Learning from my mistakes...

SO my week this week was AMAZING!!! This was the week of the WHOLE lesson in Spanish!! Scary? Si mucho... I was so nervous because I wasn't sure if I had done my best to prepare but the spirit soon testified that I had 'sufficient for my needs' and brought back the ENTIRE lesson to my mind. Unfortunately, Elder Grajeda hasn't used his time too well, especially language study time so he hasn't been able to learn as much Spanish, but his scriptures were great! We taught a lady that is from Mexico. It was amazing. I was able to expound on the points and we gave her a pretty good lesson! I have to say that I have already made some really fun mistakes. For instance, point, in Spanish is punto... but if you end it with a female -a, it's a really really bad word... I said that about 8 times while teaching my teacher... What a wonder...

Luckily today has been exactly what I've needed. I started to get really down yesterday because you know me. One thing goes wrong and I'm stressed and my companion was just being sad all day and I didn't know what to do. Until I found Mormon 8:22... It was really cool to read that and compare it to the stone cut out of the mountain in Daniel and to missionaries... The work LITERALLY rolls on... On bicycles! I was just shocked that sharing that with my class and bearing sincere testimony made the change I needed to carry on with my day in righteousness... I love the MTC... I sometimes wish I could have some Dr. Pepper (hint hint ;)) but other than that I have no complaints!

Thank you all for your support and love...

I had some really cool experiences. I was assigned to be district leader and have already had some really neat inspirational thoughts going through my mind. The gift of tongues arrived this week. Who knew you had to work to receive it?! I sure didn't! I tried my best to be my best all week and I learned SO much Spanish but as Alma says, As to myself, I am nothing, but I will boast in my God for through Him I can accomplish all!

Con Amor,

Elder Walker

Trust in the arm of the Lord...

This week was a great one... SO fast... Holy COW!!! It flew by.. But I learned so much! The spirit really humbled me EVERY SINGLE day.... It was rough, yet it was needed that's for sure. I'm sorry to say that I started to get really prideful about my Spanish because I was starting to really get things... Or so I thought I ME MY ME was starting to get things... Little did I realize at the time that it was really the spirit that was testifying straight to my spirit what I needed to know when I needed to know it! I was slacking off on my contacts (we go and bear testimony to other missionaries in the MTC and see if we can get into a time to teach them like an investigator) and I was not doing the things I needed to because I thought I was IT.... Ready for the field. Then we taught my teacher and I BOMBED because I was trusting in the arm of the flesh and not the arm of my Savior Jesus Christ.

So when I realized this, I decided to go on an English on Monday. I went the entire day without speaking English. Now I did speak 3 words of English, but I still felt good. I learned so much that day because I was showing the Lord that I was turning my missionary work over to him. Little did I know that my class liked the idea and decided to have a class English fast on Tuesday, so I actually got to try 2 days without English! It was so hard the second day, but I have no complaints... I've learned here that I LOVE the hard things... Every time the teacher asks who wants to teach, even though I know by myself I'm inadequate (dad correct that word por favor :D) with the Lord I am far above par. I love failing. I know that sounds so twisted but when I fail I learn and grow more than when I succeed. I've learned that it is only through failures that I triumph and that's the best attitude I've had in a long time!

We had an AMAZING devotional on Tuesday! It was so great! It was Elder Evans of the 70 and he really let us have it about missionary work. He was very up front and inspired me SO much! He was my favorite speaker so far because I have stepped it up since then 10 fold! I've learned to turn even my personal study time to the Lord and have focused that on my progressive investigators instead of my personal learning and I've learned so much more when I'm not focusing ANY of my time on me... Only my bed time... haha and it turns out, when you're totally in the service of the Lord, your body gets SO tired.... It's lights out when I hit the pillow.... Oh wow I wish you all could be here and learn with me! I told Joe, I wish I could have him as my companion but I hope my companions are like my brothers-in-law and my dad as well. If you all didn't know, it was dads birthday this past week! I hope you all called him because I was pining to sing off key to him!!!!!

