Last letter from the MTC!

Hello all!

I hope everyone is doing great! I have about 4 days or so left! I leave the MTC to go to Kentucky at 4:00 A.M. on Monday morning!

This week has been awesome. It has been a bit hard to stay focused since we have been ticking down the days, and things are about to get a whole lot more real.

We had an awesome lesson with James (Hermano Pacheco). Hermana Coleman took it to the house and committed him to baptism. It still wasn't an awesome lesson for me since I kind of went on a weird tangent, but everything considered it was great. That lesson really reminded me to focus on the investigator and just worry about their needs and have faith that everything will work out well.

The next day (Tues) we had a lesson with Ivelisse. It was only Elder Lindsey and I in that lesson since Hermana Coleman was at the doctor, so we didn't have our secret weapon. But we went into our lesson planning to talk about her prayers and help her recognize her answers to her prayers and eventually getting to the apostasy. It was an awesome lesson. One of my favorites so far. We talked about her progression of faith and talked about her testimony and how she has received answers to her prayers. We started talking about joseph smith and she flat out told us that it all made sense and that she knew he was a real prophet. At that point, there was only really one way to go. So we brought up baptism and told her that was her next step. When she brought up she was already baptized as a Catholic, i was able to simply and with as much love and understanding as possible explain to her the apostasy and pretty much after one minute came to the point where I had to tell her that the catholic church has no authority to baptize (which sounds harsher here than it did in our lesson), she made the connection between everything and set a date for March 24. Obviously we won't be here, and when she asked who would do it since she had just barely found out in the beginning of our lesson that we would be leaving, we sadly told her that new missionaries would come after us. We still have a lesson with her tonight, but then that's it.

As we asked her to pray to close the lesson, it was one of the most powerful experiences we have had. This whole time with Ivelisse we have seen little glimpses of her as a real person, not the investigator. As she has asked us to pray for her husband and pray for certain things that her as an investigator never talked about, and we have prepared to always focus on her as a real person and not our investigator in the MTC. So, in that prayer as she began to thank Heavenly Father for us and the patience we have had with her and for helping her and her husband she started to get really emotional. That kind of got me too, so as we started to leave it was bittersweet to know it was almost over with her.

It is hard to understand I think, but we really have formed special bonds with those that have been our investigators. And us we left that room and started to pray after our lesson, I had the most overwhelming feeling of love from Heavenly Father, more than anything just confirming to me that this is His work and that everything we have done as representatives of His son Jesus Christ has blessed people. It will rough to leave here, but I know i have learned a lot.

On that note, we had our "demonstrate teaching" meeting with the group of new missionaries. We learned that we had been recommended by our teachers for our teaching and then selected by the Training people to be the demonstrating companionship. I don't say that to brag, but I say that because it was so surprising to us and such a confidence booster.  Hermana Coleman couldn't come since she has been super sick lately, so it was Elder Lindsey and I again. We had three sets of investigators and talked to each of them for about ten minutes and then the new missionaries would commence after us. Our second set was a couple from Guatemala, so we got to kind of show off a bit with our Spanish in the beginning, until we switched to English. If there is anything I saw from doing our demonstrations was that we have learned so much these last 9 weeks. There was one Elder in particular who was so dull and so condescending to the investigators that I couldn't believe it. The husband in the Guatemalan couple actually called him out on it since he (the investigator) had just said how  his best friend died and now he was scared for the health of his mother and then the future with his handicapped daughter and this ridiculous Elder started saying in a monotone, haughty voice how the investigator can be forgiven of his sins, and how he can rest easy since the demands of mercy and justice had been satisfied. . . yup, that really comforts somebody. The moderator in the room was just shaking his head, it might not sound so out of wack in this email, but it was very apparent that this Elder was not even listening to the people and did not even seek to comfort this man. I can't say much, I am not a perfect missionary, and I never will be. I am not even out of the MTC. I know how green I am. But if there is one thing I have learned, it is how to love people enough to focus on their needs. That Elder will learn, he will grow, its not a huge deal.

I cannot wait to get to Kentucky, this time next week!

Well, I am out of time. I love you all. Hope all is well.

Much love,

Elder St. Martin

3/1/12

Hello all!

