Another great week!!

So this week a ton of stuff happened. On Tuesday we had Dallin H Oaks come and he was amazing. He basically talked out of the Preach my Gospel the whole time. It was a great wake up call I think for everyone. Preach my gospel was received through revelation and should be treated that way.The spirit on this is so strong. Just him entering the room was amazing and having everyone stand up. There is no doubt that he is an apostle of the lord.

On Friday we had a guy named Zorro come and talk to us. He is straight out of Armenia and is a convert to the Church when he was 14. His testimony is super strong and told us a little about the country. They love to play Chess over there. They play is during school growing up so they are all really good at it. They love card games and ping pong so i will fit right in. I cant wait to be there in only 3 more weeks. It is going by super fast I have already been in the MTC for 5 and half weeks.

This week my testimony has grown a ton. With the coming of Dallin H Oaks it really helped me to feel the spirit and when we sang in the choir. The power of the spirit in music is real. Its crazy how that works for me. Music moves me in just a different way. 

Oh and our Choir Director Brother Ryan Egget knows everything about the church. Like when I say everything I mean everything. He was telling us that in one of the accounts Joseph smith made about seeing Christ was that when Christ comes down to earth there is a multitude of angels all around him. So when Joseph saw Christ the whole grove was filled with angels. Its would make sense too.

Everything we do that is good brings the spirit, so just doing what is right and the spirit will be there for you. Thanks for everything you do for me I love you and have a great week. 

Love, Elder Sproul

Ps. congrats on getting through the wedding and I could not be happier to have a new sister in law.

So yeah I have gotten really close with these people from quitapes I dont know how to spell it, but they are all from the Marshall islands. So I have learned how to speak a little bit. Its cool because there are so many languages here. So I know how to say hi how are you in like 6 languages now. It is kind of sad that all of the quitapes are leaving this week. 

Week 5 բարեվ

The one month mark has come and I couldn't be any happier. I mean I am half way done with the MTC. I am really ready to get going into the mission field, but I know I still have a lot more learning to do. On Sunday this week we had a devotional and the BYU Men's Chorus came and sang to us. They are the largest collegiate Men's Chorus in the nation. They really had a strong spirit and I loved hearing them sing their testimonies. Look up the song baba yetu they sang it and it was one of the best songs they sang. It brought the spirit while still being a fun song. So this week again we have had lessons every day this week. The two investigator are names վահե և ժերար or vahey and jerar. Vahey is struggling with why it is a sin to live with his girlfriend and jerar is struggling with smoking. That's something that we are going to teach them next week of why we dont do those things. Oh and we learned that in Armenia everything is run by the mob there is this Sister that works at the MTC who married an Armenian who was baptized by the missionaries. Kind of a long story to explain how they met and all that, but she told us that when you have a number on your license plate it denotes what family you are from and the more numbers in succession means the higher you are in that family. Its pretty crazy because that guy that marries the Sister who works here used to be in the mafia before he was baptized at 14.

This week I am starting to realize the importance of planning. I had an interview with my teacher Brother Wood and I realized that if I plan I will be able to be more efficient in my studies, but yeah if you plan out what you are going to do each day you will get a lot more accomplished. 

The MTC is flying by and I still cant believe that I have been here for a month. I know that if you continue to truth in the lord he will put in the right situations and help you through anything. The Church is true and keep praying and letting God know that you love him. 

Love,

Elder Sproul 

So Zach Deus is in my Zone it is crazy. Its really crazy that he is in my zone. This week there was a firework show at the end of the week at BYU. I dont know why but there was so I got some pictures.

I'm learning to read and write.

այս է ինչ ես գիտեմ

 ես գիտեմ որ հիսոուս քրիստոսի սերում մէզ

This says

This is what I know

I know that Jesus Christ loves us

This week has been just flying by. It feels like this week just started and I am already onto the next week. This week all of the Germans in my zone left the MTC and are on their way to Germany. It was really sad seeing them leave because we had already grown so close to them in only the couple weeks that we have been here. They left on Monday at 3:30 for Berlin and 6:20 for Frankfurt. So Monday was a super long day because we got up to see them all leave. This week just like last week we have had a lesson every day. I have just been memorizing phrases for my lessons so I can relay the message I want, but I want to be able to form more of my own sentences without thinking about it. I think that will just come with time. On Friday we had TRC which it just when you teach someone who you teach that served a mission and its kind of like home teaching. Its cool how much we can understand, but we still have a long ways to go. 

