Happy FREAKIN birthday by the way. I heard that a lot of decorating didn't get done just because you're so popular and had tons of people call you. Anyways I hope the day was awesome and I send some loving from the Marshall's! This week was actually really good and am starting to feel the spirit a whole lot more, I don't know it's just kind of different. With training and having to do literally everything, it's quite the new experience. It's hard to find the balance between helping my companion learn and grow and give him time to speak, and actually having lessons. When he speaks he tends to stutter a lot and then will stop and ask me how to say every second word, so people just have a hard time trying to understand what he's saying half the time, plus his pronunciation is a little off. Needless to say he is doing good though and we are having success, I just am trying to figure out when I need to take over and when I should give him his time. It's getting better. But what else this week, I've been having some really good personal studies lately and have been guided by the spirit more so in lessons. It's nice, for example on Tuesday morning in my personal study I studied about Joseph Smith and the Restoration literally not knowing why I was doing that, I had nobody who was at that point in the lessons and was supposed to be studying about dispensations and prophets. But I continued on in studying the Restoration, annotated once again and had a really good study. Writing things down and asking questions really does make a difference, and also asking yourself ways in which you can improve on teaching the concepts and also how they can apply better to investigators. Had a really good study, and really felt the spirit and I thought that was the purpose of me studying that. But we went to our first lesson, the one we were supposed to be studying about dispensations with and I felt prompted to share the whole message of the Restoration, which I normally don't do. The Investigators were really able to understand and that was one of the most powerful lessons I felt I've shared over the course of my mission. It's cool how much the spirit really does lead and direct us, if we choose to listen and obey. So that was my cool experience for the week, and just had quite a few spiritual lessons. Also I've been thinking lately about why we are put in the situations we are put into, sometimes I feel like it's to help our companions, ourselves, and even the ward, as much as it is to help our investigators, if not more so. To answer your questions, so for christmas activities, all the Elder's and Sister's are doing a combined pday today to practice for beat, which is like the marshallese dance and christmas celebration. So we'll see how that goes, as for getting invited over for christmas, nope I don't think I've really ever had a scheduled dinner appointment with members, I had one where a guy fed us shark and that's about it. You just go to people's houses and they'll feed us, that's just kind of Marshallese culture and I had some delicious rice with coconut milk and iu, which is like another part of a coconut. That was pretty good, and the language is coming very slow with the companion, he understands fairly well, but his speaking is slow, and he tends to say the same thing every time. Trying to help him change it up a bit and I know it'll come. Just kind of adds to the responsibilities, but it's all good a little extra stress always helps, makes us stronger, right? But my favourite scripture from this week, is probably 1 Nephi 7:12, just a simple verse about faith, but it really stuck out to me and I used it a lot this week to help my investigators understand the concept of faith. Anyways I think that's about all for the week, hope I answered your questions, and that it warms up a little back home! Oh and my companion probably won't have a lot of christmas stuff, just not part of the culture as much so if you want to help him out or whatever that would be nice. Thanks for the emails and the love!
Lots of lovin'
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