ELDER SETH GIFFORD

Bloom Where You Are Planted

From: Seth Gifford
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2020 13:49:13
Subject: Bloom Where You Are Planted

¡Hola mi gente! I hope you are all doing well!

Welcome to my third, VERY long email! I will try to make this one as interesting as possible, so as not to bore you. I know reading emails is pretty boring. In fact, I honestly wonder how many of you actually read these things. But honestly, I don’t really care. Read it if you wish. Or don’t. I will leave the decision up to you 😉

Let the email super long email COMMENCE! 

Guess what? I am already halfway done with my missionary training! Looking back, I can hardly believe so much time has already passed. All of this still doesn’t feel real. But I will say that over these past weeks, I have grown a deep love for my teachers, my companion, and my district. I have learned so much from them. I am incredibly blessed to be serving with each of them. I know that the Lord, in His wisdom has placed me in these circumstances because He knew I needed them in order to learn and grow. I’ve made so many mistakes, but with the Lord’s help and by using the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I have come a lot farther than I ever could have on my own. The Lord is truly my strength!

 Mexico Flag My Spanish:

This past week, our district has officially been moved from beginner Spanish to intermediate Spanish. We were given an entire book full of hundreds and hundreds of words and phrases that we have to memorize by the end of our training! Crazy! We teach multiple lessons in Spanish every day, and yesterday, the friends of our evening teacher, Hermano Nieves joined our class so we could practice teaching them. They said that our Spanish has improved a ton since we started. It is still kind of tricky for me to understand all that is said (especially when native speakers talk), but I can now usually get the gist of what is said. This is a miracle considering that I am not in the actual MTC and that other than class, everything else is in English. I know that the gift of tongues is very real, because I have personally experienced it. Without it, there would be absolutely no way I’d be this far in such a short amount of time.

😎 Best Missionary in the Mexico MTC:

Warning: this section is going to sound super prideful. Please forgive me. My district is literally the best district in the MTC. Not only do all of our teachers say that, but the President of the Mexico MTC, Presidente Castañeda himself said it (keep in mind, Presidente Castañeda has been a general authority and a mission president and he’s got a lot of experience). He joined our class yesterday and taught us about our authority as missionaries to promise blessings. We practiced teaching with him as well. He brought the Spirit so strongly into our class. Afterward, Presedente Castañeda messaged our teacher and said that our district is now the best district in the MTC and that his experience with us was one of the best he’s had in the online MTC. I also got to meet with him one on one to practice and he called me the best missionary. 💪 In all seriousness though, I know that the only reason I have come so far is because God has blessed me with success. I know where my strength comes from. Without my Heavenly Father and my Savior, I would not be where I am today. I am so thankful to be SO blessed by them.

😂 Funny Stuff:

-I accidentally taught my district how to say some of the things I say, like “what a beast”-My teacher promised to teach us some slang if we all memorized the First Vision-I had my native teachers try to say and translate some weird words in English like “Rub-a-dub-dub” and made fun of them struggling through it. We all got some good laughs out of it.-One of the Elders in my district accidentally invited everyone we taught: “Will I pray to know that God loves you?” instead of “Will you…”

🌹 Bloom Where You Are Planted:

I watched a devotional with Elder Gong and his wife, which provided a lot of hope, comfort, and strength to me. He talked about how it doesn’t matter what our circumstances are, we can bloom where we are planted. I can’t remember the exact quote he shared, but it said how we may not be able to choose our circumstances, but we can always choose what attitude we have. He talked about the importance of keeping a positive attitude. He also shared five principles of how to bloom where you are planted: 

  1. Inspiration comes as wagon wheels turn
  2. Great growth comes from great faith and great effort
  3. The Lord will tell you in your heart and mind
  4. We become what we are becoming by small and simple things
  5. All things will work together for your good.

I know that these times are difficult. There is so much uncertainty. But I know that if we continue to move forward, keep a positive attitude, and trust in the Lord, all things will truly work together for our good. This virus has given us more time to spend with our families, and more time to spend growing spiritually. I invite all of you to ponder how you can use your time wisely during these trying times. Then act upon it. I promise that if you do, the Lord will strengthen you.

I know that the gospel is true! I love you all!

Once again, sorry for the long emails…

-Elder Gifford

Pictures:

1. President Castañeda in our class

 

2. Memorizing the first vision in a hammock

 

3. Mowing the lawn on P-day

 

4. The hedges I trimmed

 

5. Look at those beauties (sorry it’s blurry)

 

6. Never too old to swing

 


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