Missionary Training Center Welcome

Elder Larson's first letter from the MTC:

Hi mom! So glad to hear from you :))) It has been great here. We have 6 people in our district. Me, Elder Scalese, Elder Bowman, Elder Deus, Sister Madsen, and Sister Phelps. I'm amazed at how much i love it here. I love the classroom, love the classmates, love the branch, love the food, love the workouts, and everything about it! It's amazing here! In my short testimony for my experience thus far, I have gained a shining testimony of the gift of tongues. It's real, and it's an amazing feeling to learn more German in these last three days than I did my entire 2 years of High school German.

 

I just happened to be put in the district with 5 of the most obedient missionaries in pretty much the whole MTC. It makes my time here a real pleasure. My companion is Elder Scalese. He's from Maryland, but before he came here he worked in Hawaii and Texas. He's quiet, and has some trouble with the language, but he's very faithful and doesn't give up. He knows he'll get it down. He's also ripped, so in excercise time we always end up lifting weights, and he found out yesterday that the gym doesn't hold heavy enough dumbells for him. They stop at 80 lbs... lol. He's about my height, but built like a rock. His testimony is also built like a rock. Yeah our German teacher will not speak English, but that gift of tongues doesn't skip a beat. We understand him about 80% of the time and can answer his questions about 50% of the time. I say success! 

 

 Now into more detail,

We do indeed have the best missionaries in our little district. Elder Scalese and I are both going to the Alpine mission. (Alpinlandische auf deutsch) Elder Bowmen is also going to Alpinlandische, but Elder Deus is going to Frankfurt. Sister Phelps is also Alpine, and Sister Madsen is Frankfurt. I have some awesome stories to share with you about these amazing missionaries.

We all arrived on the same day at the same time, but some of us had better experiences than others... I was taken with an elder who took my bags, guided me through the name tag process, picking up my books, and giving me a tour of the MTC. I was well taken care of. So were most of us. However, Elder Deus aquired a "Lazy host" His host did not take his bags, and did not take him to the bookstore. When we got to class, He didn't have his books, he had no idea where he was going or where his baggage was. At night, it wasn't in his room where it should be! We all went to look for it, and sure enough, it was still on the curb where he arrived!!! So funny. 

 

Elder Deus is a comedic genius and amazing missionary. A few sisters came into our classroom yesterday and asked us if we knew where their elders were. Elder Deus stood up, walked casually over to the window, peeked out and turned around with a mischevious grin on his face. He then proceeded to sing: "I looked out the window and what did i see?? Your elders all studying under that tree!!" The sisters went to the window, and sure enough there they were. He's hilarious, and never fails to make us laugh. His two catch phrases are: " I have a story about that..." Followed by a funny story. His other one involves him slamming his fist on his desk while saying "IMMER IMMER IMMER...... (insert German word here)" (Immer means always auf deutsch.) 

 

Elder Scalese (Meine Mitterbeitter) is awesome. He's always encouraging, and always easy to agree with. He also likes to play the Ukelele!!

Showering is rediculous here. The shower curtains don't cover the shower all the way! There's at least 2 inches of open air on each side! Talk about akward....

Well, Laundry is done, so i gotta go. I'll send you guys pictures later today. Love you all!!! Thank you so much for the emails. Feel free to send me candy and other awesome things to horde in my room ;) Love you all so much. I can't wait to hear from you once again. Thank you for sharing that testimony mom, I love the story of the Stripling warriors. I'll send you a picture today that shows an awesome painting hanging in our classroom that always makes me think of you. :) Again, Ich liebe dich!! Auf Weidersehen!!!