Well, here I am at the MTC, alive, and always wearing a white shirt. Thankfully there werent any problems getting here. I arrived at about 10:30 and was taken to a temporary room to stay the night with a few other new elders that were in the same boat. The next day was our orientation and stuff, we got our nametags which was a real turning point in our mindset, we all pretty much realized 'its official, we are missionaries!' yeah, we all had a small bonding moment because of our shared excitement.
Honestly, the MTC is a great place, but a little different than what I expected,....well, not really I guess, it just requires some getting used to. I also believe it makes you a little wierd. You see the missionaries that have been here for like 7 or 8 weeks and you can tell haha. But I can understand that, already from day 2 I felt like I wanted to get outta here and be in the field already, but thats just not how it works, right? i know a lot of guys who say they "very much dislike" the MTC, and i can see where they are coming from...but from what ive learned so far and what we have been taught, the MTC is so important in helping us become the best missionaries we can be.
Last night we talked about how, 'the difference between the skilled and the unskilled is the fundamentals." It really sets the basis for the rest of our missions, how we act here has a pretty good reflection on how we act in the mission field. alright, saying that, i realize that I have yet to go to the mission field and a lot of missionaries might not agree with me lol, thats just what im telling myself to try and stay focused :)
And not to mention the language! Holy. i have learned so much in this past week. (along with gospel study) it has been nonstop learning, eating, thinking, breathing, and talking spanish. Ok, more like spanglish, but we are doing our best! We are making good progress but at times the learning curve ahead can be a little overwhelming, but we just have to trust the Lord and work extra hard.
I am SO thankful for the Hernandez family and what they taught me before I left, I'm sure I would have felt pretty stressed the first day, but because I wasnt starting from complete scratch I felt pretty good. As we guessed it, almost all of the Elders in my district have a good head start in spanish, but working all together and helping each other out really helps close the gap. The first teacher comes in and doesnt speak a word of english to us, its all part of the new curriculum where the teachers speak almost entirely in spanish, which is great, because it helps us learn the language faster by being immersed in it, I think.....but two days after arriving, we were required to teach an "investigator" (a teacher here at the mtc) a missionary discussion, yup. that was pretty interesting, haha but a super cool experience. it just reinforces the truth that it is the spirit that testifies and touches people's hearts, not missionaries.
Alright, so my companion's name is Elder Bird, he is a great guy from Massachusetts(sp?) (thats ok, he doesnt know how to spell it either). He is dedicated to being a great missionary. He just has the habbit of falling alseep in class, the sleeping schedule is something to get used to. i guess you could say he just isnt an 'early...bird'.... ha...ha.. ok....i know Jocelyn is laughing.
Actually, I think thats the one thing that I has been the most difficult to get used to: having a companion. I didnt think much of it before, but spending every day 24/7 with somebody is hard! I mean, for me, I enjoy being my myself, going and exploring, especially in a new place like the MTC, but you have this elder you gotta stay with all the time haha. I know its for many important reasons but they are not...well...YOU. they dont think or do what you do, they are a whole different person! haha i know that sounds dumb, but its just taken some getting used to. things are all good now, he has a history of spanish and so he helps me out a lot.
I got to make some connections with people from Alberta which was pretty sweet! Me and elder cameron lund were able to be reunited once again, and he left for Romania yesterday which is exciting but just furthers the desire to go out into the field, haha.
One thing that I thought was funny but I realized I need to stop doing is spontaneously beat-boxing. That might sound weird but its just a funny habit that i never really knew about until I arrived here. just thought I would share :)
Thats awesome to hear that the stake conference program went well! And when it makes my heart swell with the good kind of pride to hear that the primary kids sounded great too :)
I was reading in 3 nephi 17 about the day the Saviour came and it make me think of Laura and her song at stake conference, i know she did amazing :)
Well, I love you all, I am so grateful that I could be out on my mission, serving the Lord and teaching the message of the restored gospel. Take care!
Elder Lonsdale
