Week 6 - MADE IT TO MEXICO!!! - October 27, 2014

David having dinner in Chihuahua with all new Elders and Sisters

Ola!!!! I'm in Mexico!!!!!!  I love it here! and I'm not doing that bad of a job with the language!  I'm actually having to think English right now...... and the keyboards are really weird too.....  Its amazing here! The city is beautiful! The food is amazing!  The rules are strict! and Ill tell you more next week! They just want us to send a quick message!  Plus there's not really much to say, except I love being immersed in this culture!!!!

Week 5 - October 23, 2015

David and his district with the MTC Presidency

David with 2 districts and the MTC Presidency

David's old room at MTC West Campus

David's new room on main MTC campus

Hey guys!  Sorry I dont have much time right now!!!!  We moved down here to Main Campus!!!!  We are going to MEXICO THIS MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So excited!   Don't have much time for a spiritual thought!  But I'll ask a question.  How do we show love to god?  Remember!  Actions speak louder than words!!!!!!   We cant just tell him we love him, we need to show it. How?  By following his commandments.  WHen we follow his commandments, we show God we love him.  Thats the easiest, and simplest way to do that!  Sorry I'll share more of Isaiah next week!  And how Charity is the greatest of all Christs attributes, and why he desires all of us to have it as well!   Maybe look it up yourself and tell me what you think?  Btw i found out my investigator was already a member..... Ugh I cant wait to be a real missionary out in the field!!!!!!!!!   Best of luck to you all! Know I pray for all of you every day!!!

Fuerte Siempre,

Elder Pettingill

Week 4 - October 15, 2014

David, Companion, and teacher

David and Companion

Alright guys! Time for another update on what’s happening down here in the MTC (aka Spirit Prison)!!!!  Haha jk about the spirit prison, but seriously.  I'm loving everything down here!  The language is getting better!  I'm able to get through most gospel topics easy enough, it's just everyday sort of stuff that I have trouble with!   I love the gospel so much guys!!!!  Everything I'm learning is amazing!!!

Ok, so gospel thought of the week(I'm not trying to prove anything, I just want to share what I've learned) - During my own personal study time I wanted to search up a scripture that some people have said discredited the Book of Mormon.  The scripture people refer to is in Revelation 22:18-19 which says:

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

Because of this scripture, people say that there cannot be anything else, because it says don't add unto these things.  But if that were true, then it would discredit the whole New Testament!  In the Old Testament- Deuteronomy 4:2-5 it says the exact thing!  

2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal-peor: for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you.
4 But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.
5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as theLord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.

So what did this really mean then?  I didn't know, so I continued to study it and pray about it....   Then I read a scripture in the Book of Mormon, that says the exact same thing, just in a way that is simpler to understand.... In 3 Nephi 11:40 it says...

40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.

What those scriptures are trying to say is don't change the Doctrine.  If you noticed, there are many books and prophets throughout the bible and the Book of Mormon.  Each prophet, and each section, builds upon the same foundation (which is that Christ is our Savior and Redeemer) and everything they teach is in accordance with each other.  There is not one thing that contradicts each other.  If you have read the Book of Mormon, you'll see that contained in every page, ever verse is gods will. 

I also found something really interesting....  The Bible also predicts of the Nephites in the Book of Mormon, the Great  Apostasy, the Restoration, the Book of Mormon, all that great stuff!!!!     In Isaiah 29, the whole chapter talks of all this!!!!!   I don't have time to talk about it, but if you guys want I'll share what I got out of the verses next week? 

Everything with Emilce (our Investigator) is going great!!!!!  She's really progressing!  So on Friday we gave here the challenge to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it sincerely.  She said she didn't have time.....  So I was prompted to have her read Moroni 10:3-5 (which is the promise to have an answer from the Holy Ghost) and then I asked her to just read one chapter that night, and pray about it sincerely and with real intent.  She agreed to it.  Then on Monday, she comes to the lesson immediately asking about the spirit!!! (I was like YAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Haha I knew the spirit would come through for us :)!!!!!!!)She said she felt something, but didn't understand what it was, and wanted to know if it could be of the devil.  We told her what the spirit was like (feelings of Peace, and happiness) and that its impossible for the devil to imitate these feelings.  We showed her 2 scriptures that explained these, and she's really coming a long way!  Sorry I don’t have much time!!!  I hope all is going well!!!!  What do you guys want to know about???  Have any questions for me?  How about stuff I can look for and study on my time when I'm not doing anything???  I love you all!!!!  Hope everything is going great with you guys!!!!!  Miss you all!!!!!

 

Week 3 - Oct 11 - Siempre Fuerte en el fe de Jesucristo

Buenos Dias!

