Sain baitsgaana uu?
It's been another great week! Since the stake center has been open, we've been able to teach and meet with so many people because it's so much easier for people to meet there. It's been such a blessing to have that building open up. Sadly, last Sunday we weren't able to go to sacrament with our ward in the new building though because I got really sick but many of our friends told us afterwards how much they enjoyed sacrament and how they felt the Spirit even more that Sunday. Recently, so many people have been reaching out to us about their interest in the Church and it has felt like such a blessing. It's as if the Spirit is telling us who to help through the people themselves. My testimony of the joy of the gospel has grown so much this transfer just because I have seen the joy our friends and investigators have felt as they have progressed and grown their own testimonies.
The Gift of Tongues has continued to bless me so much as well. As the weeks progress, the language is finally clicking to the point where I feel comfortable. Before, I understood things when I really tried hard to focus and when I absolutely needed to understand but now the understanding just comes for the most part. I feel comfortable making phone calls and jumping into lessons. While I still ask my companion to clarify if I understood right, I feel better about knowing what's going on and it makes the work so much more enjoyable and fun! It's definitely still hard and I still have days where I simply can't understand or speak, but I feel like I've finally hit the tipping point where the language just clicks and now I can just focus on getting better at it without worrying about not being good enough. Unless someone starts asking me questions about something random like our apartment water pressure levels or something (which did happen haha).
English has downsized a lot because school is out and everyone is traveling to the countryside. But the students who have stayed are super awesome and we've been having fun teaching. The most humbling thing is having your students correct your spelling. After the mission, my spelling in English will have improved so much haha. Also, many of our investigators have started coming to English, so it's really fun to be able to teach them both about the Church and about English. Its cool to see our church lives and English lives connect in that way because it makes my English teaching work still feel like missionary work. I am thankful for this work and for all the service we get to do.
Other fun stuff that happened this week:
- We went to a member meal and their youngest son was literally insane. While we were eating, he ran out of his room with a giant shotgun looking nerf gun and started shooting in every direction while laughing like an evil maniac
- My companion and I made huushuur (Mongolian hot pocket things) and almost set off the fire alarm because of the smoke
- We've been out of hot water for a few days....
- For some reason, Mongolia decided it wanted to be hot so today its 90 degrees - it feels like a literal desert
- One of our ghosting investigators reached out to us and told us she was too busy to come to sacrament but wanted us to go to a museum with her that same day haha
- I have to learn how to play the organ now because the new stake center has a giant organ and naturally, everyone wants to hear the organ but no one knows how to play the piano
- One guy called us about English class and then kept asking us questions about why the teachers all walk in pairs of two. Then he asked if we were going to trap him in church lessons at English class...yah we?
This week, I was studying a lot about the importance of the Book of Mormon. I came across these amazing scriptures in Jacob 4:
3 Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents.
4 For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us.
These verses really helped me to appreciate the work and effort that went into creating the Book of Mormon. So many prophets faced persecution and hardships for so long, yet they continued to dedicate all their time and efforts to engraving the plates for us, so that we could learn more about Christ. I know that the prophets of old and the prophets today testify of Christ and that they were and continue to be called by God to lead His church. I know that they receive true revelation for us from God. I also know that through studying the Book of Mormon, we can come closer to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and feel their love. I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon and for the impact it has had on my life. It have given me so much direction on how to improve and how to feel my Heavenly Father's love. I invite you all to study the Book of Mormon this week. If you haven't read it in a while, start at the beginning. Try to studying how the stories in the Book of Mormon apply to your life specifically. I promise that doing so will help you see what Heavenly Father wants you to know at this time. I love you all so much and hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Potter
