MTC week 4

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Coats for the matching goodie bags! So cute!

I'll be getting plenty of this soon in Texas!

Weekly service....spraying down the showers with a super power hose!

Just a little bit of a line for our devotional. With like 4 thousand missionaries that 
need to get packed into the gym it's going to be a looooong line.

Getting trained to be a HOST for new missionaries.  Dad, remember that missionary that picked me up from the curb? He then took me around to get my books, name tag, dropped my bags off at the living quarters, them took me to the classroom.  Well, that's what I got to do this week on Wednesday.  Although unlike my host who was a complete dork and spoke Portuguese to me the whole time I actually told my missionaries what was going on.  I was like dude? What are you doing? I am a new missionary, not even going Portuguese speaking? Do you want to leave the missionary with no idea what is going on?

We both got to host 4 different missionaries in.  By the way, we just ushered in a record setting group of missionaries.  We were told by the man in charge that 917 missionaries came into the Provo MTC on Wednesday.  Can you believe that? The previous record was like 100 less than that.  And all the subsequent weeks this summer they said will be in the 800's, or 700's.  it's just that huge rush of Utah 18 year old boys who all graduated last week that are starting to show up.

Waiting in line with one my new missionaries luggage, 
can't believe that it was me just 4 short weeks ago!

 As I'm sure you got a little sense  from the pictures, this was a crazy week. Our zone lost another district. We had known these missionaries for 4 weeks, so yeah they were pretty awesome. Only 2 Elders and 5 Sisters in their district. Pretty interesting dynamic. But then a couple days later  we got another district. This one has 6 Elders and 6 Sisters. That's a biiiig district, just as big as mine. All I can say about their district is I'm glad 2 of those hermanas aren't in my district. Attractive women are only a curse at the MTC. Fact. And unfortunately, the MTC seems to have the highest concentration of attractive women I have yet found anywhere in my life. That new announcement by President Monson is doing work.

This week Elder Powell and I got a boatload of new investigators. So you already know about Ian, Sebastiana, and Antonio. Btw, our last lesson with Antonio went so well. We ended up talking about church for half the lesson, which we weren't planning on doing, but it worked our perfectly. The Spirit was guiding. He hates his job, but he told us he needs the money- especially since he's supporting his whole family in Mexico. Last lesson we instilled in him a desire to go to church. The only problem is, it wasn't a big enough desire to skip work to go. He told us if he skipped on Sunday he would be fired. We told him about the guy in the ward who helps people find better jobs, and how God will take care of his children especially if they're making sacrifices to come unto him. He asked us if he was guaranteed to get a new better job, because he would be risking it all if he went to church. I said I don't know. I told him we could pray about it. And we did. Right there. He said the prayer. Then afterward we sat there for a minute. Then he looked up at us and said I want to go to church this Sunday. He is so psyched for those blessings, and I know he'll get them.

Anyway, our new investigators are Viviana, Amanda, and Jacqueline. This week we started teaching other missionaries who are  acting as investigators (just people they know well from home). Amanda and Jacqueline and both portrayed by a couple Hermanas from our district. Jacqueline is an inactive member. I felt the Spirit so strongly during our lesson. Everything was going so well. We shared personal stories, testimonies and scriptures. She told us what she wanted in life, and we told her EXACTLY how she could get all of those things through different gospel principles. But in the end she wouldn't commit to anything , and I feel like we didn't make much progress at all. It's sad, but she has no desire to change her life. She has the tools right in front of her. We laid them all out. Why wouldn't someone want to change their life from a mediocre, or even sad life, to a happy joyful existence in just a few simple steps, especially after I KNOW they felt the Spirit so strongly telling them to do those things.

Speaking of people who don't seem to understand what's going on in their life I have been able to see quite a few missionaries like that this week. I feel like it's more obvious with the sisters. There are a few sisters who just always insist on wearing the most border line clothes possible here. Especially the yoga pants. It's against the rules, and who are you trying to impress? Oh, and this one Elder this week I just got so peeved at. He was wearing slacks that were like skinny pants slacks. I don't even know how to describe them. Then he was wearing a white dress t-shirt like 3 sizes too small. I was like dude, did you come here to be a missionary or an Abercrombie model? because  I'm not sure right now. Other Elders without purpose are easy to spot by their cocky attitudes and disrespect for their calling. Like last week Elder Powell and I saw 2 Elders waiting to trip their companion when he came out of the bathroom. Come on. Would a representative of Jesus Christ (You have his name on your chest 24-7 just so you know buddies) be doing that?

And I just went to go and try and put my laundry in. And they were all full. I have already been in the Laundry room 40 minutes, but I didn't put my laundry in because I was waiting until 7:00 our designated time to do laundry. Now they're all full. Sometimes exact obedience can be a little frustrating, especially when hardly anyone else is doing it except me and my companion. Many are called, but few are chosen right? Interesting. I just thought of that phrase in a different way. I always thought chosen as in a few were picked out of the many that were called. Now i'm thinking chosen as in unique, special, chosen as in they're high above the rest. Like the chosen one type thing if that makes sense?

This week in TRC I was split up from my companion. I went to teach in a trifecta with Elder Romero and Elder Leonard. It was supposed to be a 40 minute lesson on how you can better receive revelation through the Book of Mormon. This was their plan: let's all share are favorite scripture! Well, then what? Oh, we'll just see where it goes from there. Ok, that should get us five minutes into the lesson before things get really awkward. Seriously, I think Elder Powell and I (Trying not to be prideful here) are pretty good at using our planning time. We get 30 minutes every night to plan. Some missionaries finish after 15 minutes, and we often go a little over. If the Lord give you 30 minutes to plan, you better use 30 minutes to plan. So anyway, back to our lesson with a person from the outside world in TRC. Elder Powell and I taught her last week by chance, so I got to catch up with our commitment we gave her to pray kneeling at least twice a day. Morning and Night. She said that the kneeling down has helped her prayers to become more focused and meaningful. This time I wanted to extend another challenge and I was inspired with exactly what to say. I asked her how her scripture reading was going. She said she read every day and usually prayed before she started her study. I asked her if she ever prayed DURING her study. She said no. Then I reminded her that prayer is a TWO WAY communication with God right? Well, yeah. So then I asked her what she thought she should do to receive more revelation and those answers she wanted (because earlier she had told us how she thinks God usually answers prayers, but she still has some questions she wants answers to)? She smiled, and said pray during scripture study. If you can get the investigator to teach themselves the lessons and the doctrine then you win. If the Spirit and your testimony are there after they answer their own questions, the desire is their own. They want to do what you're telling them. It's amazing.

Well, Time is up for me today. I love you family! Oh, and if you want to send me something. Then you should take like 50 of my dollars and go to Unique or something and buy as many cheap ties as possible. I don't have paisley ties, and ugly ties are now like the fashion too. I'm sure you can find plenty of cheap ugly ties at a thrift store. I love ties. I need them. It's all I can change about my attire ya know? Anyway, whatever you do don't spend lots of money on me. Love You Dad. Love you Mom. Love you Meagan. Love you Courtney.

Love, Elder Moffitt