Elder Jakob Lutze: Semana 6 (Personal Revelation and a Temple Miracle)

Hola, Hola, Hola!!!

This is my last PDay at the CCM! I can't believe I leave for Panama on Tuesday! The days have flown by. And as much as I want to say I'm prepared, I know that Panama will be completely different than here. For instance, the investigators will actually be real. And the language in Panama is quite interesting. But I'm going in with confidence and I know God's got me! And I know that he's got all of you too! Now on to my week.

Today, Thursday, was a temple day! I almost didn't get to go because my companion is sick. He kept saying, "Well Lutze, looks like our PDay freed up. You get to stay here all day with me..." Inside..." yea, I wasn't about that." So, I changed into my clothes and forced him to do so as well and dragged him to the infirmary. I said many prayers because I wanted to go to the temple, and I don't get to go enough. That prayer was answered with the Hermanas running into the infirmary on the phone with the Senior missionaries. We asked if I could still go and the answer was yes. So, sorry Elder Haynie. But I ain't gonna be stopped from going to the temple. And for good reason. The temple trip was soooooo good. Some of us got to do sealings today. I was the witness the entire time which was cool! I was able to read the ordinance in Spanish. We did sealings to parents for 20 guys and 20 girls so 40 in total. It was so amazing. And I absolutely love the sealing room. I'll share some of my impressions that go hand in hand with General Conference. A while ago, when I was younger, I hadn't gone to the temple for about 4 years. When I finally did go again it was strange to me. I loved it, but I felt a little out of place. So once again, I wouldn't really go. Towards the end of my senior year, I had some really great friends and we started to go more often. And I also went more often on my own. Towards the end of summer, just before my mission, I went at least 3 times a week. And just like they said in General Conference, it became a consistent thing. It became normal. I felt comfortable in the temple. I truly felt that I was in my Lord's home and was welcomed. It is the place I belong. This thought occurred to me today, because even though I didn't fully understand everything being said in Spanish, I still felt comfortable and that I belonged there. It doesn't matter where the temple is located or what language the session is in. The Lord's house is the Lord's house. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So to those that feel like you don't belong ~ try and make the things of the gospel consistent in your life, especially the temple. The more normal and comfortable things are, the more you will feel love for God and from God. Because you do belong. We all belong. God is our Father, and we are His children. He wants nothing more than for us to be with Him, because that's where we belong.

Anyways...

Food this week was pretty decent. Some days were better than others. But I found where to get cold water to drink. And let me tell you, it was life changing. I will be deprived of it again in Panama. But I will cherish it, while I can. Also, my very loving sister Rachael sent me a package this week. I was begging her for queso dip because it is the most heavenly thing I've tasted. And she delivered. She sent me waaaaay too much. But I am so grateful for it!!!

Sports were fun this week too! More winning in volleyball. But, then we played kickball with our zone leaders and their district. There's only 4 of them. They are all going to Guatemala speaking a language I can't pronounce or spell. But it's been really fun to become close friends with all of them. They speak pretty good English, but it's always funny to hear them try to use slang. Anyways, they all made the mistake of making me a team captain because I picked my team to be unstoppable. We won 24-1. Safe to say that they won't let me be a team captain again. My district also had a fun time with Hacky sack. I got pretty good at it too.

This week I also had a very special opportunity. One of my best friends, Amber, has been in the CCM with me. She got here a week before I did. It was so much fun to see her and talk with her. Since she arrived here a week before me, that means she left a week before me. So this week, we got permission from the CCM President for me to give her a blessing before she left. I always feel the spirit strongly when giving blessings. But, I know that I received lots of promptings throughout the week on what to bless her with. It was long, but a very loving, comforting, and powerful message and blessing from God.

Another cool thing that happened has to do with blessing with oil. I hadn't been carrying oil with me because it's the CCM. But one day, I felt like I should find my vial. (MOM EDIT: Had to ask my Mom via email where it was...) And I felt/remember distinctly "Find your oil, you are going to use it today". And sure enough, I did. It was pretty dang cool. Ever since then I've kept my oil on me at all times.

CONFERENCE BABY!!! By far, my favorite thing this week. Partly because our days were super chill and I got a lot of sleep and personal study time. But, also because General Conference was so freaking good!! I took about 35 pages of notes. I titled every talk with dope names. I was so invested and more focused than I have ever been with conference. I usually get distracted or sleep. But, I could not stop writing and listening. It was also such a powerful experience to be in the CCM during General Conference, especially when they announced the temples in Mexico. Everybody went absolutely crazy! A cool thing for me about conference was my personal study before. I was about to study a topic, but I got the impression that I should study prophets, so I did. Because of that study, combined with conference, my testimony has never grown so quickly. It was such a powerful experience for me, and made their words all the more meaningful to me. The music is always my favorite part. I always feel the spirit strongly with music. It was especially cool to be able to point and yell at a screen "THAT'S MY BEST FRIEND". I'm so so jealous that Calvin got to sing in conference. But, so happy for him. What an awesome opportunity for an awesome missionary! The only sad thing was at the end. I know many others had the same thought. But at the end ,I felt like this was a final goodbye from President Nelson. He is such a great man and is truly a man of God. And even though I wasn't in the same room with him, I could still feel how much love he has for every person.

Some random things from this week. Music in the mornings is the most amazing thing. I don't know what I would do without it. It pumps me up in the mornings and I am happy all day because of it. The other thing is that I learned how to draw... I think. My friend Elder Seamons gave me a 15 minute lesson and I tried it. And I really enjoyed it. I'm not great, but it's fun and it's something I've never really tried.

Another great opportunity we had was more service! Happy to say that I did not get bit this time. We were put on laundry duty. It was actually so fun. We were all in the same room but I was paired with Elder Park. We folded laundry together, fed each other gummy worms, and listened to romantic music. It was a good time. Yes, all of that sounds weird, and yes that all happened. But it's not what it seems. The music randomly started playing, and the little Mexican lady offered me a gummy worm but my hands were full so Park fed it to me.

Overall classes were good this week. A lot of teaching people and planning lessons. But it's been good. My favorite part about every lesson is my chance to bear my testimony. Just like they said in conference, my testimony grows more and more every time I bear it.

Sorry for the very long email. I know I've already given spiritual thoughts, but I'd like to give one more. This week the word humility really stuck out to me from General Conference. So, I decided to study it. Essentially humility is recognizing our dependence on God and being grateful to Him. But it's also being willing to submit to His will. Trust Him. Let Him counsel you. This is really important for every aspect of our lives. And this is really important to me. I owe so much to God, and there's no way I could ever express how grateful I am. The only way that comes close is by allowing Him to always be that significant in my life. There is so much power that comes from allowing God to be a part of your life. Everything we have is a gift from God. And we should always be grateful for gifts we receive, especially if we want to keep receiving more. I testify that our prophets are true prophets, real, and speak the words of God. Prophets are gifts from God. I testify that God knows each and every one of us so perfectly, and that all He wants to do is help us in our lives. We just have to be willing to let Him do so. He loves all of us. And wants what is best for us. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Elder Jakob Lutze

jakob.lutze@missionary.org