catch-up, MTC, March 10, 2012

March 10, 2012: 1:20 am

We’ve survived a week at the MTC. It’s been long, full, wonderful days. I’m grateful for this experience. I’ve learned a lot and had a refresher course on what I already knew.

We went and “found” the Utah Regional Medical Center and Elder Scott had his protime taken. I hope that has settled down. My patience wears a little thin when I think I’m right and he is trying to take us a different direction, but I was driving, so that helped a little. We’ll have to work on that. We didn’t do out and out battle, but it came close a couple of times.

We saw “the porter from Kenya” yesterday on the way out of the hotel. We shook hands and I asked him if he had “committed” yet (that is to be baptized). He said, “I’m thinking on it. I’m thinking on it.” That’s the way we have started our conversations every day. I told him he has to stop thinking on it and just call them (the missionaries who are working with him) and tell them he is ready right now. He just laughed and said maybe he would. He’s been such a good sport, letting me try some of the things we are learning out on him. I’m sure he knows that that’s kind of what’s happening here. And yet, I wonder if he knows that I would love to watch that happen to him. I think he does because I told him that he “has to” tell me if he commits before we leave here. I’m sure his family and others that are concerned for him would love to see that happen also. I guess the matter of when he is ready is between him and Heavenly Father and Jesus.  We didn’t see him last night; maybe he’s off for the weekend. 

Some of our district people (they assigned us to districts when we first got here) are leaving on Monday for their assigned areas. Elder and Sister Paddock are leaving for the Phillipines. He was our district leader. The 18 couples who are going to Nauvoo don’t leave until Wednesday. Some of them have gone home or other places for the weekend. We didn’t have 18 couples in our district, just 8 and they aren’t all going to Nauvoo. Some of the districts only had 3 or 4 couples per district. They said there are 94 senior missionaries in our whole group this past week. We decided to just stay put, go to the temple, get our washing done, get on the internet, call some more of our family, and maybe relax a little. Of course, we’ll go to church tomorrow. We’re not sure where yet. I think they have meetings at the MTC. We need to find out about that.

Joe and Nancy are probably moving in today. I pray that goes good.   

Better get back to bed and get some sleep, it’s 2:55 am.

March 10, 2012: 7:25 am

Good morning world! Elder Scott and I have been done to exercise and to spread our new found wings, so to speak. There was a lady on the treadmill when we got there, so we got on the bikes. Then we started talking to her. She is from Lancing, Michigan, married, has one son (she told us where he lives, but I can’t remember), & is a member of another church. At that point Elder Scott was telling her about our mission call and I had gone blank (imagine that). I said a silent prayer, something like, Heavenly Father, I am thankful for what we have learned at the MTC but I have reverted back into “it’s none of my business mode here”. Are we supposed to introduce The Church to this lady? (I was feeling very weak). I need your help here, as always. Please bless me that I can open my mouth and say the right thing. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen. At that very moment, like I said, Elder Scott was telling her about our mission in Nauvoo. You could tell Nauvoo meant nothing to her, so I told her that that is where Joseph Smith restored the Church of Jesus Christ to the earth. Oh, she said, your roots. We said yes, kind of. Then we talked about the Visitor Center and the temple. I pointed to the temple on my bag. I asked her if she was married and she said yes. Elder Scott said something about us being sealed in the temple. And she said yes, it’s for time and then there is nothing. I told her we are sealed in the temple for eternity. She was getting ready to leave and I was going to walk on the treadmill, so I got up, went toward her and said, you love your husband very much, don’t you? And she said, yes. I said wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could be sealed to him and have your family forever. She said, yes.

She left. I wish I would have asked her if she would look up the church in her area and find out more about it. I pray that someone will follow up with her. She seemed like such a nice lady.

Got to go eat breakfast.