Hey everybody!
Week 2 is up, and here are some of the things that happened this week:
First and foremost, we
had that worldwide leadership broadcast! Wasn't that amazing!? I
absolutely loved hearing about ways that members are working with the
missionaries all over the world! It was an amazing experience to hear
from Apostles of the Lord and the Prophet about ways that we can help spread
the Gospel. I just want to add my testimony to theirs that the Lord is
hastening his work. They tell us that at every devotional we have, and it
is completely true. There are now more than 70,000 missionaries, and the
number just keeps on growing! I know that if we all chip in and do our
part, the Lord will bless not only us, but the whole Earth as his truth rolls
forth!
I saw some familiar
faces at the conference as well. I saw Sister Karista Williams, which was
great, because we have been on separate campuses and she left on
Tuesday. I also saw a couple of my friends from school and lacrosse,
which was really nice!
On Saturday I got
the opportunity to take the bus up to main campus and meet my mission
president, President Porter. President and Sister Porter are amazing
people, and I am super excited to be serving with them for the next two
years! I also got to see all of the other missionaries that will be going
with me out to Cincinnati in 4 weeks. Currently, there are 4 Elders
(including me) in the entire MTC going to Cincinnati! And all of us are
Spanish speaking! From what I could gather, it sounds like the Hispanic
population in Cincinnati isn't terribly high right now, so I will be doing a
lot of teaching in both languages when I get out there. But that also
explains why there are so few missionaries going to Cincinnati here right now.
All of the English speaking missionaries to Cincinnati will most likely be here
in a few weeks so that they arrive the same time that us Spanish speakers
do! But anyways, President Porter is amazing! Me and 3 other Elders
got to meet with him and his wife for an hour and just talk about ourselves and
the mission. President Porter said something that I really liked in that
meeting. He said that 200 years from now, people would remember our names
as the missionaries that had helped to convert their ancestors. He also
said that the work that we are doing now "will change
eternities..." Isn't that amazing!? The Lord's work that is
rolling forth right now is literally changing the eternities of countless
souls! It just blows me away to think about... So yeah, needless to
say, meeting with President Porter got me super pumped to get out in the field
and start serving the people of Cincinnati!
Let me tell you about
one last meeting that I had this past week that was absolutely amazing.
In our Tuesday night devotional at the Marriott center, Janice Kapp
Perry came and spoke to us. Now I didn't know who she was at first, but
as people started introducing her, I recognized whop she was. Sister
Perry wrote a whole bunch of the Primary songs that are often sang in Primary,
and she also edited a few hymns in the hymnbook (I think). So she
basically wrote the songs that I grew up singing! The devotional was a
musical devotional, where the whole MTC sang primary songs in this amazing
chorus, led by Sister Perry herself! The Spirit was incredibly strong,
and it was an amazing experience.
Ok, so let me now talk
about a few of the more day-to-day matters. First off, I apologize for
not labeling those pictures I sent last week. I'll try to do better at
that. I believe I sent a picture of our district in front of the temple,
one of me and Elder Maughan, one of me and Elder Rawle, and one of a picture
someone drew of me on the board. I'll try to send a few pictures later on
today.
For this past week I
have been in a trio! It has most definitely been an interesting
experience, but it was also so much fun! Me, Elder Maughan, and Elder
Bradford had an awesome time being in a trio over the past week. This
morning Elder Bradford was assigned a new companion, so I'm back in a
companionship again! It was most definitely a great experience!
I am now teaching two
investigators (in Spanish of course). It's been kind of difficult
teaching them because we don't really speak Spanish, so we can't connect with
them too well. But I had an experience with one of them that completely
changed how I think about missionary work and my role in it. We were
teaching one of our investigators named Ruby for the first time, and things
weren't going terribly well. She wasn't very talkative, and neither were
we because we couldn't figure out to respond to her in Spanish. After we
had talked to her for a bit, we decided we had better start with a
prayer. One of my companions offered a prayer, and immediately
afterwards, the Spirit came into the room so strong. It was almost
overwhelming, and it bore testimony to all of us of the love that Heavenly
Father had for Ruby. We could feel it all through our lesson and for a
long time afterwards too. That experience was a huge testimony builder
for me that missionary work is all about love. It's about the love that
God has for each and every one of his children. He loves us more than I
can comprehend, but I felt like I had just a small taste of that love when I
felt the Spirit in that room with Ruby.
Let's see, what else?
I gave my first blessing as a missionary a little while ago, and that was an
amazing experience. I've started playing basketball at gym.
Granted, it's only that shooting game called Speed, but still... Basketball for
Elder Foote!!!??? We have a pretty long walk from West Campus up to the
Marriott center for devotionals, but I absolutely love it! Every time we
walk up there, we get honked and waved at all the way there! I feel like
a celebrity! I'm sure that's only because it's Provo though; I doubt that
will continue in Cincinnati... Yesterday I got to host the new
missionaries coming in, and that was super fun! It's crazy to think that
I was in their shoes only 2 weeks ago... It feels like I've been here for
forever... and I've still got 4 weeks left! I'm not complaining though,
don't get me wrong. I really like it here at the MTC. The
companionship of everyone here is incredible. Never before have had I
felt as much a part of a greater whole as I do here. I guess that comes
out of us all having one goal and one purpose; to further the work of the Lord!
Well, that's about all
I can think of for now. Like I said, I'll send picture a little bit later
on. Oh, and thanks for the letters from dearelder! I got them all,
including Dad's original and his shorter duplicate... Letter writing time
is a little bit limited, but I'm working on some responses, so you can expect
some replies shortly! And thanks for the doughnuts as well! It was
basically a doughnut part at our apartment last night. Our trio ate a
bunch, and the Zone Leaders came over and had some with us too. Party for
sure! Anyways, thanks so much for the letters and packages. And
also, you can still email me; just know that I won't be able to reply with a
huge long reply while I am here in the MTC.
Thanks so much!
Miss you all! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Foote