Family and Friends!!
Well great news everyone in my district made it threw week two and now we already leave the MTC in a week from today!! It honestly seems like the other day we all arrived here and now we are preparing to leave!! On the 21st we leave the MTC at 3 AM to fly to Dallas and layover there. So I'll be in Texas and I'll wave hello to Marco while I'm there!! And then we have a two hour layover where I get to call my family before I fly into the Fort Lauderdale airport and meet my mission president. I'm just pumped for the dinner cooked by the mission presidents wife that night so I can actually eat some real food for once in three whole weeks!! And it's Valentines Day, but no love can be shown at all here in the MTC!! But I wanna thank everyone who has written me letters so far, we honestly pray for letters here that's how much they mean!! But if anyone wants to write me this next week make sure you send it so it will get here at least on Monday cause otherwise I will be on a flight to Florida and they will have to transfer it to me which will take forever so yea. And after the 21st you can send letters to the mission office that everyone has or once I know my first area address I will let everyone know. But thank you soo much I hope everything is going well at home and miss all my family and friends soo very much!! You are all in my thoughts and prayers every single day.
But this week was soo much better I have been inspired and uplifted by the spirit that I feel here in the MTC. This is an inspirational place to be!! But I wanna share two powerful powerful experiences that have strengthened me soo very much this past week!!
The first one is of a talk by Elder Bednar that we watched on Sunday that he actually came to this MTC and gave to the missionaries on Christmas Day. This was a life changing talk that I wish everyone could just hear!! But he talked about the Character of Christ and how Christ turns outward. When we start thinking about ourselves, and how hard our lives our, and just start getting selfish, which happens with me all the time. Those are the times when Christ turns outward and thinks of other people. Like when he was betrayed and about to pay for all the sins of everyone on the cross, it was then when he healed one of the gaurds that held him captive ear. Christ was the ultimate example of turning outward and showing love to everyone no matter what their circumstance was.
The other experience I had happened last night when one of the members of my district was having a very hard time cause everyone was recieving mail almost every day and all he has recieved is an email that was a paragraph long from his Aunt and Uncle. Not even a letter from either of his parents. So I offered to give him a preisthood blessing and he gratefully accepted. My first ever preisthood blessing I know!! And after that blessing I could not tell you a word that I said, and I know that is because it was not me talking it was Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father using me as their mouthpeice to comfort Elder Barker!! It was one of those times where you feel like you are floating and kinda spinning and your mind is completely empty, yet your mouth keeps talking somehow it was soo cool!! And then after the Spirit was amazingly strong it strengthened my testimony of the power of the preisthood and I hope it does the same for everyone who reads this!
Well while I've been here it has snowed twice and once was a huge snowstorm and it was SOO HARD to just sit in my class and watch the slopes get pounded with snow!! So ElBell, Ppayne, V, and everyone else I expect a letter telling me how amazing the pow was!! But everyone that is preparing for their mission and getting kinda scared about coming to the MTC don't be at all!! The first week really sucked I'm not gonna lie.. But once I got use to it I absolutely love it here!! Getting up at 6:30 kinda sucks still so I'm hoping that I get use to that and I know I will!! But I really look foreword to being able to study out of the scriptures and preach my gospel!! I also love teaching our investigators here. Even though they are fake and just role playing me and Elder Lee have grown to love all of them and have grown so much in being able to use the Spirit while teaching it's unbelievable. I know the mission will change me and I'm kinda scared of that now.. Like I love Pond so hopefully I'm still wayy weird when I get back!! Oh and we get a Devotional tonight so I'm prayin that a member of the twelve comes so I'll keep you all updated!!
Oh and Corb when you get here you will love your branch the presidency is absolutely amazing!! Except you'll be here for twelve weeks that's like one eighth of your mish!! But my branch has all the Thai missionaries so their are currently three Thai branches and then two English speaking districts, ours going to Fort Lauderdale and Jamacia, and then the other district is going to OKC and most of them are huge Thunder fans!! So I've been telling them that they have to convert Kevin Durant and Westbrook while they are there!! But the Thai missionaries have been teaching me some Thai too!! I don't know how to spell them but So-I-Di-Cup and Pom-Ra-Coon are some Thai that they've been teaching me!! So I'm even learning other languages while I'm here it's soo sweet!! And I know some Cambodian as well!! Chom-Weap-Suea means hello and Le-Hi means goodbye!! But it's like a huge family here in the MTC everyone just takes care of each other!! Even though a mission is so far the hardest things I have ever done in my life and one of the biggest sacrafices, I know that it will be worth it!!
Zac you better be taking good care of Rueben for me or else that's all I'm sayin!! Rueben is a champ especially now that his heater actually works!! Oh and I wanted to do one thing that I forgot to do in my final facebook post for two years. I totally forgot to thank Big V for all he has done for me cause I toally forgot him in that post and I feel wayy bad!! But V I love you mahn and you'll be an amazing missionary I know it!! But I have to go everyone so please write me and know that you all are in my thoughts and prayers every single day!! I owe everything to all my friends, family, and of course Jesus Christ, Heavnely Father, and the Holy Ghost so thank you guys soo much!! I would be no where without you all and you all mean the world to me!!
With Love,
Elder Pond
