The rest of the MTC info

So, this is super early for some of you when you get this, (I started writing this at 6:15 this morning, but I've had to stop and go with my comp and do some things)  but for me, I've been up since 6, so this is perfectly normal.  Anyways, I need to get to some of the facts that I forgot to mention last week:

No, Merinda, I did not get fat. I have gained like 5 pounds, so now I'm 140 or so, but I'm still not the lightest in the district.

I am part of the MTC choir's bass section, and this choir is better than every other choir, even the MoTab.  The first time I sang with them was with the Nashville Tribute Band, (the guys who sing, "I was born in the mountains of Idaho" then it switches to another person and they sing where they were born and so on) and I got to sing that song with them and 1702 other missionaries! Since then, the choir has been getting smaller, it's now like only 1500 missionaries, but who knows, with this next batch of newbies we might have more!  (If you want to know about how many people that is in that choir, just put about 5 MoTab's together, then you have about the size of us [when we have 1500, none of which sing quietly] XD)

Along with that, IN YOUR FACE HOLLY. Guess which Elder got to be a host?!?!  Yep! I got to welcome some of the newbies into the MTC and tell them what's up!!  Some of the other missionaries here tried to tell them that the orange juice was the best, and after that was said, and we were out of ear shot of those Elders, I told the newbie that that was the biggest lie.  It was the chocolate milk they wanted.  (It's literally like drinking ice cream, but better).  While I was hosting, I found out that we only had to welcome 300 new missionaries, last week was 700, and the week I came in I think was 800.  So the lines for food are absolutely terrible (surprise surprise).

I've seen Elders Jaynes, Orme, Higham (I'm pretty sure it was Keifer) and Sister Kelley, but other than that, I haven't seen anyone else from Shelley yet, someone should let me know if I should even bother to keep looking for them, especially when I leave on Monday.

Of my district, 6 of us are going to New Mexico- Elders Jackman, Pitcher, Broadhead, Gibbs, and I, along with Sister Hay- 3 are going to Omaha, Nabraska, (where Elder Tanner Winward is)- Elders Ohlson, Adams, and Westenskow- and the other three Sisters are going to Scotsdale, Arizona- Sisters Lawrence, Walker and Cahoon.  There is a second district that came in with us and is in our zone and they have some going to the same places (like a companion for Sister Hay) and all that, but not as many going to New Mexico.

If you wanted pictures, I'm gonna have to apologize, because my camera may or may not have an SD card anymore... before anyone freaks out, I took it out to send pictures to you (because some of the computers here have to do that instead of plug it in, like, you know, THE KIND EVERY MISSIONARY WANTS HERE, but whatever, so when I get in New Mexico my district (who's not serving in the same mission as me) is going to send pictures of us all to each of us, which I will then send to you, so you'll just have to wait.

Speaking of which, I do fly out to NM on this next Monday, Labor Day.  I have to meet to catch the bus at 6:20 or something like that, the plane leaves around 9, and I get there around 11:30 ish. Don't take my word for most of that, I last looked at it like last Saturday. I just know the around 6:20 part for sure.

I'm sick of teaching lessons when it's unnecessary that Elder Gibbs and I be the one to teach them.  I'm fine with teaching investigators- even if one of them is from Korea and speaks severely accented English, (which he's still learning) (and he's sick, so it's very much no bueno)- but the first Sunday here, we taught in priesthood how baptize someone correctly (5 min).  The next week we taught our district meeting (35 min), and this coming Sunday we are teaching priesthood meeting (I think 60 min or so).  And sometime Sunday we need to find time to pack our suitcases and clean our room, outside of choir practice (which is only Sundays and Tuesdays) and devotional. 

Speaking of devotional, for the 4 that I've been here for, we had the Nashville Tribute Band on Sunday, the 21st, Elder Juan A. Uceda of the Seventy (Tues. the 23rd), Bro Watson (don't remember his first name) one of the creators of Preach My Gospel (Sun. the 28th) and Richard J. Maynes, of the Presidency of the Seventy (Tues. the 30th).  They have all been really good, and the choir has performed at all of them, except for the one with Bro Watson, we spent the whole practice practicing the song for Bro Maynes, and it was flipping epic.

So here at the MTC there are multiple things you learn: how to fall asleep in 5 minutes (anywhere), how to cut the lines for meals (sometimes I feel bad, others I don't), and the language of the Spirit.  It's cool what unexpected things can come out of your mouth when you're in the zone. For example, the district meeting that I taught, the topic was "Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement" and the direction we took it was with the story Elder Bednar shared a couple years ago of his friend who got a new truck, wanted to go test it out and get firewood, got stuck and after filling the truck with wood was able to get out. The main point was that it was the burden that helped him get out. (If you don't remember it, it's called something like "Bearing our Burdens with Hope" and watch the Mormon message about it)  In there he talks about two questions that have the specific phrase "spiritual traction" so we talked about what can give us spiritual traction as missionaries.  Then, I changed the phrase to "spiritual distraction" and we made a list of that.  We then explained that Faith in Christ and His Atonement is how we can change those distractions into traction to make us more effective missionaries- and one of the things that came out of my mouth while I was bearing my testimony on faith was surprising:  "If you don't think you have enough faith, exercise it, cause I'm pretty sure that Moses didn't plan on parting the Red Sea."  That's been on my mind a lot the past couple of days-until I stopped to think about it and wrote about it in my journal.  As a result, I decided to exercise my faith a little bit by trusting that the Lord would put words in my mouth as I taught my investigators yesterday.  I did that at the beginning of the MTC, but then i got comfortable with my companion and district, so then I wouldn't as much.  So I changed my focus to "What does the investigator need to hear?" rather than, "What do I want to say?" and it was a lot better.  After the first lesson I taught yesterday, I had never had the Spirit with me that strongly from teaching an investigator before.  And Elder Gibbs knew it and felt it, too.  It was incredible.

I might have time later today to check my email again, so if you have anything you want to say to me or have me respond to send it before 6, cause that's when P day ends and I have to go teach Dongho, the Korean from before, for the last time at 6:30!  If you can't email me before then, just send one to me sometime!!  I would rather have you weirdos send one sentence telling me you hate me then not have anything to which I must reply (#thatwasgrammaticallycorrect)! 

Anyways, I gots to go and help el sicky from my district, Elder Broadhead. 

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu.

Elder Eli James Dial