Week 2

Hola Everyone.

This week was another hard working week in the MTC, but it was awesome. The language is so dang tough and I feel like I should be fluent already, but I know that’s not possible, so I’m getting more patient as the days go on. I feel like I haven’t improved a lot on the language since I’ve got here, but the investigator we teach every day tells me I’ve improved a lot. But I still think I should be doing better than I am. The food here is still pretty good, but it’s not any home cooked meals from mom.

Something that just really blows me away is how immature some missionaries are and how they’re really not looking to come closer to Christ. Like this week, there was a huge rainstorm during the night and the draining systems here aren’t very good. The water backed up the drains and got about a foot and a half deep in some spots. Some of the missionaries went out into the water and were like swimming in it in just their garments – and it was around 10:00 at night. So I’ve just been really surprised by that and the bad attitudes some of the missionaries have. There’s just so many people here that are negative towards everything. But I really hope that changes for them.

I just want to share a very humbling experience I had this week. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon and there were some missionaries in our class teaching the investigator who is actually our teacher, Hermana Rodriguez. We were supposed to be studying and we kind of got distracted. Me and Elder Braza started to play a game of who could turn the lights off by throwing a whiteboard eraser first.

I wasn’t trying to be disobedient at all and I didn’t really realize what I was doing, but our teacher saw and she pulled us out of the room. She made us study the Obedience section in Preach My Gospel and that really hit me hard. Even though I was trying to be obedient every day and do what I am supposed to, I wasn’t having exact obedience. There’s many things I’m doing to try and become a better missionary because I have many faults in my life, but I truly want to become the best missionary I can possibly be and I know I need to be exactly obedient to accomplish that. After our teacher talked to us, I apologized to the class and I told them it wouldn’t happen again. But, I am very glad Heavenly Father allowed that experience to open my eyes and my heart even more.

Just one more quick experience I had. So I was reading the Book of Mormon and I was reading in Mosiah chapter 28 and verse 3 just pierced me in the heart. I was very touched by the spirit. This is talking about the sons of Mosiah preaching to the Lamanites and it says, “Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.”

That verse hit me so hard and I know that it’s our responsibility as members of the church and missionaries to make sure as many people as possible get to hear the message of the restored gospel. I’m so grateful for this opportunity. And I want to challenge all of you who read this every chance you get to share the gospel and your testimony to someone, anyone. You never know the impact it can have on their lives. I love you all so much. Have an amazing week.

Elder Blake

Heading to the Temple