Heavenly Father is our Potato.

"Potato" and "Dad".. completely different, right? These 2 words are in no way spelled the same, they don't sound the same, or even look the same.... in English. Spanish is a whole different story though. In Spanish, a potato is spelled "papa'' and dad is spelled "papá". The only difference between the two is the need for emphasis on the "a'' in papá (dad) when pronouncing it. Well I didn't learn this until I was teaching a lesson to an investigator.

Hermana Hemmingsen and I were teaching a lesson on prayer. I began telling the investigator how prayer is our chance to talk to God. I really wanted him to understand that our Heavenly Father is our Dad. 

So I turn to him and say (in Spanish), "Prayer gives us the opportunity to speak to Heavenly Father. Our potato."

I TOLD THE INVESTIGATOR THAT HEAVENLY FATHER IS OUR POTATO.

This wasn't the only time I slaughtered Spanish this week. In class, we were practicing using the Book of Mormon to help solve everyday life problems. A girl came to me and said ''Yo soy embarasado.'' So naturally I ask her ''Porque'' because I thought she had just told me that she was embarrassed. Little did I know, she had told me she was pregnant and I had just asked her why? She gave me a really funny look and just sat there for a minute. When she realized that I really wanted to know why, she began telling me that her and her boyfriend had done something bad. I was so confused, but eventually figured out the conversation we were having was not what I thought it was. I felt so dumb once I realized that I had basically just asked her to tell me about the birds and the bees. 

Other than the fact that I constantly mess up and my Spanish is pretty shabby, I am loving the language! It is so much fun!

This past week was also the 4th of July! Being in Mexico and being in the MTC, our day was a lot like any other day here. Since it was a holiday for so many though, the workers went out of their way to make the day a little bit special. They decorated the cafeteria in red, white, and blue. Then they fed us REAL American. I think a few tears were shed by many because of that. While everyone was eating, we sang the National Anthem together. It was super cool!

To make the day a little bit more patriotic, my district played the most American sport that you can play... Baseball. Despite the fact that we played with a woffle ball and a broken plastic bat (we aren't allowed to play with the real stuff), we had a blast! The 4th of July in Mexico was a success! 

Sunday was a really cool day here because it was fast and testimony meeting. Sacrament meeting is always in Spanish here, so each person who bore their testimony that day did it completely in Spanish. People who have only been here for 4 days were able to speak incredibly well and were able to say all that was in their hearts. There is no doubt in my mind that we are all receiving divine help when it comes to the language.

Each Sunday here, we get to watch an old MTC devotional. The last one that we got to watch was by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and it was amazing, so I thought I'd share.

The talk was based around John 21 in the bible. This chapter tells a story about Peter- a disciple of Christ. 

After Jesus was crucified, his disciples not knowing what to do, went back to their nets and began fishing as they did before. They spent and entire night on a boat, but with no success. In the morning, a man on the shore called out and asked if they had any luck. Learning that they had not, he told them to cast their nets to the right of the boat. They cast their nets and in them, caught so many fish they weren't able to pull them in. Peter realized that the man on the shore was the resurrected Savior whom he loved so much.

He and the disciples went to the shore where Jesus turned to peter and asked, ''Lovest me more than these?''

Peter replied, ''Yea Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.''

Jesus then told him, ''Feed my sheep.''

Jesus then asks Peter a second time if he loves him, where Peter tells him he does. The Savior again tells him to feed His sheep. 

For the third time, Jesus turns to Peter and asks, ''Lovest thou me?''

Peter, being grieved that Jesus asked him three times replied, ''Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest I that I love thee.''

Once again, Jesus responds saying, ''Feed my sheep.''

Much like Peter and the other disciples, all of us have ''nets'' in our lives. These ''nets'' are the things that hold us back from forgetting ourselves and following Jesus Christ. He has invited all of us to feed his sheep- to bring the gospel to all. We are unable to do so though, when we are focused on other things. In order to truly follow Christ, we must leave our ''nets'' behind and feed his sheep forever. 

The gospel is the greatest and I feel so blessed to have it in my life! I cannot wait to "forget myself and feed His sheep'' in Houston!

Love,

Hermana Rupp