Friday, December 6, 2013

Not Much Time Left in the MTC

Hey everyone!! Hope you are all recovered from Thanksgiving comas. :) It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving was only LAST week.. It feels like eternity since then. Elder Nelson spoke to us on Thanksgiving morning, and we were supposed to have Elder Ballard, but weather prevented him from coming, so instead we had Emeritus General Authority Bruce C. Hafen. Both were amazing speakers, and I learned a lot from them! 

Anyway, things are going incredibly well! As part of our teaching training, we have something called a TRC investigator [editor's note: TRC stands for Training Resource Center - so Conrad thinks.] Ours is named Junichi Maeda, and it has been incredible to teach him. Hard, yes, because he likes to talk, but I've learned a lot from him! Our last lesson with him on Wednesday was about family, and the importance of the temple. I was able to share my witness that families CAN be together forever, and he wanted to know about what happens with little children that die, or family members that die before being sealed in the temple. I was able to share part of what my family did in recent weeks, and Junichi finally actually started opening up to us (I think I'm basically his favorite, because I'm apparently similar looking to his youngest son). ((See pictures for Junichi Maeda)) He's actually in our mission, and he said that if I ever come to his place, he wants me to cook something for him.. Suggestions?

Elder Hamilton and Junichi
 
Anyway, after that lesson with Junichi on Wednesday, we were walking out of the building to go to dinner, when two other TRC investigators stopped us in the hall, and started talking to us. They wanted us to meet with them, because they heard us singing to Junichi. So, we set up an appointment for last night, and went and talked with them. They talked about their personal struggles, (this is where I like being in a trio, because there's a lot more personal experiences to pull from) and we talked with them. We discussed repentance, the Atonement, and lots of other things. As we talked, one thing that really struck me was the power that was radiating from the three of us. I didn't realize what it was till one of the two people we were talking to stopped us and told us that we were speaking with power that she'd never seen before. At that point, I started really focusing on it, and I felt it. I thought about it for some time last night, and came to the conclusion thta it was because we KNEW, without any doubt at all, that what we were talking about was true, that what we were talking about could apply the purifying and healing power of the Atonement to these two people. At that moment, I felt like.. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I was able to focus on what was happening with a clarity I don't I've ever had before. It was such an amazing experience, and one I never want to forget.

[Most of] Our district has been getting ready for departure next week (all but two are leaving for the Provo mission on Tuesday, and the other two sisters are staying one more week for visitor center training before they leave on the 16th for the LA Visitor Center). It's kinda scary, thinking that ALREADY we're about to go out to our various areas. I'll miss everyone in my district here. 

Me and My District!


Well, today, as part of our remaining P-Day time, to celebrate surviving our MTC experience, we're gonna have a snowball fight. This is where I'm SO glad I have very nice gloves. :D Pictures from it next week, along with a picture of me running up the wall. Pretty sweet stuff. :)
Mt. Timpanogos from my MTC window


I hope everyone (haha) stays warm there in Texas, or wherever you are at this point!


Much love,
Elder Conrad Hamilton :)

P.S. Here are some more pictures...

Elder Hamilton, Elder Hovey and Elder Reynolds
All headed to the Utah Provo Mission

Just a little bit of snow...

Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving Dinner!

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