MTC Life!

October 29, 2013

Hey everyone!!! I'm finally able to get onto the computer and e-mail all of you!! It's been a crazy few days. I am bunking with my companion (Elder Brewer) and two other elders (Elder Fringer and Elder Williams). My companion is from Kaysville (go figure), Elder Fringer is from Colorado, and Elder Williams is from California. We have so much fun!! There are also five sisters in our district: Sister Short, Sister Torgersen, Sister Pereira, Sister Lowe, and Sister Clayson. Everyone has clicked right off the bat and we are all doing great!!

The MTC is always busy!! We elders are getting up at 5:30 every morning because our breakfast slot starts at 6:30 and we only have a half-hour for breakfast. Our P-day is on Tuesdays, and I am THOROUGHLY enjoying wearing jeans and a t-shirt around the MTC! This morning we went to the Provo temple and did a session as a zone (there are a total of three districts in our zone, including ours), and I gotta tell ya, I feel so great today, even though I am so TIRED!! Classes are FOREVER, but we are learning so much! It really surprised me how much I have learned about the gospel when we really simplify it in order to know what to teach our investigators! Elder Brewer and I have two investigators currently: Jimmy Hall and Peter Devonshire. Peter is from New Zealand!! I was pretty jealous of his accent. Learning how to teach the gospel is super stressful and exhausting, yet somehow I'm still able to function and pay attention all day. It might have something to do with me constantly sucking on my water bottle, therefore having to use the restroom every 10 minutes, but I'm not sure yet. ;-) The water bottle I bought is 750 mL, and on Saturday, I had to refill it 10 times!!! I have never been so thirsty in my life!

We have only been here for a week, but it feels like an eternity!! I'm not feeling homesick yet, though I'm sure once I get out into the mission field I will.

There has been a change of plans regarding our departure. We are supposed to go meet at the travel office at 9:00 pm next Monday night, because our flight leaves the next morning at 12:45 am. That pretty much means no sleep for me!! We have a 2-hour layover in Atlanta (I thought of you, Jesse, when I found that out ;-D ), then it's 1 1/2 hours to Milwaukee. The sad part is, P-day here is on Tuesday, and P-day in our mission is on Monday, so I probably won't have a P-day for two weeks! :-( Thankfully our branch president said we could probably do laundry on Saturday, thereby giving me a chance to send another e-mail then. After that, it might be a while before all of you hear from me.

By the way, if any mutual friends ask about how I'm doing, please give them my e-mail address! I only have 10 e-mail addresses so far and would love to get more!! I want to be able to know how life back home is going!

I love you all and I wish you the best! May God bless you in your endeavors, and may He watch over you in all your doings! I know He loves you, and I know He is always listening, so talk to Him. Let Him know how you are doing. Let Him know when you are struggling and need help. Let Him know when you are having great times and are happy. Let Him know that you love Him, and I guarantee He will let you know that He loves you right back!!! Like any good father, our Heavenly Father wants the very best for you! Again, I love you all and I can't wait to hear from all of you again!!

--Elder Riggs