Week 5: August 12

AYYYYEE!! Hello to the outside world and to all the people that I love!!

So this is my last week here at the MTC! I leave Monday morning at around 6:00 for the airport, and I really lucked out because somehow (I really have no idea) we got a direct flight from Salt Lake City all the way to Italy! So it will be a good 13-hour flight, but I have a good chance that my luggage won't get lost cause that would be terrible. So now I just have to make it through the 13-hour flight of sitting and trying to not look at the TV (cause i am not supposed to do that for those of y'all that didn't know) or listen to music so it will be a good time to sit and ponder, study, and learn more of the language. And try to sleep!! So it will be a long flight. I am seriously so excited though, like I can not wait to get to Italy!

Okay so a couple of updates from my last letter-

TRC (when you skype someone from Italy) went pretty well. Our "investigator" actually served his mission with Fratello Gessel so that was cool to talk to him about that. And he was really nice; when we struggled to find a word he would help us out unlike some of our other investigators who just stare at you as you try to form a different sentence from my limited like 6/7-year-old vocabulary. Anyway, we talked about the importance and the power of prayer and shared some scriptures in Doctrine and Covenants 121 with Joseph Smith when he was in prison. Things like that. We have our last one tomorrow so hopefully it will go well. It is hard to prepare for them cause we are never sure what their needs are so we listen and then follow the spirit, and make sure we have scriptures in mind when we are about to begin. So that we are prepared to the best that we can be. 

We also finished our last lesson with Francesco yesterday ending our lesson on following the commandment of tithing. It was seriously such a good experience teaching him because I had to really learn how to explain about Jesus Christ since Francesco knew nothing about him. Or why he is necessary in our lives. So learning to teach so simply and then just seeing him change and become receptive to our commitments was really cool.

Maria is doing really well as well. We taught her about the commandments yesterday as well and she asked why it was necessary to have more commandments like the Word of Wisdom for our day. (A few days before we learned about a principle in class about relating the gospel to own things in our life and things that we like to do that would make sense to the investigator). So I told her that I really liked rock climbing and I wish I had gotten more into it before my mission. Then, I related the commandments to the rope that we use when we climb and how it keeps us "safe" from falling and the commandments that God has given us today strengthens that rope and makes it stronger and more 'safe" to where we can get even closer to God. She really understood and it really helped the lesson. Afterwards i talked to her about it and she said that it was a really good analogy and she actually understood it a little differently from the way I was explaining but it was something that she needed to hear. Totally an example of how powerful and awesome the Spirit is when we are teaching!!

Some other things that happened this week that y'all might find interesting:

So on Sunday during devotional the speaker was doing a question and answer type thing and one of the elders got up and said that his name was Elder Hawks.. Well the speaker misunderstood

and was like "Elder Hots??' and the elder was like well I am pretty HOT but no it is elder Hawks.. and then it just got super awarkward and everyone was just like "Ohhhh you just ruined yourself man like WHYY would you say that.." Aww it was bad, I felt bad for him he was like, "I am so sorry for saying that" so life lesson right there. Don't do that in front of a 2500 people. 

Later that night my companion and I went and saw Elder Holland's talk that he gave for the MTC a few years ago titled, "Missions are Forever." It was incredible and really inspiring like all of his talks.  Some of the things that he said that really stuck out to me were, Push to the End of the Envelope, (and then go farther), Salvation was not an easy thing so why should your mission be easy for you, go out and Astonish people (and then he went on to say that the word Astonish comes from the word Thunder) and then went on to talk about Alma and how he was shaken with Thunder things like that... And he is saying this all in the normal Elder Holland way. Y'all know how he is haha. It was an amazing talk. 

I have successfully gained 7lbs since I have been here at the MTC and I am soo happy with that because I have been exercising a lot more and I can feel myself going stronger so one day I will eventually catch up to my dad. Probably not;) but that is one of my goals actually on my mission lol so you better watch out dad!

So Italians are very literal (so there is not a whole lot of scarcasm) and one phrase that I found out that they say is, "In bocco Lupo" which they mean as an expression of Good luck. But it really translates to "mouth of the wolf" Sick!!!!

Another thing that I found out is apparently they sell no deodorant in Italy.. Ummm What?!?

I was definitely feeling alittle bit of Shardenfroida when the new Elders and Sisters were coming in today and I am leaving soon haha but they are going to do great. The MTC really is awesome and I will probably work here when I get back. 

Here is a scripture that one of my teachers shared with us that I absotuely love. It is in Helaman

 10:4-5.. Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.

 5 And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will. 

I love you all, thank you for all the support and love!!

The Radles, Morgan, and my Team Brownskin Brother Needs I am going to send y'all an email next week when I have more time. Thank y'all so much! For the packages and the letter!

Anziano Spencer

"We are coming for you Elder Cannon!!!"
(Missionary shown on the screen behind the elders is Tristan's cousin Ethan, six weeks ahead of Tristan in the Rome, Italy mission. This pic of Ethan was taken at his first zone conference and was on the Rome, Italy mission blog.)

Thank you Grandma!
(Thanks to ALL who have sent care packages and letters to Anziano Spencer at the MTC!!! It has meant a lot to him to feel your support!!!)