Hola Familia!
Man, Time is flying by. Already a month in...it's so surreal. I got a letter from Keane about his new companion, it's so crazy how things work out. Small world. I'm sure that Keane will be prepared enough and have his call changed to Spanish speaking in a month so he can be my Senior Companion. Haha not really, but it would be sweet.
Everything is going great here. The language is coming along and I am learning more and more every day. It is still really frustrating how I can't say all that I want, but every day it gets easier. We have two "investigators." One is Paco who is really receiving of our message. We asked him to be baptized and he said that he would if God told him to. We challenged him to pray to find out if he should and the next time Elder Nelson and I taught him he told us that he had received his answer and knew that baptism was the path that he needed in his life. It was funny because right as he said that Elder Nelson and I got the biggest smiles on our face. I know that these investigators aren't real, but it brings me so much joy when they progress in the Gospel. Our other "investigator" Miguel is completely the opposite. Most of the times we have taught him we have been kicked out of his house in some form or another. He loves the message that we bring, but any time we mention The Book of Mormon he gets really mad. Elder Nelson and I have prayed about what to teach him next and we feel like families and the plan of salvation is the way that we need to go for our next lesson. Hopefully it turns out better than our others.
Yesterday morning as I was walking out of my room to class, a giant pitch black spider ran across the hallway. I hadn't really seen a spider like this before, and I thought that it might be a black widow. We got a water bottle and put it in there and sure enough, it was. I took it to the building manager and he was very surprised and said that he would take care of it. I think that they are trying to get us used to all of the crazy things that we will see on our missions. That way when black widows pop up in our apartments out of the safety of the MTC we will know what to do. I am so glad that the MTC teaches you how to handle all parts of your mission......haha.
I love how spiritual the MTC is. Each week we have the opportunity to have two devotionals and then watch a previous talk from a general authority. In one of the talks that we listened to, the speaker gave a poem that I really liked.
I'm not sure exactly how it goes, but it went something along the lines of this.
"Come to the edge," He said.
I said "No."
"Come to the edge," He said.
I said "No."
"Come to the edge!" He said.
I walked to the edge, and He pushed me, and I flew.
Sometimes in our lives we are asked to do difficult things. This mission that I am on is no exception. Not a day goes by that is not difficult in some way or another. However, I know that as I make an effort to go to the edge, with a little shove from our Savior Jesus Christ, I can fly. Obedience is stressed so much in the mission field, and at first I have to admit, I was somewhat tired of hearing about it. However, as I have come to find the miracles that result from exact obedience, I am so grateful for how much it is stressed. The quote that Garth Crane gave me before my mission "Obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles," has never been as prominent as it is now. There is no way that I would be progressing in the gospel/language as fast as I am without miracles happening. I know that I am never perfectly obedient, but I know that as I strive to be so, the savior will help me to fly. I love this Gospel. I love this work, and I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have to be out here as one of Christ's soldiers. We were told that there are three type of people in this world. The Lambs, the Wolves, and the Shepherd. I have never thought of myself as a Shepherd, but I know that because I have the fullness of this gospel, I truly am a Shepherd. There are lost lambs out there and I am going to do all that I can to save them from the wolves and bring them back into the strength of the fold.
Take care, I love hearing from you all.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
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