This week has been crazy. Our District is the most athletic district here, we have destroyed everyone in volleyball, soccer (where they have like 6 more players than us), and spike ball. Fast Sunday was great, for some Elders it was like their second time fasting and most of their first time going 24 hours, so there were a lot of hangry individuals. Anyway because we thought we were going to choir we ended up cutting it at like 22 1/2 which was for sure disappointing. Holland's son Matt Holland spoke, and he talked about Joseph Smith a lot. Elder James in our District is one of Matt's son's best friends! so he got a big shout out. Matt's son just left on his mission a few weeks ago and is in the Mexico City MTC. It was crazy though.
Tuesday was phenomenal. Neil L. Anderson came to speak and everyone could feel something different in the air before he ever came in, and they kept it super on the down low so no one knew who it was, we could just feel the spirit super strong in the room. It was awesome and I cried a lot cause the spirit was so powerful through his whole talk. We always talk as a District in our classroom after the Tuesday devotionals and the spirit was so strong there as well as I heard my fellow district members testify of what they knew to be true.
It has been a beautiful experience here, but I am ready to leave and start teaching real people. They try so hard here to keep you guessing to know whether or not the people you are teaching are real investigators or members acting, the problem is even the real investigators are acting for the sake of you teaching them the first time. That has got pretty annoying and old, even though the spirit still testifies of the truthfulness of what we are saying.
Yesterday we had in-field orientation which was awesome, but so long. And it takes all day so no exercise time or personal study time which was a dagger. Anyway I learned how it is so important to help active members live the Gospel of Jesus Christ because they will then want to share it with others, and as they are strengthened they will begin to trust me with their friends who are referrals. Also it seemed so numbers specific and oriented which I had a really hard time with because that is so fundamentally against what I have believed. Because of this I got a pretty firm rebuking from the spirit. Because apostles and what not were on videos testifying of how they do this and how inspired it is. He told me that He knows what He is doing and that I need to trust doing it His way. They did still emphasize that the numbers always need to represent people and have that be the focus. So I'm working on it. I know through the Atonement I can learn to become exactly what God needs me to be, and that by turning outwards rather than inwards is the best way to access that Atonement, because whether I am turning directly to God or to His children in the end I am always turning to Him.
