Week One

Hey so tuesdays are my pday which means that I can write an email to my family and then they are going to send it out to everyone for me, I hope.  So everything here has been amazing! Its so hard to write it all down because I dont even know where to start or how to discribe it all.  First off the MTC is amazing and it is incredible how much you can learn in such a sort time as well as the amazing spirit that is felt all the time.  The language is coming, slowly but surely.  We have already learned how to pray and bear testimony in german and we have our own fake investigator that we have had three visits with.  His name is Benni and he talks super fast and I swear he thinks I am stupid cause speak so bad.  But looking at the older german speakers, those guys who have been here six weeks, I hope I can speak as well as they can in five weeks.  As for the spirit, it is always here and I am constantly being overjoyed by the speakers and the experiences had here.  This past sunday was fast and testimony sunday and words can not discribe how i felt.  We had a huge mission conference with everyone in the MTC and that was really cool, but then we had our fast and testimony meeting and everything was in german, and for the first time I was able to really understand what people were saying it was a huge blessing.  Then we had a fireside, which was a little less than traditional where there was a man who acted out as someone who personally knew Joseph Smith and it was neat to hear the actuall accounts of what had happend and the feeling that were there as he was killed.  The closing song was Praise to the Man.  And the entire MTC rose and sung that song, and just thinking about it gave me chills.  But then we were able to watch a talk given by Elder Bednar and if you ever get the chance to watch the talk called Characters of Christ then please do it is inspiring. 

 

My companion Elder Chicky is from South Carolina and is really amazing.  It is fun to listen to his insights and listen to him speak the language.  He has improved much faster than me and can speak very well.  And our district is so awesome! We all get along really great and have so much fun complementing everyone.  Its interesting to watch everyone learn the language and the companionship that is built while all struggling to learn a new language.

 

I am excited to be a missionary, it is an incredible experience that I wouldnt trade for anything.  The coolest thing happend while waiting for the fireside on Sunday.  We sat down and were waiting for it to start, and we were talking to the Elders next to us.  We were able to listen to someone bear thier testimony in both Mandirin Chineese and in Russian and then I was able to bear my testimony in German!  Where else in the world can you listen to people bear thier testimony in almost every language in the world! The MTC is amazing. 

 

I would also like everyone to know that I dont think I will be gaining any weight here in the MTC, much to others suprise.  The food is alright but easy to ration and our district is really healthy.  We are able to play soccer every day and run around as well as at nights we work out for fifteen minutes.  I am pretty sure I have already lost what little fat I aquired while being FUNimployed this past summer.

 

The first week of the MTC is already over and it is flying by, I cant believe how fast it is going.  Only 8 more weeks till we are shipped off to germany and we can start preaching the word of the Lord.

 

Ich weiss dass das Buch Mormon wahr ist.  Jesus Christus ist unser Erretter und er liebt uns.  Ich bezeuge dass Joseph Smith ein prophet war und dass Thomas S. Monson ein prophet ist.  Das Evangelium ist wichtig. Im name Jesu Christi Amen

 

Liebe, Elder Blackley