Week 1

Ahoj! What a week it's been. First, I should explain where I am and what I'll be doing for the next 8 weeks before I'm off to Slovakia. Here in Provo, Utah is the Missionary Training Center (MTC) campus. Each day I arise at 6:30 a.m., eat breakfast, study, exercise, study, eat lunch, study, etc. Some missionaries are immersed in whichever language they learn (in class only), but my class took a different approach. The students speak Slovak when we can, but the teachers speak mostly English while teaching principles of grammar. I study flashcards vigorously throughout the day, fluency will come in the mission field (Slovakia).

As a missionary for the LDS church, I will teach people the principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ for the purpose of helping them come unto Him (repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end). It would be ineffective for me to memorize a series of lesson outlines, then proceed to recite those to investigators of the church. Usually, this approach confuses investigators and they're left wondering how it's applicable specifically to them. Instead, I must strengthen my understanding and testimony of that which I teach, then I can draw upon my knowledge as a foundation to help others onto the path toward eternal life.

Day 1:

I arrive in the evening of Tuesday, January 23. I do not count this as the first day. All the foreigners arrive this evening as well so I am outnumbered as an American. There are Elders (a title given to missionaries) from Peru, Australia, Germany, Haiti, Jamaica, and many other countries in my temporary dorm. The next morning, we all go to a couple welcome classes and have a tour of the campus. During a bathroom break, the Elder from Germany asks, "Why do American toilets flush with such power?"

First-day missionaries get an orange sticker on their name tags, identifying them as newcomers. The greetings become quite repetitive. "Welcome to the MTC!" Ugh. I vow that in a week from this day, I will bug all the new missionaries with that same phrase. The cycle continues.

Day 2:

My companion is Elder Rasmussen from southern Utah. District is small, but good. Two to Czech, four to Slovak. Usually the other way around.

Zone is crazy, but I love it. There's not a single person I don't like (all heading to Eastern Europe except Russia).

Teachers are cool. Brat [means "Brother" which is how LDS address each other: "brother" or "sister." I thought Miles had done a typo and meant "Brad" but when he told me "brat" meant "brother" I wrote back, "So, I've been calling you brother your whole life?!] Driskill, while he served in Slovakia, joked with his companion about tackling people off a bridge and saying the baptismal prayer on the way down.

Stress catches up at last. I have feelings of inadequacy, but so did Moses, and look where he is. Dead. [Technically, LDS doctrine has Moses as never tasted death, which means translated. It's a state of being changed in a twinkling of an eye to retain a physical body that will not die, typically to serve some higher purpose, and receive a proper resurrected body later. The rest of us have to wait for resurrection to reunite body and spirit.] But look what he did, he did pretty well. I'm now senior companion because my last name begins with A.

Day 3:

Quote of the Day: Set your goals low and your expectations higher.

Day 4:

I love my district and zone. My dorm level consists of missionaries serving in Eastern Europe (Poland, Czechia, Bulgaria, etc.). My companion and I have ups and downs (typical), but we learn from each other.

Day 5:

I realize I'll put on weight by the end of my nine weeks here. Not the worst thing. I haven't heard my first name in such a while that I'm going crazy.

Day 6:

Nothing too interesting here.

Day 7:

My companion's Southern Utah catch phrases are making their way into my repertoire. Not good, they're kinda weird: "Oh my heck," "I don't give a care," just to name a couple. My whole dorm level stays up just before quiet time and "sings" (shouts) Battle Hymn of the Republic. All three verses. Then a missionary from below is sent to put an end to it, but he ends up joining us for a repeat of the first verse. Hilarious.

1. Me + my companion under Slovakian flag