Week 68 – MLC

Hey!
So this week was absolutely packed again. It’s tiring but honestly I love having so much to do that there isn’t enough time to do it all. Alright so this week we had a number of lessons fall through, including those with our friends on date, so hopefully this week we can have lessons with them. Unfortunately one of them hasn’t responded, but we know he’s busy with work down in LA and will be until May, hopefully we can get that contact and help him continue to grow.

Other highlights from the week were the training meeting we had for all the new missionaries. It was the first real instruction I’ve had to do as a zone leader so that was interesting. Hopefully with our words and some of the things we covered will help them to start out on the right foot for a full and successful mission. Hmm what else we also are allowed to kinda street contact now. Basically on our daily walks we’re encouraged to say hi to everyone and if they kinda start a conversation we can share what we do. So we have been taking those and contacting some people. The weather has also been so nice this week so they have been very enjoyable. Friday we had a mission devotional where they announced that we’ll be having a full mission conference this Thursday! I’m so excited. Then after that we had MLC where they basically ran through what exactly we’ll be doing at the mission conference. So we as zone leaders and the sister training leaders will be leading one of 3 workshops all centered on faith. Our part will be the role play workshop. MLC was absolutely incredible though. I loved it so much; it just felt so different than the zone conferences. I was talking to Elder Edwards after and he mentioned it was because of the unity that we have because we are all trying to do our best, all are obedient and love President Auna and the mission. So I want to try to get that kind of unity in the zone so everyone can experience that level or that feeling of the Spirit in a meeting. Super cool.

Another spiritual highlight this week was Elder Holland gave a missionary devotional on the importance of the Spirit, and it really made it clear that the Spirit is the key to teaching and to conversion. Without it we do not teach in the Saviors way and ultimately we can teach 100% truth, but if we don’t have the Spirit it is better if we don’t teach. Pretty powerful. I also had a chance through our zone focus activity to read “Beware of Pride” by Ezra Taft Benson again and it was so good. It made it clear to me that basically most sins come down to a manner of pride and that by eliminating it we will sin a lot less and whne we do we will repent a lot quicker. So I am definitely going to focus more on being humble and submissive. In the talk he also asked a questions along the lines of what has your pride cost you? What is it costing you now? And that pride is the great stumbling block to Zion aka a people of one heart and mind (like the Godhead). Yeha such a fire talk. So so so good. Alright that’s it now for the questions.

Questions –

Share something you learned from your personal scripture study this week. – See above, but also I studied President Nelson’s talk on faith for the MLC preassignment and I learn about how I need to work harder to have more faith and be more confident that I can achieve miracles. So I’m going to use less wishy washy words in prayer when asking for prayers and trust I can get what I want as I align my will with His.

This time last year you were adjusting from having to come home early from your mission to due to Covid. As you reflect of the last year what have you learned? – I don’t know exactly. I was refecting on it as I wrote a short version of it in Spanish for the Venid a Cristo en el Noroeste de Washington page, and I still don’t know why I had to go home. But I guess I have learned that ultimately for doing what is hard and taking a step of faith we will be blessed. I have been so blessed for being here. I have met so many people I would not have otherwise so ultimately I am grateful in a way for the pandemic even if I still don’t know why me being at home was part of it. Because I could have stayed out and met potentially even more people. Maybe it’ll never be answered but maybe it will in the coming months, years or decades.

Favorite meal of the week? – Hmmm I don’t know, maybe the chicken and rice I made?

Share a service moment from your week, you serving someone or others serving you? – This week Elder Edwards served me by helping me improve. In comp inventory he told me that I need to focus more on the task at hand and also recognize that not everything needs to be done right then right now, which is hard for me. I am grateful for that because so many people are too afraid to bring anything up.

Love you all!
Elder Tonkinson
https://eldertonkinson.home.blog/