it was cool taking those pics of the one still alive.