Bonjour ma famille et mes amis,
Well, it's been another thrilling week in the Missionary Training Center. Let's talk details.
So this past Thursday, the other three members of my district made the day-trip to San Francisco to visit the French Consulate and get their visas. They had a fabulous day filled with adventure, which I think I'll skip explaining. But, some of you may be wondering, what did I do on a day when not just my companion, but my district abandoned me to be a lone man in the MTC? Well, for starters, it was a really good opportunity to get to know some of the other members of my zone. I ended up spending the day on a split with Elders Adams and Kunz, going to Lyon, France, and Benin, respectively. They don't get charachter profiles. But they're awesome. I went to a new class with a new teacher in the morning, which was another fun experience, and then in the evening, Frere Grossin decided to come in anyway, which meant that for the evening class, it was just the two of us. So. That was fun, and I was able to get some very personal and specific help, but as I may have alluded to before, he is a fairly intense teacher, so that was lots of fun. In any case, my district didn't end up returning until around 9pm, which is approximately half an hour before we return to our residence and begin preparing for bed. All in all, a fun day.
Then we go back to the day-to-day MTC life, which continued in a relatively unremarkable pattern right up until Sunday evening. Which I guess I should explain. *sigh* Anyway, what you need to know is that every Sunday and Tuesday evening, all of the MTC gathers into our big auditorium to have a fireside or a devotional. And, for those of you who may have been wondering, as I was, I believe I can explain to you just what the difference is between the two. See, a Fireside occurs on a Sunday, whereas a Devotional occurs on Tuesday. It took me roughly three weeks of personal study time to work that one out. But yes. Sunday evening, we had our usual weekly Fireside (But I don't need to tell YOU guys that!), and we had the opportunity to hear from the BYU Men's Chorus, directed by the world-famous Rosalind Hall. Apparently the do a Christmas Fireside every year at the MTC, which means I had the chance to hear them. I'll be honest, it was more meaningful to me than I thought it would be. It's been a while since I've gotten to hear any sort of music that doesn't come directly from the Hymn Book, and so the chance to hear it performed on such a level really was special. I thought of a speech given at a Juliard Address of some sort, which says in part that the Greeks thought of music as a sort of psychological equivalent to astronomy; it is the study of how the celestial bodies inside each of our minds move and interact. Side note-do we have the technology to find that and send it to me? I really found myself wanting to read it again. Point being, that as I was listening to the testimonies of these young men, I learned something about myself.
THINGS I'VE LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF:
Music is, for me, a very effective conduit of revelation. Something about it moves inside me, in such a way that brings light unto understanding.
Also, I'm kind of an apple snob. But that is so not the point right now.
But yes. That was my Sunday night, and really the only other thing this week that I wanted to write home about. (NO WAY! That's totally where that phrase came from.)
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
THE LITTLE THINGS:
This week, I am grateful for the Missionary Library. Now, of all the libraries that I have had the opportunity to interact with, this is definitly the smallest, as far as volume is concerned. I mean, it consists of four books, three of which are roughly 100 small pages. But you know, I'm finishing up my second one now, and I'm really coming to appreciate the fact that they have, even in these four small books, take care to provide for our intellectual, spiritual, and emotional needs. I have particularly appreciated "Our Search for Happiness" by M. Russell Ballard, which, when it was written, was actually intended for non-members. But yeah, it's really good. So good in fact, that had I come in contact with it before my mission, I would have gladly read it in my own free time, assuming that just about every other book was banned. And that I wasn't allowed to use phones, computers, or TVs. Okay, so I may not be great at selling the product, but really. Check it out.
Aaand on an unrelated note, the church has officially asked me to stop endorsing books.
SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:
Here's something else cool for this week; I got a letter from Elder Doe. It wasn't incredibly long, but I was very, very grateful to recieve it. He said only a few things, among them the fact that he was grateful for my support and example, and that he was not looking at this as a defeat. He plans to return to the MTC as soon as he is capable.
Why do I bring this up? Because it taught me something important. In D&C 11, I believe, God gives a revelation to Joseph Smith and some of the brethren who had traveled to Boston on a "treasure hunt" of sorts. They were looking for money which had, according to legend, been lost and was up for the taking if they could find it. They get there, and, surprise surprise, no treasure. But God responds in a way that says, I believe, that "notwithstanding your follies, there is a great treasure for you to be found here". The moral of the story is simple, with a slight disclaimer. First, 1 Nephi 3:7 is quite clear in its explination that God does not plan for us to fail. When he asks us to do something, we absolutely can do it. But, you know what, sometimes we do fail. And the magical thing about that is the response of our loving Heavenly Father. We crawl back to him, tears of shame perhaps wetting our face, and admit "I messed up pretty good, didn't I?" It is in this moment, when we know that we've gone astray, that God tells us "It's okay. Yeah, this isn't what I had in mind, but you just watch if we can't still make this GREAT". Notwithsanding our follies, God makes the best of our situation, so long as we ask him for our help. And that is awesome.
QUOTE FOR THE WEEK:
One of the memebers of men's chorus asked a convert why they had made so many sacrifices to do something as simple as attending church.
Their response: "We had to know if this work was true, and sacrificing for Jesus was the only way to do that".
I'm way out of time. Love to you all,
-Elder Kamalu Santos
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