Andad Conmigo

Hola a Todos!!

How is everyone doing? How is everyones summer? I bet the summer has been flying by just like my time in the MTC is flying by. We are in the middle of an exciting week here at the MTC. 128 new mission presidents are being trained these next few days and there are general authorities everywhere, in fact, I just walked by Elder Oaks. We also got 600 new missionaries on wednesday so it is a packed campus these days. I just saw Elder Scott Holmes and Elder Issac Stevens, they are doing just fantastic and they both have great companions. Tomorrow we are having a special devotional with the general authorities so we will likely hear from the first presidency and probably some of the apostles. Excitement is definitely in the air. I just love hearing our Church leaders bear witness of Jesus Christ and His Church here on the earth. This past week has been another great week full of learning. We continue to progress with the language and we enjoy speaking it over English most of the time. We are getting exteremly anxious to get out into the mission field and declare our testimonies in the spanish language. We only have 2 and a half weeks to go! The challenge is to stay focused these last couple weeks and continue to work harder everyday, but we are a determined district so I think we can do it. The gym is closed the next few weeks which means no basketball, que triste! In choir this week, we sang "Come Thou Font". What a great song! The Spirit was so strong as we testified of the Savior. We learned a lot about promptings of the Spirit this week as a district. How can you tell if the Holy Ghost is prompting you or if it is one of your own thoughts? If you are being obedient, and the thought or idea is good, you can be 100% confident that it is of God. Most times, you won't even recognize you are being prompted but as we do good things throughout the day, we can know we are following the Spirit. We should not just sit and wait for a miraculous manifestation from heaven, rather, we should GO and DO and the Lord will guide our footsteps. I am grateful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost, especially in His role to sanctify us so that we might act on impressions or ideas and do many good and righteous things by our own free will. As a missionary, I know that if I am constantly working hard, I will be guided to those souls searching for peace and happiness. Our devotional this week, given by a member of the Seventy, was about the Savior's invitation to "Walk with Me" ("Andad Conmigo"). We were reminded of the promise we have been given that if we work hard as missionaries and strive to do our best, we will have another Companion right there by our side to pick us up when we are weak and assist us to bold testify of the truthfulness of this work. I am a witness that Jesus is the Christ. I wear His sacred name on my chest and try to represent Him as best I can. He has felt the weight of our pains, weaknesses, and sins. He loves us and promises to walk with us as we do our part by working as hard as we can. We always come up short, but He makes up all the rest. This Gospel is true. Christ's Church functions on the earth today by a divinely-inspired prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I have a testimony that this man is a prophet of God and if we heed his teachings, we can be happy in this life and the life to come. What a blessing it is to declare this glad message all day, everyday. I am so lucky to be here. I would love to hear from all of you, don't hesitate to write. Love and miss you all! Have a great week!

-Elder Stutz