 

So, we're getting down to the wire here. 12 days left! We get our travel plans tomorrow, my mission president has written me with our first couple days of things we'll be doing and what I will need, and the packing and last minute scrambling and cleaning has begun! I will be sad to leave the MTC, I have gotten so close with my district and our teachers. Elder Lindsey and I have grown really close and I can only pray for companions like him in the future, and then our teaching and planning with Hermana Coleman in our companionship has really improved, we still have our problems, but it's all good.

 

So, this last week has been pretty scrambled in my mind. I am sure it will sound like that. We had an awesome Sunday Devotional by a Presidency of the Branches here, it was great. And then I really am scrambled after that.

 

 Oh! Sorry, kind of backwards, but like Saturday night we taught Mauricio (Hermano Litzenburger) and we had an awesome lesson on God's plan for him and his family and how the Holy Ghost can help him with that. He is now our closest "investigator" to baptism, March 24 (obviously not reallt gonna happen) but it was great for us because we have been struggling with our teaching styles lately. Also, we are getting ever more closer with james (Hermano Pacheco), I don't assume they will commit to baptism just because we are leaving soon, so we still are trying our hardest. It has been great to learn from each other in these lessons and we are getting closer and closer to really being able to focus soley on their needs and applying doctrine to help them. I guess it sounds pretty easy, but it has been a struggle for us. Spanish doesn't make it any easier.

 

Okay, so that is that.

 

The really cool news is that we had an awesome Tuesday night devotional. Elder Holland came! Totally a surprise, since no one knew who was coming it wasn't so crazy. But what is awesome is that we were able to get second row seats. The Spirit was so strong as he entered the room, he is such a great man. And oh did he let us have it. Practically yelling at us he spoke about how sacred our callings are and how important we are to the Lord and His church. He spoke at length about letting this mission change us and making sure we are different when we get home. At one point he pounded the pulpit and very much what I took for a yell told us, "Don't you dare in the first five minutes of getting home from your missions try to figure out a way to not look like a missionary", so my beard aspirations are shot. But, that's okay. He is so powerful. Then he had a bunch of missionaries get up and talk about the Book of Mormon and how we need to use it more by showing how just in 1 Nephi chapter 1 is so many things we can highlight with our investigators to help them understand everything. Luckily I can practically quote that chapter since I have read it so much before and here and have used it extensively in our lessons, so I didn't feel too guilty. It was such a powerful night though.

 

And then yesterday we got to host new missionaries, which was fun. Really reminded me how were are so close to leaving, 9 weeks is almost by. It really does fly.

 

But, with that comes the realization that there is, and always will be, things that I need to do better. We have been blessed with some awesome teachers and great opportunities to teach and learn, but I have realized now matter how hard I try, I will always miss the mark. That is not to say that I am down on myself or having a terribly difficult time, but to realize that every second and every verse that we study can be used to help change someone's life and save them is daunting. And then there is the fact that even for these 5 or six investigators here at the MTC, we have developed some really strong bonds and even yet I cannot find the ability to find what they need. I know it will come, I have prayed more fervently and humbled myself as much as I know how, and the Lord will humble me the rest, so I know that there are things to be learned. I mean, its the MTC, that's what we're here for.

 

And I realize I have not even scratched the surface on what I do not know yet and what I will need to work on in the future. Louisville is not the MTC. And yes, that scares me a little bit. Here, if we mess up, they can't drop us. Here, if they don't feel the Spirit when we teach, and if we don't either, and then if their lives get hectic, they can't just stop talking to us. Its their job. But in the real world Satan will do all he can to stop us, and I know if we aren't ready to give it all we got, then we will lose people. And that scares me. I don't care whose fault it will be, or if it won't be anyone's fault, it scares me. So I am prepping myself to do all I can for the real world.

 

With that said, things really are going super well. I wish I was more faithful with pictures, but they will come soon enough. Nothing too exciting anyway. I hope everyone is doing well and that life is treating ya'll well. I love you all and miss you. I pray for you and think of you. Thank you for your letters, and your candy, and your packages, and your prayers. I appreciate everything everyone has done to help me.

 

My next letter will be the last one in the MTC. Soon this fire inside of me will be rolling through the bluegrass hills of Kentucky. Literally rolling because I am pretty sure I will have a car. Which is nice. Anyway, love you all. God Speed.

 

Con amor -

Elder San Martín