Lots of changes this week which will carry through the rest of my mission and beyond. A new training from the Brethren is changing the way that we teach. It is the way missionaries have been intended to teach all along, but it is helping those of us who haven't gotten the memo yet to catch up. As the senior companion, Sister Fonua spent four days in Morristown at a seminar for all the leadership in which they were given this training and are now to teach it to the rest of us. It will be introduced to missionary training centers worldwide in May. Even though we no longer use the memorized "discussions" to teach, many missionaries, myself included, still have a tendency to take the lessons in Preach My Gospel and present them to investigators. They were intended to add depth to the knowledge, understanding and testimonies of missionaries, not investigators, so that missionaries can take the knowledge that they gain and adapt it to investigators' needs. This training is meant to tear down the old way of thinking and establish a teaching method based more completely on the Spirit. It involves a lot of inspired questions, silence, and listening. And it is twisting my brain into knots! I didn't realize how reliant on the lessons I had become until I was required to teach to a commitment without knowing which lesson I was teaching. I did it in a roleplay with Sister Fonua last night and drew a complete blank after saying one sentence. So I anticipate a lot of migraines in the coming weeks, but I am excited to take my teaching to a new level. Not only will it benefit me but, more importantly, it will make all the difference for our investigators. Prayers, which I already know you give in abundance and for which I am very grateful, would be appreciated! Please pray that my brain will be able to work in this new way and that I will be able to follow the Spirit.
Ray was baptized Saturday morning. It was beautiful. He was confirmed the next day and was an absolute ray of sunshine. I've never seen anyone so happy or felt such a glow come from a person. It made me want that much more to help someone else find the joy and peace that only the gospel brings. More than anything I feel gratitude that I was able to be a part of such a wonderful thing. I know I didn't earn it. One of our missionaries once said that the baptisms we get to participate in are God's gift to us. The work we do is our gift to Him. The gift I've received is far greater than the one I've given! Though I know they will never compare, I hope that I can bring the two into slightly close proportion.
Fun experience before I go. Due to an agreement we made with some of our investigators Sister Tolman and I attended a spanish Pentecostal church yesterday while Sister Fonua was on a split with a member. Never been to one before, and I must say that it was a lot of fun. We were escorted by our friend Joseph to the very front row. By the end my ears were ringing as though we had just sat through another N*Sync concert! It was very interesting to see the differences between methods of worship. I can see the attraction. It was fun and exhilarating, but I was grateful afterwards to return to the peace and reverence of the chapel in Jersey City.
