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