That weak things might become strong

So yesterday I had the amazing opportunity to teach at the Mini-MTC they had for 5 stakes of kids in NYC. About 4oo kids showed up which I think is pretty amazing. Basically they all signed up and then received a mission call in the mail assigning them to a language. I was paired up with Jordan and we did a Cambodian/Vietnamese hybrid for our class. We had 15 kids in our group ages 17-20 who are thinking about possibly serving a mission for the Church.

We got our 15 kids for the entire day and did some lessons with the full time missionaries and then the kids had a lesson with a mock investigator. They were all really scared to teach a lesson but then were so excited once they finished. Then in the afternoon Jordan and I got them to do a language and culture class. We decided that for the first 5 minutes we were not going to speak any English to them and have them come in take their shoes off and come sit on the ground. It was pretty funny watching their reactions to Cambodian and Vietnamese directions but they loved it. They were so excited to learn some basic phrases in Cambodian and Vietnamese and even more interested in the culture. We brought pictures and maps and food for them to try and they asked so many questions.

The best part of the entire day was when at 3:00pm the kids were going to go out "street contacting". Basically we gave them a couple of Books of Mormon and had them walk in a certain block radius on the Upper East Side and they were just to stop people on the street and talk to them about the Church and try to give a Book of Mormon to those who were interested. I was nervous for them because looking back I don't know that I would have done this is as a teen. Then we walked outside and it was raining/pouring! The kids took it all in stride. They were amazing. They got so excited to talk to people and Jordan and I followed them around like proud little parents. All of the kids talked to at least one person and we had to really work to get some of them back into the church when it was time because they wanted to talk to just one more. A couple of them were successful in giving away a Book of Mormon too. I was so impressed with them. They came back super excited and ready for a testimony meeting. One of our kids bore his testimony about how much the whole day had really helped him. I talked to him afterward and he was one of our 20 year olds. I told him he needed to go on a mission. He then told me that he just has to get the dental portion done and then he can turn in his papers so I gave him my email so he could let us know where he gets called to. I am very excited for him. He's been a cab driver for the past couple years and I think that he would be a great missionary and that a mission will literally change his life.

It was a great experience and it let me relive how amazing it felt to be a missionary. I think sometimes I get too caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday and forget how amazing and how profound what we have really is. The gospel is amazing. It has changed my life. Deciding to actually try and live the standards and do what I am supposed to has made me a better person hands down. I am definitely not perfect at obeying the commandments, but as I was reminded a couple months ago by a good friend, at least I am diligent in the trying department. These kids were amazing and I hope that they decide to serve as missionaries and maybe we can all be better about sharing what we have with others with as much enthusiasm as they showed.