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| Repping WHS with his tie - saying good bye at Boston Logan Airport |
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| Saying good bye |
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| Last photo from the 'outside world' Thanks Aunt Tamela for picking up at the airport, lunch, etc. |
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| The stuff that didn't fit in the suitcases |
Family!
P-Day is Friday so I get the special
privilege of writing to you after only 48 hours! Here goes. My
companion, Elder P____ (from San Bernadino area, CA) is a boss.
We get along super well and while we have a lot in common, there are
enough differences that we compliment each other nicely. Branch
President Tyler told us last night as a District (11-E and 11-F) that
all companionships are assigned through divine inspiration and that our
strengths and weaknesses will mesh together to help us more adequately
serve each other. So true! He struggles with the Spanish a little more
than I do, as does the rest of the district, so I help them all out.
Sorry - I have an hour to write but I'm frantically typing so there's
no chance I waste any time. Be warned, I'm gonna be all over the place.
P____ tore his ACL and meniscus his junior year (he's a year older) so
we've decided we're bone brothers. The rest of the Elders in my
district are the 5 that I share a room with: Elders P____ (going to
Medellin, Colombia), and Elders V____, M____, G___, and B_____ (all
going to Argentina Neuquen). Las hermanas in my district are all going
to Neuquen as well. Yep, I STILL haven't met anyone going to Salta! Not
to worry though. We all get along great and our teachers are way cool
too.
OK, so my initial preconceptions of the MTC were
that this place was basically gonna be a Spanish/Gospel prison. I was
under the impression that everyone is SUPER strict and that we can't
have any fun. Not true at all! I've basically been thrown in to the
swing of things (I was technically 2 hours late) and left to find my way
with my roommates and the Zone Leaders. hahaha that reminds me: Our ZLs
are Elder K_____ and Elder B_____. Knighton literally is a Mormon
Brendan Brooks. Same face; same stalwart leadership, yet really cool,
personable, demeanor. Elder B____ is from Canada and actually looks
EXACTLY like Justin Bieber, only with a missionary haircut. He doesn't
act like him at all though. He has an Australian sounding accent and is
way cool. Just remembered as well - Elder P____ reminds me slightly of
Evan Callaghan in the way he looks and especially talks. Yeah so we
have a strict schedule, which I'm gonna try and email you a pic of, that
is actually way more helpful that restrictive. Other than that, we have
a lot more freedom than I thought we'd have and there's really been no
rule crazies or anything of the like. I think the best way to describe it
would be to liken it to summer term at BYU, only I have to wake up and
go to bed 6 hours earlier, and I have to attend a little bit more
class.
It is awesome here! I'm just always happy and
everyone is so friendly and nice. You can clearly tell everyone here is
to do the work. The rest of our zone is made up of a room or two of
Elders right next door to us that are mostly going to Mexico City or
some other Mexican mission. They've all been here about 4 weeks, but
I've developed a theory on that. 1 week in here is akin to about 1 year
of wisdom and experience in the real world. Time just slows down to a
crawl in terms of experience and knowledge gained. Ergo, these guys next
door are seasoned veterans. They've been here only 3 more weeks, and
its likely I'm even older than a couple of them, but MAN, do they know
way more about the language and the MTC culture etc. than we do. Our
room has probably asked them about 2000 questions the last few days and
it makes me feel so young ahahha. Then i sit and think, and in about 3
weeks, Our room is going to be holding the hand of some new district and
we'll be the seasoned veterans!
2 side notes: the toilet seats are phenomenal! They
are perfectly contoured to the human figure and it makes for some
amazing relaxation when we get some spare time. 2nd: "ay caramba! There
are some hermanas muy bonitas here! This might be a weird perspective,
but I think the sure beauty of some of these sisters is a testament to
the reality of Satan and his hand in tempting missionaries. Elder
Padgett and I will subtly communicate to each other when we see una
hermana bonita in passing between buildings or in the lunch room, turn
the other way so as to not make eye contact or even look upon such a
beautiful daughter of God and be tempted, and then wallow in despair for
a few seconds. It's especially hard when they are teachers, or even
worse, an unmarried cashier in the bookstore. Tough stuff man, tough
stuff. Anyways, tha'ts more of just a little running joke than an actual
temptation, but it keeps us sane.
Some other stuff before I take off, and I apologize
for hypocritically sending a super long letter. We get access to a legit
fitness center 4 times a week that I can do pretty much any workout I
like, which is a great added bonus. We are actually teaching a mock
investigator tonight, in SPANISH. I'm not worried at all but everyone
else in class is kinda freaking out. Tonight is gonna be way fun. Also, I
was named district leader of both 11-E and 11-F last night.
Technically, 11-F is just me and Sister Gonzales. We were the only two
who tested into the intermediate Spanish over the phone. About half the
district never called in though so they took a test yesterday and they
might shuffle us around. Nobody knows when we'll find out about that
though. In the meantime, I'm basically responsible for getting our mail
everyday and not exactly sure what else. I'll find out soon enough.
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| Me and Elder Padgett |
THANK YOU so much for the Dear Elders. Right
after I got the calling, I got our first batch of letters and I had 5!
Big shout out to the summer crew 22s! They made up 3 of the 5. I
definitely felt bad cause some Elders didn't even get any, but at the
same time, it was great to hear from you guys. Please write me on Dear
Elder, even if it's just a few sentences. Mom - broadcast how to do
that, especially to my Wellesley friends! Thanks!
Also, Mom - do you think you could put together a
package with lots of stamps, a box of Cliff bars (dinner is at 4:40 so I
get super hungry at night), my trusty khaki pants (I can't find them, I
think they're somewhere at home. I also can't find my other long sleeve
white shirt that I got, not the Nordstrom one), and if possible, a
resistance pull-up band. Jesse Dimick will know what I'm talking about.
You could also just search on Amazon for something like "CrossFit
resistance pull-up band." That would be fantastic. I hope I didn't
forget anything but I probably did. Ask me questions if you have them so
I cover all my bases next week.
Also note that my address slightly changed when I got here. New one is:
Elder Isaac Blake
OCT07 ARG-SAL
2007 N 900 E Unit 2
Provo UT 84602
I'll close with a spiritual thought. We sang the
hymn "We Are All Enlisted" last night and it made me think of all my
friends and family back home. Everyone is a missionary, whether a member
or not. We all have control over our works and our countenances, which
are tremendous influences on the people around us. Just because you
might not have a name tag doesn't mean people aren't watching you or
that you don't have the power to change someone's life. Be cheerful and
happy, kind and courteous - ALWAYS!
I love you all so much,
Elder Blake
PS - it STILL hasn't hit me that I'm a missionary hahah. Not sure it ever will (counting on that being a good thing).
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