Week the 2nd

 Hello there!

So everyone says that the first couple days at the MTC are the longest days ever, which I believed of course because they seriously were the longest days of my entire life. But then people also said that after those first couple of days it all of a sudden starts going really quickly. And I didn't really believe that at first, it didn't seem possible. I just thought it was something people just said. But seriously, they were right. I can't explain it. Like I don't know how I'm already writing this second email.

Well so things are going really well. It's been a good week. I've learned a lot this week about scripture study. It's been a lot of fun. At one point Elder Adamson and I were studying the Book of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ that goes along with the Bible. We decided to read the entire Book of Enos, a book in the Book of Mormon, and Elder Adamson suggested that we look for any examples or mentions of the idea of faith. And it was really cool! There's a lot in there that I'd never noticed before. So I would recommend that actually. Study that chapter looking for examples of faith, and you will learn a lot I think. And for me that method of studying, of having a topic in mind as I read, is really helpful and I learn a lot more. 

So on a completely unrelated note, I have a Bible joke. 

Q.) What kind of man was Boaz before he got married?

A.) Ruthless.

And if you don't get the joke, then I encourage you to read the Bible. Because you're missing out on some quality humor. And blessings of course.

So this coming week is actually my last week in the MTC. I leave the 12th which is Monday, first thing in the morning. So the next time I write, I will not be here anymore and I will be somewhere in the Northeast portion of Arizona. 

I'm very excited about getting out into the field. Also, side note, this is a thought I had about that commonly used expression "the mission field." I've always thought about it as like, field work, like a field agent does in one of those secret agent movies. But as much as I want to be a secret agent, and as much as I'm definitely going to pretend that I'm a secret agent on a special assignment in Scottsdale Arizona, I actually am not a secret agent. And the thought I had was of the scripture about missionary work that talks about how, "the field is white, already to harvest" and it goes on and is really long, but the point is, I suddenly started thinking about "the mission field" in the context of that harvest analogy. So that was just a fun thought that I had.

Anyway, I'm very excited to get out into the mission field and start serving and teaching wherever God needs me. It has been cool though because even at the MTC, there is a surprising amount of teaching opportunities. People who are interested in learning about the church who live in the area can sign up at the MTC to be taught by the missionaries who are being trained. Which is scary. But it is also really cool because there's no better way to learn something like teaching than by teaching. To add on to that, I've learned so much about how important it is to have the Spirit with me as I teach. Because I don't know what I'm doing, none of us do. I've been here for not even a full two weeks. That's not enough for an 18 year old to become like a super awesome bible scholar. So I've really learned a lot and it's been very cool.