Also this week I had a great experience at the temple. I was able to have this big tall Rawson guy conduct? ( I dunno what better way there is to describe the leader of the endowment session) But he was there and it was really cool to renew those covenants with him. I hope that's alright to say... He's one of my hero's and right when we entered the room, the girls in my district were excited because they KNEW he was going to be amazing and he was! He brings such a spirit to those meetings. I've yet to see Aunt Kathy... I went and looked for her, but was unable to find her! I hope someday before I leave I'm able to see her!

I hope you all are doing alright. I love each of you so much and I'm SO happy that you all have enough time to write! I LOVE hearing from you all and that's what makes my days perfect! The spirit of families is forever and hearing from you makes it perfect!

I NEED PICTURES OF MY FAMILY!!!! If you all could send me a great picture of your whole family and then the newer ones of my nieces and nephews that'd be great... If you'd like to send me a few of yourselves I would enjoy that as well... Headshots are acceptable :) I just want to see you all! And yes, mom and dad, that means you guys too!!!! Is Beth having a baby yet? Or Amy? Mom?

Well, I've got five minutes, so I just wanted to bear my testimony really quick in espanol! If grandpa can, I would love for him to read this and corrections are wanted but I can't write in Spanish on this computer...sorry!

Yo se que Dios es nuestro Padre Celestial y por que El es, nos envio su Hijo Amado, Jesucristo en la tierra a sufrir por los pecados del mundo. Yo se que Jesucristo es me Salvador y mi Hermano mejor. Yo se que este Inglesia, la inglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los Ultimos Dias es la inglesia de Dios. Yo se que el Libro de Mormon es verdadero y Josef Smith es un profeta del Restauracion. Yo se que Thomas Ese Monson es un profeta a hora por los pueblos de la tierra y recibirle revelacion de Dios todos los dias. Yo se que mi mision es por un razon. Y un gran razon. Yo se soy en la correcto mision.

Amen!

Love you all with all my heart and I miss you mucho!!!!!!!!!

Con Amor,

Elder Walker

It's a humbling experience....

So, this week has been one full of physical trials and spiritual lifts. First, they thought that I broke my finger on Tuesday after it swole up. Apparently I DO know what a jammed finger feels like... The dumb part was I put my ring back on after I had jammed it so, my companion and I got to take a trip to Babylon and visit the ER... Cool... haha so after a bout 20 minutes of a battery powered chainsaw, a quick birdie to the X-Ray camera and a splint, I was on my way! Right as we walked into the room, a lady asked if we could give a young man a blessing, but he had already had one. It made me happy that I had been worthy enough to be able to say yes if he needed it. I was also thankful for dad's training before I left on how to give a blessing. Apparently it's great to have around sister missionaries ;)

Well, there was a time at the beginning of this week where I really questioned what some elders were doing here. A moment happened to my companion and I that made me very upset. He didn't want to go to the President, but I knew it was something that needed to be told to him. The spirit was right. He needed to be told. It was hard because I'm all about people liking me, and I hate tattling on others, but this needed to be done. I remembered what had been said about STRICT obedience and turned to the President who was very impressed that we came to him. The spirit knows.

Later on during the week we had some trials as a companionship. We fight sometimes not too angry just arguments and I've learned to back off and let him win. Only problem is he gets a big head about it and the spirit leaves extra quickly from us and we can no longer teach with the spirit. It's really hard to teach a lesson when your companion and you don't have the spirit and I have learned that a lot this week. I had a really cool experience though. We got to go to the TRC (training resource center) and teach another elder the 1st lesson and greet some people in Spanish. I was able to greet and ask to come another time to 3 people! It was an amazing experience. So far, I have greeted about 30 or so people in Spanish and born my testimony to all of them. It's the hardest thing, when by myself, but when directed by the spirit, it just comes! LIKE BUTTAH!

