THE MTC!

Sent on June 17, 2015

Today is my P-Day. It's crazy to think that I've been here for a week. It feels like a month! On Sunday's devotional address given by the administrative director here at the MTC, he said, "You can split your mission into three parts by perception. (1) Your first three days in the MTC (2) the rest of the MTC and (3) the rest of your mission. I absolutely believe that is true! The first three days felt like an eternal round. Elder Lethco is my companion, and he is so cool. He is incredibly smart and definitely listens to the spirit before making decisions about what to teach our investigators. He and I get along really well.

Wednesday was insane, mainly due to the fact that I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. I seriously felt as though I had taken a fire hose to the face! During the New Missionary Orientation, a member of the MTC Presidency said that, "The MTC is the second most holy place on this earth, because in both the temple and the MTC, you have to be a worthy holder of a Temple Recommend." I strongly feel that within these walls. The spirit dwells so strongly in this place, that it's almost tangible.

I sincerely appreciate Gym Time in the MTC. Not only does it promote physical activity, but it also promotes gaining friendships within the districts. We have a mean Four Square streak in all of us (the District). Elder Vineyard is ruthless!!!! Everyone gangs up on him in FS because he is so mean! Every member of our district is going to Farmington. I'm really glad. I've come to love and appreciate every single person in the district. The sisters in our district are so great! They all have such strong testimonies.  

Thursday felt like the longest day. I don't remember much about it, except for the fact that I felt the spirit so strong. We had our interviews and meeting with the Branch Presidency. On Thursday night, they issue assignments that come into effect on Sunday. Our District leader is Elder Anderson, he is hilarious and also super spiritual. The STL's for our zone are Sisters Cardon and Scoffield. And the Zone Leaders are Elder Lethco and me. Before President Gerke (Grrr-Key) pulled me in to interview me, I felt the spirit tell me that I was going to receive an assignment. I was scared to death!!!!!!  Luckily, its not that responsibility heavy. We just have to make sure everything is going well in the districts. 

Friday felt like forever ago, so I don't remember it.

Saturday also felt like forever ago. 

Sunday felt like yesterday. It was so spiritual! Sacrament meeting was so uplifting. We had the Sunday Walk around the spaceship (Provo Temple) It was just nice to know that the outside world still existed. We had the Devotional, which I quoted in the first part of my letter. It was great and we talked about the power of prayer and recognizing answers given by the Holy Ghost. After that, it was film time. One of the members in the Branch Presidency challenged our entire district to go see Character of Christ, a talk by Elder Bednar 4 years ago at Christmas. They have show it every Sunday since. Our entire district was in tears. It was so moving and uplifting, but at the same time made you feel like crap, because you know you need to be better. It is seriously my favorite talk ever. 

Monday flew by.... We taught our first investigator. Her name is Sharon, she is from the Bible belt in eastern Tennessee. She Loves Christ but doesn't love God, because she feels that God has never been there for her. As we learned of her concerns, I developed a great love for her. I also hurt because I know that God wants to hear from her. She won't pray, even after committing her, she says she'll "think about it." In missionary terms, that pretty much means, "I'm just saying this to get you off of my back." She is frustrating. We also taught an investigator named Ashton. He is about in his 20's, and was really willing to listen because he lives at his cousin's (Members) house and was really interested in what we had to say. Our first lesson with him was over Skype, because he was at home sick with strep throat. We were glad to teach him.

Yesterday, we went somewhere with Sharon... We got her to understand that God does want to hear from her. This is what we needed. We were really down on ourselves due to the first lesson that we had with her. She said she was still unsure about prayer, but said she would honestly and sincerely think about it. We felt like it went better.

Our Devotional last night was given by Elder David F. Evans of  The Seventy. We talked about Work and Obedience. My favorite thing he said was, "Just don't be stupid!" 

Well, I must sign off for now. Talk to you next week! I love you and miss you all!

With love,