MTC Week 5

Hola Everyone!

I don't have much time to write today, but I'll say what I can. It's so weird to think that I've been here for exactly one month today and I have less than a month left in the MTC. I really hope I learn everything I need to before I head off to Argentina. As that time gets closer and closer I feel more and more excited and more and more apprehensive. In just a little while I'll be teaching real people and helping them come unto Christ. It's a pretty mind-blowing idea. I'm working hard and trying to learn as much as I can.

Spanish is coming along pretty well. I have the concept down, but the application is a little less mastered. My district decided to go on an English fast for the day on Thursday. I really didn't think it would be that hard since I can usually communicate pretty well (it's a little cave-man like, but understandable). We did this challenge where we each had five tabs on our name tags and every time we spoke English we had to take one off. We decided we could speak English during mealtimes and ask permission to say something in English, but if you ran out before a meal you had to speak only Spanish. It was so hard! I ran out of all five before lunch! I would just forget to speak Spanish or ask permission. It was very frustrating, but I learned a lot - mainly that I know a lot more than I thought I did. We're doing it again tomorrow. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how that goes.

Our teaching is going well. We're learning so much about teaching and that it's not about the teacher or lesson at all. It's about the investigator and what they need to hear and feel. There really is a difference between teaching people and teaching lessons.

General Conference was great! It was so nice to just sit and watch it, then go eat, sit and watch, and then go eat again. The sisters watched the Relief Society General Broadcast while the elders watched the Priesthood Session on Saturday and we had a fireside on Sunday night. It was probably one of the best weekends I've ever had and was a really good break half-way through my time here. It really helped me to re-focus and get back into everything with a new point of view.

I've learned a lot about the kind of missionary and person I want to be while I've been here. I wrote in my journal on Monday: "I want to be the type of person who everyone automatically loves. I want people to want to be their best around me and never want to disappoint me. Hermano Zivic (a teacher here from Argentina) is like that. He has so much love and so much confidence in each of us. He makes me want to work harder, better, and love and care more. He truly is an example of a Christlike person." I hope I can learn to be more like that during the next 17 months.

God bless you all. I love you and feel your prayers for me. They are so appreciated.

Hermana Erin Litster