Buenas tardes mis hermanos y hermanas!!
It is so great to be writing to you all!! I have only been a missionary for about 6 days now, but it has been the best 6 days of my life. So much has happened, so I will try to summarize it up throughout the days. I have learned so much. I have about 25 pages of study notes just from my classes and personal studies and companion studies since Monday.
Sunday: I got set apart and it was so great to have my family and friends there. Derek surprised me and Charles at church which was an amazing surprise haha. He ended up staying for dinner and I got to play with my little cousins which was amazing as always. Before I got set apart President Ayre (my stake president) explained how missionaries are an extension of the apostles, and I thought that that was so amazing to think about.
Monday: It was my first day of classes and I got to meet my companion! His name is Elder Adams and I couldn't have asked for a better companion. Before we met each other, our maestra had us write down some questions for our companion, and we ended up writing down the exact same questions haha. I asked him what he is most looking forward to about Spain and he said the food, and if you know me then that would be my same answer, aside from the spiritual things of course. I wrote down things that really stood out to me at the top of the page in my study notes, and since it would be too much to share everything that I learned, I figured I would put what I wrote at the top of the pages instead. Mosiah 7:16-33. Mosiah 8. Mi maestra, Hermana Ramirez, said during our class in the evening that "Part of your mission will be to polish you." I have felt the Lord polishing me. I am a completely changed person and I know it is because the Lord is changing me into the person that He needs me to be, and I couldn't be happier.
Tuesday: Tuesday was about the same as Monday, workshops, classes, then workshops, and then classes. Something that stands as a testimony to me is how much joy I feel spending all day learning and on zoom. Nothing, and I mean nothing, else could make me this happy. Even if I was watching soccer for this amount of time I would go crazy haha. But every single moment of my experience has been filled with joy and love, and the Spirit has been so strong. I have felt the Spirit like I never have before, and I have found myself not wanting to log off of the classes when it is time to end because of how strong the Spirit is. I also got to go to Asi's work and eat there with Charles and my dad and Allison for dinner, and it was great to be with them.
Wednesday: Wednesday was again about the same as the other few days, except I was able to have Dave's Hot Chicken for dinner which was fantastic, and I made sure to get the mild so my stomach wasn't murdering me the next day which is always a bonus. The Spirit has somehow gotten stronger every day in my classes, I can't wait to be in the MTC and to be in more classes.
Thursday: Thursday was again about the same haha, but I had so many classes that really the only breaks I got were for food, but I wouldn't have had it any other way, in fact I logged off of the last class of the day wishing that there could've been more classes, but luckily I still have some more time in the MTC. And I got to eat Chick-Fil-A for dinner which was delicious as always (I can promise I am eating healthy).
Friday: Today has been wonderful. I was able to go to Mug's funeral which was a very tender experience, I was so impressed by the amazing life that she lived. I came home and logged onto a workshop, and then I finished my talk for my farewell on Sunday, which was the fastest I have ever done a talk and I think it will be my best talk yet, the Spirit really has a way of guiding if we give our time and efforts and talents to Him. At 2:15 me and Elder Adams had a "Helping Others" appointment, which is basically where there is an actor that is either a member or a non-member, and you teach them a lesson. We taught her about the atonement of Jesus Christ and I really hope that the person we taught was a non-member, because the lesson went great. The Spirit was so strong and of course there was things that we could and will work on to improve, but it was a great lesson and it went better than both me and Elder Adams thought it would.
In conclusion, I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ, and I know that He is always with us and there for us. This is not my mission, but the Lord's mission. This is His work and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be an instrument in His hands. And I say these things and bear record to you all that these things are true, in the name of Jesus Chirst, amen.
I wish that you could all feel the Spirit that I have felt, so turn to the Lord, whether that be through prayer or the scriptures or all of the above, He wants to hear from you.
Nos vemos
- Elder Powell