Week 2

This week has just flown by.  The days are long but the weeks go by so fast. We finished off the week teaching our TRC investigators and they went much better after the first visit. We even committed one to being baptized! Because the people are only meant for us to practice on, I am not sure what happens to them if they are real investigators who want to be baptized. I guess Provo missionaries are referred to them. The new investigators we have this week are fantastic. They are prepared by the Lord to hear our message already and are very receptive to our teaching. I truly have a testimony that we are just the Lord's mouthpiece and that we cannot teach without the Holy Spirit.

There was an Elder Willden here who was in my branch and I kept asking to see his fan chart from familysearch.org to see if somehow we were related.  Finally, we just pulled up our family trees online and found we share a great-great-great-great grandfather--Charles William Willden Sr. I guess that makes us like fifth cousins or something.  How awesome it that?!  His full name is Kolton William Willden from Pleasant Grove, Utah and he says there are a lot of Willden's in Utah. The Willden family mailbox that Chandler took a picture with on his mission in SLC might just have belonged to our distant relatives. Elder Willden is now serving his mission in Modesto, California. Family history is a great blessing. I only wish more people would take advantage of the resources the Church offers.

I have run into a couple of my EFY kids here which is a bit weird. Of course it makes sense since I am serving later than most people and my kids have to grow up. I was able to reminisce a little which was enjoyable. 

Elder Bednar came to our Sunday fireside to have a Q & A which was pretty great! He asked us if we had a question that we didn't ask (in our minds that we might not have even thought about), that no one else asked him, yet still was answered after this meeting. I certainly did which is the coolest thing ever. He says that they only come once or twice a year so I feel very lucky that he visited during my three weeks here.

We received our itineraries about our flight heading to Alaska and all of a sudden it felt real. I will be in Alaska a week from today and I cannot wait. It will be a little sad since we won't see the elders in our district after they leave Monday. We plan on having a huge group email that we will share short stories from our missions and keep in touch. 

I have grown as a teacher here at the MTC and feel more prepared for Alaska. I hope I continue to keep learning so much amazing things on my mission and come even closer to Christ.