8/30/16 - The First Week of the MTC has Come and Gone

Hola Mi Amigos!!

The first week of the MTC has come and gone and honestly it went faster than I thought it would. Everyone says that the days are really long but the weeks fly by and I can already tell that’s true. First and foremost I would just like to say being a missionary is one of the best things I’ve ever done. It’s super hard and it’s amazingly frustrating not being able to speak my mind or understand half the stuff in Spanish but the gift of tongues is real. I’ve learned more Spanish in 6 days than I did in 2 years of school. Your mind is just like on overdrive- it’s really amazing.

I saw Elder Mackay and he’s doing fantastic. He’s a really great dude and he always lights up my day when I see him. I’ve been really blessed with an awesome companion, Elder Canfield. He’s from Alpine and is playing soccer at BYU. His Spanish is head and shoulders above everyone else and I’ve learned a lot from him. I have made some really great friends already and our district is super amazing. We all get along great and there are more than half of us with the same Spanish knowledge as me which helps a ton. I can see why people rag on the food here, but I really can’t complain - most of it is pretty good and I’ve already gained weight haha.

I’ve had so many spiritual experiences and I feel like the MTC is really like a temple of sorts. We are singing in the choir tonight and even at practice the power of 3000 missionaries singing about serving and spreading the gospel took my breath away. Our zone is really funny. We have tons of guys who played high school sports and so we have some really funny games. When we go to our dorms at night there’s always something new and it helps with those headaches you get. We have 3 sets in our room and last night I laughed harder than I think I ever have. I fell out of my bed and landed on the floor and couldn’t breathe I was laughing so hard. It’s so cool how we are from all over with such different backgrounds but in the grand scheme of things we are all here for the same reason.

Look up “Character of Christ” – it’s a clip of Elder Bednar’s MTC talk a while ago. It’s FANTASTIC. I’m already getting excited for Peru. I can’t wait to get down there and tell people what we know. I love you all and I will talk to you next week.

May God be with you till we meet again. 

Love,

Elder Nielsen