Elder Wesley Holt: Week 4: MTC Week Four!‏

你好 !!

So I finally felt like I'm getting somewhere with this whole Chinese thing this week! It started at the beginning of the week, when (after a misunderstanding) we ended up having to teach an "investigator" in Chinese with nothing prepared. Before walking into the lesson, I thought of 1 Nephi 4:6 - "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." Feeling pretty nervous and inadequate, my companions and I prayed for the Spirit to guide us in what we should do - and this turned out to be like the best lesson we had ever given. My Chinese was not as choppy as usual, I knew what to say, and, for the first time, I felt like I was able to communicate what I wanted to say in Chinese. I realized at that point that I need to rely more on the Spirit rather than my own abilities when teaching. I still have sooo much to learn, and most of the time, Chinese feels like a giant barrier that prevents me from sharing the gospel and helping my "investigators" with their needs. But one thing I left off of last week's gratitude email was the gift of tongues. I have felt the Lord's help especially this week with learning the language. And I've realized language learning doesn't have to be torture! We have so much fun learning. We play Chinese pictionary, "quick recall" time games with Chinese words, and Elder Leon and I have competitions on who can memorize the fastest in Chinese (Missionary Purpose, First Vision, different scriptures, etc.). Overall, I'm just grateful for this opportunity to learn Chinese and use it to bring about the Lord's work.

I also came to the realization this week that I have like the best MTC teachers! (but I'm sure a lot of people think that exact same thing, haha). The MTC is definitely difficult, and I know that the mission field will probably be like 100 times more difficult, but the teachers here make everything manageable, are always encouraging, and have so much to offer. Wu Laoshi, our first "investigator" who turned out to be our teacher, and I had an interview the other day. While he likes to joke and mess around with me during class a lot, at that time he shared some valuable, uplifting encouragement and insight that I needed to hear at that time. He also was like me, in that he was called to Mandarin Mission in Canada (Vancouver), and didn't know a lick of Chinese before he came to the MTC. Now he speaks really well (at least I think he does, I guess I wouldn't know!). But that gives me hope that the language will come eventually. My other two teachers are sisters, and they are awesome as well. One of them, Sun Laoshi, is actually from China who served an English speaking mission, and she is hilarious. We all enjoy when she is here because we feel like she is one of us. And then there is Tan Laoshi, who is such a great teacher. The other day, she gave an eye-opening lesson that made me realize that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can answer any question and can help anyone overcome any problem, even if it something like, "why does God allow some infants to die so early?" or "how can I help someone stop drinking." She has helped me understand how the gospel can actually people in their lives. One of my main concerns is that I will be teaching an investigator that who has problems I cannot relate to, and questions i can't answer. but what I am coming to realize is that, as long as you have the Spirit with you when you teach, you will know more of what to say, and the Spirit can testify to them the truthfulness of the message and the unconditional love God has for them.

I also had the opportunity on Wednesday to be a "Host Elder" for incoming missionaries entering the MTC. It was so much fun, It reminded me of the day I entered the MTC, and the bitter sweet feeling of saying goodbye to family and friends to go out and serve.

As Christmas approaches, many of our devotionals have been about Christ and the Christmas season. On Tuesday, David F. Evans of the 70 gave a very touching and inspiring devotional based around the LDS video clip called "Share the Gift." I am so grateful for our first Christmas gift, our Savior, Jesus Christ. (John 3:16) And I am so excited to "share the gift" with others who need it over the next two years.

My favorite scripture this week - D&C 90:24

It has given me strength to know that, no matter what hardship I encounter over the next 2 years, "all things shall work together for your good."

Elder Holt