Provo MTC

Samuel's District

Elder Thomas is Samuel's companion.  He is from Cedar Hills, UT

 

Front row:  Addison Miller (Washington Mission), Emma Aune (Washington Mission), Sadie Yardley (Scotland/Ireland), Zoe Jensen (Scotland/Ireland)

Middle Row: Hayden Hooge (Liberia), Tyson Woolstenhulme (Sierra Leone), Keaton Hunsaker (Liberia), David Waite (Namibia), Andrew Blaney (white) (Namibia), Elijah Norlund (black)

Back Row:  Joshua Monsen (Sierra Leone), Chase Thomas (Liberia), Samuel (Liberia)

More District pictures.  Samuel really liked his District.  They liked to have fun and had great personalities.

 

Here's a picture to give you a little idea of how many missionaries are at the MTC.  This of course isn't everyone, but the sidewalks are full.

The Provo, UT temple which is across the street from the MTC.  Missionaries get to go to the temple once a week.

Pardon me, but I "mustache" you a question?

Samuel's picture for his missionary plaque.

A pretty flower that Samuel took a picture of at the MTC.

Samuel is loving the MTC.  Doing classes in person is so much more fun than doing them online.  He thought he'd have a lot of down time when he first came because he only had 6 hours of scheduled classes, but between companionship and personal study, different workshops they have to sign up for, and training they stay pretty busy. The all-you-can-eat buffet is almost like Heaven! The orange juice is rumored to have a reputation of messing with missionaries' digestive systems but it hasn't done much to him so far. The all-you-can-eat dessert IS Heaven!! Last night they had cheese cake and it was glorious. And the best part is that it's all free! It's been a lot of fun getting to know his district. He feels like they get along really well and they have a fun time talking and joking with each other. The classes have been really good! He's been learning a lot and he's getting more comfortable with the idea of teaching others about the Gospel! Yesterday he and his companion had their first teaching lesson and he thought they did pretty dang good for their first time. But the person they taught said they did a pretty mediocre job, so I guess they still have a long way to go. The campus there in Provo is huge. Finding their dorm room was tough the first few days. All the buildings look the exact same and they only label them on the doors. Which makes it so you don't know that the building you're headed for is the wrong one until you're almost inside. But that was just at first and now he's not having much trouble with that. It's amazing to see how many missionaries are there! There are hundreds and all the ones that he's talked to are super nice and happy. They have rooms there that are surrounded by windows on three sides and provide an amazing view of the Utah Valley and Temple. He says it's fun going up there and looking around during study time or after class. Some of those rooms have soft music for pondering or to listen to while reading the scriptures. Overall it's been an amazing experience so far. He's getting excited to go to Africa in a little over a wee, although that depends on if he gets his Visa in time. They had a devotional this week and it mentioned that instead of looking at the end of your mission and how far away it seems, focus on what is happening in the moments and look forward to completing the short term goals you have set for yourself. That makes the 2 year mission seem a lot shorter. His thought for this week is that we will get trials, and they will be hard, but with the Lord's help all things are possible, and he will lighten your burdens and help you get through them. One of the Elders made a good comparison with trials being like a harrow when farming. Harrowing readies the field for the next planting and smooths out the rough surfaces of the fields making for a better crop harvest. Trials do the same thing for us. It smooths out our rough surfaces and makes us better people that can accomplish the Lord's work easier. Anyway, that's all for this week!