Dear family,
We've had an excellent week! A lot is happening here in the MTC.
Last Wednesday we got three new missionaries in the zone, all headed to the Adriatic North Mission. The two sisters are learning Croatian, and the one Elder is learning Slovene. A second elder was supposed to come also, but he broke his foot the morning he was supposed to come! Though it was hard adjustment for them, they're doing better now.
On Friday we met with Pavel again. He's having kind of a hard time. As an update on him and his girlfriend: that ship has sunk. They're not together anymore. On Monday we also taught him the Word of Wisdom and invited him to live it. we're not sure how that's gone, but it seemed like it would be a struggle for him. His new faith really seems to be being tried. We've done our best to figure out exactly how he feels about the Book of Mormon and the rest of our message, and he seems to believe it and believe that the Lord will help him, but it's still hard for him.
We've been meeting with another investigator that I haven't written home about much; Adela. She's starting to do so well! We're moving very slowly, but she has great application questions (which are our favorite kind as missionaries) about why the Gospel is important, how she can come closer to Heavenly Father through prayer, and more, and it's so fun to teach her. The Spirit is present very strongly when we teach her. She's so eager to learn.
On Sunday Sister Sheri Dew came and spoke to us for our evening devotional. She's such a powerful speaker! She spoke to us about how we need to authorize the Spirit to teach us. She told us a funny story about how shortly before she was realized from the General Relief Society Presidency all of the General Authorities and General Officers of the Church were given ID cards that they were asked to carry around with them all the time. She carried it around, but she never really needed to use it (because by then all of the security people knew who she was) and never found out what it really did. Until, of course, her last day as the General Relief Society President.
That day she had to come to Temple Square really early, and the entrance to the access tunnels under Temple Square hadn't been opened yet. She buzzed the security intercom, and the security guard recognized her, but asked her for her to wave her ID card next to the intercom. A little skeptical, she waved it there, and the massive doors started opening! When the security guard heard how surprised she was, he asked if she knew what the card did. After Sister Dew explained that she did not, the security guard said that her card could open almost every closed door in the tunnel system, as she was a General Officer and had almost the highest access there was.
She related to us how she was completely taken aback. She said that there were doors down in the access tunnels that she had always wondered about, but never knew that she could get into. The security guard told her, rather bursting her bubble, that since it was her last day as General Relief Society President, her access would end at midnight that night.
The point of this story was that she related her access to the gift of the Holy Ghost. As members, we have been granted with a priceless gift, that we may receive personal revelation. The scriptures (especially D&C) are full of promises that we may know the mysteries of God and His kingdom, if we take the step to knock. Sister Dew invited us to learn the language of revelation, of which the scriptures are the guide.
I've thought quite a lot about this, and had noticed these promises before in D&C. During the devotional on Tuesday (which was by Gerald Causse of the Presiding Bishopbric) I really tried to focus on my feelings and what the Spirit had to say. It was such a spiritually strong meeting! I received so many blessings during that meeting.
I hope that if you're reading this, that you take the opportunity to strengthen your relationship with the Holy Ghost. The Gospel is truly a gospel of "Ask and ye shall receive; knock and it shall be opened unto you." The Lord desires to bless us so much! I've read this in another talk, but Joseph Smith said that his biggest frustration with the Saints was that they wouldn't receive the blessings in store for them, because they wouldn't ask for them. The Lord desires a spiritually powerful people, and He'll make us that if we try.
I love you all so much. I have some more to say, but I'm out of time.
If you're not a member of the LDS Church, frankly I don't know if this letter will make any sense to you. I promise we're not weird! Just learn a little more about us. :)
Love,
Starší Boyce
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| Just a fun picture of Daniel's name tag in front of the Provo Temple |
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| Finally all together; Elder Boyce, Elder Billings and Elder Giles! They are all good friends from Camarillo however, Elder Billings moved away right before high school. |
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