Week 1

Hey friends! I only have 30 minutes on this computer at the MTC, so I'll have to keep it short. This week has been crazy; so much stuff I have to learn and memorize I feel guilty taking all this time to write you guys. Our Sacramento district has five companionships, and we have two teachers who help us learn the material and how to teach investigators. Their names are Bro. Yorgason and Bro. Taylor, both students at BYU and RMs. They have been a blessing to me personally, because one teacher has the mannerisms of and teaches like Bro. Jackman, my seminary and instutute teacher, and the other has the mannerisms of and teaches like Joe Heywood, my priest quorum's advisor. It's been easy to learn from them. I see Morgan Wills (Argentina) and Mike Nelson (Florida) a lot too! By these things and other tender mercies I know that the Lord truly knows what we need, exactly when we need it.

 

My companion's name is Elder Joshua Hubbard. He is from Clinton, UT and has a very distinct Utah'n accent. He likes computer games and big words. I really like him a lot, and we understand each other pretty well. I was worried I might get a difficult or disobedient companion, but I'm safe with Elder Hubbard. We are learning to teach investigators with the Holy Ghost.

 

The Missionary Training Center is great. The food is great (esp. the salad bar, soups, and delicious wraps). The Spirit is great. The blessed gym-time every day is great. Everything is just great. The hardest thing for me was adjusting to the different lifestyle. I miss getting up and being on the river, or mountain biking, or jammed in a slot canyon, or rock climbing. It's a pain to wear Sunday clothes every day. Sitting at a desk learning and studying for 8-10 hours a day is hard. It's not that fun not being able to see for miles 'cuz a ton of really tall building are everywhere you look. And there's a lot of rules. But the Spirit makes it all better. I'm so glad I'll be gone in two more weeks. I'm stoked for Sacramento.

 

I've become very good friends with the Elders in my district. We only have Elders, and we play the color game all the time (burp or fart and everyone says a color--last one to say a color gives everyone compliments. It's a river game). We trust each other, and we've become a tight-knit group.

 

Now for two funny things: On our way back from the missionary exercise field across the road from the MTC, we saw two police cars with their lights flashing and two more officers with big rifles, standing next to the fence of the MTC. We joked, "Someone escaped!" Everyone laughed. And #2, with all these new shirts and layers of clothes, I've gotten the biggest belly-button lint balls of my life. Just visualize that image for a moment.

 

Well, time's about up, so I better go. I'll send as many letters as I can, but just keep in mind that I don't have a whole lot of time here at the MTC. Thank you for your prayers and love. I love you all,

--

Elder Chris Andrew

California Sacramento Mission

8267 Deseret Ave

Fair Oaks, CA 95628

 

PS. I LOVE LOVE LOVE mail. Here's my address at the MTC for two more weeks:

 

Elder Chris Andrew

MTC Mailbox #173

CA-SAC 0906

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604-1793

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