Wednesday, June 15, 2011

MTC: Week #5 (Halfway through)

Is my hair short enough?
Hey everyone,
 Hope all is well with you where ever you are!  Dad it was great to hear from you.  Thanks for all the wonderful material you sent.  I'm sure it will come in handy in the future.  Mom, it sounds like you are enjoying the early mornings with Spencer. Anthony, I'm glad you are doing well and enjoying your first week as branch president.  I think the Lord knew you would get trunky so this is why he called you to this position HA HA!.  Good luck with it! Spencer, in two years you better still be working at Subway.  I was thinking the other day about my subway melt sandwich.  If you quit, at least send me one. :) Julia, be sure to tell me all about Costa Rica.  You beat me out of the USA, nice job! Maybe mom and dad can set us up for a cruise down that way sometime.  Hey Landon, how was Pirates?  If you have a chance, write and tell me all about it and also about all the things you have done recently. It was also good to hear from all my friends, ward members, etc.. this week.  Thank you so much!
My time here at the MTC is almost done.  Tomorrow will be approxiamately my half way mark.  Crazy! It's gone by so fast.  Last Tuesday at the devotional, Elder Kikuchi,  talked to us mainly about "teaching".  One of the things he told us is that we ALL can have our own Sacred Grove experience.  Even though we won't see Heavenly Father or Christ from this experience, we can have something very similar.  He told us to find a spot each day where it is quiet and peaceful, offer our prayer, and then sit, ponder, and wait for inspiriation.  I really liked that a lot.  
Wednesday was so exciting.  A bunch of my friends entered the MTC.  Elder Dubbs, Elder Pitt, Elder Garen Anderson, and a few more from college.  It has been nice to see them around.  Saturday, we taught our TRC people.  I don't know if I've explained this to you, but it is where we teach people from the outside world.  It is pretty much like teaching in the mission field, kinda.  Anyway, me and my companion prepared to teach our investigator about baptism and the importance of repentence.  Like two mintues before we were supposed to teach we were told our investigator couldn't make it and that we would be teaching a new person.  I was relieved/freaking out because I was prepared to teach that lesson and so I thought we wouldn't have to teach, but then we were given a new person and so we didn't know what to teach.  We began teaching this lady and we began with an opening prayer.  I don't remember the words that my companion spoke in the prayer, but almost immediately after the prayer the nerves and everything went away.  We taught a killer lesson, commited her to pray about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith.  When we were finished we walked into the main waiting room and our original investigator was there.  We gave him a lesson, not on baptism and repentence, but on the commandments.  We just felt like we needed to teach him certain commandments and we commited him to follow and keep these commandments.  We rocked that lesson as well!  
On Sunday, I was released as District Leader.  It will be nice to have some extra study time now that I don't have to go to as many meetings anymore.  The closing song in sacrament meeting was done by the missionaries who left this week.  I don't know what it is called but it is an EFY song.  The girls sing something like "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father who loves us and we love him, yes we love him."  The guys then sang the Army of Helaman.  Look this song up because it is awesome.  They brought the spirit into the room and I will miss each one of them.  Yesterday, Monday, I received a letter from my boy Elder Green.  It was so good to hear from him and his experience at the MTC and in the mission.  He gave me some tips on what to do in my studies and this has already boosted my interest in learning as much as I can here. 
Here are a few things for you family (mom) that you can either keep in the letter or not.  This Friday is our "6 week party."  We will be having a party so if you could send some party treats that would be nice.  Some of the Elders liked the picture scripture markers, and some would like some.  So if you could send me like two for each book of scriptures, that would be awesome.  Also, I will be sending a package home for two special people. Who will it be??? Jk its just birthday gifts.  Also, if you don't mind slipping in a few packs of gum when you send your next package. Send some SICK ties from home.  Especially ones that will match with my grey pants because I accidently traded my only tie that matched my gray pants.  Don't send me a lot but send me the best looking ones you can.  Sometime before I leave the MTC, some of the perfect push-ups would be nice.  I have the normal pushup bars but those are for panzy's.  I will need some for Taiwan.  Oh one more thing.  I forgot to put a return address on the package I sent to missionary mall with the bags, so If you wouldn't mind calling or something and letting them know.  I put your phone number on if they had questions. Well I'm all out of time.  I love you all and miss you all! Love Elder Smith