MTC Week 8

I have been on my mission for 2 months and it's flown by. But when I look back I truly feel changed. I am so excited to keep working hard and change more. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary and dedicate all this time to the Lord.

So this week we had Christmas. Christmas in the MTC is when our travel plans come in. Christmas songs are sung in place of hymns in class (in Chinese of course) and there is joy in the air. Most missionaries are so desperate to get out of here that when the email comes in that says 'Departure Information', you will hear an uproar of excitement. I honestly love the MTC, I'm not in a rush to get out. I feel like I've made the most of my time here and I want to make the most of this last week too. So I personally did not wear my Christmas tie and throw a party when I got my flight information, but I was excited. Imagining myself really going to Australia is a lot easier when I can see the ticket and everything. I have a long journey ahead of me.

I leave the MTC at 3 PM on Monday August 19th. I don't land in Sydney until 6:30 AM on Wednesday August 21st. I guess August 20th will just be spent on a plane. The 14 hour flight and the 15 hour time change will be an adventure for sure. I'm looking forward to starting the day along with everyone else in Australia and trying to stay awake that entire day. It'll be a good way to adjust to the time zone.

Trump is still reigning at the MTC. He came into a devotional over-flow room (so we were just watching a broadcast of it on a projector screen) and began pacing up and down the rows. It is very likely that no one told him to do this. Finally, after investigating each missionary, he sat down right in front of the projector and faced us missionaries. The whole time we had no choice but to watch him AND the devotional. He just put himself right at the center of attention, arms folded and looking back and forth across the room. I have yet to figure out what his calling his or what his responsibilities are, but I love him. Seeing him always makes my day.

This week in the MTC we had some great experiences. 

So we were walking to class and we saw two Taiwanese sisters and we began practicing our Chinese of course. Elder Brenchley was mainly talking to one and I was talking to the other. After a few minutes, I hear the one he's talking to start shrieking with excitement. She's switching between rapid Chinese and poorly pronounced English 'THIS IS A MIRACLE'. Her embarrassed companion is telling her to calm down and telling me she is crazy. All the missionaries within a 50 foot radius are looking around to see why someone is literally screaming. We discover that this sister knows my companion's older brother from Taiwan. She is jumping up and down and demanding a picture. The companion reluctantly gets in the picture with me, grumbling about how weird her companion is, and then she sees my name tag. Her eyes get huge as she reads it. She recognizes the Chinese characters and asks where I got it. Then when I tell her I had a brother serve in Taiwan she starts to remember and asks to see a picture. She looks at his face in a picture for not a second before SHE starts jumping up and down and shrieking. She can't believe that she knows my brother. The other sister is still losing HER mind and so now my companion and I are just laughing at each other as were surrounded by these out-of-control 5 foot 0 Taiwanese sisters who just can't handle their excitement. It was so funny and honestly a miracle, what are the odds that we ran into them and they each knew our brothers. It made me want to be an awesome missionary like my brother Spencer, he apparently left quite the impression on Taiwan.

We also had an amazing experience during a lesson.

 It proved to me that God is mindful of me and His children and He is orchestrating everything.

So we were about to do an online TRC. We called the person and they didn't answer. Then we called another backup and they didn't answer. And then we called another and they said they could call in 15 minutes. Right then, our teacher Brother McFadden had an idea. It was so spur of the moment and I know it was revelation to call this lady. It was someone he had just baptized at the end of his mission and she is from Taiwan and now in Texas visiting his family. Her family is not supportive of her being in the Church so it was really awesome for her to spend time with his family in Texas and go to church with them. He decided to call her and ask her if we could talk with her to do a little lesson. She agreed and we started the call. She spoke so fast we could hardly understand but I know that God helped us understand everything that we needed to. It was clear that she had so much inside she wanted to share and it was so powerful for her to be able to share. I know that God gave us and her that opportunity. Then at the end we bore testimonies. I felt prompted to talk about the Sacrament and why it's so important. After the lesson and the call was over, we were talking to Brother McFadden about it. He was moved and as we talked we realized how much had to fall into place for that to occur. 

He had to teach her in Taiwan which in itself was a miracle.

She had to visit his family.

He had to work at the MTC, especially this day and with this district.

He had to have the prompting to call her.

We had to be at that specific computer.

Those people had to not answer that we called first.

She had to be available to talk at that time.

And so much more.

God is real and He is orchestrating miracles. I know this was a miracle and it was truly amazing. My favorite part was something that Brother McFadden told us afterwards. He told us that he overheard her ask a question about why going to church is hard and how she has some problems with it. He said it's something that she's asked before. He asked what we answered with. In the moment I realized what had happened. Because I had literally no clue that she had that question, and neither did my companions. I couldn't understand the question because she talked so fast. But I felt prompted to talk about the Sabbath day and about the Sacrament and about how important it is in helping become like Christ. After the lesson, I realized that this was exactly what she needed to hear. This is pure and solid evidence to me that God is helping us spread His love. As I listened to His Spirit, I was able to expand my capacities and do something for Him. I was able to be part of a miracle and truly be an instrument in His hands. I am moved and touched by this experience. I know that He is mindful of all of us and I can't wait to continue to be an instrument in His hands. I have felt of the joy and love that comes from these experiences. This was such a blessing to be able to have in my life. I love this gospel and I know it's true.

I love being out here and I love hearing from all of you. Can't wait to keep being a missionary and serving the Lord.

Elder Halverson

Per my Dad's request I've included some pictures of Trump. My goal is to get one WITH him this week.