This is the half way mark for Jake at the MTC. He says that the language is still really hard, but that he doesn't expect to learn the language well until he gets to Thailand. He is just trying to understand the logistics of it all and build a foundation to build on. This is a self evaluating time for the missionaries where the newness has finally worn off and emotions get close to the surface. Jake's district is a great support to one another.
"Hey Family!! Before I get started, I just want to say that I'm sorry that I don't answer all your questions. It is because I forget to bring the letters to the computer lab. If you have questions that you really want to know, email them to me. I'm a lot more organized with my emails now."
"First, I'll tell you how my p-days go. We wake up early and get laundry done because we don't have the temple to go to anymore and we have nothing better to do. We then go to breakfast while we wait for the laundry to get done. I usually eat oatmeal or cream of wheat, or I'll get biscuits and gravy, which isn't all that bad, but they only have it like once a week. Then we'll go get our clothes and fold them or hang them up in our room. By this time it is around 9 am. We usually then write letters or send our emails about this time. After, we have some free time to get things done that we want, like go to the mailroom or just take a nap. I never take a nap, but the others do, so me and Elder Keller will go get some exercise or catch up on reading or language. I took Dallon's advice and found another Elder that wanted to play Volleyball. It was awesome because I really enjoyed meeting and talking to the other missionaries there and it was a change from just playing soccer everyday. Plus, I get back to the residence to shower before all the people from the fields. haha I went with Elder Her. He is a really cool kid from the Hmong district. He always comes in our room to hang out. There is usually about 2-3 hours of nothing to do. We hang around the room talking until personal study around 4:30. Then the day starts up again. We have dinner, teach the investigator, and have classes. Usually it's hard to concentrate during classes on p-day because we all need to get focused again. haha"
"Nothing really different happened for the Fourth of July except that we didn't have to teach our investigator because it was a holiday. At the end of the day, we went to the gym for a devotional and sat right up front. We listened to a guy talk about how the Lord and Gospel are tied to America. America needed to be in order for Joseph Smith to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a great talk. Afterwards we watched 17 Miracles and then went to get ice cream and watch fireworks. They let us stay out past our bedtime. haha It was so fun, but made me miss you guys so much. Another thing happened that day where I learned that sometimes, and probably most of the time, we don't get big feelings of the spirit to know what to do and we have to trust our own thoughts and feelings. But if we are doing the things we are suppose to do and living righteously, we would do things that are promptings from the spirit and we wouldn't even know it. So I need to keep on living righteously, so that when I make decisions, I make the right ones."
"The day after the Fourth was very hard. We were all tired from staying up late, so everyone was out of it all day. Everything we learned went right over our heads. Even I started to fall asleep during TALL which is the most boring thing at the MTC. We just sit at the computer and listen to words and really get nothing out of it. I worked on 7 words for an entire hour and I don't remember them at all. haha Then we had 3 hours of class where we had to teach Phii Joe and it went actually quite well. We taught him about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. We didn't even have to use the dictionary the whole time! It rained that day and our teacher wasn't there because he got stuck somewhere, so we all ran outside in the rain and got all wet. It was soooooooo awesome!! We were soaked. haha When the teacher finally got there, we were all pretty much sleeping through class. No one really knew any of the stuff we learned that day, so we had to go over everything again as a district later. haha"
"So my birthday was a great day! I woke up and opened the gifts that you sent and I loved it! I played with the yoyo all day and everyone wants one now. haha I wore the tie that day and it was cool. I was complemented all day. I also got a gift from the Carlsons of dark chocolate, flaming cheetos, and a tie as well. It was awesome! I don't know why you sent me the BYU shirt? I like it but the whole district are Utah Ute fans, so they didn't like that very much. haha You should have sent me a Boise State shirt or something. haha I then went to the classroom and all the Sisters wrote Happy Birthday on my desk and gave me a card. They wrote about how much they loved me and they each bought me candy and cookies. Everyone knows I love cookies! haha The Elders also gave me a card and it is really funny. You will have to look at the picture of it that I'm sending. They also gave me a Hi-chew. The day then went back to normal and nothing really special happened. No Dear Elders print out on Saturdays."
"Sunday was fast Sunday and I survived! It wasn't that bad because I don't like the MTC food very much. We had testimony meeting and I bore my testimony. Everyone said I did awesome. We had missionary conference where we sit through a 2 hour devotional and then watched "Characters of Christ" by Elder Bednar. I suggest that you all try to find it because it is soooooo good!"
"On Monday I got 10 Dear Elders and everyone was so jealous! I also got a package that was a big cake! It was soooooo funny! I loved it and it tasted soooooo good! Good thing I didn't get it on Sunday or I would have died! I shared it with my district and we had fun. It was some other Elder's birthday on Monday, so I surprised him with a slice of cake. Everyone was laughing and happy."
"It's interesting that we really don't hang out in the hall when we are at the residence. We just stay in our room doing our own thing and people love to just come hang out. It makes me laugh because they are always wanting to come in and we let them. I think that you can feel the spirit in our room because our whole district gets along with eachother. I had a great talk with Elder Beatty. He told me that I have great Christlike qualities and thanked me for being a good person. It got me a little emotional. I told him that he was also great and had his own Christlike attributes. I also told him to not be weary and that I know he was called to be the Zone leader because he really does do a great job."
"The language is hard, but I'm getting it and feel that I'll learn more out in the field. Well, that is about all I have to share. I miss you and wish that I could be there with you. I was able to get a picture with Elder Heiner and the other district. I hope you like them. Love you all!!"
