Hey guys! This is my last full week at the MTC! I will be flying out next Tuesday to Brazil! Time has actually been flying here. I have learned so much in the past few weeks in terms of the Portuguese and the gospel.
Highlights:
- Taught our first 25 minute Portuguese lesson and it went super well!
- Elder Teny and I were about to be late for a class that was all the way across the campus and it started at 6:00 but we needed to be two minutes early. We decided to sprint while I had a ham sandwich in hand so we left at 5:53 and we got to class at 5:58 hence the title of the email. We were actually sweating so hard and gasping for air when we got to class. We are academic weapons
- Got to play some more basketball and SPIKEBALL
- Got to draw some more (unlocking a hidden talent I forgot about)
- Got a package with some new hacky sacks
Spiritual Thought:
We did a Go and Do experience where we study whatever we want for an hour and a half and I was reading in 1 Nephi 3 and 4 where Nephi and his brothers are getting the plates. Laman and his brothers are terrified of Laban because they know how much power he has and that he can command 50 men to slay them in an instant. In the end Nephi knows that because he keeps the commandments of God and has full faith in Him, he has no need to fear. FEAR NO MAN has been my motto lately and that is exactly how Nephi felt when he had full confidence in the Lord. People always wonder why we send out 18- and 19-year-olds on missions because it seems like they have nothing to give to people that have so much more life experience. People might have more knowledge about historical evidence, statistical evidence, or other religious knowledge but when you have a testimony and you live it and have felt the influence of the spirit personally, nobody can take that away from you. I also read a talk by Boyd K. Packer that talks about "The Touch of The Master's Hand" and it says:
'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.
"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar" — then, "Two!" "Only two?
Two dollars, and who'll make it three?
Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three—" But no,
From the room, far back, a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
Two thousand! And who'll make it three?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
And going, and gone," said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand
What changed its worth." Swift came the reply:
"The touch of the master's hand."
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine;
A game — and he travels on.
He's "going" once, and "going" twice,
He's "going" and almost "gone."
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought
By the touch of the Master's hand.
Sometimes we may feel inadequate and like we don't have anything to offer to others in terms of talent or teaching ability or we might be weighed down by mistakes or pains that we have caused people in the past. With the touch of our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, we can become a priceless tool that the Lord uses to bless the lives of so many others.
Love you guys so much! See you soon Santos!
The Alley family moved to Utah from Georgia this last year....Gavin got to help their son when he came to the MTC!
! I genuinely could not stop laughing as he waddled with his companion back to their room to change. 
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