Elder Cody Tiler Rose

Hey everyone,

Week 3 done and the language is getting better. So this week started out kind of bad but it got better. On Tuesday we taught Teiho(tay-show) (played by my teacher Brother Roney) and that went well. So on Wednesday when we were teaching Hutia(who-tee-uh) (played by my teacher Sister Buswell) we decided to change the next lesson a bit and try to do it with no notes. Big mistake. It was easily the worst lesson we have had yet. We both felt terrible after it and it really just confirmed to me that in order to have a good lesson you really do have to prepare. At least for me right now I need to be preparing every single lesson because my french isn't that advanced yet. But after that Elder Edwards and I decided we were going to plan out every lesson and just always put our time toward something productive.

On Thursday everyone in my district went to this teaching session called TRC (training resource center) where you teach two 20 minute lessons to volunteers that come in to talk with us. So I was super nervous about that but we both prepared for the lesson and we prayed a lot before we went in and it actually turned out pretty well. I couldn't understand everything that they were saying but for the most part I was able to get the main idea and respond with a very basic response and even bear my testimony for a bit. I couldn't remember all the words I wanted to say but I was eventually able to get my point across and leave them with a good message in their hearts. I was very happy when we got our review cards back from the volunteers because both of the volunteers said they could really feel the spirit during the lesson and they both felt like their faith in the Lord was increased. That was much needed after bombing my lesson on Wednesday.

So Saturday rolls around and we have been prepping for Hutia's lesson like crazy. So after much prayer and rehearsal we head in to teach her and even from the first second we began teaching I could already tell it was going to be better. When we finished the lesson Elder Edwards and I just couldn't stop smiling, it was such a good lesson compared to the last one. Sister Buswell even said she felt the spirit really strongly and that we accomplished a lot in the lesson. The only thing now that we really need to work on is our small talk and transitions into the lesson. For example, this is how most of our lessons go now: "so what are some of your hobbies? (they respond). oh that's good. So how was family home evening with your neighbor?" Its just usually like that. But the more we work on our French the better we get at it. I'm just glad I have got praying and my testimony down in French. Those are really the important things to know.

Oh and I guess my Mom figured out the whole visa situation. So I should be heading out to San Francisco on Sept. 5 with all the French noobies that just showed up. Should be fun!

Thanks for everyone prayers and thoughts. I love you all!

Elder Rose