Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Hello family and friends! The MTC is still pretty great :) i can't complain too much, except the food is still not very good, but I've found a system that works very well. For breakfast I get a bagel with Creme Cheese, maybe a bowl of Cereal and some fruit. For Lunch and dinner I get a wrap! They have a little place where you can make your own wrap, so i pile on a ton of veggies with some chicken and a little salad dressing and bam! I have a great meal :) I've also lost weight since I've been here, but my life would be much better if you'd send me some magnesium and vitamin C supplements. There's a cold going around and I don't want to get sick!
So we got to go to the temple dedication at 10:30 and Elder Bednar spoke. He's a great speaker, I love hearing him talk. We also had a devotional this week and the speaker was Elder Ballard! thats 2 apostles in 2 weeks! That almost never happens! I also got to sing in the choir for that devotional, but barely. There are just under 600 spots in the devotional choir, and it first come first serve, and around 1000 missionaries show up every week. It's so ridiculous, but I really don't care that much because guess what? The MTC has been invited to sing in the priesthood session of conference and I made it into the choir! I'm going to sing in conference!!!! That was so cool to find out about :) totally made my day!

In the pictures I have one with all the guys in my branch who I hang out with. We're all a tight group and we have a ton of fun.
Elder Winkel


Boys wrestling--Shocking!







 Also, we found a little basketball in one of the narnia holes in our room, so I made us a basketball hoop! Check it out! It's so legit!! haha we have so much fun together, maybe a little too much fun ;) there are few things that could make this better, one of which would be more mail. 

Honestly everyone in my district gets so much more mail than I do, it's a little sad :/ but i'm not here for mail, I'm here for the Lord. one more crazy thing happened this week, a cat wandered on to the MTC. Yea, a domesticated cat. It was so cute we went and picked it up and petted it. It was so soft it reminded me my sassy, but of course sassy is way cuter :) but that reminds me, were you going to send that photo album? Just wondering :P thank you for the package though, honestly getting a package is the most exciting thing that happens. Every thing else is good, it's just routine, so I don't get as excited anymore. Thanks for all your letters though, I love hearing what's going on. please let me know how BYU is doing in sports though! I have no access to anything sports related and It's KILLING ME! I'm pretty sure the staff is instructed to not tell us anything. it's awful. Hope to hear more from you soon, and please, could you send me Liam's mailing address? ASAP! thanks :) Send my love to everyone and thank you for the prayers :)
Another Basketball Buddy


Thank you dad, I really appreciated hearing this. I love hearing abot whats going on at home :) I'm so glad that my service is sending blessings your way. The MTC is an amazing place and I love it here. My testimony has grown so much, and now I truly have a testimony of personal revelation and the atonement. I feel my saviors love for me each and every day, and I can't get enough. I love this place and wish I could stay forever, even though the food isn't very good. Thanks for the packages and love that comes with them, but honestly, don't send chips, send food thats satisfying, like that beef jerky! and that granola! that would be so much better than chips and candy. I love you all and miss you. Please send me some picture too! I want to see whats happening :)
Elder C

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

First Email from the MTC

Guten Tag! Ich liebe das MTC! I have so much I want to tell you about the MTC. My companion is Elder Gunther and get this, he's 5'4"!! we are a funny looking companionship but I love him and we have lots of fun together :) So I am totally in love with this place. The spirit is so strong everywhere around here. The only bad part is the food! I honestly have no idea how the average weight gain is 20 pounds, the food here is awful and it makes everyone super gassy! I normally end up eating a salad or something like that. Oh well, it could be worse :)

Thanks for sending that package but honey, where are my paaaaaaaannnnntss? HAHAAHAHHAHAHAA :) oh that lego movie tho :) my companions and I are trying to learn how to quote movies in German. I don't have that one yet, but "Lukas, Ich bin ein vater." "Nein. es ist wahr nicht. es ist impossible!" haha we have a lot of fun and My German is better after one week than my french was after 2 years! The gift of tongues is real. But even though we quote star wars and have arm wrestling tournaments with the rest of the branch, we still are overcome by the spirit. On Sunday we watched a devotional by Elder Bednar entitled "the Character of Christ." If possible you should look it up and watch it for FHE. It's a little long, but it's worth it. Also, yesterday Elder Scott came for our devotional. Yea! I know! He taught us about prayer and how we will always get answers if we pray sincerely and promise to act on the answer. He's an amazing speaker. But my goodness that place was packed! we waited for almost an hour just so we could get a good seat. Crazy stuff right? I'll send pictures in a minute, this computer is weird. But I love you and miss you all! 

I have some more time so i'll write you about my district and branch :) My Branch has 50 missionaries in it, all going to Germany. The Branch presidency is way cool, and their wives are even better. My branch has me and my companion, Elder Weirsdorf and Elder Winkel, and then Sister Henrie, Sister Barlow, Sister Melody, and Sister Titensor (I think that's how you spell it). 

Elder Glissmeyer and his companion Elder Williams are right across the hall and they're our best friends here. All the guys in the branch (26) are already very close and have a lot of fun. Every day for gym we have a giant 3 on 3 basketball tournament and it gets pretty intense. haha, the last time Elder Glissmeyer and I were on a team together and that just wasn't fair for anyone else, but we had fun. It's so nice to be in a place where everyone likes you for who you are. They don't care about your background, they only care about making you feel happy and accepted, and that's how i feel here :) I also love both of my teachers, sister Judd and brother ****. Honestly, if brother ****
was taller, I'd try and set him up with Riley. He's really smart, funny, and spiritual. and he drives a MOTORCYCLE!! sweet right? well times up. Ich Liebe dich. 

Ok here are all the pictures. Dad was right, it will be much easier to just set up a drop box account. But guess what? I forgot my camera cord! :( so if you could send my one that'd be great. Otherwise, no more pictures :( also, I can receive mail every day, so... MTCDeliveries.com and DearElder.com should be your best friends :) go check them out! Also, If you've already made my blog go ahead and get on my facebook account and share a link to it. That way you won't have to forward my emails to everyone. Well I'll send you another email next week. Keep it up! And tell matthew happy birthday for me :)
Class Time?

A letter his apartment put through the vent to the next apartment



Elder Oliphant, Elder Johnson, Elder Glissmeyer (he's known them since he was a little kid)

First Companion


Doppeldecker-Couch? Diese Idee ist nur das Schlimmste

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Gone to the MTC







Quite possibly my favorite picture of the boys





Last Meal





Siblings saying goodbye













At this point he's FINISHED














Last Family Picture for 2 years


So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen