Week 2--July 26, 2013

I love this picture!  Our boy from Texas...in Provo, Utah...pointing to California...wearing a Wyoming T-shirt.  :-)

Hey guys,

     This week at the MTC has been great! and has been very long.... the Zone Leaders before us told us that the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days, It is sooo true!

     Last Friday we started lessons with Debi, one of our progressive investigators, it has been going okay, she has a lot of hold backs, but little by little we have been able to help her out, but our other progressing investigator has been going great, his name is Randy and every time we go to teach him the spirit is so strong and it's amazing. We committed him to read 2 Nephi 31, and 3 Nephi 11 by the end of the week and to pray to know if it was true, and then he prayed with us, the Spirit was so strong that it was amazing!

     Yesterday we had in-field orientation, it was a great experience, we learned a lot about finding people and using members, we did lots of role-plays and just practiced finding our investigators. We have been learning a lot about teaching, and teaching people, not teaching lessons. I can attest to how true that is, with our first few lessons with Debi we just tried to teach the lesson, and it wasn't very effective, but our last few lessons with her and then our Two lessons with Randy we have really focused on teaching them and teaching what they need by the spirit, and it has gone so much better. I think if we had one more lesson with Randy we would have committed him to baptism.

     We have focused a lot on the Book of Mormon during our class time this past week, and receiving revelation through it. We as a district read Alma 5 and wrote down our feelings as we read, and It really stuck out to me that Jesus Christ, the good shepherd, is always calling for us, and we just have to listen to him and come unto him. He never gives up on us, he doesn't care how long it takes, he doesn't care how long we've been gone or where we've been he just cares that we came unto him. It's like the parable of the workers in the vineyard, the master doesn't care how long we have been working in the vineyard, all he cares about is that we came. The blessings are the same for someone who has been in the gospel their whole life as someone who is a convert.

I hope that all is well with everybody!

Elder Andrew Stephen Bangerter

No explanation needed.

 Since there were no explanations, we are assuming these pictures are of his district, minus whomever is taking the picture.  Steve says Andrew's companion is the one to the right of Andrew (his left)  in each picture.