Second Week in Hotlanta

Hello Everyone, 

     Today has been a busy week. I have done a lot of stuff. So I still don't have a library card so I don't have a lot of time to write emails or read them... So I am going to have to be kind of quick. I'll start out by telling you more about where I am serving, then I will tell you about the people  I am teaching. 

     Like I said in the last email I am serving in a town called Lithonia. It's a little ways from the big city. Atlanta is interesting because you can go down one street that is super ghetto, then you could go down the next and it will be very nice. The apartments that I am staying aren't very nice. They are safe... So don't worry parents. The first day I got there there was this car with HUGE rims on it. The next day the rims were stolen off the car and these piece of crap ones were placed on it. Haha. I have pictures I will attach to the email. There are very interesting people all over the city. Like I said in the last letter, my companions and I are literally the only white people in the city. Some people around here really don't like Mormons. We walked out of a store one day and this guy yelled at us and said, "Hey, you guys Mormons." and we said, "Yeah, you've heard of us?" and he said, "Yeah, you guy's in a cult, Joseph Smith is in hell. You guys in multiple wives and gay marriage. That's all a sin." Then we said, "You obviously know nothing about our religion." and tried to give him a pass along card with our website on it. Haha. It was pretty funny honestly. It is amazing to see how much people do not know about the Mormons. 

Car that rims were switched out on

     There are trees everywhere. I have never been to a place that has as dense forests as there are here. You never know where you are at. You cannot tell which way is North. It is so confusing and often gives me headaches. Coming from Utah where you ALWAYS know where you are at, it really sucks going to somewhere where you never know where you are at. I will get used to it though. I did not think that it was going to be this green. Atlanta is a really cool city, and the towns around it are really cool too. You can't tell that you are in a city or a rural area because you always feel like you are in a forest of green. It reminds me a lot of pictures of the Sacred Grove. 

     So I will start telling you about the people. The first person I want to talk about it Leesa. She is going to be baptized on August 4th. She is so excited. She is scared we are going to drop her and she is going to drown though. Hahaha. She is an amazing lady. She has investigated almost every religion. She called us yesterday on the phone crying saying, "My search is done." She has been through so much, and it is such an amazing experience for me to be able to bring peace to someone that has been searching for it their whole life. 

     The next person I want to talk about is a man named Antonio. He is a buff black man. He works at a car stereo place. He is awesome! He is the kindest man. He has a wife that is a less active member and two children. He is interested in the church and wants to learn more about the Priesthood. Antonio loves meeting with us and loves the spirit that we bring into his home. I get excited every time we meet with Antonio because him and I get along so well. I love people that I can make laugh, and there aren't very many people that I can make laugh. Haha. 

     There are a lot more people that I would like to talk about but I just don't have the time. =(. I am going to get a library card next week so hopefully I will have a little more time.

     I'd like to share my testimony before I go. I know that this Church brings people peace and happiness. I know that because I am seeing the change that it is bringing into people's lives. I know that by living the gospel you can experience peace and happiness in this life more than you can by any other means. I love teaching the people of Atlanta. I love them so much. I know that Jesus Christ is a perfect example for us to follow. By following the doctrine of you can become more like him and have all the attributes that he possesses. You can have faith, hope, and charity. You can have a love for people that you don't even know. You can have your anger towards your worst enemy disappear.  You can be forgiven for any mistakes that you may have made. I know that this Church is true and I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that you can find peace and happiness in its teachings. 

     I can't wait to tell you guys all about next week. I love you all. 
     

Elder Green, Elder Romero, Unknown Elder, Elder Pettit in MTC

Last Day in the MTC

Hello everyone!

 

     Today is my last day at the MTC. It has been a great day. I am writing today because I won't be able to tomorrow. I have to say that I loved my MTC experience. It was a tough three weeks, but I can honestly say that it was one of the most rewarding three weeks of my life. I have learned so much about myself, made some eternal friends, had the best teachers ever, and had the best district ever. I could not have asked for a better MTC experience.

