Greetings from Middle Earth. There is an Elder Gandolf here, and this Elder a while back sang a version of "Come Thou Fount" that was in a really deep voice, which inspired my companion, in and of the fact, that it reminded him of "Lord of the Rings". We kind of rewrote the song accordingly, and have made multiple references to this storyline in just everyday life, though our main focus is on the Savior and the Scriptures. Myriad references to the movie "Rocketman" apply to missionary life as well, so it's been hard to keep away from quoting that too.
Spanish is fantastic, especially when spoken in a Scottish brogue or a Japanese accent. O-RA! Como estas, laddie? I feel that the reason that I am in the intermediate class is not because my Spanish is lacking, which sounds really conceited, but in all honesty I took an upper level Spanish class in college, and the professor thought I was a returned missionary. The real reason is that I simply don't yet have the skill of connecting the gospel to people's needs in a very simple way. I go overly philosophical and deep for the investigators, and need to water down my thought process for the benefit of everyone. I will definitely need the Lord's help in overcoming this setback because I cannot do it alone.
Smiling and saying "Hi" to people is my new favorite hobby. It brightens their day, and after the obligatory "how are you?", I follow up now with a genuine "and why?" In all honesty, most of the time the conversation goes "como esta?"... "y por que?" This kinda makes people pause and think for a little bit about themselves and their attitude, and gives me a chance to listen more than to talk, which I need to work on as well.
Elder Holland came on Tuesday to give a talk at the Devotional, and he really dug into us, saying that we do not have the right to "miff" missionary work, and that we shouldn't take the first five minutes back home to see how we can not look like a missionary. He read a lot of scriptures, and also laid into us that we need to know 1 Nephi:1 like the back of our hand, which isn't fair, because mine changes... Anyhow, he had a volunteer try to explain the first chapter of the book of Mormon, and he really sadly failed, though he deserves credit for his willing heart. It took a round of five elders just to say that Lehi prayed, and that he saw a vision. It proved the point that though the stories are good, knowing all of the details is absolutely essential for missionary work as well as simple gospel study. Reread the story of Lehi and tell me that it doesn't look like the story of Joseph Smith, or Moses, or any other prophet ever called of God. Also, during that talk, he quoted Moroni 6:9 and asked us what Moroni means by the manifestations of the Spirit and why that is so important that we lead through them. More volunteers got up, and it pains me to see seemingly "cop out answers" in the MTC from Elders that simply want to get noticed. The biggest thing that I have learned about the Spirit is that you know that you have followed it when afterwards you are inspired to humility in your heart, and that what you say does not come from you, rather from God Almighty. I decided to share that because my normally little heart-rate probably measured on the nearby Richter scale. In short, I got to talk directly to an Apostle about the things of my heart, and testify that Jesus is the Christ through my words. My time is up, but in closing I am trying out for a musical number by singing the song "I Heard Him Come" by Jeff Goodrich. Best song ever! Godspeed, brethren and sisters
Elder Lindsey
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