Letter #2 (Finally came)

Elder Bednar gave a devotional on Thanksgiving that was broadcast to the MTC here and I thought it was really quite good. Some thoughts I had while listening: Write down what the Spirit is telling you instead of the speaker. Your testimony is what you believe/know/feel, and conversion is how you act. When you need to overcome a trial don't ask for it to disappear, but rather ask for strength to be an agent in overcoming it. 

This week has brought forward an interesting opportunity. My district has been reaching past expectations and so the Presidency here has extended an offer to our district to be the first entire district to break apart and join the districts of the native Spanish speakers. We said yes. They're trying to figure out the logistics and finalize the
details, but I'll give you a rough sketch. We will have companions who speak Spanish and only Spanish. We will be in meetings where they speak Spanish and only Spanish. We will not be given any specific time to study Spanish. Essentially they will be trying to push us into a Spanish only setting before we hit the field. I believe this has been done before with individuals, but the district is excited about being the first entire district.

I was called to speak in Sacrament this week on the Atonement and boy was I surprised. I didn't even kind of expect to be called up so when my name was announced I wasn't thinking straight and forgot to bring my scriptures to the stand. It was alright though because the Spirit helped me figure things out.

Last thing: My favorite part of the week was when Elder Mardo and I taught a lesson about the First Vision and the Book of Mormon. We got out of the way of the Spirit and let Him do the work. I'll tell you what, that's what you need to do. Even if you think you can come up with a powerful phrase or you think you need to figure out your wording before making a statement... don't. Listen to your companion and investigator and it will be given you "in the very moment, what ye shall say". One thing I like about Elder Mardo is that when we prepare to teach we always go to different resources and prepare different parts of the lesson without even needing to talk about it in advance so when we come together it works well. 

-Elder Finlinson

I have a little more to say now, but that's plenty to read so I'll
just wait to update you all until next pday (which should be Wednesday
of next week, but who knows).

Letter #1 part 2

Week one is in the books and I'll tell you a few things I've learned. 1.They feed you really well at the MTC. 2. You can control your bladder longer than you'd think. 3. Mexico has better November weather than Utah.

Alrighty boys and girls, newsflash: Missions ask a lot of you. That's okay though because you have to have some strain to get the gain (1 Nephi 20:10). We went to the Mexico City temple today. It's a good looking temple, but I forgot to grab the thing I need to put a picture from my camera on the computer so maybe next week I'll send it (the pictures below are from other missionaries). My companion is Elder Mardo from Virginia. To give you an idea of our relationship let me share a brief experience with you. One day Elder Mardo was bored so he snapped my sock against my leg. Naturally I reached down and untied his show. After he retied it we sat in silence for a good 4-5 seconds before looking at each other at precisely the same moment when he said "I hate you" and I said "I love you too". We had a good laugh. And don't worry, we didn't do it during a quiet time. Our district leader told me we have a good companionship. My district is a blessing too, by the way. We taught 4 lessons this week and #2 was the best in my humble opinion. Learning a language is difficult, but it's coming along. 

Some advice for everybody: Listen to the Spirit the first time.

-Elder Finlinson

I was visibly pained by the task of striking a pose in one of these pictures, but understand that we did it for a reason. Look for the statue behind us. And let me know if the pictures even came through because I'm unsure of my method.​

Letter #1 From the CCM

The first week was a thumbs up. The CCM is pretty demanding, but it should be. 

I don't remember much about the plane already, but I remember what happened after. I had my first big mission trial right off the bat because the bus ride to the CCM had even worse traffic than people would expect in Mexico City. The drive took an hour longer than I think they said it would. It was a big trial though because I really needed to use the bathroom as soon as we got off the plane. Pretty much the entire bus knew what kind of a struggle I was having by the end of the ride. I jumped off the bus a good 15 minutes before we were supposed to (we were supposed to wait for another group to finish getting off their bus and whatnot) and when I finally made it to the bathroom it wasn't even relieving because I was still in pain for the next 30 minutes. I suppose my tender mercy this week is that I somehow made it through that ride.

 My companion is Elder Mardo from Virginia. He's a band guy (trumpet), but it's actually legit because he got a full ride for it and he's still good at basketball. The second lesson that we taught this week was probably my favorite part. Everything went really smoothly with the language, the lesson itself, and answering questions. The food here is good.

 My district is a blessing, pictured below. Our teachers are the absolute best (Hermano Valencia, Hermanas Miranda and Perez). Adapting to church clothes hasn't been too bad after all. I'm kinda scatterbrained right now, but hopefully between the two emails you'll have sufficient info. 

 Elder Mardo and Elder Finlinson

 Elder Finlinson's District

Elder Finlinson at the CCM with his District