First P-day!!!

Hello all!

Holy Cow it feels like its already been a year here I'm not going to lie! So I forgot my notebook which had things I'm going to write about but I totally forgot it so if I forget somethings I guess i'll just have to wait till next week to throw them in. I guess I'll just beginning by talking about getting here and everything so Jake Hart was my host and brought my bags to my room and on the way there everyone was shouting at me WELCOME TO THE MTC which I later found out was because the little orange button on my tag meant I was new. I met my companions Elder Crandall and Elder Clemans who are both great guys! We are different in some ways but honestly I for sure can't complain about my companions they are both great and I don't mind being in a trio! I got to class and met my first teacher, Motra Hoopes, and she basically threw a bunch of Albanian at me and I'm sure my eyes were about as wide as they could get which is kinda embarrassing but what are you going to do? That first day just learning the alphabet was hard honestly. I also met the rest of my district! Like I said its just 3 elders and 6 sisters. I honestly really like basically my whole district we all get along pretty well. From what I've heard the mission is like 40 elders 20 sisters but that is subject to change so we will see! The food is like everyone said crappy version of the cannon but you know, its alright! The problem is I'm only in my room from 9:30p to 10:30p every night so there isn't that much time to eat other food! It's definitely nice being able to have a little something before I go to bed. The first 3ish days were pretty hard for me. I was really stressed out about the language and we had to teach a lesson on our 3rd day! but after Sunday we kinda settled into our schedule and realized there was no reason to stress the language would just come when it did and we found more time for scripture study which I now realize is the greatest time here at the MTC. We met our branch presidency friday night and it turns out I'm District leader! To be honest it really doesn't mean much when there is only me and my companions for elders but I do go to some meetings and try to magnify the calling. My branch president is kinda intimidating he is super big about exact obedience and it feels a little much sometimes but I'm trying my best. Something that is really special about the MTC is the spirit is always like right behind you ready to hit you. You can be totally off topic and then someone says something meaningful and you are just totally hit by the spirit. Its pretty awesome. I can also say I have never prayed as much or studied the scriptures so hard as being here which is an awesome experience for me I'm really enjoying my personal study time! I'm also really advancing in the language I can usually understand a sentence based on some words but im definitely needing some improvement. Our other teachers, Elder Knight and Elder Carver, are awesome Elder Knight is my favorite because his Albanian is the best and he is so easy to get distracted. We talk about basketball and stuff sometimes and funny stories in Albania about the mafia and stuff. One of his landlords was a member of the mafia! He says they are your friend over there so we're all good there. He also said it took him about 8 months total before he felt really good about the language which is hard to think about but I can do it! From what I'm told Albanian is tied with some others for the second or third hardest languages here at the MTC with Finnish being the hardest! The Asian languages aren't actually as bad once you get passed the characters because the grammar is way easier! There are lots of little times where you are bored and wanting something to do but I'm figuring it out, I've started making rubberband balls which is pretty fun but ya doing stuff like that because I can't exactly pull out my phone. What I miss most about my phone is being able to look things up whenever! Its just so convenient! I'm still struggling a little with keeping my mind set as a missionary all the time. Sometimes you look at a sister and think she's cute and your just like oops but honestly what am i supposed to do?! Another thing is I think about the LCS pretty frequently which is bad but I always just think how its going but I'm sure that will pass. Some days are pretty lonely here to be honest, today isn't one of those days but I had one the other day where I was just really wanting some friends to talk to or something and it was kinda hard. It seems like the majority of the guys came out here with girlfriends and sometimes when they are all talking about it I think I wish I had something like that but at the same time it would be so hard to have that additional stress I couldn't even imagine. I really love these emails you all have sent me and getting those dear elder letters is especially awesome. I get the mail once a day so its awesome being able to get little notes! (mom ill send you my address to insert here later in the day). I will be leaving the MTC on March 31st and don't even need a visa so thats pretty awesome! I love seeing friends here! so far i've seen Zach Harris, Jacob Baldridge, Andrew Barton, Glen Krebs, and Cameron! I also got to see Jason yesterday which was cool! I don't really get super homesick yet but I do really miss Grace sometimes. Everyone says that you will have some sort of breakdown by week 4 so I'm still holding out strong but we will see. I think the hardest time I have had at the MTC was when we went on our temple walk on Sunday. We get to go accross the street and hang out on the temple grounds for a bit and I could see BYU and I really felt it. Schedule wise Monday, Wednesday, Friday I have 3 blocks of class 4 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours which is reaallllyyy hard sometimes. Thats probably the area I struggle with the most is staying focused during that time, especially the last block because we don't have a teacher during that time. I'm working on improving but it is definitely hard not to just unwind. It has really surprised me how much time we have without supervision I guess since we are here as missionaries they figure they tell us what to do and we will do it so you don't have to do the majority of the things that are on your schedule to be honest! I'm not going to lie and I can see how people burn out of here, especially the harder languages! It's just a lot to process all the time and it can leave you feeling pretty drained a lot. We already lost a Hungarian which is too bad because he was really cool. Fitness time is truly a gift, holy cow I think I would go insane if we didn't have it! I play bump pretty much every time, sometimes I play some 4square but to put it lightly thats where the kids go who can't play any other sport... Well I think that's pretty much it I might add some more later today but I think I have pretty much covered it! Keep sending me mail I love to here from you all!

Oh also!!! My branch 2nd councilor is Brother Leifson and I was like there is no way that is a coincidence so I talked to him and he is Thor Leifsons brother!!! (Trevor's grandpas brother) He is my favorite on the branch presidency too!! The other two are kinda serious but he pretty much never is! he just tells stories and it super nice which is awesome! just thought that was funny!

 I know these emails aren't going to be super "well written" but they are me being real which I thought is better. Missing my mechanical keyboard :( typing on this thing is rough! We just got back from the temple and the sun was out and it was amazing!! Thank you so much also for the food! my companions thank you as well! Oh I also forgot to include I gave my first blessing! That was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had the spirit was so strong!! It is honestly was indescribable. I also see Nick VanAlfan frequently which is really cool!  Also do you think that you could send me a yoyo? haha I know its random but little things are a big deal here! Also this one is less important but if you could find a CTR ring in Albanian that would be really cool to have! Thank you so much for your letters throughout the week and if there is anything I leave out in these letters let me know because I'm not great at this stuff! This week has gone by pretty quickly so hopefully that continues!! I love you all so much! I know what I am doing is the right thing to do and if it wasn't trust me I would NOT be here!