After this week I can say that I'm very grateful for both of my companions. I approached them about being a little overbearing in their language use and they took it so well. They have really seemed to humble themselves since then. Both Elder Laurie and Elder Abegg have taken an active role in helping me learn the french as well as the rest of our district. Elder Laurie is a really cool guy, he is super spiritual and has memorized basically every scripture, him and I are so in tune when we are preparing lessons. Elder Abegg is great as well, he's a little more goofy, but he is really trying to humble himself and seek opportunities to turn outward rather than inward.
A few cool experiences have happened this week as my companions and I prepared for our lessons with the investigator we were teaching named, Jean Baptiste. We were planning a lesson on the restoration and we had created the entire lesson outline; we were basically done. That is until Elder Laurie said something was missing, so we said a prayer and immediately an idea popped into my head and into my companions heads. It was the same idea for all of us - that we needed to teach the plain and simple truths of the Book of Mormon and why it was important. So we redid our entire lesson and taught that lesson instead of our other one. So Jean Baptiste is a portrayed by our teacher, he is a real person that he taught when he served in France. The interesting part of this story happened last night when we my companions and I met with our new teacher, I forget his name it's like Frere Noldau or something, but we met with him and he told us that he is taking a Book of Mormon class at BYU right now and on the day we taught him that lesson about the Book of Mormon he had been wondering to himself why the Book of Mormon was so important and that night we taught him just that. ISN'T THAT SO COOL!?!? Even though we were preparing a lesson for "Jean Baptiste" we were actually directed by the spirit to create a lesson for the actual teacher.
Another experience that stuck out to me this week happened yesterday. I was preparing our last lesson with Jean Baptiste with my companions and we couldn't figure out what we wanted to talk about. Elder Laurie suggested we read the missionary purpose again which is, Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. When I read that the words "come unto Christ" kept sticking out to me and I read it again and again. I knew that since it was our last lesson I wanted to really emphasize Christ's love for Jean Baptiste and our love for him as well. So, I said a prayer trying to figure out what scriptures of Christ I wanted to talk about and the word "Sheep" came into my mind. So I opened my bible and turned to the topical guide and looked up "sheep." I looked at all the scriptural references for sheep and the only one that stuck out was Luke chapter 15, which is the parable of the lost sheep. I turned to that chapter and read the first few verses and the spirit swept over me so powerfully. Long story short - We taught a lesson on the lost sheep and how much our Father in Heaven loves each of us and wants us to return to him.
I'm really loving the MTC. From what I've heard you either love it or you hate it; well I love it. The spirit is so strong here, like unbelievably strong. I've never been in a place where I say a prayer and it's answered almost instantly. Saying that reminded me of two events that happened this week. One was last Friday when my zone went to the temple and my room key fell out of my pocket in the locker I used at the temple. I had no way of getting my key and before I realized that it had fallen out I turned my room upside down looking for it and checked the pockets of the pants I wore three times. Then when we were leaving for dinner, I switched out of my P-day clothes and put on the same suit I had wore to the temple; I reached into my pocket and my key was there. This happened a second time as well, I had forgotten my white handbook in our residence and I needed it for class and searched through my bag to make sure I hadn't just left it in there, but of course it wasn't there. Then right before we used it, I decided to check my bag again and when I opened it, sitting right on top was, of course, my white handbook. These could all be coincidences but I believe there's a larger power at work in the MTC. My awesome branch president, President Mackay, told me how the residences were all set apart by the Senior Brethren. Isn't that amazing??? He said you can feel the spirit very strongly in the temple, but you don't live in the temple. I've thought of that throughout the week because of how strong the spirit is here.
My companions gave me a blessing on Monday night because I was getting really sick. I am actually still sick right now. I lost my voice on Tuesday and it is still gone at the moment. I haven't been able to talk louder than a whisper for the entire week and when I do talk it's through a lot of pain in my throat. I had a fever, incredible headaches, sinus congestion, and a horrible cough. I went to the doctor and got tested for strep and the flu, but came up negative. I really have no idea why I've been so sick. I feel so bad about it because I haven't been able to talk at all, but my companions and my teachers have all been super understanding about it. I've realized how much the other missionaries love and care for me. Every single day this week the elders and the sisters would ask me how I'm doing, or they would offer me some of their medicine, and they were praying for me. I'm so blessed to have such an awesome Zone that really cares about the well being of each other.
Update on the language! I still have no idea what's going on during our lessons, which are all in French, but I can piece together some things. I can form sentences now and I can pray in French as well. The gift of tongues is really wonderful because I've learned as much French in one week here as I did in five years of french class. It's very challenging, but I know if I put my trust in the Lord, he will continue to help and bless me. We basically study all day. We wake up at 6:30, then we are in our classroom by 7:15 planning for the day, go to breakfast, then we have our first class from 9-12. A little break, which is usually more studying, then another class at 1:30-4:30. We go eat dinner and then we have our last class from 6-9pm and then we go to bed. I've never studied so much in my life, but I know I can be doing better than I currently am. It's hard learning the language, but it's also incredibly rewarding.
So much has happened in just one week, but I can't type it all! My last few words will be of gratitude towards my district. They've been super awesome and they are all so fun to be with. They really helped me out this week by participating in our district meetings, goal setting, and talking about the Tuesday night devotional - since I couldn't speak very much. It's such a blessing to be able to work with so many amazing Elders and Soeurs.
OH I ALMOST FORGOT! I had to take a stool sample this week as a requirement to enter Belgium. For those that don't know what that is, let me enlighten you. I had to poop in a cup and scoop some out and put it in a bag. Lovely. I also ate the oatmeal at the mtc this week. I can honestly say that the rumor that they put laxatives in the oatmeal is 100% true.
On that note!
Au revoir!
Love,
Elder Molinari
This is my district after the temple this morning! From left to right (1st photo): Elder oberring, Elder masterson, Elder laurie, Elder abegg, yours truly, soeur Enslan, soeur Mecham, soeur Daines, and soeur Giles.
No comments