Happy New Year! To celebrate here at the MTC, we all got sick!! New Years Eve, everyone was fine, and then the next morning I think somewhere around a quarter of the MTC was throwing up. I was feeling alright until last night, and right now I'm not feeling so good. I hope I'm not infecting everybody here in the laundry room.
There are several things I could share with you this week, but I have one that I'd like to share that might take up my 30 minutes. On Monday, Elder Montgomery and I were teaching Victor, one of our investigators. Victor is supposed to be getting baptized on Saturday. The only problem was we hadn't taught him any of Lesson 2 (The Plan of Salvation) and hardly any of Lesson 4 (The Commandments). So we decided we'd do what they call a "shotgun" lesson, which isn't the best way, but we don't want to push his baptism back on our account. Before our lesson we said a prayer, telling God that Victor was planning on getting baptized Saturday, and asked for His help in preparing him. We were teaching fairly well, very balanced (which has been a challenge for us) and we were covering a lot in a short amount of time, which isn't necessarily a good thing, but we've usually been taking way too much time teaching just one principle. We taught the first four principles of Lesson 2 with Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy and the Law of Chastity. So far, so good. We then starting teaching the Word of Wisdom. As my companion taught that coffee was prohibited by the Word of Wisdom, Victor showed surprise and concern. "Why coffee? Coffee's not bad, is it?" Victor loves the Book of Mormon and has a strong testimony of it and of Joseph Smith. So I explained that I believed a reason was that it is addicting, but that the important thing is that it was revelation from God given to Joseph Smith. If Victor believed Joseph Smith was a prophet and he believed that God knew better than us and that He loves us and gives us commandments for our benefit, then he would want to keep the Word of Wisdom. He said he understood and believed that, but didn't think he could stop drinking coffee before Saturday. He'd been drinking it every morning since he was very young. In his words, he needed it. My companion read I Nephi 3:7 and suggested that he drink just a little less each day until his baptism. That was a great idea, but I knew we didn't have time. I told him that if he couldn't stop drinking coffee this week, we'd have to change his baptismal date.
The Spirit prompted me to say more. "Yo creo en milagros." I believe in miracles, I said. "If you want to follow Christ and be baptized, and God wants you to be baptized this Saturday, then you can stop. We will pray for you, and if there's anything else we can do for you, please let us know. We are here to help you." We were out of time so I asked if we could close with a prayer and if he would offer it. I told him to ask God if he could stop drinking coffee before Saturday. His pray was the most sincere, heartfelt prayer I have ever heard. He said something along this lines: "Heavenly Father, I want to be baptized this Saturday with all my heart. I cannot do this without you. Please give me strength and help me to stop drinking coffee." The Spirit was so strong! I know he can do this!
Now I get to the most amazing part. I've mentioned before that our investigators are actually our teachers. Hermana Prince and Hermana Kennard were supposed to teach after us, but Hermano Clark (victor) asked if they could teach him the next morning instead. He wanted me and my companion to share what we had just experienced. He said he couldn't focus after that. We shared our perspective and then he shared his.
He said that as an investigator, he was honestly confused. We were throwing a lot at him. And when we mentioned coffee, he knew he couldn't stop drinking it. When Elder Montgomery suggested that he stop little by little the thought, "Okay, I can do that" and was about to suggest that we delay the baptism until he could stop. And then "out of nowhere" I said, "I believe in miracles." He said that often it's hard to find the balance between being investigator and being our teacher. "Which one am I right now?" At that moment, that all fell away. He saw the miracles the Savior performed in the New Testament. He saw Christ walking on water and Peter asking to come out to him. But Peter's faith faltered and he began to sink. However, as He cried out to the Lord, Jesus reached out and pulled him up. He said we will have moments like that when the Spirit teaches them something we just can't on our own. He also said that he often mixes in parts of himself with his investigators. So we were no longer teaching Victor at that point. We were teaching Hermano Clark. He and his wife have been having a struggle with having kids, and it's been hard. But in that moment, He knew the power of God, and he said that was one of the most powerful experiences he's ever had. The Spirit was so strong and was clearly guiding that lesson. I am so humbled to think that God allowed me to be a part of that, that I got to experience the Spirit teaching through me to the blessing of a very real child of God. I have already begun to touch real lives as a missionary. I'm so excited to get out in the field!
I am so excited for this year! I think it just might be the greatest year we've ever had! They're expecting 800-1000 more sister missionaries to arrive here at the MTC in January alone. There are 2000 total missionaries here right now. I'm going to get to see the beginning of the huge wave that is coming, but I won't have to experience the craziness that will be here during the summer. The work IS hastening and I'm so happy to be a part of it! I think that I have learned more here in the last 7 weeks than I have the last 19 years of my life. I haven't necessarily learned anything knew (except Spanish) but I've come to a deeper understanding of doctrines I've already known. I can't imagine where I'll be at in two years if I continue to learn and progress like I have here at the MTC.
I hope everything is going great! I really enjoyed the letters you sent last week. They made my day. :) My family is the best! Read your scriptures and pray every day, seek for the Spirit, and you'll be just fine. I love you!
-Elder Ryan Lofthouse-
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