Howdy howdy.

Hola familia!

It's been a pretty dang good last two days. On Sunday we had a gigantic sacrament meeting with all of the missionaries in the big auditorium area. Bishop Causse (He's from France!) of the Presiding Bishopric presided and it was really cool to experience such a huge celebration of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Later that day we listened to a devotional given by Sherry Dew which was probably the best devotional I've been to at the MTC. This is especially compared to last week's Tuesday devotional where we were told that we basically never taught correctly and how we'd all fail. That was weird.

But anyways, Sister Dew was amazing. The power and authority that eminated from that blessed lady was amazing. I knew she wasn't married seeing as she was by herself on the stand and was pretty interested. She talked about how Jesus Christ is the only hope we have in this life and compared her father saving her and her brother in the middle of a snowstorm to Jesus Christ saving us from our sins. Later she talked about the knowledge, power, and authority that we are entitled to as Endowed Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ. She told us that through the knowledge and power that we gained in the Endowment ceremony we can invite angels and spirits from the other side of the veil to help us teach and testify of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I was a bit curious how that worked, so when I went to the Temple today I thought long and hard on it and decided to attempt something. We'll see if it works. So remember to pray for ministering angels Masey! She also told us that we were the noble and great ones talked about in the Book of Abraham who were chosen before the world was to prepare the world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. She shared Gordon B Hinckley's thoughts that we were the noblest of God's spirits and prepared for this time. So tell the young uns that they have even more potential than I do and shouldn't forget that they have been prepared in the eternities to be soldiers in the army of the Lord.

Later we watched a pre-recorded talk from Elder Bednar about learning to recognize the Spirit. He taught me the most powerful message on the Holy Ghost that I've ever heard. He said that missionaries and members always ask how they can know the difference between their own thoughts and the promptings of the Spirit. His answer: "Quit worrying about it!" He said that as long as we're keeping our covenants and "being good boys and girls" that everything good which we taught would be the words of the Spirit. He shared a few stories from his life on where he knew it to be true, but it really just hit me. As long as I'm doing what I'm supposed to and am worthy of my calling than I'll do as the Spirit directs. Sometimes we get crazy gigantic spiritual promptings, but most of the time it's just us doing what we know to be right and trusting in the Lord to do the rest.

Yesterday I met another of the noble and great ones talked about in the Book of Abraham and D&C. His name was Brother Kayende (we taught him in TRC) and he just oozed wisdom and intelligence. He was born 53 years ago in the Congo and learned two native languages and French while he lived there. At 23 he was able to escape the Congo and fled to Switzerland. There he learned how to speak German (that's 4 languages so far) and, more importantly, met two sister missionaries. These sister shared the message of the Restoration with him and he was immediately converted after the first lesson. He told us that he knew the Book of Mormon was true before he even read it seeing as the Spirit testified of the truthfulness of the Joseph Smith story. He later moved to Ecuador where he met his wife - who was a convert at the age of 30 and became a missionary immediately afterwards - and learned how to speak Spanish (that's FIVE now.) He has two daughters, one at UVU and another who graduated from BYU. He came to the United States about seven years ago - and learned his SIXTH language English - to get a Masters in Criminal Justice from BYU and is now a professor at Weber State. Probably the coolest guy I've ever met. It's crazy that there are people out there like him who are already so prepared to accept the restored gospel. It really fortified my testimony of the divine calling that I have and that if I'm obedient and endure that I can share the Gospel with people like him.

Thanks ya'll for the Easter candy and the letters! It really brightened my week. Also, I've maintained 220 lbs since I got here, so the food hasn't destroyed me yet! I've also been lifting every single day so that is probably helping. Speaking of which, could ya'll send me some protein bars again? I had to borrow one from Elder Katich so I owe him back. Also before I leave on April 15 (TWO WEEKS!!!!), could ya'll send me those exercise bands? They're going to be oodles of help out in the mission field.

I really want to get out of here and start teaching the Gospel to the world, but my experiences in the last two days affirm why the Lord wants me here. I'll just keep trusting in him and I'll be able to overcome the problems I may have with self-righteous hypocrites or my REALLY slow (at speaking and doing just about anything) companion. I'm doing my best to be humble and remember that the Lord is the teacher.

Love ya'll tons! Also, could you remind me of Eli's birthday? It's this month right? I don't really remember... Gracias!

Les amo!

-Brayden (Elder Decker)