I have also decided that I am going to try and go for the free throw record here. I mean I have 5 more weeks so why not try and get my name on that board. The record right now is 40 and I got 27 in a row on Friday. So if I try everyday I am sure I can get it. 

This week I grew a lot. Just like every week here. I started making some goals and it has really helped me to stay on task. I want to learn 12 words everyday and I have been learning about 15. Its amazing how much you can do when you put your mind to it.

The Church is true. I feel that each and everyday here. If you ask the lord he will help you no matter how small he will be there for you.

Week 3

This week was probably the week where I learned the most Armenian. This week I got 2 new investigators one we meet on the "streets' it is supposed to represent a street contact and the other was just set up for us. All of our lessons went really well and we taught them about the book of Mormon and asked them to pray about it. They didnt know how to pray so we gave them an example prayer and just went over the steps of how to pray. Its hard teaching because while teaching i just have to memorize everything, but as I learn more words I think I will be able to piece more and more sentences together. We also learned that one of our teachers will be leaving us on Monday so its a little sad. She is getting married this month so I think that is why, but she didnt really explain why.  

At the MTC they are building a couple new buildings so they can have more missionaries come to the MTC and we got to sign the last beam and watch them put it up. The work is growing and it is amazing to see. 

This week I really feel my saviors love for me. I really loves Elder Hollands talk when he said that as much as we are thinking about them they are thinking about us and that they love each and every one of us. On top of that Christ loves us even more. Just when he said that I really felt the love that the Savior had for me. Oh and he talked about your desires to serve God. So just have good desires and know that God loves you and wants you to return to him again. 

The Church is true, I learn that more and more each and every day. Keep saying your prayers; he wants us to communicate with him. Don't worry about what has happened in the past just worry about now and try and do better the next day. 

Love all you guys,

Elder Sproul 

These are pictures of mainly people in my district except the one that was just sheets. Elder North got locked out of his room and didn't want to wake up his room mates and we were still up talking in our room so we heard him knock and made him a little make shift bed and that is what he looked like in the morning. The other pictures are just people in my district and where I am going. 

Week 2

This week was been a lot better than the last week we are actually learning how to speak the language and have taught our investigator 5 times now. With each lesson we have gotten better and better at the language. After that we learned that she was actually our teacher, but I already knew that she was. This week has flown by. Overall I am learning the language pretty well. The gift of tongues is real. I can already read Armenian for the most part but I just have to make sure that I am sounding everything out. I kind of sound like I am in kindergarten. I know that as I continue to work at it I will learn more and more. This week I also learned why the country of Armenia is called Armenia. When the country was founded there was a guy names Armen who was the king so they named it after him. Other than that it was a pretty normal week I am getting better at Armenian each and every day. I have 2 new "investigators" next week so I will be preparing for that this weekend.

 In our Zone we have all of the Germans who  over the past 10 days I have gotten really close to. In the zone is the first missionary that is from turkey. His name is Elder Gulu. He is going to Berlin where he will speak Turkish because there are a lot of Turkish people there, but they thought he should known German too. I love him so much. Yesterday all of the Germans got there travel plans so its getting real that they are all leaving and its going to be sad when they leave. 

This week my teacher spoke English for the first time.(I have three teachers) As he went from teaching Armenian to bearing his testimony in English the spirit was so strong in the room and you knew what he was saying was truth.

As I go through each day I know that I am getting close to the Lord and I feel his love for me. The church is true and through the Spirit and the Lord you can do anything. 

the one in the blue suit is elder Gulu and the one in the other picture is elder moody. Oh and the one I took during devotional is Elder Knight. All of those guys are amazing and I know I need a haircut I am getting one next week because my p-day is today and the barber shop is closed today because of conference