Lima

Dear family and friends,

I went to Lima this week to get my Brazil Visa which was quite the adventure! Lima is a crazy city, and every time I go it looks bigger and bigger to me.  The population is 11 million--11 million in one city!!--and it has the most populated district in all of South America.  There are 37 stakes, 5 missions, and just a whole lot of cars and traffic.  I was there all day with some nice people who took my to the Brazilian Embassy and got everything done, then just waited in the traffic and airport the rest of the day! It was a fun experience though.  

I was debating whether or not to share the following story, but I feel to do so, at least to possibly make someone laugh.  We found an investigator named Laura last night.  She's about 45-50 years old.  She was kinda being funny with us in the doorstep, trying to speak English and all that. She ended up letting us in, which is when the first weird thing happened.  She pulled the door open and let my companion in, but as I was walking through the door, she went to close it on me and banged me with the door! Not only that, she proceeded to grab and rub my arm and say, "Oh I'm so sorry!" completely exaggerating.  It was weird.  During the lesson she was making lots of flirtatious comments towards me and I was gettin' weirded out.  We then made it to the tipping point.  As Elder Rice was testifying, she says out of the blue, "You are so good looking! It's a shame you're only 19!" I turned so red, I was ready to be out of there. My mind went blank.  I had no idea what to say!  So what did I do? Said, "Well...I already have a girlfriend."  Just completely lied, and made the situation about 100 times more awkward by doing it.  I didn't even talk the rest of the lesson, and we were out in about 5 minutes.    

I am learning a lot about understanding. As Elder Bednar quotes Joseph Smith in the worldwide training for missionaries, "The more we understand about faith in Jesus Christ, the more we will focus on faith in Jesus Christ." In other words, OUR FOCUS as teachers reflects OUR UNDERSTANDING of doctrine. If a missionary doesn't focus on baptism while teaching, it means that he still doesn't understand baptism enough! If a missionary doesn't constantly strive to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, it means that he doesn't understand his roles yet, even if that missionary thinks he does! As Elder Packer says, "True doctrine, understood, changes behavior" I think you could also say, "True doctrine, understood, changes the focus of the teacher!"  The same applies to all members of the church. We often got to church and assume we already understand everything about the themes being spoken about, while our behavior and focus in our lives might tell a different story.  Bottom line: understanding affects focus and behavior, and focus and behavior show just how much one truly understands.

I love you all tons, have a wonderful week!!

Love, 

Elder Tanner Hart