Week #3

Hello everyone!

Crazy that I have been here over two weeks. Wednesdays are kind of fun because that is when the new missionaries arrive. It's fun to not be the newest missionaries and to be able to say "Hola, Elder/Sister, Welcome to the MTC!" We love it! Also they cater BYU creamery on Wednesday so that's always a good thing. Well not always... haha. Last wednesday I saw an Elder come into the MTC that was in my BYU ward this past semester that will be serving in Italy!

Last Friday we taught Jose for the last time. We had committed him to baptism and we were really excited for him. That night one of our teachers told us that Jose was actually a teacher at BYU and that the next day he would become one of our permanent teachers for the duration of our time at the MTC. The first couple of lessons that he taught us were a little weird because we kept wanting to call him Jose, and then we would be like, "Umm sorry Hermano Sanchez!" But he is a great teacher and I am loving having him as a teacher. We have two teachers, him and Hermano Janis. They are both great teachers and I feel like I am really progressing with my Spanish. Yesterday morning we had the opportunity to go to the TRC (Training Resource Center) for the first time, and I loved it. Members who speak Spanish volunteer their time to talk to us and get to know us, and then have us share a spiritual message with them. It's so great because we really get to practice our Spanish, but it's a lot less stress because they are members and are really kind. We spoke with a really nice lady named Sister Gonzalez who is from Mexico, but has been in Utah for 7 years.

Our two teachers are also two of our investigators, Alex and Trino. While they are just acting, they actually pick people that they taught on their mission and will respond as if they were them. So like Alex is pretty closed off, and is only listening to the missionaries because his girlfriend wants him to. It's suprising how different it is from our teachers. Like, it isn't hard to see them as investigators, if that makes sense.

As I said last week, being forced to speak spanish all the time, when not really knowing Spanish, can lead to a lot of hilarious, and sometimes awkward moments. Here are just a few. Elder Kener was being weird and saying something weird (we love him! haha) and so I was trying to tell him that he was really embarrassing... but instead I told him that he was VERY PREGNANT! The words are extremely similiar I promise. "Buenas Noches" means good night. "Buenos nachos" means good nachos. Don't get them mixed up. People may look at you a little weird. Two elders in our district were teaching our progressing investigators and got 1 John and St. John mixed up. So they had him read a TOTALLY irrelevant scripture, but had no idea that it was irrelevent because when he read it they had no idea what he was saying. Elder Maxwell told Jose that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ he could be cleansed of his fish. (sin=pedaco, fish=pescado). There are many more, but these are just the ones that are coming to mind at the moment.

My companion, Hermana Cottrell, is doing extremely well. She has made the decision to stay on her mission and serve the Lord with all she has and is not looking back. Love her to death. Hermana Paine leaves for Peru this coming Wednesday, so we will gain Hermana Marcum into our companionship! Hopefully things will go well with a three some. Hermana Cottrell and I are chill enough that I think (and hope!) we will be just fine!

Sunday was fabulous. Relief society is a really different meeting compared to most wards. All of the sisters of the MTC meet together and they have a speaker as opposed to a lesson. The speaker this week was Sister Elain Doxey of the General Relief Society Board, and she just spoke with such power. I loved it so much. We always sit with our Branch Presidency's wives. They are so cute and we love them! We love getting hugs from them, because we don't get all that many! When our teachers leave they always hug the elders and shake our hands! So we get as many hugs from sisters as we can. Anytime I see a sister I feel compelled to hug them. I hugged all the sweet temple workers this morning. Ah. Funny stuff.

Every Monday morning we give an hour of service! This week we got assigned to mop the bathroom floors in the main building, including the boys' bathroom. Pretty gross, but we survived. I was sweeping the bathroom floor, and apparently was getting pretty into it because I wacked my head on the corner of a shelf. It hurt pretty bad, but I'm doing alright. I just thought you could relate a little bit, dad, after getting your letter :]

Every Tuesday night there is a devotional at the MTC. It's always a General Authority, but the majority of the time it is a member of the seventy. Rumors were flying all day that a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was at the MTC. Funny how big of a deal it was. Everyone was saying "I think it's so and so," and then someone else will say "No, I heard it was so and so." Pretty funny. Usually we leave for the devotional about half an hour before it starts, but people started lining up about 2 hours before hand, so we joined suit. We got fantastic seats, and I was sitting about 20 feet away from RUSSELL M. NELSON! It was such a fantastic meeting. The spirit was so incredible strong. We were singing "Press Forward Saints" when he walked in and everyone immediately stood up. Because I was so close to the front, I took the opportunity to turn around and look at the crowd behind me. I was speechless, seeing the thousands of missionaries behind me. It was an incredible feeling. Singing "thus saith our God, 'Ye have eternal life'" with that crowd and Elder Nelson in the room was just so amazing. I can't quite describe it. The talk he gave was very unique. He spoke about the House of Israel, and read from the Old Testament the majority of the time. I really enjoyed the talk. I learned a lot about the Abrahamic Covenant that I didn't know before. It's incredible to really think about the gathering of Israel, and that we are fufilling that prophecy right now by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others all over the world. I couldn't help but wonder what other Christians believe about the Abrahamic Covenant and the House of Israel. After every Devotional we have a district meeting where we discuss some insights about the devotional. It was a great meeting, but a lot of people didn't even know what to think about it because it really was a very unique and different talk.

Gym time is pretty much some of our favorite time here! It's really fun and I love getting a workout in! They have a track, ellipticals, weights, bikes, etc and then you can also play games; basketball, volleyball, and FOUR SQUARE! I had never played four square before I came, but it is so much fun. Our whole district will play and sometimes we get a little competitive. haha. Love it.

This week I have run into a lot of people that I know which is always fun! I see Elder Gunnells all the time because his Spanish class is on my floor and our schedules are the same. I also saw Elder Abbott a couple of times! I also ran into Brother Andrew Welch! It was so fun to see him! Apparently he teaches on my same floor, I just hadn't run into him before. It was really weird because he would only speak Spanish to me! And I hadn't really heard him speak before. It was just funny. But so fun to see a familiar face! I also ran into Brother Kris Paries (Laura, I think you will be the only one that knows him...) He lived in our building in Florida, but it was just fun to see some people from the outside world! I also met a Sister that will be serving in Hungary! So crazy! But I was like, "That is where Wilson Lindelof is serving!" So I gave her a post it with my name and his name and told her to say "Hi" to him when she gets there!

I am doing so well. I am so grateful for the support that I have back home and for all the love you guys send me. I feel the prayers you give in my behalf and know that God is a part of this work. I want you all to know that I know that this Church is the true Church of God. I wouldn't be here if I had any sort of doubt. I am so grateful for this restored gospel. I love you all.

Love, Hermana Larson