 

     Today we watch all three episodes of "The District 2." It is only a three part show where they follow these missionaries in San Diego around. It is amazing how much you learn from these videos. I have never been so pumped after watching a video than I was after I watched that. It was like watching a snowboarding video in the Fall and being really excited about going snowboarding, but that feeling times 20. I am so excited for tomorrow. I am so excited to find the people that I am suppose to teach. I am so excited to love them with the love of Christ. I am so excited to share with people the message that has blessed my life! I am so excited to fall in love with the people of Atlanta!!! I know that people wait their whole life's to hear the message that I am going to bring them. I am forever grateful for the decision that I made to come and serve because if I wouldn't have, those people wouldn't have the chance to hear that message in this life. I am going to work so hard, harder than I ever have before. My teacher told us yesterday that there are only two types of missionaries. There are the "no-regret" missionaries and the "I blew it" missionaries. I want to have no regrets when I come home, and I will. I will come home knowing that I have shared my message with everyone I could, and that I have helped and changed the lives of as many people as I could.

 

     I want to end with a spiritual thought. Yesterday the scripture 2 Nephi 31: 20 really spoke to me. It says, "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." Now replace "Wherefore" with your own name. This scripture literally spoke to me when I did that. I know exactly what I need to do in this life and on my mission. I know that I need to press forward with Christ, have hope and the love of god, feast upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end. I know that if I do those things I am going to have a fantastic life and a fantastic mission. I am a worrier. I have worried a lot in the MTC. When read this scripture and it told me to have "hope" I know that that is what I needed to do. I was lacking hope. I know that by reading the scriptures you can gain more hope in your life than by any other means. The scriptures give us purpose, and without a purpose we would be nothing.

 

     I am excited to tell you guys about all my experiences in Atlanta. I can't wait to send pictures! I have taken a lot with all the amazing people I have met! Oh and one last thing, everyone listen to "Abide with me; 'Tis Eventide" I love that hymn. I have probably heard it before the MTC, but I never realized how amazing it is. LISTEN!

 

     I love you all so much and miss you!

 

End of Week Two

Hello family and friends!     

     This week has been an busy week. It definitely went by faster than the last one. They are keeping us really busy here at the MTC. They have every second scheduled out. You don't really have a second for yourself besides the 30 minutes they give you at night to write in your journal and pray to your Heavenly Father. I am very exhausted and sometimes doze off in class. I really try hard to stay awake though. Sometimes I just stand up out of no where and start walking around to stay awake. I have some great teachers too that know how hard it is and put forth an extra effort to keep their students awake. Some of them have us dance, sing songs, or just go out and get a drink.

     I am becoming really close with a lot of the missionaries here that aren't in my district. I am really close with a companionship that is going to Finland. Their names are Elder Batey and Elder Jefferies. Batey played basketball for Weber and is an awesome kid. Jefferies went to BYU Hawaii and danced for the PCC. He is crazy buff. Jefferies and I have become really close because we both value are health. I told him that I want to be as fit as I can before I get to the mission field and there is a goal weight that I am shooting for. He has put me on a strict diet. Each morning I usually have a bowl of shredded wheat or grape nuts (the grossest stuff ever) and I slice a banana in it. Then I have 4 boiled eggs (just the whites) and 3-4 cups of water. Those are usually the only carbs that I have throughout the day. For lunch I usually have just protein, and then at dinner I try to have just veggies. I try to not eat anything else after I have dinner. It is tough. If I am going to discipline myself in every other aspect of my life then why not discipline myself in the way I eat? I have only lost 5 pounds so far but I am noticing a change in my body and the way I feel. I run every day to try and get out all my anxiety. It is one of the few releases that I can find here in the MTC.

