Elder Andrew Burns: Week 1: Provo MTC

HELLO EVERYONE. It's been the longest week of my life, but in that same spirit, a lot has happened so I'll try my best to cover all the biggest details.

If any of you really know me, you'd know that I would get In-N-Out as my last meal before entering the MTC. It was also a tender mercy to have Lauren and Kelton there with me. The drop-off system here is very quick, so I suggest getting your tears out beforehand and sparing the embarrassment.

Some information about the MTC:

1) New missionaries have bright orange stickers on their name tags for a day. EVERYONE says welcome to the newbies; that's just what they do. As initiation, the older (been here longer) companionship in our zone made us eat the orange sticker but then gave us a cooler Marvel-themed sticker to put on the back of the name tag. Don't put it on the front, because if anyone in authority sees it, I've heard they snap your your name tag in half.

2) Every building looks the same from the indoors. Classroom buildings are laid out exactly like residence halls.

3) We start learning Spanish within 3 hours of getting to the MTC. The first thing you'll notice is that the teachers don't speak a lick of English during the whole class.

Sooo, about my companionship: It's actually a trio. Elder Plumb, Elder Kidd, and I.We get along pretty well, but realistically, if you live with someone 24/7 for 6 weeks, you're bound to find something that is frustrating about them. We all realize that and just try to be chill about everything.

I saw Elder Richmond!!! Josh Richmond, who just left for Lyon, France. It was great to see a familiar face. He's a happy boy, I need say no more. :)

Right now we have two mock investigators, Eduardo and Victor. Don't get the wrong idea, though haha. They are just as stubborn as normal people, and it wouldn't help if they weren't. Victor's first lesson was really, really tough on Elder Kidd and I. We both felt so down. He didn't believe anything we said, our Spanish was rough, we got no commitments, and the lesson went on for way too long. Right after we finished, I said a prayer asking for comfort and I got it. It was just powerful enough to keep me on my feet and keep trying. I learned that companionships are perfect for tough situations. We can both pat each other on the back and feel the support of our Father in Heaven. Elder Plumb is a more even-attitude kind of guy. He's always in the same mood but Elder Kidd and I need that.

I look back on my Spanish dialect from when I arrived and it's seriously mind-numbing how much I've learned. We missionaries need to use the spirit to teach investigators, but we also need him to teach us and when that happens, our knowledge takes off.

During personal study I found this quote in Preach My Gospel: "every man is eventually backed up to the wall of faith, and there he must take his stand." I have felt this so often in the past couple weeks, and it just makes so much sense. If we give up when it gets hard, God can't rely on us. Have a good week everyone. There's more to life than the problems you see.

Mucho Amor,

Elder Andrew Burns