10-7-09

Сайн Вайна уу? (How is everyone?)

It has been really crazy this week as we got settled and learned about all that we would have to do. Luckily this weekend we were able to listen to General Conference. It made it pretty easy to get settled here. We got to listen to all 5 sessions with the other 2000 elders. It was fun to hear the different zones cheer as President Monson read where the temples would be. We had just hoped Mongolia would be on the list. Maybe soon in the future. It was so great how they seemed to talk a lot about the Spirit and how it can help us in times of need. I know I have to have the Spirit if I am going to do anything on my mission. I can already feel the Spirit everyday in my training as I try to learn the language. During Conference Elder Osguthorpe gave the perfect talk for me to hear. It was all about missionary work and things that need to be done. Then he said something that really applied to me. “When a call comes, accept it no matter what.” It was something to that affect. I know that my call was given to me through the Spirit of revelation and it was meant to be. There were so many other great talks but the letter would be forever long if I talked about all the ones I liked. On Tuesday, I had two really great experiences. First I was able to go to the Referral Center. This is where we contact people and set-up appointments with the missionaries or make sure that they got their free stuff. I know that missionary work goes on in the RC all the time and it is great practice for when we go out and work face to face. Also on Tuesday night, we had a devotional with Elder Ben. B. Banks. He is a part of the emeritus quorum of the Seventy. He talked about a lot of things but few really stuck out to me. First, he talked about spiritual in all things we do. He said “try to be spiritual in everything you do. The Lord will back you up whether the time comes.” I know that the Lord is there to help me whenever I need it. Also he talked about how influential the spirit can be.

Another great thing about the devotional was we got to sing “Called to Serve” as an opening hymn. I have always wanted to do that. After the devotional, we had a meeting with our Branch President. His name is President Crawford. During our meeting, we just did a wrap up of the devotional. We all shared our feeling and got to know the President. better. Towards the end, he shared a scripture that has become one of my favorites. It is D & C 105:14-16. It is great.

Tuesday turned out to be one of the best days at the MTC. Every other day here is just full of classes. We study the language for about 7+ hours a day. There are some days where I feel my brain is going to explode, but I know that I need to keep going and I will get it. There are other days that are really meaningful with the language. I have learned how to bear my testimony, pray, and also teach how to pray. I know I will use these things a lot. It is fun walking around and speaking Mongolian to the other people. The best is saying “how are you Шинэ ээ (newbie)?” to the new elders on Wed. It sounds really weird and the looks people give are priceless. The MTC is go great and I truly love it. I will have my email set-up soon, but it would be a lot easier on me if you kept writing letters or using Dear Elder to send me messages. I only have 30 minutes on the computer and I will probably need all that to write back.

Хайртай (with love)
Elder Draper