So first off, there is still no sending photos or taking them but next week I will send a lot because it will be all the photos I have been taking, as Dad has said, "Some rules are made to be broken".
Questions:
They temple was great but I lost my recommend the night before. I couldn't find it anywhere. We tore apart my suitcases and our room and still couldn't find it. My companion said that we should say a prayer. He said it and as soon as he finished he looked up at me and said, "I think you left it in your passport on the first day." This was so surprising comming from him. The MTC was holding our passports for safe keeping so we had to wait until morning to check and sure enough it was in the front cover of my passport. What an amazing experience I had with prayer. Thanksgiving was not even really acknowledged here (haha) but all the American elders pushed all day for us to sing The Star Spangled Banner, because it is in the hymnbook -haha. We also each said what we were thankful for in the cafeteria :) I leave in the morning (Wednesday) at 8:00 am, all the other missionaries are packing right now, weighing their bags, and getting ready to fly but the Auckland missionaries are all just sitting around because all we have to do is drive 20 min up the road -haha. My companion, Elder Cagimaivuna, returned to Fiji this morning and that was hard. I love him so much. I cried. He cried. We laughed. Man, he is and inspiration to all of us.
Best experiences:
One thing that I really did love about the MTC is one of my teachers. His name is Brother Jesse Armstrong. He served in Southern Cal and got back in 2012. He is probably the best teacher I have ever had. He had lessons where we came out just completely mind blown. The first time my whole district walked out saying that we had never had a lesson like that, it was the best lesson ever. We came to find out we got that same feeling every day in almost every lesson. He is amazing. The most mindblowing though was the Plan of Salvation Lesson... I now know the meaning of life (haha). I will send a picture of him.
Another thing that is way cool here is that instead of trading ties or something, like in Provo MTC, we just give each other gifts, so it is more like a trade but it is just a gift for a gift instead. The Polys like me a lot - I have like 6 nice, shell Necklaces that are awesome. I love these guys so much. Some things I have learned from the MTC:
- Something here makes my pee smell funny, I dont know what it is, it is like asparagus but way worse
- The purpose of life, the purpose of the gospel
- I can now bite off the lid of a can instead of drinking though the hole. Everyone does it here. Well, at least the Polys do. It was crazy the first time I saw it. Now it is just awesome.
- The MTC is not very fun unless you make it fun.
- Polys destroy toilets, like I wreck toilets to be fair but man, these toilets are amazing.
Conclusion:
That is my email this week. I love you guys so much and home sounds fun. Pictures will be coming soon. I want to make sure my friends know about my blog because it is hard to email everyone because of limited computer time. Kaden sounds like he had a cool ordination so that is cool. I am excited that my MTC experience is over but, man, I will miss these guys. I am super nervous to meet my trainer but I have faith that it will be who I am supposed to be with, just like Elder Cagimaivuna.
-Elder Xander Summers