First Week Down

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Hey everyone! 

Things are going good in the MTC, it has been a week packed full of fun, new (and sometime frustrating) experiences. The first day I was here after you dropped off your bags in the apartment they pretty much throw you into a class where the teacher only speaks Spanish to you for the rest of the afternoon. Oh, I am at the West Campus of the MTC which is where all of the Spanish speaking missionaries are. West campus is awesome! There is a lot of space and its not really cramped and indoors like it is in the Main campus. 

Elder Hartvigsen arriving at the Provo MTC, June 11, 2014

So I'm in a trio right now with Elder Wilkey (my original comp) and Elder Dixon. They are both great guys and have good work ethics. I've heard that trios can be tough but we get along very well, and It'll be weird to be not in on once we get down to mexico. So in our district there are 3 Elders and 4 Hermanas. The Hermanas' names are Jenson, Olsen, Wathen, and Larsen. Everyone in my district is awesome and works well together. 

So the way that they teach us is in makeshift classrooms that are set up in apartments. So there are just desks and whiteboards set up in two of the rooms in each apartment and a couple other rooms for teacher "investigators." So we got our first investigator last Friday who's name is Marco. It is really a teacher that plays someone that they taught on their mission, or I guess someone they just made up. Anyway, we teach him in only Spanish, so it is really tough. Not only do we have to prepare the lesson to fit his needs but we have to use only Spanish. Its really tough because you want to engage the investigator and ask them a lot of questions and keep the lesson dynamic but you don't know how to say anything or answer their questions when you finally figure out what you ask. It is a very humbling and awesome experience and it is the best way to practice short of actually getting an investigator. 

We also met our branch presidency last Friday and they are Awesome! Our branch president is one of the most loving, wise people that I have ever met in my life. He had all of our names memorized before we even met him and you can tell that he loves you on that real intimate level. Everything he says is also so insightful and you can tell that he has really mastered receiving revelation and using the spirit.

So my entire district is going to the Mexico Puebla Norte Mission, and it seems like at least half of the new districts are going there too. So Puebla will bet a huge surge of new missionaries. It will be cool to know a bunch of people already when I get to Puebla too. The other district is going to Tampico and Mexico City Chaco I think. The district arriving today is going to Guatemala. 

Anyways West Campus is really fun, everyone speaks Spanish and its a lot more open. You can study outside in like the apartment common area next to like this stream so I feel really blessed. Also its just my trio in our apartment so I don't have to share the showers with like a million dudes (I mean Elders).

I'm so grateful to be here at the MTC, you feel the spirit so much here it really is unexplainable the spirit you feel. Not that we don't work hard and get frustrated but I feel so blessed to be able to come here and get a way from the world and focus on those things that are truly important. I'm really excited to teach people and have already gotten a taste of the love that I'm going to feel for those Pueblitos.

I've also learned that it isn't about me, but that I'm just a vessel or instrument in the hands of the Lord. We watched the talk Character of Christ by David A Bednar and that is hands down the best talk I have ever seen. It was an MTC devotional on Christmas a few years ago and it literally changed my perspective and my life. All of you people reading this should watch it. It's really mind blowing. I also saw Elder Holland's talk where he talks about Joseph and Hyrum Smith's final days and holds up the book of mormon that Hyrum dogeared the page of the scripture he read to Joseph in Carthage jail. That's probably my second favorite talk so you guys should watch it too. It's funny, someone in the bishopric told me I would get pumped to hear from Apostles and I totally do now! 

Anyways, my time is running out but I love you guys, thanks for all the emails. They are great, and all of you guys supporting me is such a blessing. Love you guys. And hey, just in case you didn't know, the church is true!

Elder Hartvigsen