    Como Estan????  Todas los cosas en la CCM es muy bien!!!  (How are you? Everything in the MTC is very good!)   Still learning a lot, still stuck in  a classroom for 9 hours a day!  Only 19 days left till I go to Mexico!!!!!!!!!!  I seriously can't wait.  People here are going crazy.....  I have guys in my District, who are literally hugging buildings just cause they're 'warm'.....  I might be next.....  Haha 

 

We're moving up to Main Campus on the 22nd, thats going to be even worse than here.  At least at West, me and my companion have a whole apartment to ourselves! 3 bedrooms-2 bathrooms-Kitchen-and a living room!  We also have a stream running right in front of our house!  

 

We got a new investigator - she's a Catholic from Cambodia.  You have no idea how difficult it was to explain to her that her church didn't have the correct keys of the Priesthood. I was doing well, understanding most of what she was saying. We were talking about the Priesthood (as part of the Restoration) and then she said something (I totally forgot what she said now) and I was moved  by the Spirit to tell her that they don't have the keys of the Priesthood and basically that their Priesthood was invalid.  Wow.  She started talking super fast in Spanish!!!!  She was using words I didn't understand, and speaking so fast that it all sounded like one word.....  The gist of what I got was that she heard of a story of a pastor back in Cambodia, and how he healed a man who couldn't walk.  She asked me to explain that. (Any suggestions?)  

 

I told her that Heavenly Father rewards those who have great faith with miracles.  I didn't know how to exactly explain it......  But what I did tell her is how the Priesthood worked in my life.  Both me and my companion testified of times, of how the Priesthood blessed our lives.  I told about how my mother, is a very strong women, and nothing can keep her down, not even sickness.  But how one day, all of a sudden she was so sick that she couldn't even get out of bed.  She asked for a Priesthood blessing, and asked me to give it to her.  I then described about how within a few hours she was up and moving about, and the sickness had totally gone away.  The Spirit was incredibly strong when we both were testifying.  

 

We had run out of time and had to leave, but before we left we told her that the Book of Mormon is proof of everything we say.  That if she would read it, and then pray with real intent, sincerely asking God if it was true, and if what we were saying was true, then she would receive an answer of the truth, through the Holy Spirit.  She agreed to read the Book of Mormon, and pray about it.  We meet with her again tomorow, so we'll see how everything goes!  Love all you guys!  Miss you all!  Tell me whats up??? 

 

Siempre Fuerte,

 

Elder David Pettingill

(My District in the first Pic-and Just a pic of me in the Classroom)

Week 2 - October 1st, 2014

Another week is gone by!!!!   Much of it is the same, a lot of study, and guess what?  Even more study!!!!!   Remember how I said me and Warden got someone to commit to baptism?  Ya..... Ended up being a teacher, who is now teaching us and helping us to get better!!!   Im learning so much about the gospel, finished the Book of Mormon, finished the first two gospels and working on the rest of the new testament!

My Spanish is getting better, still have a lot to learn, especially after we visited the Mexican Consulate!  We took a trip down there, and it was so nice to be out in the real world again!!!  Met a lot of very strange people though.......   All at the train station btw- anyway this homeless man came up to us, he seemed pretty normal, except for the fact he had two dolls with him.... Both were of Missionaries.  After I said hi, he started talking about his first doll, went to San Diego on his mission, and gave a Book of Mormon away.  He basically was treating his dolls as if they were children, which was really interesting, but he still was a pretty awesome guy.  After he left, me and a couple guys were talking about how that's probably what happens after being in the MTC for too long....

It's great here, though we literally spend 9 hours a day, in a classroom, with nothing to do but study!  I think I'm learning now cause I'm bored!  The first guy I talked to here though spoke only Spanish, so that was good practice!  And he was in a wheelchair, so he couldn't run away from me! Muahuahuahauhauha!  He was actually a really nice guy, his family is all Mormon, and hes already talking to the missionaries in his area.  Another guy we talked to reeked of alcohol, and was telling about how he just took a huge hit of Meth so he could speak every language........  it was interesting talking to him.....  Haha I can't wait to actually get out into the field!!!

I am really enjoying learning, it just seems like an eternity here cause there's not much differentiation in what we do here.  Growing closer together with my Companion and District, we had a guy ship out to Spain on Monday, so tha'ts pretty cool, great to think about.  Lets see.... special thought of the week!!!  -  You know how people think of the commandments or rules as a restriction? or something to get around?  Well stop thinking about it like that, Heavenly father gave them to us to help us and enable them to get through life easier.  Look at it as an Instruction Manual (same with the book of Mormon and Bible) its an instruction manual of life and is only there to help us, never hinder us.  Also you know how everybody is saying god loves us and shows it by blessing us?  Well how do we show love back to him?  We follow his commandments, that's how we can grow closer to him and love him.  Hey send me more letters!  More Packages!  Getting letters throughout the week is what keeps my spirits up!  Love you guys!  Hope everything is going great!!!!!  I took pics, and I'll try to figure out how to get them to you!

Siempre Fuerte,

Elder Pettingill