    Sometimes I long for my guitar. I miss my music a lot. We sing a ton in the MTC. I like it a lot. I feel like I have become a better singer since being here. Even though I don't have many ways to release my feelings I am learning how to do it in other ways (I am sure that this was the intent of the people who designed the MTC). Prayer, scripture study, and writing in my journal have been what has been getting me through these past two weeks. They give us 30 minutes to ourselves each night and I cherish those 30 minutes. It gives me a chance to reflect on my day and my feelings. It helps so much to write them down. It clears up all the jumbled thoughts that build up throughout the day. Then I get a chance to read my scriptures and ponder on those. My favorite of all is getting on my knees and praying to my Heavenly Father. Sometimes in the MTC you feel like you have no communication with the outside world, and no communication with people that you know truly love you. When I pray I know that I am talking to somethone truly loves me, cares about me and knows what I am going through. Sometimes the at the end of the day the burden seems so heavy that all you can bear to do is kneel. While praying I can feel that burden being taken off my back, and I can feel his love for me. Most of the time, that is just all that I need. Love.

    Yesterday my companion and I taught out investigator. His name is Nickson. He is from Kenya and talks really quietly and so it is hard to hear him. The MTC brings in investigators for the missionaries to teach. Sometimes those missionaries and members acting, or converts acting like their investigator self, or they are real people that get paid to be there. Nickson is real. A lot of the time you can tell because you can see if the person is endowed or not. Nickson is not. Yesterday Elder Price and I talked to him about the restoration, and talked to him about his Heavenly Father. While going through the lesson I was explaining to him prayer, and how his Heavenly Father wants to hear from us and loves us just as an Earthly father would. After I told him that he said, "If my Heavenly Father loves me then why doesn't he just tell me that this is right, or show me what to do? Why doesn't he, or an angel, reveal themselves to me and assure me that there is a life after this and that the church is true." Sometimes I have wondered this, and sometimes I have wondered why sometimes I don't get an answer to my prayers or have a whisper in my ear as to what I should do. When I answered Nickson I realized I was answering that question for the both of us, and at that instance the spirit was filling my mouth. I told Nickson to imagine he had a son. I told him that it would not be wise to hand your son money and tell him to go buy what he wants. I told him it would not be wise to tell your kid what to be and hold his hand until he becomes what you want. I told him that these are not wise because they do not show love and they do not build and strengthen people. He understood. I told him that you show your kid how to work for what he wants encourage him to work towards his goal. I told him that you let your kid decide for himself what he wants to be from his own experiences and encourage him and show him love as he strives to be the best he can (and sometimes we do have to make course corrections for our children). These will make him strong. He understood and agreed. I told him that it is no different with out Heavenly Father. He will not give us the answer to all of life's questions for ourselves without doing the work to earn that answer. He will not hold our hand and tell us where to go or what to be without going through those life experiences to decide for ourselves. He does that because he loves us. He does that because he wants us to become strong like him, because if he didn't we would learn nothing and we would be nothing. Nickson now understood as did I. I realized at that instance that my mission is going to be tough. It is going to be the hardest two years of my life, but they are hard because my Heavenly Father loves me and he wants me to be like him. He wants me to be strong. He wants me to go through my own Garden of Gethsemane to grow and understand the atonement. He loves me so much that he gave his son for me so that I can make it through this and so when I do make a mistake he can help me make my course correction.

   Well, time is up. I hope to hear from you all the over next week. I love you all so much. I leave to Atlanta on the 10th.

One Week Down....but who is counting?????

Well I am all finished with my first week of being a missionary and being at the MTC. It has been a lot harder than I had expected.

