Hello Again!!
Another great week at the Missionary Training Center!
Probably the biggest highlight was Fast Sunday. Apparently, It was the first Fast Sunday in a long time that there was choir practice! The director said that he didn't think anyone would end up coming, but the bleachers still filled up! Choir practice is always a blast, but this one was memorable because the Spirit was so strong. Everyone there was fasting yet still willing to sing. We sang Sweet Hour of Prayer and learned of the amazing story behind the song. Basically, the lyrics were written by a man who had been blind for all of his life. Some people claimed that he had the whole Bible memorized and could quote any scripture he wanted to. This faithful man must have gone through a lot of hardship in his life because he was not able to see, but based on the song lyrics he found great solace in praying. I know that praying can truly "call us from a world of cares" and help us "escape the tempter's snare."
Yesterday, Elder Wayment and I taught our second TRC lessons. They are great because we teach members who are already familiar with the Gospel. We just try to uplift them and help them and practice our Swedish along the way. We decided to teach about Faith, Hope, and Charity. One of the most interesting things from studying for the lesson was that I figured out that in Swedish, there is no word for "Charity!" In the scriptures, it translates to simply "karlek" (SHAR-lek), which means "love." So rather than teaching about Faith, Hope, and Charity, we taught about Faith, Hope, and Love. Reading from the Swedish Book of Mormon is so insightful because there are things like this all over the place. It sheds new light on a scripture to read it in a new language and to see how the translation is sometimes just a little different.
Another cool part of this week was that we practiced teaching a less active member. Our teacher took on the role of "Kirsi," an African living in Sweden who was baptized but had not been to church in 15 years. As Elder Wayment and I talked to her, we discovered she still had a great love for the Gospel but had stopped attending sacrament meeting because some of the members of the church had acted unkindly to her. We invited her to come back to the fold, reminding her that church attendance is so necessary because it gives us the opportunity to partake of the Sacrament. The Spirit was strong in the lesson, and even though our teacher was only pretending to be Kirsi Elder Wayment and I both felt a great love for her.
And now for the crown jewel of the week: a surprise appearance from Elder Bednar! The whole MTC watched a devotional together on Sunday evening called Character of Christ. Elder Bednar gave it a few years ago. This was strange because we usually get to choose which devotional we want to watch. He walked in after the film was over and everyone was shocked! It was great to hear the testimony of one of the twelve apostles.
I have been reading in 3rd Nephi this week and I read the part about Christ coming to the temple in Bountiful and teaching the people there. I felt the Spirit wittness to me that Christ did live on this earth, he did die for us, he was resurrected, and he lives again. I am so grateful for His Gospel and for the peace, joy, and happiness that it brings to His followers.
Hej Da!
Aldste Francis
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