Week 3

Hello Everyone!

Before I begin, I want to thank all of you who have sent me packages, letters, and anything else! It truly is a blessing to receive things here, as we do not get much news from the outside world. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts as I learn in the MTC.

This week went by really fast! It seems like last P-day was yesterday! I am really glad that things are now starting to pick up pace. The schedule does get a bit tiring sometimes, but it is structured in a way that maximizes our learning and growth. Both the language lessons and the gospel lessons are getting more complicated, but I am keeping up for the most part. Now that we are all starting to speak somewhat, we are beginning to learn the many complexities of Indonesian Grammar. It is very difficult to learn an entirely new grammar structure, but it is very interesting at the same time. On the spiritual side, I have felt the spirit and have been studying the gospel more than any time in my life. I have been reading the Book of Mormon a ton, and I am barely starting to see the blessings it can bring. Every P-day we go to the temple, and it really is a great experience to go once a week. It is a chance for us to get away from the MTC and the stress that comes from learning, ponder, and rest.

Our district is still really close, and we have not killed each other yet, so that is definately a good thing. We were a bit crazy and loud at first, but we have for sure calmed down and really adjusted to Mission life. Especially now that we have been here for as long as all the English speaking missions. We still have six weeks to go, so we should be as mature as the Prophet by then... My companion and I had two roomates who are going to the Phillipines, and they left the other day. They were both really nice to us, and it was cool to see how excited they were to get out into the field. They helped us adjust to the MTC for sure. I don't think they will miss us as much, as I constantly sleep walk and talk, and wake them up almost every night. The other night, I woke up outside our room, without a key. I went to the wrong door, being half-asleep, and knocked. There was no answer because no one lived in that room, but I did not know that! So I knocked for a long time, becoming quite frustrated, and then I realized I was knocking on the wrong door. I then went to my room, quietly knocked, and my companion opened the door. I felt bad about it, but it gave me a metaphor for prayer: sometimes we pray and pray with questions for God, demanding answers, and not realizing that we are missing something. We become more angry with him, instead of seeing our own faults and trying to pray with humility and patience. I have seen that as a Missionary, as I focus on the development of others, my prayers are answered much more, and my testimony grows. The key to increasing a testimony is to share it and help others come to the peace and joy the gospel brings.

Anyway, I am doing well and I have really been grateful for my teachers, leaders, and fellow Missionaries who help me along this journey. I look forward to hearing from all of you, and I would love to talk with anyone who wants to send me letters! I wish I had more time to write, but my time is up!

Thank you all,

-Elder James