Week 1: Settling In

Hola mi familia!!

It feels like such a long time since I have seen you...but it's only been a week and one day.  Anyways, I just got back from the Temple and today is my P-Day so expect weekly emails around this time while I am in the MTC. I got the package and all the letters so don't worry about that. That package was awesome haha. I'll have enough junk food to last me the entire MTC (or so you would think.)

Anyways, now to the stuff you've been waiting for. The MTC is great!! I am having so much fun and learning a ton along the way. The first couple days were a little slow, with a lot of orientations and introductions, but once it hit Sunday it started rolling right along.

My district is so much fun. I feel comfortable around each and every one of them, and they all have really strong testimonies. My companion's name is Justin Jacobs and he is from Riverton, Utah. He likes to snowboard and play basketball. He's not the tallest guy (as you will see from the pictures) but I think I have an opportunity to learn a lot from him.

So in the MTC, you wake up at 6:30 and get into your classroom by 7. In the classroom you have personal study until 8 and then breakfast. then we either have companion study or a teacher comes. We have two teachers. Hermano(brother) Angus and Hermana Tymnoshenka (Chimishanka - from Brazil) who alternate teaching us. And then we also have times set aside for language study on your own as well as MDT which is missionary discretion time which you can use however you choose.

The MTC is a lot more personal study than I thought it would be, which is good because it is helping me learn how to study.

And of course we have devotionals and firesides and other meetings scattered throughout the week.

Also, every Tuesday, we have a TRC which is a task we have to do with our teachers evaluating and watching us. this last Tuesday we had to contact an investigator in Spanish and make an appointment with them, and teach them the first lesson in English. We do this with volunteer investigators. Elder Jacobs and I taught a nice Mexican lady who was soo nice that she told us story after story. We could hardly get two words in. I will be honest I was a little frustrated. But, looking back on it now I think that the Lord was trying to teach me two things - a)patience and b) to love the people-- meaning not just trying to jam the gospel down their throat. But Next week, we have to contact and talk about the investigator's family and get to know them in Spanish, and then again teach the first lesson. So we will see how that goes.

We also got a progressive investigator - which is a teacher that we don't know that we contact and set up appointments with and teach like they were a real investigator. The teachers often act like investigators they knew from their mission so it's about as realistic as it gets for the MTC. So we contacted him and he let us teach him right then and there...and it went pretty good for a first timer and we set up another appointment for this morning....and he didn’t show up. IDK if the actual teacher forgot about it or if his character actually blew us off haha....I guess l will find out tomorrow.

So the language is going ok...I can say basic prayers and bear basic testimony. and I can contact people in a very simple manner...so I am making progress!!

and I decided I would bear my testimony each week in Spanish so you can see it progress:

yo se que la iglesia de jesucristo de los santos de los ultiimmos dias es verdedera

y el libro de mormon es la palabra de Dios y es verdedero.

Yo testifico que jose smith fue un profeta y El fue llamado por Dios

Yo testifico este mensaje es verdadero en el nombre de Jesucristo Amen

I'm out of time

Love you all so much and I miss you.

Elder Peacock (sent 7/29/2010)