 

I'll start off by telling you about the stuff at the MTC. My companion's name is Elder Price. He is from a very small town in Utah called Kingston. He is an awesome kid. He has a sweet southern Utah accent and loves talking about his farm back home. He is very smart and knows the scriptures better than anyone I have probably ever met. He inspires me to do better and study harder. Elder Price is also going to Atlanta. The rest of the kids in my district are awesome. There are eight of us. Four of us are going to Atlanta and the rest are going to Charleston WV. They are all the nicest kids I have ever met. My love for them grows each day. We are all very close and I am so blessed that I got a good district and a good companion. My district leader is named Elder Gautnavi (pronounced Now-ta-vigh). He is an amazing kid and has an amazing spirit. He is a big Polynesian. He has worked hard so he could come on his mission. He is turning 20 soon. He previously had a mission call but had to decline it due to worthiness issues. I admire him for taking care of things and being willing to come back on a mission. He is very inspirational. Probably my favorite kid in my district is named Elder Land. He is a big black boy from Wisconson. He has been a member of the Church for two years. He makes me laugh every day and really makes my time at the MTC easier. I am so grateful he is in my district. He is the only member in his family. The rest of his family consists of Jehovah's Wittness's and muslims. They do not condone him being here. He is an inspiration to me and I would really appreciate it if you guys would be willing to support him on his mission also. No one really emails him, or sends him letters. I can't imagine how hard that would be.

 

Now I will get to how I have been feeling in the MTC. It is true, the MTC is like no other place on Earth. Our teacher told us a joke the other day. He said what is the difference between the MTC and prison... Prison you get a phone call. Hahaha. I can't tell you how true that is. When you come on a mission they take everything you rely on. Your family, your friends, your cell phone, and your music. They take everything from you so you can learn to rely on the spirit and Christ. I have been learning how to do that. It is nice to know that how ever alone you are you will always have those comforters with you. This first week has been really hard. The first couple days I have felt so alone. It is difficult when everyone in your district gets mail and you don't =(. Hint Hint. Haha. The first 5 days have been the hardest. I have never really felt so alone that I have had to turn to Christ and the Holy Ghost before. Usually you can just turn to your parents or your good friends. I have realized this first week that I always do have my Heavenly Parents with me and my good friend the Holy Ghost with me that know me better than anyone. I am so thankful for that.

 

Through my time on my mission my main goal is to become more like Christ. We watched this talk by Elder Bednar and it was exactly what I needed. He talked about how becoming more like Christ is going to be what converts people. That is what I am going to do throughout my mission. I want to develop all the characteristics of Christ. Throughout studying, praying, and being obedient. I have come to realize my change. I am learning to love everyone regardless of their circumstances. The love for people that already exists just keeps growing. I know that this is where I am supposed to be.

 

I love you all. Please write me. While I am in the MTC you can send my letters through www.dearelder.com. It is convenient because I get those letters the very day you send them (If you send them before 4PM). For emails I can only write once a week on my P-Day and I only have time to read, and write everyone in 30 minutes. So please try and contact me via the resources you have.

 

Once again, I love you all and you are all in my prayers.

 

 

 

MTC...Good-bye Ry Guy...Hello Elder Romero

We got up this morning and helped Ryan pack up his stuff. He bought two 30 inch suit cases and they were pretty much filled! He shouldn't have had me help pack. I always think more is better. He'll probably have to leave things along the way. He'll find out what is most important and get rid of the rest.

We made a mad rush to get a few last minute things, like a few more shirts and then headed to Provo. We managed to get lunch in at Sensuous Sandwich, a favorite sandwich shop of Greg and I. We had promised to take Matt there on his way to the MTC, and due to traffic, we didn't get to stop.

 Ryan eating at Sensuous Sandwich

We pulled into the MTC and saw the sidewalk lined with "host" Elders who were welcoming in the new missionaries. Ryan had just mentioned that one of his friends was escorted by another of their friends, and how cool that was. Just then he looked out and saw that his "host" Elder was someone he knew well and had been in classes with at BYU. He seemed at ease to leave and have a familiar face helping him get adjusted. We hugged, and bid him farewell. It was a nice day. As he walked away I felt really happy for him, and excited for his new adventure.












Saying Good bye at the MTC