Blog 1

Two weeks have passed since I entered the MTC in Provo, Utah. I have been so busy getting oriented and unpacking that I hadn't had time at all my first week here. I can't update my blog at the MTC, so I email them to my dad to post for me. Thankfully I made time to write it out.

The feeling of anxiousness and reality came together on June 17th. I had already said my goodbyes to my mom and dad, and we were just sitting in the car at the MTC parking lot just counting down the minutes to 12:30pm, which was when I had to report in. Finally the time came, and I heard there were a lot of missionaries there, but I wasn't expecting to see hundreds upon hundreds of missionaries, both men and women. We drove to the entrance and followed the guides showing us where to drop me off. I unloaded my luggage, bid one last goodbye, and followed my host missionary to my residence hall, which was quite a long walk away, and it was on the 4th floor.

When I arrived at the residence hall, I decided not to unpack everything I loaded up since I'd only be staying for 3 weeks in Utah. Soon after, my two roommates walked in and introduced themselves. Their names were Elder Crandall, who gets ridiculous amounts of letters and food packages almost every day; and Elder Knudson, who is really laid pack and friendly. Surprisingly, he loves heavy metal, and one of his favorite bands is Death.

My companion was supposed to arrive, but he hadn't shown up. For the rest of the first day, I went to orientation meetings one right after another. All of them shared the same message about being a missionary, and how I'm supposed to act like one and not joke around. I finally met my companion at the last meeting, which was in my district classroom. His name is Elder VanDuyn. A district is basically a group of missionaries that are together taught the same language, and are going to the same mission. The only thing is, my companion and I are the only ones going to Lima, Peru. The rest are going to Independence, Missouri speaking Spanish. We all belonged to district 38 F, composed of my companion and I, Elder Cameron, Elder Miller, Elder Stafford, Elder Echolls, Elder Udall, Elder Chhay, Elder Fisher, and Elder Nash who is our district leader. That means he's basically a class president and is responsible for us. Our branch president is President Kreuger, a bit on t he chubby side, but is really loving and a cool person. Not to mention his hair is fabulously combed with waves. A branch is comprised of 5 districts, and the branch president presides over them all.

After we all got to introduce ourselves and explain why we chose to go on a mission, we finally got to head home to our residence hall. At 9:30pm, everyone goes back to their dorms to get ready for the next day, write in their journals, and just visit other missionaries to hang out. At around 10:10pm, there is a group prayer of the entire top floor, and then we hit the lights at 10:30. The whole first day was long and exhausting, and it sucks a bit that I have to wake up at 6:30am from now on. I'm out of time already. I'll try to update my blog sooner with more info about my experiences here at the MTC in Provo, and with pictures hopefully.