5th week at the MTC

Oct 11, 2013

Hey Family,

Today is officially my one month mark at the MTC! Can you believe it? I know I cannot because it feels like I just entered the MTC. There have been so many notable experiences at the MTC this week, so I will do my best to make it short and sweet. Everyone hates a novel email...I know I do! 

This week, my companion (dombanja) Sis. Rose and I taught our investigators Bro. Jung and Bro. Kwon. We decided to take a new approach and apply as much of the gospel principles to their lives. Bro. Jung was very excited to learn how the atonement and serving others can strengthen his relationship with Christ and his family. Our second lesson with Bro. Kwon is this week and we are hoping to create a lesson that will apply to his busy graduate school life. We tried asking him about what his concerns are, but for some reason he didn't open up. Men...it is okay to have some emotions and concerns. 

Another highlight of the week is that I was able to listen to a talk by Elder Bednar about recognizing the spirit. In his talk, Elder Bednar mentioned that a lot of people struggle with knowing whether or not the spirit is talking to you. I know I have struggled with this question and it has often made me question whether or not the spirit exists. Well, I have come to learn that the spirit can talk to us in many ways. It may not always be something magical like a unicorn descending from the sky surrounded by halos or the feeling that your heart might explode with more hearts, but it can be a simple thought or impression. Essentially we have to stop worrying about it. If the thought is something good, it is most likely coming from spirit...after all, do not all good things come from God? Another thing I learned from this talk is that we may not see the effects of following a prompting immediately, but that does not necessarily mean that it was not from the spirit. That is pretty much the synopsis of Elder Bednar's talk, but I may have added a few minor details like the unicorn.I really wish there was a way that you could access the MTC devotionals because they are filled with incredible messages. 

I actually had an experience with a prompting from the spirit this week. Right after teaching Bro. Jung, I had this thought that we should walk around the building before heading to class. It was a bit odd because normally Sis. Rose and I just walk straight back to class. So, I told Sis. Rose that I felt like walking around and she agreed to because she is a really good companion. As we walked around, we noticed a lady sitting on a bench outside. As soon as she saw us, she asked us the time and then started asking questions about why were at the MTC. We told her that we were missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and that we were learning to preach the gospel in Korean. It turns out that she was not a member of the church, but was sitting on the bench waiting for her husband. To make a long story short, my companion and I had the opportunity to share the gospel with this sister for 20 minutes. It was an incredible experience and we were able to clear up a lot of misconceptions that she had about the gospel and LDS culture. 

Things get a little crazy on Wednesdays and the sisters tend to pack a lot of stuff. I have never lifted so many pieces of heavy luggage in my entire life!

Well, I have to go check on laundry...but I will write you individual emails as well. Love you!

Love,

Sis. Melanie Chao