The MTC is great as always. I'm really sort of hitting my stride right now. I'm improving a ton every day language wise and teaching wise. We're teaching two "investigators" this week and when I say that, they are not real investigators. They are teachers, but they are impersonating real investigators that they taught.
My companion... well let's see. At some times it has been a struggle to be patient with him, but I love him. He's a bit socially awkward, and doesn't work at the same pace I would like to, but he's not lazy. He just has a different definition of working hard. He was sick this week, so I have been letting him take a couple naps to recover. I gave him a priesthood blessing. The doctor said it would last about 10 days. I gave him the blessing on the second day of his sickness. The next day his energy level was up and the day after that he was just about healed. He still has a bit of a runny nose, but I really consider it a miracle of the power of the priesthood and modern medicine haha. Right before his blessing, our district had a discussion on faith in the atonement, and it was very powerful, so the spirit was already felt strongly in the room. I gave him the blessing. He got up with tears in his eyes and shook my hand. It was a huge highlight this week. It was also my first blessing for the healing of the sick too. Our whole branch is pretty much sick this week, but luckily, I'm staying healthy.
Every week we have companionship inventory which basically its where we set goals and then try and work out any problems between the two of us. Elder Chapman and I are getting along just fine, and we have no problems, but we also share what we think each others strengths are. The first two things he said about me is that he thinks I really care for everybody and that I am very humble. This meant so much to me because these are the two things that I pegged that I thought would be the most important for me to change about myself in order to be a good missionary. I was a really nice compliment.
This morning I went to the temple. Elder Chapman and I did sealings for my first time. What a powerful experience to help the deceased be sealed to their family for time and all eternity. Tell grandma that my district helped me out with some names again. I didn't do any family sealings, but I got two family endownments done this week. Elder Mudrow did one for Phillip Butland whose mother is Margaret Nimrod. His reactions to the names were so funny. "Its like these two were made for each other". Hahaha.
This week we had two devotionals. The first one was by Elder Oaks daughter I believe. She's like a world class violin player. Her and her family (she had like 5 kids who were all classical musicians) played some hymns for us. They were very good. We also had the Young Womens General President speak to us. She was actually a very good speaker. She shared mission experiences from members of her family.
Elder Chapman and I now have a calling in our branch. We are the Sacrament coordinators, which is kind of funny because we are in charge of setting up and taking down the sacrament, which I have done almost every single day sinse I was 14. haha, but I'm very excited.
Every Sunday every missionary is supposed to prepare a talk on the assigned topic for the week, and then in sacrament meeting they announce who the two missionary speakers will be. All of the Elders in my district did not prepare one except for me. This weeks topic was the Gift of the Holy Ghost. They said that if they were called on they were just going to speak by the Holy Ghost because that was the topic. This basically is them just playing their odds of not getting called on haha. I tried to explain to them that that's not how the spirit works. The spirit will be with you as you teach if you prepare as well as you can before hand! But they were being knuckleheads haha. Anyways turns out that I got called on to speak. In class the day before. I wanted to hear one of my stories about the Holy Ghost, but I jokingly said that I would share it with them in my talk on Sunday. Haha, so I used my story. It was a good experience though.
Because Elder Chapman says a lot of things that are so ridiculous and really pretty funny, I started a quote wall. Everytime someone says something really funny in our room, I put it on their. And last night, our Branch President stopped by our dorm for a surprise visit. It was really quite terrifying haha. He's kind of a no-nonsense kind of guy haha, but he was so close to reading the quote wall that I had up there. I was never so afraid and so curious at the same time haha. He didn't read it, but it makes me laugh when I think of what his reaction could have been. He either would have thought it's hilarious or really inappropriate. For example one quote by me was, "Trust me, I've seen some pretty nasty caucasians. I meant to say concoctions, but.. yeah. so everyone was dying of laughter, so I stuck it up there.
Sister Pomee, who is from Tonga, is so funny. She has sooooo much Tonga pride. I love to mess with her about Tonga because her reaction is so funny. She knows I am just kidding, but her reaction, with her accent, and her not being able to speak English completely fluently is so funny. She's got everybody to start doing this thing. Whenever we get frustrated, we open our arms out and say Tooonnnngggggaaaaa in a soothing voice. It's pretty funny too.
We have planning time every day from 9-930 pm with our district. We never use all the time, so I suggested the idea that we go around and share a spiritual thought. We have done it, and it is one the greatest times of my day. The testimonies of those in our district our so strong and powerful. I feel very honored to learn with them. It's going to be so weird when I leave here, which I think is the 22 of September, which is going to be terrible for me because for some reason, everyone else in my district says that their estimated departure time is going to be the 18th. I am going to die if I have to be here an extra 4 days. I love this place, but I'm going a little stir crazy. Elder Chapman and I got to leave campus to go to a pharmacy for his illness, and it felt sooooo good to go out in public.
The MTC is a great place. From its dedicatory prayer, it is sacred only second to the temple. The spirit is felt so strongly here. My testimony has grown so much.
I love you all. I miss home so much, but I'm fine here. I love the work I'm doing more. My loyalty is first to the Lord.
Elder Robertson
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