Sundays in the MTC, the Unknown Tie market, and Journal writing

Hoy!  Kamusta pamilya ko at mga kaibigan ko? :D

Just in case you were wondering, Sundays in the MTC are AMAZING!  The Spirit was very strong and I was able to learn a lot from it.  During personal study we've had trouble in our district because we're all good friends now and often mess around or hang out during these times.  But on Sunday there was a special Spirit.  We watched some Mormon Messages on the TV in our classroom as a district.  The spirit was very strong as we listened to the words of the prophets and stories from other young men.  The Message that stuck out to me the most was "Come What May, and Love It" by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin.  The talk applied well to us because the MTC is a tough place to be and Tagalog is a tough language to learn.  His counsel was to be happy and enjoy anything that comes our way.  I'd encourage you all to watch it on LDS.org if you get a chance on a Sunday or during free time.

During Sacrament meeting our Branch President talked about the story "The Tortoise and the Hare."  I never liked that story cuz the Hare was so much cooler than the boring old tortoise and ended up losing but oh well that's not important :P  He said "Slow and steady, with the help of the lord, will win the race for you as missionaries."  He said that through a combination of patience and faith the language will come to us.  I know that if you have patience and faith as you pray for any blessing that you will be blessed and the Lord will help you.  After Sacrament meeting we get to go on a temple walk!  It was my first time outside the gate since entering the MTC.  It was great :)

Guess who subbed for our language teacher a couple times this week?  Brother Cook... from Pleasant Grove!!! :D  He's Brian Cook's oldest brother and my roommate Michael Stirling's cousin.  It was really cool to have someone from home there but also kinda distracting.

Our teaching with Rosalie ended up pretty well.  Wednesday was our last day teaching her.  I learned a TON about the language by being thrown into that situation before I felt I was ready.  As the week went on we were able to drift more from our lesson plan and follow the Spirit on the Lord's lesson plan.  Wednesday was amazing and I felt the gift of tongues at work as I was able to express my self really well to her.

So tie trading?  It's DA BOMB here at the MTC :)  I traded a tie I never liked with my zone leader Elder Johnson for an epic one and made a trade for a sharp bright  red one with Elder more from the oldest district.  Haha, everybody names there ties here.  Some epic ones are Bulbusaur, Fudgie the Whale, Cosmic Brownie, and Tropical Paradise.  I've only named one of them.  I'm debating between Flipper the Dolphin, Flippy the Dolphin and Zippy the Dolphin for the tie I wore to the temple the first time.  Like I said, ridiculous and fun :)

Dear Mom I am CREAMING you in Journal writing!  At least... I hope I am :o)  Since I entered the MTC last Wednesday I've written 30 pages in my Journal.  I've never consistently written in my Journal in my life and I was worried that I wouldn't have much to say in my entries but we've been doing and learning so much here that it has come very easily to me.  I was very surprised when I was able to fill 5 pages in 1 night.  Just one of many things the Lord has blessed and helped me with here at the MTC.  What I've done is just write about everything that has happened each day and being detailed about it.  I also haven't worried about whether the things I've written about seemed silly or not.  Writing in my Journal here is important to me because I want my children to be able to read my Journal entries and be able to draw strength from my experiences when they enter the MTC themselves.

Well that's it for me.  Time's up, I'll try and attach some pictures to another email and send them.  I LOVE YOU ALL!  Please send letters to stuff my mailbox :)  Thanks for all the letters and packages fam and gram :)

Mahal kita!  Sa susunod!

Elder Powell