My companion and I had the chance to teach our maestro (Hermano Patterson) in Spanish. Can you say fail? The biggest problem was, last night I got really sick. I was coughing so bad I was throwing up and could taste blood. My eyes were blood shot and my legs were really weak. It got to the point where my esophagus was so inflamed, I couldn't even swallow a pill. This was all happening DURING our lesson. I didn't know what to say because I asked to have this be a real experience and knew I couldn't just leave, so I bore my testimony of Jesus Christ the best I could and asked if we could come again to teach more. Luckily, he said yes. I ran to the bathroom and just coughed, sobbing, over the toilet. It was horrible! I felt like I had done nothing. I knew I was sick but refused to go anywhere outside the MTC to be treated. I knew only one power could help me. The priesthood. I received a blessing and miraculously I was healed. Today I feel much better and ready to go teach! I won't leave this place. I can't until it's my time. I refuse to waste the Lords time and He in turn refuses to let me. I love it here!

This week was another great week with some troubles in the midst of it! I've learned that that's just how it goes! I learned that HSI (Habla Sus Idioma) is one of the greatest tools ever... What it is, is you speak your language as much as you can, then ask permission to do it in English if you can't think of the words, then write what you couldn't think of and do it! It's helped me progress SO much en Espanol! Get Grandpa ready, because here I come! Pretty sure that's been a useful tool I just realized I could use, this week.

My companion is having some struggles, he might have torn some muscles in his hip, but he won't have to go home, that's for sure! He got to call his parents, and that was really nice for him! It made me miss you guys very very much! It's weird, I was writing words en this email, and I'm already forgetting some things! It's hard to pray in English now, but that is just a side note! It is also hard to use apostrophes and things like that, because we don't do that en Espanol!

I think those cookies are the best batch you have ever made, Mom! They were SOOOOOOOO ridiculously amazing... Holy cow... My zone pretty much wants to marry someone from my family and since one old guy already hit on one of my nieces, I told them they'll have to wait a few years :D.

This week was very fun. I learned a lot of Spanish and have got my contacting, door approach, testimony and prayer down pretty well. The lessons are coming very easily (from the spirit that is) en English, but en Espanol, it's still really a hard thing to do. It is just hard some times to be able to translate in my head the 50 different kinds of conjugations and things like that, but the spirit is working wonders!

This week my friend, Elder Preece and I put an arrangement of hymns together. I thought it was pretty beautiful. It was a combination of Oh My Father, I Need Thee Every Hour, I Know That My Redeemer Lives and one other I can't remember. We're recording it this week and I'll send it to you. We tried out for an opportunity to perform in a devotional and.... They didn't like it... haha we were so confused! We changed tempos and they said it was not appropriate to add dynamics and things like that... So... Well.... I guess that's not happening :D They want us to come back with something else but, after all that work and excitement, we don't know if we want to go through that rejection again, ya know? It was a tough thing to get over yesterday, but through prayer and some great Maestros, I was able to quickly move on to learn more Spanish!

I've been humbled at LEAST 40 times so far...? I think it's about that by now... The most recent one was by my teacher and the spirit. I haven't done a lot of service and so I haven't been as happy as I was at the beginning of this experience and my teacher TOTALLY called me on it during our interview. I've been trying since yesterday to do ALL I can to serve and... It's been awesome! Nothing can bring me down, for my work is much too important!

I love my mission. I have such a strong testimony of mission work. I LOVE MY MISSION!!!! AH! I watched a talk from Jeffrey R. Holland and he went ballistic over missionaries that don't appreciate every second. I feel the EXACT same way!!!! I love this opportunity and I have wasted minutes of the Lords time, pero I have repented and have vowed not to waste another!

I can honestly say, I have been strictly obedient. I have received great blessings from this obedience. It's been SOOOOO hard, but it's been amazing to get the blessings from this amazing tool of obedience.

Con Amor,
Elder J Henson Walker