If I am being honest, it
feels like I was writing an email to you guys yesterday. The weeks here at the
MTC fly by. I hope that you all feel the same way. I have loved to hear from
you all this week. When I get a letter in the mail from you, it is accompanied
by a plethora of emotions. They make me pretty sad but at the same time it
brings me so much joy to hear about how well things are going at home. I sure
miss you guys and I think about you every day.
To jump right into the
week, I have a lot to talk about so this email might be a little long. I won't
be offended if you don't read the whole thing. I'll give a little run through
of what goes on in a day here and then talk about things that have happened. We
wake up at 6:30 and get ready for the day. We usually head to the gym to run
around and blow off some steam. Side note: Elder Zackrison and I have been
running a little bit together and we have really been focusing on avoiding the
desserts and even the chocolate milk. It is incredible easy to gain weight
here. One of the Elders has already gained 10 pounds! After exercise, we
usually hit up breakfast and then head to our first class time. Classes are
usually a few hours long and we just dive into teaching skills and gospel
doctrines. It is super exciting. I really do feel like I am becoming a better
teacher.
Speaking of teaching,
Elder Zackrison and I started what is called TRC lessons last week. We
basically are assigned a couple people to teach some lessons to throughout the
week. The people range from new converts to active members and even to real
investigators. Most of them are members and are acting the part for the sake of
missionaries. We taught a girl last week name Lucia (Lu-sha) and she was
awesome. We taught her the first couple lessons and she was very receptive.
When we taught her the first lesson on the restoration, I was able to quote the
whole first vision. All those practice session in New York paid off I guess
Trevor! We taught her the other few lessons as well. It was great. I love
teaching the gospel. In our last lesson we were bringing the lesson to a close
and we were getting ready to say the closing prayer. I had a prompting to ask
her to be baptized right there. So I extended the invitation to her right
there. SHE SAID YES! Although we are pretty sure she wears garments, we got our
first baptism of the mission. It was an amazing feeling and I can't wait to do
that for real in Iowa. We got another set of investigators to start teaching
yesterday. In our first lesson with a girl named Erika, she told us that she
grew up in Iowa! It was fantastic to talk about the state with someone who grew
up there.
The rest of the day pretty
much consists of more gospel study and classroom time. It is good stuff.
Remember how last week I was super pumped to hear from Elder Holland? Yeah that
wasn't a thing that happened. Apparently it was just a rumor that spread
around. I was disappointed. Anyways, the devotional was by Sister Oscarson and
she was amazing. She gave an amazing talk.
I haven't been feeling that
great this week. There are so many Elders and Sisters here that sickness
spreads like wild fire. It hasn't been too serious, just a little bit of a
fever and some headaches. That made our several hour class times a little bit
less comfortable. But never fear, I think I'm on the tail end of it.
We got our travel itinerary
this week as well. Things got real. Our plane leaves to Minneapolis at 6 AM
next Wednesday. We have to be ready to leave the MTC at 2:30 in the morning. It
is going to be epic.
To conclude I want to share
a sweet experience. Last Sunday, we were all encouraged by Elder Bednar in the
Character of Christ devotional to start reading the Book of Mormon with a
specific topic in mind and to pray about that topic. I heeded the challenge and
decided to read with faith in mind. My Book of Mormon reading has never been so
effective. This Sunday on our temple walk, Brother Facer from our branch
presidency decided to spring me the news that I had to teach a 45 min district
meeting in one hour. I instantly freaked out. He then told me what my topic
was. You guessed it, faith. I was able to refer to my scripture reading and we
had a killer discussion comparing missionaries to Nephi. The church is true.
That’s all I really have
this week. I hope you all have a killer week this week and make sure to tell me
all about it. I love you guys and you are all in my prayers.
Elder Obray
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