24 August 2011 Letter (MTC)

Wednesday, 17 August

Wow.  It is a weird feeling to start consecration week, realize there's only one more P-Day at the MTC left, and also know that in a week and a half I'll be in Hungary.  Hű-ha!   Today I had a great temple session (only one more left for the next two years!) and ran into multiple people.  I saw Zack during lunch (his mission call is still in limbo) and at dinner, within 5 minutes of starting Consecration Week, I met Elder BJ Powell (going to the Philippines) and Elder Blake Dastrup (Finland Mission), but had a hard time communicating with either of them, as I can only speak Hungarian.    Luckily, I know they'll both be here for quite a while, as they just arrived today.  Still, it was very fun and made me happy to see them.  Lastly, we taught Gyula today.  He'll be on vacation until next Thursday, so we'll only meet with him once more before his baptism on the 27th, and then we leave on the 29th.  Our work with him is almost done.  The rest relies on him, the ward members, and the Lord, so I know he'll be in good hands.

Thursday, 18 August

First full day of Consecration Week: complete!  Today I found Elder Powell and Elder Dastrup again.  Once consecration week is over I'll be able to actually talk to them.  We taught Lilla today on Temple Marriage and Eternal Families because we were able to have a member, Bogi, come.  Being married, and having had many experiences, Bogi was a great help during the lesson, and was able to relate a lot of good thoughts and stories....Swett Elder and I don't quite have any marriage experiences yet, or tales of being heads of our own families, so we stuck to the doctrine.  During TRC we taught Daybell Testver about the importance of going to church.  Lastly, something I forgot to write yesterday; during consecration week, I have given up English, Milk, and we're all wearing ties from "The Ugly Tie Rack".

Friday, 19 August

I was tired today.  Enough so that I nearly fell asleep in the middle of a lesson.  This morning I had the idea for us to use "District Study" to all write letters to Harvey Elder; which we did.  Hopefully he's doing well and enjoys them.  We taught Lilla about Moroni 6 and the baptismal questions today.

Saturday, 20 August

Halfway done with Consecration Week.  Today we taught 2 lessons: one to Lilla about the importance of church, prayer, and scripture reading, and one to Hajnalka, Zoltan and Aron on our purpose here on Earth.  Both were improvements from yesterday. 

Sunday, 21 August

Finally, a day with plenty of personal study time to read a decent block of the scriptures. =)  Only one Sunday left here.  We had the long-awaited departure lesson today.  The reality of everything is finally starting to sink in.  I had a great time during the temple walk, and finished the day with a Fireside by Stephen B Allen.  Like always, his talk was great.  He choose to change his talk to focusing on Obedience and the Holy Ghost.  (I say "change" because he was very guided by the Spirit.  He was supposed to speak in 2-3 weeks, and had planned on teaching about something else, but a couple days ago, he felt prompted to ask President Brown if he could speak this week, and this afternoon, within hours of the Fireside, he felt prompted to change subjects).  He obeyed both these promptings, and it resulted in a very enjoyable, very relatable, and very powerful talk.  He finished by having all missionaries memorize the end of 2 Nephi 33:15, in which, Nephi writes his very last words on the plates: "I will obey. Amen."  A very good motto for everyone.

Monday, 22 August

We didn't teach any lessons today.  Gyula's still out of town, and Lilla was short on time, so the five of us spent nearly an hour practicing teaching each other.  We woke up at 5:30 today so that we could be sure to sign up for haircuts, and even then, there were only 6 spots left (and we took 4 of them).  The MTC is just way too crowded.  (Although, I guess that's a good thing, as it means there are lots of missionaries).  This morning we did our last service assignment.  Only a day and a half left of Consecration week!  That's all for today =)

Tuesday, 23 August

Today's been an interesting day.  We taught Lilla this morning about Charity and Service.  It is strange to teach someone about 2 of the things you feel weakest about yourself, although, at the same time, it makes everything seem to relate to yourself as well, and can provide another source of motivation and desire to teach.  We also had a Devotional tonight by Claudio D Zivic of the Seventy.  He was quite possible the most powerful speaker we have had yet.  He spoke of ways to view life and our missions, and things to do to help or to do when we see either a certain way.  Just a sliver of his talk that I would like to quote (although, now I think of two) is, "It takes 3 things to make a Man:  Know where you are; Know where you want to go; Make every effort to get there".  The 2nd was a quote from Ghandi, "Total Dedicational is Complete Victory".

I hope everyone enjoyed this week's post.  My next one will be from Hungary.

I love you all!

Szeretettel,

Shipp Elder