First P-Day

Wow, life in the MTC is pretty different from what I thought it would be. As soon as I got dropped off we took our luggage to our rooms and then went to class. The teachers only talked in Spanish. I was totally lost for the first couple days, and I really wish I had studied Spanish in high school. Oh well! On the third day we were told that we were going to teach an investigator... in Spanish. I studied pretty hard the first two days, and then when we sat down with the investigator, I didn't understand anything that we talked about. The next four times we taught him however, I was able to understand a lot more of the conversations, and I was able to answer questions and add my thoughts to the discussion. I feel like there is so much I need to learn in the language, but looking back I have already learned so much and I just need to be patient with myself. I've definitely received a lot of help from the Lord. We've been speaking Spanish as much as we can ever since day one, and it's just incredible how much growth I have already accomplished.

My companion's name is Elder Stout. He is 20 years old and he's spent the past two years at West Point. He's been taking me to the gym to lift weights a lot, so maybe I'll be muscular when I get back? Haha, I guess we'll find out. We get along really well together. The only problem is he walks really fast since he was in the army, so often times he takes off and assumes I'm right behind him when I'm not. He also sings random phrases in Spanish all the time that make absolutely no sense... haha... oh well. We work great together, and we've been learning so much. I have loved studying the gospel all the time, and it seems as if when I really study the gospel hard, the Spanish comes easier for me.

On Sunday we went to a devotional with Vai Sikahema. He played football for BYU and in the NFL, and is a sportscaster in Philadelphia. He talked about all he has done in sports and all of his achievements and his awards, but the best thing he has ever done is going on a mission to South Dakota. It was a really cool experience and really made me appreciate the importance of the work even more.

The food here is actually really good, but I still get cereal for breakfast most everyday, haha. I've seen many of my friends here. Elder Day and Elder Anderson's classrooms are in the same building as mine, so I see them quite frequently. I've also seen Elder Mollinett, Elder Rian Lucas, and Sister Smedley a couple times. We don't really get to chat for long, because we're always studying, but it's nice to see them anyway.

Since we're studying so hard all the time, it's nice to get out and exercise, and P-day today has been really nice. We got to go to the Provo temple today, and it was a really special experience.

After our devotional on Sunday we had the opportunity to watch a video called "Character of Christ," which was a talk by Elder Bednar. It is an incredible talk. It is all about how Christ was constantly turning outward and never inward, and how we should do the same. During the talk I received some great revelation as a result of the scripture in Ether 12. I came to the realization that if I could speak Spanish right away like I would like to, there would be no trial of my faith. My faith has grown a lot in the short time that I have been here, and I know that I will be able to be an effective missionary if I work my hardest. At choir practice on Sunday the choir director said something that really impacted me. He said something along the lines of, "If you're afraid you can't do your work, you're right, you can't. Thank goodness it is God's work and he is only asking you to help Him do it." It was quite eye opening for me, and I know that I can do anything with God's help. 

My district is pretty cool.  There are 9 of us and 5 are going to the Resistencia Argentina Mission, 3 to Buenos Aires North, and 1 to Colombia. We work hard and have a lot of fun together. We do our best to follow all of the rules all the time so that we can be blessed with the gift of tongues. I think it's working, because we have all improved a lot, and many of the other missionaries here are shocked that we've only been here 1 week.  If we work hard and follow the mission rules we'll be blessed.

I know that the Spirit and the gift of tongues is real, because I have definitely felt both in my short time at the MTC. The teachers told us that the MTC is second in spirituality next to the temples, and I really believe that.

Yo sé que José Smith es un profeta verdadero, y nosotros tenemos un verdad profeta en la tierra hoy. Yo sé que por medio de Jesucristo y su Expiación, nosotros podemos volver a vivir con nuestro Padre Celestial. Yo sé que Dios tiene mucho amor para nosotros, y él quiere ayudar nosotros. Se amo!

Elder Garrett