Main Menu

MTC – Week 3

March 25, 2015 By 1 Comment

Ciao!

I just hit halfway yesterday and man it really is flying by here. It feels like the days just take forever, but not in a bad way, really. Then when you look back, its hard to tell when you did stuff. Time is just super warped. This week was good though!  We continued to teach our investigators and we are really doing well I think.

The Italian is coming along nicely, but that isn’t what teaches the investigators.  It’s definitely the spirit that we bring in.  We continue to study Italian every day.  It gets overwhelming at times but it is really coming along nicely.

We had a substitute Monday because Fratello Gessel was sick and this [substitute] fratello gave us a challenge.  He said to try and have a better mission than he did.  He explained how he gave 100% in all that he did and that is what truly matters when we stretch ourselves and just give all the effort we can.  We will be able to know that we are getting the most success out of ourselves.  I decided there that I would truly just give everything I have, even if, at times, I think that is all I can do.  I want to be able to know that I did all I could to please the Lord with my service.

I set some new language goals so that was nice to be able to push  myself in the language because we have to give our best efforts before we can receive the gift of tongues.  It doesn’t just come with us waiting for it. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Assignments, Companions, Missionary Work, MTC

MTC – Week 2

March 18, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Hey everybody!

I just hit my two week mark today and its really crazy because it doesn’t feel like it has been that long at all!   Time is super weird here.  It feels like forever, but all the days kind of blend together all the same.

This has been another nice and fun week. I have been able to keep up on my running and the food here hasn’t started to really bother me as there is a lot of variety so you can pick from an assortment of different things.

I forgot my journal in the room so I am going to have to go off memory on all that happened this week that is noteworthy to talk about.

The Italian has been coming along nicely.  It’s frustrating at times when you want to express something during a lesson but can’t for the life of you think of one word that is essential.  But the spirit helps you explain it in another way, which is awesome.   At times during the lessons I can see that I don’t remember, or even think I don’t know a certain word, and it will come to me in a different way or I will get a whole different way to explain things.  I have been working hard at trying to use Italian every day when not in the classroom and its hard sometimes but we try to use all the Italian we know then throw in English along with it. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Assignments, Companions, Missionary Work, MTC Tagged With:

MTC – Week 1

March 11, 2015 By 1 Comment

Hey Everybody!

My P-days are on Wednesday so sorry that I haven’t been able to reply to all the letters and everything. I like that I am able to reply to all you guys finally.

The first week has been fun and really hard at times too though. When I first arrived last week another missionary helped me with my bags and then took me to get all the stuff I needed, such as my name tag, my MTC ID, room key, and language books, and then took me to my room. A ton of people come in each day [Wednesdays] and so there are a lot of people coming in every week. We then went to our classrooms for the first time and they immediately start talking to you in Italian. We had to do some orientation things on the computer and got through that. We had class time and I met my companion Anziano Just he has lived all over the place and is from Saint George, Utah. He likes snowboarding, skateboarding, and he is really good at drawing. We are all still getting to know each other really well. The other two companions in our district are Anziano Bickmore and Anziano Souwan. Anziano Bickmore is from Vancouver, Washington and is really tall. He likes skateboarding and loves to watch soccer and is a fan of the the Portland Timberlands. Anziano Souwan is from southern Georgia. We are all 19 except for Anziano Just.

This week was super busy and they really get you going on everything all at once. Every day we wake up between 6:00 and 6:30 and you have to dress up in your suit to go eat breakfast. We then have daily planning for the rest of our day before breakfast.  After breakfast we have gym time so I usually wait to shower and then get really ready for the day after that. During Gym time I have been running on the track they have in the gym. It takes 10 laps to make a mile so I have to keep track on my hands. We then get ready for our day and head to our classes for personal study, companion study, and then language study. We do those for an hour each. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Assignments, MTC

Megan’s photo of her big brother at the MTC

March 4, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Let the adventure begin!

Let the adventure begin!

Megan snapped this photo right before Taylor was dropped off at the MTC to start his mission.  Only a few minutes later, he was in the MTC!

Filed Under: Preparation

Ready, Set, Go!

March 2, 2015 By 1 Comment

Charleston-030115-25On our way to Wyatt’s last basketball game of the season, we stopped by Pres. Stowell’s house and he set me apart as a full-time missionary.  Now we’ll make our way to Utah, visit some family, and report to the MTC on the 4th.

Filed Under: Preparation

At the St. Louis Temple

February 23, 2015 By 1 Comment

IMG_20150219_140616461

At the St. Louis Temple last week (Feb. 19th) with two weeks left before MTC reporting day.

Filed Under: Preparation

The Italian Visa

January 28, 2015 By Leave a Comment

 

At the Italian consulate to apply for the long-term visa.

At the Italian consulate to apply for the long-term visa.

Most tourists don’t need a visa to visit Italy for a short period of time.  However, if you are going to be there for almost 2 years, a visa is required.  Italy is a little different on this score.  Most countries let you send them your passport and they will send it back with a visa.  Italy requires that you show up at a consulate, in person.  There are only 2 Italian consulates in the U.S.:  New York City and Chicago.  Any missionary going to Italy must report, in person, to one of these locations to obtain the required visa.

We were there today, so there is another item checked off of the checklist!  We are lucky to live in Illinois where a visit to the consulate is just a day trip in the car.  Missionaries from Utah and other places have to fly to Chicago for their visa appointment.

Filed Under: Preparation

It all begins with the mission call

October 23, 2014 By 1 Comment

It all starts with the mission call. Sorry this video is a little blurry, but it was crowded in the room and the automatic focus zeroed in on something else. But the audio is good and the emotion of the occasion can clearly be felt.  The call arrived on Saturday, October 18th, and the next day, October 19th, the family gathered together around 5:30 p.m. (both in person and via smartphones) for the grand opening.

Filed Under: Preparation
« Previous Page