Big hello to anyone who is reading this from the MTC!

 

Since I got here wednesday this is the first break that I've had. It has really been 120 mph the whole way. In the week + day that I've been here I have taught something like 6+ lessons to "investigators." I use the quotes because one of the investigators is an alter ego that my teacher personifies and we teach him, and I'm sure that the other people my companion and I have taughtare already members who are re-living their conversion story. this one guy we have met with twice, last night being the second time we met with him and we got him to commit to be baptized! Kind of cool. My companion and I were pretty excited about that.

 

My Companion's name is Elder Sam Kennedy, he is going to Las Vegas west, and originally he wasn't supposed to be my companion. There was an Elder who didn't show up for whatever reason so instead of having three companionships, our district is A companionship (as in one) and a trio. Elder Kennedy is from newcastle England. It can be really hard to understand him sometimes but I think that it would have been worse if I hadn't seen so many episodes of Top Gear. He is absolutely hilarious, he has a one-liner for almost every situation and his British sense of humor is so different from ours that I wonder if he is slightly crazy...... but I doubt it.

 

The trio in our district is made up of a nerd (he embrases the stereotype, so it's ok that I call him that. he told me so.) a spaz (he resents that term but it fits him so he can deal. His mental state of mind is up and down like a yoyo. But he always gets really energetic at night when he's had his can of root beer.....) and a high school football star from Calgary Alberta. (he was supposed to be my companion, we get along really well. Whenever we have gym we go on a split so that the two of us can work out.) Together we combine to make a beautiful band of misfits whose weaknesses are outweight by our combined strengths, and that's how it should be.

 

So, last thursday (the second day in the MTC) Elder Kennedy and I were asked to be Zone leaders. Which really kind of works like a Monty Python skit. We take it in turns to make executive decisions for the week which have to be approved at a by-weekly meeting etc...... No, really all we have to do since we'll only be here for a week is to make the new missionaries feel welcome. If it weren't conference weekend, we would have to attend a barrage of meetings taking up almost all day of our so-called day of rest on sunday. here, P-day pretty much takes that title. But since there is conference, the new missionaries will have to deal with all the meetings. best of luck to them.

 

I really am here at the MTC right at the best time possible. I'm only here for less than two weeks, but I'm here for easter sunday, and conference sunday. So in the shortest amount of time possible, I am here for two of the most looked foreward to religous weekends of the year.

 

Last week was easter sunday, so we had a special sacrament meeting where a General Authority would come and speak to us. we got to hear from presiding bishop Coseeh. (spell check? he's french, cut me some slack eh?) we even got a note telling us that he might come and visit our branch's testimony meeting. He didn't but it didn't stop me from hoping he would until after the meeting was over. Testimony meeting is a cool thing. It opens a door into the hearts of your companions that you usually don't get to look through and you learn something to help you love them even more.

 

Tuesday night we had a devotional by an area president of the 70 named Ringwood, who is over the korea area. He spoke about enduring to the end. Which was much needed because our district had been struggling with that. Particularly one of the sisters who broke her foot playing basketball in gym last friday...... She had just found out that tuesday that she will have to stay in the MTC for another few weeks before reporting to Las Vegas west with her fellow sisters. Us elders got to give her a blessing of comfort that night, and she picked me to be the voice. That was cool, my first priesthood blessing.

 

One last cool experience I had is actually kind of embarrasing. I was having a bit of trouble adjusting to the new schedule and the amount of work that we were doing and it was being expressed by my struggles dozing during class (this is also true of just about everyone in our district). I never actually fell asleep, but we would often have to pause during class and stand up and stretch etc... One day was particulary bad, when one of my teachers, brother Johnson had an idea. We are assigned to choose a christlike attribute to work on while on our missions. He asked if I had picked one yet and when I told him I hadn't, he suggested I work on my diligence. Which didn't seem like a problem for me until I researched it in Preach My Gospel and it mentioned that be being diligent we gain more energy. That sold me. I have been working on it ever since and even just a few days after begining this journey, I have improved by leaps and bounds.

 

I really can't express how much else has happened because my journal is being embossed right now so I can't look back, but I think that might be all... Or as much as I can express because being here is quite literally like drinking through a fire hose. Way more knowlege and experiences than you can take in and express. If there's one thing that I think I will remember forever, it's that God is a God of peace and happiness and joy, therefore, we can't feel the spirit when we are upset. This seems like a no-brainer, but the epiphany I had, was that when I had tried to feel the spirit previously, I took it too seriously, i think. I think I would try to put myself in a bad mood on purpose because the spirit was supposed to be a serious thing and you have to be very serious to feel it. Which is true, you can't be silly about it. But you do have to be happy, as I've found that answers come to mind more readily when I am happy and in a good mood. There's your spiritual thought.

 

I love you all and miss you! See you in 23 fast sundays! or something like 100 ish letters.

 

-Elder T