Back and Better than Ever: Almost One Month

I'm almost one month in. I can't believe it! This Wednesday will be the four week mark and Saturday will be the one month mark. I feel so young but at the same time I feel so old. Things at the MTC are going really well.

I have seen SO many people I know that I can't even keep track of them anymore. Today I was in the Provo temple and I saw two temple workers who worked Wednesday mornings in the Mt. Timp. temple (I used to do baptisms every Wednesday morning for a year and a half.) And while I was walking to do laundry, I saw someone who was one of my best friends at Willow Valley. I can't believe how many people I see. And yesterday I met someone named Elder McClinchy (I think) whose older sister married my cousin Layne Squires. It was crazy.

Tahitian and French are coming along. It's weird to do "SYL" (speak your language) when you have very limited vocabulary in both languages and you don't know which one to speak. But I do like both of them a lot. I can bear my testimony, and pray fairly well in both languages.

We taught our first lesson in Tahitian last week. It was hard, but our "investigator" (our teacher - who acts like an investigator he once had) acted like he was drunk and so not only was the language barrier a problem but the fact that he kept asking us our names and where we were from threw us off very much. And I learned that it's offensive to turn down food that is offered to you. I guess it makes sense, but when you don't realize that a box of chalk is supposed to be fake food you aren't excited to eat it. Ha.

Things are really good. We are going to continue teaching a French "investigator" and get things started with our Tahitian one. One of our other French "investigators" agreed to be baptized. Even though it was not real and we aren't actually going to baptize him, the Spirit was so strong when he said yes and I was smiling so big when he told us that after praying he felt that baptism was the right thing for him. It makes me so happy to hear about the work really continuing outside of the MTC. This week has been great.

Also, my testimony of the Savior and His love increased so much this week. I am not the kind of person who cries when I feel the Spirit, but for the last few days I have cried whenever I think about being a child of God or whenever the Spirit hits me very strongly. Even if tears aren't my thing, the feeling inside of me is incredible.

I really do love this work. I am committed to being the best I can be for the Lord. I know that love and patience changes people, even ourselves. So, family and friends, go out in the world and love others and yourself as the Savior does. Because I know that He loves each of us so much. We have been given so many great things. How hard would it be to share it? I love you all!

Love, Elder Squires

p.s. I leave four weeks from today!