MTC Week 1

Óla todos! I just got done with my first week of in person MTC, and it was awesome. I finally met with my district in person, and they are all the best. I couldn't have gotten a better one. We all decided to make custom t-shirts for us all to wear on our p-days, and it's been cool to unite as a district more because of that. We all got to get together to meet our branch, and they are all awesome as well.


The food here is actually pretty good, despite what lots of people say. Our first night here, we all had a steak dinner, and it was surprisingly good. They’ve also got an Aloha Plate station there that is decent also. Everything is unlimited, so we can get as much food or drink as we want. I’ve heard that some missionaries gain 25-30 pounds at the MTC, so I've been trying to limit myself to only one plate and drink per meal. I’ve been good about it so far, but the temptations to get seconds are strong. We’ll have to see how long I last before I give in.


My progress with learning the Portuguese language has been surprisingly fast. When I look at it day by day, it doesn’t seem like I’ve made tons of progress, but when I look back, I realize that I’ve been learning for only 4 days. I already know more Portuguese than I do German, which I studied for two years. The gift of tongues is definitely real, and I have seen it, especially this past week.


Some other fun stuff happened this past week. I got to meet up with all my Idaho friends, as well as some from my BYU ward. So that was a fun little reunion. We also go and play volleyball a lot as a district, so that’s been really fun. Lot’s of them are really good at it and it’s fun playing when they get really competitive about it. This morning, we got to go to the temple as a district, and it was so fun. It's always a blessing to be able to go help do work there.


This Sunday, we were able to participate in a “Go and Do” experience, where we are given a topic, and we do a personal study on a subtopic from that. It was an amazing experience, and I’d like to share what I learned from that. I chose to study the ways we can all use/access Atonement of Jesus Christ. As a result of the fall of Adam and Eve, we have bodies subject to physical death. As humans, we all sin, and because of that, we wouldn’t be able to return to Heavenly Father’s presence. However, Jesus Christ atoned and died for all of our sins, so that we can all have the chance to return to His presence (Alma 7:11-12). The Atonement has that amazing, unconditional, redeeming power that is available to everyone on this earth, no matter who you are. But not only does the Atonement of Christ give us the ability to repent, it also has an enabling power. Elder Bednar said, “The Atonement strengthens us to go, do, be good, and to serve beyond our interests and natural capacity.” I know that the Atonement is one of the greatest gifts that has been given to us, and I invite you all to use it as much as you can, and I know that it will bless your lives as you do so. I say those things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.


Tchau!


-Elder Howard


Pictures:
1&2 - Reunion with BYU/Idaho friends
3 - Cool view from the MTC building
4 - The district temple trip
5 - "Dudestrict" group pic 




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