Ohhhhhhh we're half way there!! Just kidding "KISS" is definitely part of Babilonia so no need for it here haha. "Babilonia" refers to anything outside of the MTC besides family and the prophet pretty much. I guess other general authorities too hahah.
First off, Feliz Cumpleanos Meghan!! Hope you had a rad time and are enjoying the life of a real person with your big girl job and all.
This week flew by, it's been kinda crazy! I got the package, thanks so much!!! The Mexican flags are a hit and of course the goodies inside were a hit too! We also got the Sour Lovers from the Porter's and everyone is constantly asking me for them! haha the teaching is going so well and I'm learning so much about how to teach the people and not lessons. Yesterday we taught Antonio and we went in planning to talk about the restoration but then he had a bunch of questions about the Libro de Mormon so we just talked about that for the whole time we were there. The spirit was so strong and my mouth was definitely filled. All those brutal years with Mrs Ocampo and Mr Castillo are paying off. The Spanish is coming along really well, at least when I talk to fellow gringos. In response to your questions mom, we have Preach My Gospel in Spanish and English and I have a mini Spnaish one too. We have a bunch of textbooks and workbooks for language and then a bunch of the missionary "folletos" in both languages also. They are so helpful and everyone should have some for when friends have questions, it makes them so easy to answer! I also have my white bible in Spanish and English as well. We received the Standard works in Spanish and Ive already got a few Scripture masteries down, and the primer vision and Doctrina y Convenios Seccion 4. The scriptures definitely help with language a lot. I asked my teacher to talk full speed and I caught maybe 25% of what he said hahaha.
Me and my companion taught a lesson on Sunday about the spirit and I was able to talk about receiving a witness through the spirit and it was just way cool and I feel a lot closer to my district members now that I've bore really personal testimony to them. I remember in one of Elder Robbin's (Parker) email, he talked about that one companion who he struggled with but was able to feel Christ like love when he counseled a fellow missionary about this same companion. I've had a similar expereince with a kid in my district. He is struggling with some parts of his life before the MTC and I know what he's going through so we've been able to help each other a lot and I've truly come to love him and love serving with him.
The tie-trading is going well and I've acquired some gems. It's really fun because we sign ties whenever we trade them so I'll have a token of my favorite missionaries here! My district is still the youngest district in our zone, and we are down to just 3 districts because we haven't gotten a new one in 3 weeks! Hopefully we get one next week! I should get my travel plans next Friday so I'll have a bit more info on that, but my expected date is August 19th. I should be able to call home if I have a layover! I'll let you know more when I find out more.
Another cool spiritual thing this week was our Tuesday devotional at BYU. A former 70 spoke and I just wanna share a bit of what he said. He talked about why missions can be so difficult at times. Why is it difficult? Salvation is not a cheap experience. It never has been and it never will be. Why should we believe it would ever be easy for us when it was NEVER easy for Him whose name we bear on our chests. We're representatives of Jesucristo, and so we need to walk in just the most microscopic amount of his difficulty, in feeling rejected, spit upon, or mocked. We're also not the first to ask if there's an easier way, Christ asked the same exact thing. We need to realize how much easier our mission is than His was. Elder Ah Hoy in my district shared a quote that said, "ALWAYS be grateful to suffer in the Lord's name. I know that parts of my mission will be difficult but I am so honored to be able to give 2 years of my life 100% to the Lord. I've already had struggles here and I know it will be harder in the field, but I have also had some of the best times of my life here. I've grown so close to people after just 3 weeks and I have come to feel so much closer to my Savior.
Well, I love you all so much and I'm glad to hear everything is going well. I love all the mail and packages and love from all of you. Yo se que esta obra es lo mas importante en el mundo. Estoy agradecido por la oportunidad de servir un mision. Les amo mucho!!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Connell
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