MTC - Week 6

Week 6…wow, I only have 2 and a half weeks left at the MTC! This week has been great; Sister Hewlett and I taught Lesson 3 (the Gospel of Jesus Christ) to two R.M.’s at the TRC (Teaching Resource Center) on Saturday, Sean and Andrew. They were way nice but they talked so fast! I literally had to ask them to repeat every sentence. But the lesson went well. Church was amazing! Our Branch President spoke on prayer and how in answer to our prayers, the Lord will give us peace—not the world’s view of peace, of soothing sounds and where everything goes smoothly, but HIS view of peace—an inner peace and confidence. In Relief Society, Sister Martha Johnson on the General Relief Society Board spoke to us about love. It was so powerful! And at the beginning of her talk she said to us sisters, “if there ever was a choir of the believers, this is it.” I thought that was so cool! Then we had a fireside with Stephan B. Allen (who is the Director of Missionary Services, I believe) and he talked about Preach My Gospel and the important principles we learn from it. That night, Sister Wing and I stayed to watch The Testaments. I love that movie! The part that stood out to me the most was when Christ was hanging on the cross and He prays to Heavenly Father to forgive the men who crucified Him. It is amazing to think how much love Christ had for EVERYONE…even those that mocked and scorned Him, and ultimately sacrificed Him. If He could forgive them, how much more should we forgive those who sin against us? Charity and forgiveness are such powerful principles.
> Tuesday we had the RC (Referral Center). I had a really cool experience with a man named William. He had ordered I think it was the Book of Mormon so I was calling to confirm that he received it. He told me about he had been to church a few times and had met with the missionaries, but that he was investigating pretty much every church he could find looking for the truth. He then said something like, “wouldn’t it be nice if there was just one church with all the truth?” I couldn’t have even asked for a better invitation! I asked if he had heard about Joseph Smith and the Restoration and he said that he knew all about “Mr. Smith” from the missionaries and other members he had met. He said how it was kind of ironic that he was going through the same thing that Joseph went through—investigating different churches, searching for the truth. I told him that the only way to know the truth was to pray. He was definitely a bible believer; he quoted it several times throughout our conversation. He told me about almost every encounter he had with Mormons, and every one of them was a good experience. He was a talker! After about 20 minutes of talking to him, my district was leaving so I had to wrap it up. I encouraged him to read the Book of Mormon (especially Moroni 10:3-5) and I testified about its truthfulness. He said that he was first going to pray to see if he should read it, but he asked me to pray for him as well that he would receive the answer he needed. You better believe I prayed with all my heart! I just wish there was some way that I could talk to him again to see how he felt, if he ended up reading it or not. That experience taught me firsthand that there are people in the world searching for truth…and those are the ones being prepared to hear the message of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ!
> I love you all! I often think about you and hope that all is well! Please write and let me know how your lives are going…I care about you!
> Sampai jumpa,
> Sister Okamoto