A Humbling Week

Hey! 

This week was so awesome. It was so humbling. There were a lot of difficult experiences, but they are teaching me so much. 

First of all I apologize for my english. My spelling, grammar, everything is becoming horrible after focussing so much on Spanish. But the good news is my spanish is getting a lot better.

Oh okay and Dad said in one of his letters that he found dirty dishes in my room. I am innocent. I just wanted to make sure I included that. haha 

And to answer some of your questions: no, I am not in the MTC choir. I was for the first week, but the chairs they sit in for choir are SOOO uncomfortable. and if you're in choir, you have to sit in them for 2 hours during devotional. And No, they are not singing in general conference this year. So I won't be on TV haha. 

So last Sunday was St. Patrick's day. And Elder Hogge and I were walking to church, then we had to go back to our room to grab something we forgot. And On our way, I see Elder Bohne, an elder from our zone. And he says "Elder Tenney, do you know what day it is?" Then I realized I wasn't wearing green. So I took off. Then Elder Hogge wasn't really sure what was going on and I accidentally stepped on his foot and we both tripped hahaha. And I cut my knee on the wall and ripped my suit pants. But the good news is I didn't get pinched. So I am trying to find some way to get my pants fixed, because they're not exactly an easy hole to sew. It was so funny though. My companions didn't think it was funny because we were late to breakfast since I had to clean up, but I thought it was awesome. 

Oh okay and before this next part, I'll explain districts and zones. A zone composes 4-6 districts and each district has 8-12 missionaries in it. Anyways, a district from our zone who are all going to Argentina got their reassignments this week, and ALL of them are going somewhere in Utah, with the exception of one in Idaho. So it looks like I will stay in Utah if I get reassigned, so that I can still be close to meet with the consolate when they come.

This week we learned a lot about the fundamentals of missionary work. We learned about simple things that I have had/done my entire life, but I have never really felt how incredibly important they are. Things like baptism, revelation through the scriptures, revelation through church attendance, and revelation through prayer. Pondering about this made me appreciate these simple things so much more. I cannot even imagine my life without having been baptized. Something I did when I was 8 years old continues to change my life every week, even every day. So take a few minutes and ponder the simple things you are blessed with. I really feel like this week I came down to the level that some of my investigators will be at, having no experience with any of this, and it has made me realize how much these things will bless their lives. 

Being in a trio is going better. We are teaching more unified and learning a lot. So that is good. 

The highlight of my week this week was definitely our lesson with Adrian. Adrian is a really tough investigator. He has investigated the church for 9 years and he just doesn't have much if any of a desire to learn and apply what we are trying to teach him. During our lessons, he seems uninterested, and he never keeps the commitments we leave with him because he doesn't feel they are important. After one lesson we had with him, I was super frustrated. I thought we had taught according to his needs and with the spirit. But he did not show any signs of interest or progression. I'll be honest, at the end of the lesson, I was just super frustrated. I felt like there was nothing more we could do to help him, and I thought "he probably just isn't prepared or not ready to receive this gospel." After the lesson my companions and I were talking about how it went, and I wasn't really focused because I was just frustrated. As I was sitting there, feeling almost bitter, I looked up, and on the wall there was a picture of Christ. So I just stared at it. After a minute or so, the words came to my mind "please do not give up on my friend." This was the most humbling moment of my time in the MTC. Christ NEVER gives up on me, he is always there reaching out, doing everything he can to help me. Even though He has so many reasons to give up on me, or stop trying he never does. And He loves every single person we teach SO much. Beyond my own comprehension. So even when it is hard, I can't give up. Because these precious souls are not mine to judge. So after that point, I really have felt so much more love for Adrian. Even when he doesn't understand things, I just try to find another way to help him. Just because this is the work of God doesn't mean it is going to happen instantaneously or easily. I was so grateful for the spirit teaching me this and humbling me.

Well I am about out of time. But I love you all so much! We had to change rooms so we spent a lot of P day moving, so I won't be able to write everyone back this week. But i will do my best to! Thank you so much for all of your prayers and letters! I love you!

Love,

Elder Heath Tenney