Week #4 - Life Continues in the MTC..........

July 29, 2017

Week #4 - Life Continues in the MTC..........

Today brings me to a little over three and a half weeks in the MTC. Everything gets a little bit more interesting each week. We got to the laundry machines right before 6 am this morning and they were already extremely full; Elder Hobbs and I barely got washing machines. The cafeteria is an absolute madhouse. It is probably a fire hazard fitting that many people in a room. The line is to Egypt.

Either way, it is fun seeing a ton of people here. I saw Jonathan Meyers this week. We took a picture together on his camera, so hopefully my mom will put that one on my Mission Blog. He got here after me and is already leaving 2 weeks before me. I'm kind of jealous.

I got called to be a zone leader this week. It is a big responsibility and you have to set a really good example for the other missionaries. I remember when our previous zone leaders, Elder Cross and Paskett were here, everyone looked for them as an example. If they did something, everyone else would think, "hey, if the zone leader is doing it, then I definitely can too." I have 3 other zone leaders and 2 other Sister Training Leaders, so I get a lot of help. It's really fun to get to know everyone in the zone through this calling.

We also had an amazing experience through our TRC (Teaching Resource Center) investigator, Gabriela. We have been teaching her for a few weeks and it has been truly one of the best experiences here so far. She has had a lot of difficult things happen in her life recently, but through exercising faith in Christ, she was able to overcome the hard things. She ended up telling us that she was ready to get baptized, and that was an extremely special thing for Elder Hobbs and I. She holds a special place in our hearts. Certain investigators are truly made for certain missionaries, and I believe we were meant to teach Gabriela.

Here's a picture of us and her from yesterday:

I have really gained a testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon this week. I was questioning what I was doing here at the MTC a bit and was missing home, but after reading the Book of Mormon, I understood a lot more about my purpose. There's power in that book. It is promised by our Prophet Thomas S. Monson that if we read it, our lives will improve. I believe that this is true. I challenge everyone to go to the last chapter of the Book of Mormon, Moroni 10, and read it and contemplate and pray of the truthfulness of that book.

Thanks for reading my weekly email everyone!

Here are some pictures:

Here is Me, Elder Hicks, Elder Hobbs, Elder Flowers and Elder Apostole. They are four of my best friends here:

Here are a few pictures of really cool Elders that have recently left the MTC. The one on the bottom, Elder Meiser is now in Argentina Posadas, which is my sister's mission!