Hola a todos!  What a week it has been!!  Time in the MTC goes by very fast because we stay so busy with language and Gospel studies. I enjoy the chance to take a break and often the cafeteria is one such place I can relax for a few minutes. This week, I was enjoying my favorite drink – raspberry lemonade. 😊 Apparently, I was enjoying it too much because I spilt some on my black jacket. Little did I realize that the pink drink went through the jacket directly onto my white shirt – now turned pink in part of the front area. I wasn’t sure how to remove the stain. I considered the possibility that my white shirt was ruined. Before giving up, I had an idea. I went to the bathroom, got some soap from the dispenser, rubbed it on my shirt, and the pink stain came off. Much to my surprise and delight, the pink stain was gone!

We had a lot of rain this past week and the rain caused me to think about my Baptism Day. Just like the rain that washes away all the filth from the Earth, my sins were washed away when I was baptized. That was an important day for me because of the covenants I made with God to take upon me the name of Christ, remember Him always, and keep His commandments. 

Christ is our great example: “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of Him…And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:  and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3: 13,16-17.  He invites all to come unto Him “Now this is the commandment:  Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.” 3 Nephi 27:20

We had the visit of another General authority, Elder Budge of the Quorum of the Seventy.  He gave a 40 minute talk. It shocked me to see how much information he put into his talk.  I think his preparation took a Iot of work and I appreciate it.  I have to say it was an amazing experience.  He shared a few ideas that I loved.

• Idea #1.  A Saint who keeps on repenting and glorifies God and shows that he or she loves him will receive the full Glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the last day.
• Idea #2.   We Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are sent off to find the lost ones and cry repentance unto them. These two ideas hit me the hardest. It made me ponder more of the purpose of my mission.

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I also was given the opportunity to sing in the Missionary Choir for the Devotional. We sang Hope of Israel. That song is super powerful and grew my testimony. Here is a recent singing of that song led by our latter-day prophet President Russell M. Nelson

The tree you see in this Picture represents the Tree Of Life!!! This tree is found at the entrance of the Missionary Training Center (MTC).  It was pretty cool to see this tree because it reminded me of the scriptures found in Genesis and the Book of Mormon where we learn about the Tree of Life:

“And the Lord planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put man whom he had formed.  And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every. Tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Genesis 2: 8-9. 

“And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.  And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.  And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew it was desirable above all other fruit.” 1 Nephi 8:10-12. 

One of my all-time favorite pictures is this one of the famous Captain Moroni. This Man is Top Notch on my list of Book Of Mormon Heroes. Every time I think of the Scriptures, I think of him because of the type of man he was in the eyes of God. He stood for Family, Men, Women, Children and Religion. I want to do the same too.

I would love to hear from you, how your weeks have been and what you have been up to!  Thanks again for all you have done for me, for teaching me and helping me become the man I am today! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of this week. Till the final week before I leave for the mission field in the Arizona Scottsdale Mission!!!!😂😀😁😂

Adios!!!! Y Buena Suerte!!!