Week 5

Here's Elder Claiborne's post from August 5, 2011:

General Update:

Alright, so I know my update from last week was not the most pleasant.. I probably should have done a better job of censoring my struggles, but I really couldn't do any better than I did. Anybody who is worried, or wondering what happened, don't worry about it. I'm in God's hands so I have to trust that He will take care of things. This week was not easy, in a lot of ways it was just as hard; however, I'll keep all that nonsense to myself because none of what I'm doing on my mission is about me. It's about God's children who need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The language is coming faster than I ever imagined it would. Don't get me wrong, at times I feel like I can't say or understand a thing, but when I think about the progress I have been able to make, it really is a miracle. For 8 hours of each day, my district has chosen to speak zero English unless we get special permission to do so. We also have to teach every lesson in Tagalog. I may not be eloquent, and I'm sure everything I say is riddled with mistakes, but I am able to say/understand what I need to. Each Thursday night, we have TRC which is an activity where volunteers come and pretend to be investigators so we can teach in various situations. They changed the format however. Now, the volunteers are just themselves, and we have to teach them real lessons in Tagalog that will help them better come unto Christ. One of the people we taught this past time was a man named Oliver. Somehow, I was able to say everything I needed in Tagalog to without stopping to think. The lesson went great, and it impacted Oliver a lot. The spirit was strong in that lesson. It felt really good to be able to actually teach as a missionary, and actually impact someone's life for the better. It wasn't a role play like we do for most of the week.

I'm really starting to love reading the Book of Mormon every day, if you really get into the scriptures, they are amazing. I started reading the Book of Mormon when I got here, and I'm in the middle of Alma right now. It's great.

I have a great district here as well. We don't always agree on everything, but we love each other nonetheless. There is so much to learn from other people when you stop, pay attention, watch and listen. There is also so much we can all do to strengthen others. Some guys in my district do a great job remembering to have fun, some do a great job following the letter of the law at all times. I think as a missionary it is important to find a way to do both. That's what I'm trying to do.

Scripture chapter of the week is 2 Nephi 4. It is an amazing chapter. Read it. I miss everyone and love you all very much. Letters make life a lot easier around here, so please send them!

Love,

Elder Claiborne