The MTC is still great! Drum roll please................. I GOT MY TRAVEL PLANS! They´re trying out a new strategy for Argentine missionaries. They´re sending them to Argentina with a travel visa, which has to be renewed every 90 days by going out of the country for a day. I guess we´ll be doing that until we get a permanent visa. I also heard a rumor that we would have to proselyte outside of the country, like in Uruguay, but I don´t know about that. We´ll see what happens. But everyone in my district has flight plans to Argentina (or Ecuador)!
So on Wednesday, we had to go to BYU to get our fingerprints redone because they were extending our FBI clearances. Afterward, the MTC forgot to send us a shuttle, and the campus police only had enough room for the Hermanas to make it back. So us Elders waited in front of the police station for the shuttle after calling the MTC several times. A shuttle never came. We weren´t allowed to walk home so we just waited in front of the police station for an hour and a half. All the while, tourists kept walking past, and speaking Spanish to us, talking about how excited they were that we were Spanish-speaking missionaries. One man came up to us and asked if we had a Book of Mormon with us. My heart sank and I thought. "You've got to be kidding me. The only person at BYU who hasn't read the Book of Mormon gathers enough courage to ask the missionaries for one, and we don't even have one?" But it turns out that he was already a member, and he was looking for one to give to one of his friends. I took down his address and told him that I would send him one in the mail. They're only like $2 in the MTC, but it took 9 whole stamps to send as a package. That's like a $7 Book of Mormon, and in MTC currency that's an 8-day allowance. Haha, I'm not angry at all though. I love that Book way too much to hoard all to myself. If there's any chance that it will change someone's life, of course I'm going to do everything I can to get a copy to someone who wants it.
On Monday, the Elders in my district got to host Senior missionaries that were coming into the MTC. There weren't very many, so I only got to see one couple and two single sisters. Most of them stay at the Marriott, or with family, but the MTC has one floor of rooms for others who want to stay on campus. Those rooms are crazy nice compared to our dorms. One sister, who I think was Filipino, was so excited about the rooms, and kept saying "it's just like Las Vegas!" Haha, she made me smile. We get to host the younger missionaries this Wednesday, so I'll let you know how that goes next week.
I keep seeing people from school. Each Wednesday, I see someone new, and the other Elders in my zone ask "Lone Peak?" You know it! At a devotional, I went to say hi to Elder Jake Butters, and more and more LP kids started to show up. There were about nine of us, and we decided to take a picture. It was awesome! I feel like one of the sons of Mosiah when they describe the joy they felt when "they saw that their bretheren were still bretheren in the Lord." I've also seen Ali Ball working in the cafeteria and Baylee Robinson working in the bookstore as well. It's like high school except we're all grown up. Aww, when you say it like that it sounds sentimental. :P
Teaching "progressing investigators" is so much fun. Watching them learn and grow, and become humbled and accept gospel truths is incredible. Even though they're just projections of real people, role played by our teachers, we all talk about them as if they're real. I always think of my teachers as their real identity, and their investigator double. David finally agreed to baptism after we took him to a "baptismal service" (one of the scenes from the District). I was so excited, but Hermano Salisbury chastised us for not showing enough excitement. He told us to not be afraid to jump up and congratulate them, helping them realize how great the thing is that they are about to do. We started teaching Carla and Juan. Both are extremely receptive to the Gospel, and both have agreed to start reading the Book of Mormon. Carla lives with her boyfriend and has a son, so "La Ley de Castidad" is going to be a fun one. But we're really learning how to teach by the Spirit. It's strange going into a lesson, and having only a small idea what to teach, but it's amazing when the Spirit just puts things into your mind. Even in broken Spanish, I've had some incredible experiences "teaching people, not lessons."
Hermana Hext in my district rolled her ankle while playing soccer, and broke it. She asked Elder Witter and I for a blessing, and we agreed. I sealed the anointment, and was incredibly nervous. I prayed so hard beforehand that I would be able to say what the Lord wanted her to hear. It was an amazing experience and she was so grateful, and the next day she told us that it turns out that re-breaking her ankle was helping her heal an earlier injury that she had. I don't know any of the specifics of her injury, and I don't know how this would make it better, but I do have a greater testimony of the power of the Priesthood. Hermano Salisbury has been talking about doing things as a representative of Jesus Christ. He told us that we can promise any good blessing to someone, and if it is inspired by the Spirit, it will happen. I was nervous about this at first, but I realized that God is just waiting to bless His children. If I feel good about promising something as a blessing to someone for living the Gospel, then I should simply have faith and confidence that God loves this person and is desirous to bless their lives for their faithfulness. I know that the doctrine that God is our loving and kind Heavenly Father is true and beautiful. He's not a strict judge, but an infinitely loving father. With our merciful Savior, and the righteous Holy Ghost, the entire Godhead is unified in the cause of our success and happiness. I know that all of heaven is working for the immortality and Eternal Life of mankind. I know that this is true in the holy and sacred name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
I love you all. Talk to you soon! :)
-Élder Goff
Some pictures from the temple. Do you see that tree? Ridiculous. And yeah, that's me in my secret agent suit. Now I just need some sunglasses. Also, that tree is knocked over from the wind. Insane.
"The drink of many colors" and a bunch of pictures of us goofing off.
That's all for this week. Love you all!
Also random story: There was another protester out by the stoplight when we got back from the temple. He was going off about how Joseph Smith was an awful person. Two officers were on the stop just to make sure that nothing would happen. One whispered to us "Get used to it, guys." We laughed and I told the protester "Have a great day, brother." There's only so much you can do when people like that are no where near the right atmosphere for teaching. It's terribly sad, but I figure that the best possible thing to do is wish them happiness, and wait for the right moment.
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