teaching.

I am the Gospel Principles teacher in my ward and I absolutely love it, I couldn't ask for a better calling. I have secretly always wanted to be a Sunday School teacher, not because I have so much knowledge that I wish to impart on everyone or insane teaching skills, actually the opposite. Teaching and talking off the cuff has always kind of terrified me. I can do it but inside I am freaking out. This has been such a great opportunity to learn how to teach. My testimony of speaking with the spirit has grown so much. It seems like every single week my lesson goes in a completely different direction then I had planned, that I answer a question that I didn't know the answer to until I started speaking, or I have been prompted to be sensitive to different people's needs... actually, those three things happen every week. It has been such a learning experience for me and I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity.

My class is great. Since I teach Gospel Principles, the attendants are new members and investigators and the Ward Mission Leader. The Gospel is the same in England but the church is a little different, a little less organized, a little more makeshift, and a little more crazy... I love it. I have had the funniest/most awkward/terrifying experiences in that class... my class has become part of regular Sunday story time. Here are some of the stories:

These are some of the people in my class. The deep doctrine lover and funny American are missing :(

1. My first lesson: An investigator asked, "Who is Jesus?" woah. I was so nervous because it was my first week teaching, ever. But teaching someone who Christ is is one of the neatest and most dear to my heart experiences I have had.
 2. That same week the Ward Mission Leader who loves to study deep doctrine warned the class that if we focus too much on Jesus we could become heretical and leave the church... uh... definitely had to nicely smooth that comment over! welcome to teaching Jenna!
3. Julie, my team teacher, asked the class to make a list of talents on the board, I was her scribe. The usual art, singing, being loving, reading were thrown around. The deep doctrine guy then says, "murdering people." NO JOKE. What?! He went on to explain that if someone is in the army their job is to kill people, and they could be good at it,  and then spouted off all these scriptures. I put "being good at your job" on the board.
4. During a lesson on Eternal Families: "What should I do if I don't like or respect my parents, at all?"
5. I had to teach a lesson on family responsibilities, specifically on a mother and fathers role, to a class where two people have kids and no spouse in the picture. That was hard, I am only 20 and don't have a family of my own,what do I know?!
6. During a lesson on eternal marriage: "What if I don't ever want to get married again because I was married once before and now I am divorced and it was traumatic"
7. In the same lesson, a guy in our class said "What if I don't think I'll get married because I like being with animals better?" Then the deep doctrine guy asked him, "How old are you?" He responded with, "56." Deep doctrine guy says, "Yeah so you're past middle age and pretty much past the time where you can find someone to marry, so it's probably not going to happen for you." AWKWARD.
8. I had to teach the Law of Chastity lesson. That is in and of itself awkward. But I had to teach it to a bunch of adults with children and the missionaries. even more awkward.
9. During a lesson on family history work: "what if I don't want to get sealed to my parents?"
10. In my last lesson, with an investigator present, this guy came in and told story after story of dead people appearing to his friends after their temple work had been done. It was the investigator's first week, poor guy. That guy said "The church is practically true" about 9 times. He meant to say particularly or "the church is practical," but nope... it gave me a good laugh.

Over the pulpit...
11. "I used to believe those socialist lies"

In Relief Society...
12. "Ladies in the back, stop talking, you know I am not going to speak until you stop talking. I am just going to sit here and wait." (picture being said with the sassiest attitude you've ever heard, so great!)
13. "Kids these days are just so bad. You never know how they could turn out... You could be nursing a MURDERER! You could be nursing a murderer!"

Eleanor, the sweetest lady ever, is in my class and she invited us over for lunch after church a few weeks ago. This is us with her and her 4 year old daughter, Jessica, and 14 year old son, Lawrence, who really wants to serve a mission to Utah!

I love my calling and I love going to church at the Clapham Commons Ward. As much as each week is an adventure, each week is so uplifting. I have never met such incredible people, and the lessons I have learned will stick with me forever. 

More to come!