Hi all,
I am now officially a third of the way through the MTC! I have been doing all sorts of things. I got two different packages this week! The first came from my mother with two dozen donuts in it! I shared them with my district. They were really good, especially the chocolate filled ones! I have also learned to eat them quickly, because about four days later, we had four donuts left, and they tasted a little stale, but the rest were great! The other package came from my dad. It had some stuff for my mission like my patriarchal blessing, and some family history information. It also had some photos, candy, a letter from my dad, and a drawing from Paige. (Sorry if I missed anything else in it, I am doing this off of memory) I am really glad that my family cares so much about me, and the candy never hurts... I have shared it with some of the others in my residence area, but now I have my own personal stash!
This week, three districts in our zone left for their countries (Thailand, Cambodia, and something else). That means our zone currently has twenty missionaries only! Currently we have Vietnamese and Thai, but we are getting some Mung Elders tomorrow. (And when I say elders, I mean elders. Apparently in the Mung culture they don't accept women as teachers so they only send elders there. The rest of the districts in my zone can have sisters though. Also I hope I spelled Mung right.)
I have been getting better with Vietnamese. I can now give a decent prayer, and I can testify on some of the more basic concepts of the gospel (e.g. The Book of Mormon, Prophets, Christ being the Son of God, etc.). I can tell I still have a long way to go, but I know with the Lord's help I will be able to do it.
As for gospel related things, we have a devotional every Sunday and Tuesday. Last Tuesday, we got to hear from Elder Christofferson about the Book of Mormon. Additionally, last Friday they officially dedicated two new building in the MTC. We got to hear from Elder Oaks, and President Eyring dedicated the buildings. It was really cool to hear from these general authorities and to be in the same room as them. The other elders and I hope we get to at least hear from a few more, particularly since we are here on Thanksgiving (and Halloween). I have also continued to watch the MTC special talks on Sundays. Last Sunday, most of my district went to see "Meet the Mormons", but a few of us went to see another talk by Elder Bednar. This one was about feeling the spirit, and in it Elder Bednar told how if you do what you are supposed to do, the spirit will guide you to the right place, and that usually you can't tell that you feel the spirit in the moment, so don't worry and waste your time waiting around for some huge manifestation. I think it was a good talk for missionaries, since many missionaries are always worried that they aren't following the spirit if they don't feel some huge impression.
As for something more fun, I learned that last Friday is apparently something called "Treat Yo' Self Day" based on the show "Parks and Recreation", where you are allowed to eat whatever you want to for the day. All the elders in my district went all out. For breakfast, I went through the sack line (the option for meals if you don't want to eat in the mess hall, or don't want to be in missionary attire) where you get to choose any four items to take. I got three donuts and chocolate milk. For lunch, I also got a lot of food, but less junk. For dinner I ate a lot again, and had two ice cream things (an ice cream sandwich and a fudge bar). Then at night, we ate a lot in the residence. We had donuts (compliments of my mom), cookies, and chips and salsa. It was probably horrible for us, but it was a very fun day, even if it was Friday the 13th.
I am also happy to say that I have been trying to work out some more at the MTC. I use most of my gym days running on the elliptical. I have found that I have more stamina than I think, as I have been able to run for almost an hour each time I have tried.
Overall, I am becoming much more comfortable in the MTC. I will admit right now, and all the others in my district agree, that our first three days in the MTC were frankly awful. The days seem so long, and everything is so hard. But if you can get to the fourth day and beyond, you get used to the schedule and it actually becomes quite an enjoyable experience.
Thank you all so much for your support! I have been excited to answer all my email every P-Day.
Best of luck in all of your endeavors!
Elder Watson
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