Preparing for San Jose part 1

To whom it may concern, It's my fifth email, and I'm already starting to run out of ideas to open these, that's not good. Regardless, this week has been pretty good, though I have been getting a bit antsy as I wait to go out into the field haha. On Monday, I definitely started to feel more restless as I prepared for my classes, and I had the opportunity to give my dad a blessing after he had given everyone else father's blessings for school/mission. It was pretty neat; I got pretty hot while I was speaking, and I think that was a combination of both the Spirit and me feeling like my awkward self haha. It was good though, I'm grateful that I could participate in that. Tuesday was more or less the same in regards to my classes; this week, we've been focused on teaching the Plan of Salvation. We also did a fun activity in which we (as companions) practiced bartering with a vendor for ingredients to prepare a meal (we were learning about Tagalog words for food). It was a little tough because our teacher was referring to certain items in kilograms, and although I generally understood what he was saying, I didn't know if the prices he said were worth it or not haha. It was still fun though. I also led a "Book of Mormon Share" in class, in which I asked everyone to find and share examples of people following the prophet and the blessings that resulted from that. I shared Mosiah 18:16-17, which is after Alma the Elder listened to the prophet Abinadi and escaped King Noah to preach in private. Even though Alma was the only one of the king's priests to listen to Abinadi, his actions led to him converting and baptizing "two hundred and four souls" and to the establishment and later growth of the "church of Christ" in the land (Mosiah 18:16-17). One of the possible blessings of following the prophet (ancient and modern) is that we receive an increase of light and we become more like Christ, which in turn can influence others to turn to Him as well as they see your light and example. There are numerous examples of people following the prophets in the Book of Mormon, and I know that as we do so, the Lord will bless us for our obedience and humility, and we won't be led astray by the chaos and voices of the world. On Wednesday, I had a teaching experience with my companions; we taught a sweet, older lady from the Philippines haha. Surprisingly, I was actually one of the main leaders in our discussions both before and during the lesson, and I talked quite a bit, but that's mainly because I think I'm the most comfortable with the language so far. Whenever she said something or asked a question, I would usually respond first in order to a) make sure I understood her correctly, and b) give my answer so that my companions more firmly knew what she had asked (because she talked a little fast at times haha). The lesson was good, we taught some of the Plan of Salvation and why we're here on Earth, but my Internet dropped during the last 5 minutes of the lesson, so I just hoped that it ended well haha. My mom also made our annual cookie pies for my sisters and I to commermorate the first day of school/thirtiy-somethingth day of the MTC, and those were great as always. On Thursday, our new dog came to our house, and with my sisters at school and my dad at work for the whole day, my mom and I (mostly my mom since I also have MTC) have been looking after him during the day. I also got a gift from my girlfriend: a box of Twinkies and a California San Jose Mission t-shirt. That helped to lift my spirits a bit. Friday was mainly just classes, taking care of the dog, and playing games with my family. We did have three debates in class though, so you guys can settle these amongst yourselves: mountains vs. beach; sweet vs. salty; and who would win in a fight, gorilla vs. polar bear? Anyway, there's my exciting week, I hope y'all are having a great time as well. Best regards, Elder Enger

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