MTC week 2

I can't believe its almost time to leave the MTC. I have learned so much in so little time.I got my travel itinerary! I leave Septembe 21 and get to Seattle about 9:30 AM. There are 13 elders going to Seattle (2 of them speak other languages). We are to report to the MTC travel office at 5:00 AM that morning! There goes another good night of sleep, which I have never gotten here.

I really can't wait to finally head off and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. In devotional on tuesday I learned why missionary work is really so hard. They played a clip of Elder Ballard telling us that salvation is never cheap! It is true! Throughout time, the faithful have never had it easy. Jesus Christ suffered for us, but he said that we are to pay a small token of that price in order to gain salvation. The pioneers were persecuted, they died in order to show the world what they believed. Even today, in a time of turmoil, the Church has its challenges. As you see, all have had to pay some sort of price for the gospel. A mission is hard because it really has always been that way. Our faith will be tried and tested, but in the end we can live with Christ again and what greater reward could we have?

Sunday was a long day. At night the missionaries get to watch movies :D. This week we watched Legacy, a cheesy film with bad acting and lines, which we all came back quoting, but with a powerful message of the pioneers. It is really amazing how the Church has grown into what it is today! The pioneers could never have immagined it. It showed me that throughout all the trials that the Church has gone through, God always provided a way to bring forth His gospel to all the world. The faithfulness of our pioneer ancestors brought us the gospel, and for that I am eternally grateful.

On Sunday, Elder Westover and I gave our district a lesson on obedience. We must always follow God's commandments. God asks us to do hard things, but I know we will be blessed when we follow Jesus Christ.

Yesterday, my district helped in hosting the new missionaries. It was funny seeing how nervous the new missionaries were and I remembered that morning as well. It was scarry coming into the MTC the first day! It was good to remember how far I have come since then and think of how far I need to go in order to be the missionary I want to be.

Love,
Elder Richard Clark Fetzer