Wednesdays become special days for parents of missionaries at the MTC. It's the day that missionaries get to email home. With lots of emails in his inbox that had collected over the last few days, the time was quickly gone. So it is our job to compile a selection of things to share with you from what he has emailed home. We also have been asked to apologies to those he didn't get time to reply to.
When asked about the zones and districts and his role as a Zone Leader?
"I love it! Its great to be able to go around the other districts (there are 2 Greek and 2 German) and to get to know the elders and sisters. I've been trying to learn everyone's names and to be friendly with everyone, and its going well! Our responsibilities include making sure the district leaders are okay, assigning prayers and musicians for devotionals, and other general jobs. There are no AP's in the MTC, so we kind of take on that role for the MTC pres sometimes as well.
There are 2 zones. Kimball zone is for second language missionaries, and Hinckley zone for English speaking (or 2 weekers as we call them haha)
There's a running joke that German is much easier than Greek, and that the English speaking missionaries are just here on holiday to mess around for 2 weeks."
What has been the highlight of your week?
"The highlight - either a devotional from Provo MTC (not live) with Elder Bednar, or a lesson on invitation to baptism.
The devotional was from June 2009 and it was about recognizing the spirit, you should try to find it. He talks about how the spirit usually isn't a big burning sensation, but when we are being obedient and being a "good boy" or a "good girl", we are always acting under the influence of the spirit, whether we realize it or not.
We had a lesson about inviting people to be baptised. As you know I was always quite dubious about invitation to baptism on the first lesson, but I really have a testimony of that now. It's so important to set the investigator's mind on the future and our goal for them. We learnt that everything we do as missionaries is directed towards our Purpose, which is fundamentally the same as the Doctrine of Christ as found in 2 Nephi 31. I'm sure you have before, but study that chapter again, its amazing."
Any messages for the blog?
"Please tell everyone as well that I've read all of their emails, and it was a nice surprise to have 17 in my inbox!
Please get people to write. I wont be able to reply to everyone, but its so nice to get letters in our little pigeonhole."
So here is his address :
Elder Jacob Teal
(Greece Athens Mission)
England Missionary Training Centre
Temple Way
Chorley
Lancashire
PR6 7EQ
Missionaries can write and receive postal mail any day so I am sure he will be happy to see something from you in his pigeon hole.
In addition to emails today we also received 3 letters that he had written over the past week, a highlight from each of them..
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