Hey! I have about thirty minutes to write this letter, so I will go as fast as I can.
I am having a great time here in the MTC. My companion is Elder Long. He is a great guy, and I actually knew him at BYU before we got here. Funny huh? He was Wesley Morgan and Truman Blanchard's roommate, and also on the BYU Folk dance team with Wesley Valdez.
I have spotted Elders Forshee, Bratsman, Byers, Woodis, Charles, Moulton, and seen Alyssa Flake, and other assorted Orem Tigers working in the Kitchen.
My district is fantastic, filled with really smart, spiritual people. There are no Sisters in the class, but I feel like I couldn't have gotten luckier!
My P-Days are on Fridays. Therefore, I will be able to write you guys emails or chat in a way on that day, probably around eight or nine o clock. I don't get to read my mail or open packages until 9:30 at night, but I usually get them the day you send them. And I can only write home on my P-Day, so expect most of the mail to come on Friday or Saturday.
Thanks for all the love and packages you guys sent me! Missy, Ally, Mom, Dad. My district is a little jealous, but I will share what I got so they won't get after me. Lol.
(Please forward the following messages)
Jessie Worthington: Thanks for the treats you sent me! I really appreciate (and needed) that Zuchinni Bread! The food here at the MTC is...starchy, to say the least. Ha ha ha. I live and learn in the same building as Elder Brown, so I see him a lot. He seems to be doing great and it was really cool to see him. Thanks for being such a great friend.
Riley: I love you very much, and am so glad you are choosing to go to scout camp with your new group. Learn to make new friends with the group, you'll be happier. Trust me when I say this...I have had to make a lot of new friends here!
Emmy: I love and miss your antics so much! Seriously, thanks for being the greatest sister an Elder could ask for. I hope you are having a good time on Trek and want to hear all about it when you get home.
Dad: Thanks for that letter! It was great to hear from you directly, and I want to hear more from you.
Mom: I love you so much!!!!! Thanks for looking out for me and taking care of me so well.
Well, as for the MTC, I am feeling the Spirit so strongly here; I had no idea it would be like this! Seriously, every day I come back to my apartment spiritually filled and uplifted. I have never wanted to serve others so badly before. They keep on stressing the importance of remembering our purpose, and leaving all worldly things behind. This is sometimes hard for me because both Elder Long and I love to quote movies...the same movies! Even Nacho Libre! Lol. But I am trying harder to learn to devote all my attention right now to serving our practice investigator, Adan (Adam in Spanish). He is athiest, has terrible family relationships and doesn't seem to care at all for life.
This could get interesting...
Ha ha ha. We taught our first lesson yesterday. It was a different experience. My Spanish was broken, my ideas scattered, and nothing we said or tried to explain concerning faith seemed to get to Adan. He wanted to learn the truth and would read the Book of Mormon if we asked him to, but he didn't want to pray, and he complained that he couldn't understand the Book of Mormon.
We were struggling. But then I decided to give it my last go and bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon. I explained how it changed my life, and I thought I could feel the Spirit in the room so strongly, I felt great at the end. When I asked Adan how he felt then, he said,
"Normal..."
That hurt, but we got him to commit to read the Book of Mormon and think about it. Hopefully he does...
If I learned anything from this lesson, it is that I definately need to be more humble and need to invite with the Spirit rather than just teach a lesson. I admit that I felt a little prideful because it seemed that I was doing really well in my Spanish class and thought that I was advancing faster than everyone else. But when I needed to use my Spanish, it didn't come to me. In fact, the two missionaries that claimed to struggle the most with Spanish ended doing the best with Adan. It was great to see them succeed, and I want to invite the Spirit like they did.
Also, on a more positive note, I also learned how much bearing my testimony could also strengthen it. After I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon in a very personal, open way, I felt the Spirit so strongly, and I knew that the book was true! I believe that nothing invites the Spirit more than a simple sincere testimony of what you know is true.
Well, I am outta time. I'll try to write as soon as I can!
Love you all!
Elder Welker
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