MTC Devotional with Elder Alonzo

Holy cow this week has been WILD!!! This is the first full week we have had in the CCM (MTC). It has really been a really awesome week though, full of spanish and full of the spirit.

The highlight of the week came yesterday afternoon. We had an MTC devotional, and our guest speaker was a member of the 70, Elder José L. Alonzo. He and his wife spoke to us at about 11 AM yesterday. Elder Alonzos wife spoke first. She gave a great message about missionary work and bore a powerful testimony of it. Elder Alonzos talk was absolutely awesome. He shared the scripture D&C 11: 21, and had us replace the word "Word" with "Atonement", which was mostly what his message was about, the Atonement. He also spoke briefly about prayer and that we should avoid things like "vain repetition," and making our prayers like "ordering groceries over the phone". He also councelled us to make our prayers like having a conversation with God like we would with anybody else, and that God wants to know how we are doing even though he already knows how we are doing. I really loved his talk and felt the spirit very strongly. His testimony was really the best part though. He knew without a doubt what he said was true, and so did I. 

We went through another session in the temple today, and did some more sealings, which was awesome. 

We are working really hard at learning spanish. It is SO difficult, but I know that it will come along soon enough. We have been practicing preparing for and teaching investigators in spanish, even though we still dont know didley squat of the language. It has been a struggle trying to communicate with our teacher/investigator, because most of the time we don't completely know what he says when he responds to our message. 

The first Sunday in the MTC has been really sweet. President Gulbrandsen says that we will come to realize that the sabbath is a delight, and I already have. Sunday is the best day of the week here. Sacrament meeting is great, and we have a 3 hour doctrine class with the president that is really awesome as well.

Well I hope everyone has a great week this week. I wish I could write more, but we only have an hour to read and write all our emails which is not nearly enough time.

Have a great week.

Elder Porritt

This really cool tree on the grounds, it is completely horizontally flat.

 The Beautiful Temple here in DR