Bula Vinaka!
This week has been quite the week I don't know where to start. I guess I should start with the big news and then work my way down from there. As I'm sure everyone has heard, there is going to be a HUGE world wide broadcast on missionary work (if you haven't heard, you have now) that the prophet and the apostles are all going to be at. Also, it is in the Marriott Center. And the Marriott Center is a hop skip and a jump from the MTC. If you think you know where I'm going with this, you're wrong. The first presidency has asked for a choir of 2200 people, half of which are missionaries, and I get to be in it! I'm not sure how good my seats will be, but I get to sing to the prophet (along with 2199 other people of course). If you haven't made the connection yet, this is a world wide broadcast, and when the choir sings, along with a slide show and video clip, they will cut back to the choir, so look for me when the choir is singing! (As a side note, I wanted to wear the family tie, but they don't want anything beyond thin strips and small dots or a plain tie for this broadcast so that no one stands out, sorry).
Not I have to think back to the rest of my week. It's hard to write at the MTC because most of the days are pretty uniform and the same. We get up, we eat, we practice language, usually have gym, and then we eat more, study more, eat again, study more, and then go to bed. We have three "progressing Investigators" right now that we are teaching. Namely our teachers are pretending to be people that they taught while on a mission. It's really good for us though, they used to do only TRC once a week, and that was all the teaching you did. Now we teach everyday but P day and Sunday, including TRC on Saturday, though TRC is about teaching investigators, it's teaching returned missionaries to help out language skill and what not. It's a good program.
On Tuesday we had a devotional with Elder Robert Gay, funny name, great speaker. Earlier that day, Brother Agilosi (his really name is Engel but the Fijians called him Agilosi, which means Angel) told us a story of a Fijian couple he taught out in the Bush so far that is took three hours to drive there from the nearest city, and there was no electricity. He taught once and the man had a dream that night. In his dream two figures in white robes appeared and told him that in the palagi (Polynesian version of "cracka") gives him a Book and tells him it is the word of God, that it is and he should listen to his words. Well, Brother Agilosi, not knowing this gave the man the Book of Mormon and the man knew it was true. Elder Gay told an even more amazing story of a man in Ghana that had a vision of missionaries coming to Ghana YEARS ago and started teaching the people in preparation. In his vision he saw his dead brother who told him that he would know they were the missionaries he was searching for if they sang the song "Come Come Ye Saints," he also vividly saw Elder Gay. When the missionaries first arrived, and sang Come Come Ye Saints, nearly one thousand people had already been prepared by this man and were baptized a week later. Another confirmation came to this man when Elder Gay later served there as a mission president. Finally, I'm reminded of Brother Pennington's story of being impressed that he would teach a man he knew before. After hanging around the American Embassy for a while, he was transfered without meeting anyone he "knew before." In his new area he was teaching a doctrine class and he stopped, looked at the man on the front row, said "You are the man I knew before, and I'm going to baptize you." The man, in tears, replied, "I know." I've heard many stories like this, but about six or so in the last week. It impressed me so strongly that there is someone in Fiji that I am being sent to teach personally that the Lord has prepared for me to be a vessel in their conversion. Those stories are amazing, and I hope I can come back with one equally as amazing. Though I don't know if I will, I pray I can find that person I need to teach through my obedience to the commandments of the Lord.
I tried to send a few pictures, I think you got two, but the other two disappeared, so if you didn't get them, let me know. They were of my district and a LOT of missionaries walking from the Marriott Center. I don't have too much time, and other Elders here are getting antsy. Since I don't have a whole lot more to say I don't think I will. I have heard that I am in your prayers, especially that I will learn the language. I'm not even close to being perfect, but I know that I have learned this language WAY faster than I should have. Please continue to keep me in you prayers. I want to learn the language so fast I wish I could sit down and study constantly. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. That has been my mantra from the past few days, I think it applies to pretty much everything I do. Thanks for your support once again. I love you all!
~Elder Morgan
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