Priesthood Power!!

Elder Bitter, Sister Lacey, Sister Wilson, Elder Walburger

MTC District at the Temple - 9-5-17

Hello everyone!!!!

I finally understand return missionaries when they say that the days in the missions seem very long but the weeks in the mission are very short!! So much good and some hard times have happened this week.

So first off I would like to tell you why I named my email Priesthood Power! So last week around P-Day I started feeling a little sick so I started taking air-born (not sure if that's how you spell it) and thieves a lot but it did not work. I got pretty sick and it was the worst because I did not want to stay in my room because I wanted to go to class and be a missionary! On Wednesday it started getting pretty bad but it was cool though because we taught 3 lessons and before each one my comp and I would pray that I would feel better and during the lessons I would but it did not stay that way when we were not in lessons. The sisters in my district suggested that I ask for a priesthood blessing but I did not want to at first. I guess I am stubborn or something lol but anyways on Thursday I got more sick so I decided to ask some elders in my district to give me a blessing. It was a really awesome experience! These two elders like to mess around a lot but when I asked them they took their priesthood responsibility very serious and they gave me a great priesthood healing blessing! Elder Bitter consecrated the oil and Elder Walburger was the elder that gave me the blessing. It was cool though because Elder Walburger said in the blessing "Your Heavenly Father knows your trying" and I really needed to hear that. I had only really prayed about and mentioned a little bit about to my comp about my concerns with that but I just love that no matter who gives a priesthood blessing it is from God! I am also grateful for worthy priesthood holders who are willing to give priesthood blessings! So to finish off the story, I did not feel very good for the rest of Thursday but when I woke up on Friday I felt soooo much better!! I still had a little cough but I could finally breath better and did not have such a bad headache! Priesthood Power!!

So on Friday, my comp and I had the worst lesson ever -_- It was on the Plan of Salvation and we had just learned in class on Thursday how to teach it. So, we were really prideful and thought, "Oh, we do not need to prepare anything else! We learned this yesterday" (Word of the wise, DO NOT ever think that!!) So we go in there being quite cocky and come out being very humbled and a little broken. We did not have the spirit in there with us and we kept on complicating the lesson which led our investigator to ask questions that we did not know how to answer. We lacked the power and authority that you need when you teach. Needless to say, it was bad! We walked out and talked to a teacher that had taught us a few times and she was saying that everyone has bad lessons and just to shake it off, but it was really hard to and she had my comp and I both crying when we left her. My comp and I went in a little classroom to talk and pray and when my comp was praying I had the thought pop into my head, "Well do you know that the things that you are teaching the investigator are true?" And I thought back, "Yes!! It's the Plan of Salvation and I know that it's true!" The next thought was then, "Well then tell them that!!" It was a very powerful and humbling experience! It was still a little hard after that and you know that when I start crying it's hard for me to stop and you can tell that I was crying and some of the elders in my district where concerned haha it's nice because it's like I have a little family here!

So to continue that story, the next day we were practicing the Plan of Salvation in class again and we were practicing with Elder Neufeld and Elder Swartz and my goodness! Those elders know how to teach! My comp and I would just look at each other and then feel bad because of how bad we did the day before and how they were doing so good! My teacher, Brother Jenkins, helped us out though by helping us ask questions and we finally started to get it! We were going to teach our investigator later that day but she did not show up but I think it was a blessing in disguise because my comp got a huge headache right before we were going to teach but then we did not have to because she was not there. We were finally able to teach her yesterday and it was the best lesson we had ever taught! My comp and I were nervous but were trying to prepare the best we can and when we went in there, we did not teach what we had planned but it was better! We talked about President Monson and how he is a prophet of God! We watched a video of him in the last general conference and the spirit was so strong! When it was finished I bore my testimony about the prophet and the Book of Mormon and I was bailing my eyes out haha! First time I have done that in a lesson and then my comp asked her if she found that the Book of Mormon was true if she would be baptized and she said yes!! We teacher her tomorrow so I hope we have another great lesson!

So lastly I want to share that I seriously had the best teacher in the world here!! Brother Jenkins is such an amazing man! He served 10 months of his mission in Japan and then came home. He had a really hard time for about 5 years but then he changed his life around and decided to finish his mission! He finished the rest of his mission in Georgia! We thought that we were going to be able to keep him until we leave to the field but were not able to because of BYU starting and the teachers schedule being switched around so our last day with him was yesterday! He had taught me so much while I have been here! We would always compliment him and say that he is an amazing teacher and he would always get mad and say that he is just the instrument. I tried telling him that you have to be a good instrument to have the music sound good haha! He is just really good at following the spirit and he is just an amazing teacher! We were all very sad that he was going and we asked him to give the closing prayer during our last class and that was probably one of the most powerful prayers I have ever witnessed! During the prayer he prayed for each missionary in our district individually and I think he almost had all of us crying at the end! When he was praying for me he prayed that sad people will be put in my path and me in their path so that I can help them to be happy with my spirit and attitude. That is actually pretty close to something that is in my patriarchal blessing and it was just so cool! I am so sad that he will not be teaching us anymore but I am so grateful for the time that we had him as a teacher! I will send you pictures of us and him! Excuse my face in those, I was crying so my eyes are red!

I seriously love it here so much and I am learning and growing so much! Thank you for all of the support! I know that this church is true with all my heart and I cannot wait to go and tell others about it! I love you all so much and hope you guys have a great week!!

Love,

Sister Lacey