Hey guys!
So, lots to talk about but not enough time to mention them all. The new change in email time is killing me, I can't even get to writing you until now, at 11. Really not helping, but whatever. Ce la vi.
Hope everything is going good. Life here has been busying. Some days it goes by really fast, other days are slow, but either way they are great. The only thing I miss is my music. For some reason, it's not allowed here at the MTC, which is weird to me, but whatever, I'm managing...somehow.
So you'll be getting a letter from me soon. Dad, as long as I can pay for stamps, I can send as many letters as I want (HAHA!), so don't worry about that. Also, thanks for the updates, it's good to know what's happening while I'm stuck in here.
Pictures: I need to buy a specific flash drive from here at the bookstore before those can be sent. I think to save money, I might put my memory card in an envelope and mail it to you. That way you can get the pictures, and I don't have to spend more money than I need. Two birds with one stone, no?
Anyways, I've been having a really great time overall. I got to tell you this really awesome experience I had in the TRC (training resource center, it's like home teaching here at the MTC). So my companion and I got put in a room with a guy named Ted, and we spent a little time getting to know him. It was kinda awkward, as both of us were a little frustrated because we weren't expecting it. After that, we shared some of our favorite scriptures, and Anziano Teichert felt inspired to ask Ted his favorite scripture.
Ted shared with us 3 Nephi 17: 21-23. He broke down, we broke down, and the Spirit was just so strong in that room. It is one thing to tell you, another to experience. Just remembering it brings tears to my eyes.
Yes, things are hard. The language isn't coming as well as I want it to, but it is coming. A lot of times, I start thinking "Why me?" Then I remember all the spiritual experiences I've had, and I remember a talk by Elder Bednar. You can't find it, it hasn't been released outside the MTC yet, but it's called the Character of Christ. In the talk, Bednar talks about looking outward instead of inward, even in the darkest, and hardest moments. So when things get hard, or I get overwhelmed, I remember the Savior, in Gethsamane, and on the cross. I remember how, even in those moments, when it would have been so easy to focus on himself, he still was focused on others. I remember how he blessed the children, and how he has done so much for our lives, that I feel so guilty about even thinking about myself.
And then I remember "Forget yourself, and go to work." Yes, the language is hard, but it will come through hard work, and patience. Yes, sometimes the Spirit drains me, and I get really tired, but food and sleep always help. Yes, the adversary, even in this place, is pushing, trying to make me leave and return to my life. But when you lose yourself, truly lose yourself, get to work, look outward instead of inward, put off that natural man, utilize the Atonement to become better, things get manageable and slightly easier.
If there's one thing I've learned here at the MTC, it is what Ammon stated in Alma 26: "Yea, I know that I am nothing, as to my own strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things." I am nothing. I truly am weak, weaker than I ever thought. Yet, when I rely on the Lord, asking always for help, to be strengthened in my weakness, to have the Spirit with me a little more, things always get brighter. So, yes, the MTC is a hard experience, heck, it's harder than I ever thought it would be, but it is defintely getting me ready for the field.
Dad, you once said you were excited to learn of the gifts of the Spirit I would discover I had, D&C 46. I don't know fully all the gifts I've got, but I will share one experience: We have a Tuesday night devotional, and then a meeting afterwards to share what we learned from it. While member of my district were bearing their testimonies, I thought I saw something. A light, or a shimmering. I'm still not sure what it was, maybe my tired eyes playing tricks on me, but it didn't happen until the Spirit was in the room, and I was feeling it.
This experience has truly help me to grow, and to discover more about myself. I'm still not exactly sure who the Lord wants me to become, but I think I'm getting closer, every day, line upon line, precept upon precept, step by step, day by day, to finally reaching just a part of that divine potential that is inside me.
God be with you till we meet again.
Anziano Eads
So, lots to talk about but not enough time to mention them all. The new change in email time is killing me, I can't even get to writing you until now, at 11. Really not helping, but whatever. Ce la vi.
Hope everything is going good. Life here has been busying. Some days it goes by really fast, other days are slow, but either way they are great. The only thing I miss is my music. For some reason, it's not allowed here at the MTC, which is weird to me, but whatever, I'm managing...somehow.
So you'll be getting a letter from me soon. Dad, as long as I can pay for stamps, I can send as many letters as I want (HAHA!), so don't worry about that. Also, thanks for the updates, it's good to know what's happening while I'm stuck in here.
Pictures: I need to buy a specific flash drive from here at the bookstore before those can be sent. I think to save money, I might put my memory card in an envelope and mail it to you. That way you can get the pictures, and I don't have to spend more money than I need. Two birds with one stone, no?
Anyways, I've been having a really great time overall. I got to tell you this really awesome experience I had in the TRC (training resource center, it's like home teaching here at the MTC). So my companion and I got put in a room with a guy named Ted, and we spent a little time getting to know him. It was kinda awkward, as both of us were a little frustrated because we weren't expecting it. After that, we shared some of our favorite scriptures, and Anziano Teichert felt inspired to ask Ted his favorite scripture.
Ted shared with us 3 Nephi 17: 21-23. He broke down, we broke down, and the Spirit was just so strong in that room. It is one thing to tell you, another to experience. Just remembering it brings tears to my eyes.
Yes, things are hard. The language isn't coming as well as I want it to, but it is coming. A lot of times, I start thinking "Why me?" Then I remember all the spiritual experiences I've had, and I remember a talk by Elder Bednar. You can't find it, it hasn't been released outside the MTC yet, but it's called the Character of Christ. In the talk, Bednar talks about looking outward instead of inward, even in the darkest, and hardest moments. So when things get hard, or I get overwhelmed, I remember the Savior, in Gethsamane, and on the cross. I remember how, even in those moments, when it would have been so easy to focus on himself, he still was focused on others. I remember how he blessed the children, and how he has done so much for our lives, that I feel so guilty about even thinking about myself.
And then I remember "Forget yourself, and go to work." Yes, the language is hard, but it will come through hard work, and patience. Yes, sometimes the Spirit drains me, and I get really tired, but food and sleep always help. Yes, the adversary, even in this place, is pushing, trying to make me leave and return to my life. But when you lose yourself, truly lose yourself, get to work, look outward instead of inward, put off that natural man, utilize the Atonement to become better, things get manageable and slightly easier.
If there's one thing I've learned here at the MTC, it is what Ammon stated in Alma 26: "Yea, I know that I am nothing, as to my own strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things." I am nothing. I truly am weak, weaker than I ever thought. Yet, when I rely on the Lord, asking always for help, to be strengthened in my weakness, to have the Spirit with me a little more, things always get brighter. So, yes, the MTC is a hard experience, heck, it's harder than I ever thought it would be, but it is defintely getting me ready for the field.
Dad, you once said you were excited to learn of the gifts of the Spirit I would discover I had, D&C 46. I don't know fully all the gifts I've got, but I will share one experience: We have a Tuesday night devotional, and then a meeting afterwards to share what we learned from it. While member of my district were bearing their testimonies, I thought I saw something. A light, or a shimmering. I'm still not sure what it was, maybe my tired eyes playing tricks on me, but it didn't happen until the Spirit was in the room, and I was feeling it.
This experience has truly help me to grow, and to discover more about myself. I'm still not exactly sure who the Lord wants me to become, but I think I'm getting closer, every day, line upon line, precept upon precept, step by step, day by day, to finally reaching just a part of that divine potential that is inside me.
God be with you till we meet again.
Anziano Eads
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