Greetings once again from the MTC! It's hard to believe it's p-day again. And we're starting week 4...how weird is that? I can't remember if I told you this, but our companionship was assigned one of the older companionships to be our "mentors," and one of those elders is convinced that the MTC is actually Narnia, and that's why the days seem really long but the weeks go by so fast. I dunno if I believe it, but that could explain why we have water pressure issues in the showers sometimes...Narnia doesn't have indoor plumbing. (Another funny story about the showers--one of them barely trickles a little water out when you turn it on all the way; the missionaries have affectionately named it the "Catholic Baptism")
Our zone, which lives on one floor of one of the residence halls, has probably around 30-40 missionaries. There are actually quite a few going to Taichung, but there are some going to places like New Zealand, Toronto, and New York, all speaking Mandarin Chinese. In my district, there are six elders, three going to Taichung and three to Taipei.
But anyways, now for something you'll all be crazy jealous about: last Tuesday night's devotional speaker was Jeffrey R. Holland!!! Oh man, I love hearing that man speak. He went like half an hour overtime, but I sure didn't care. He's so funny--I can't share all the things he said, cuz every line was quotable, but he talked to us at length about us not having the right to come home from our missions and go inactive. He said if he ever met us after our missions and we weren't active he'd punch us in the nose. Then he hesitated and said "That doesn't sound very apostolic, does it? OK, I wouldn't punch you in the nose, but I sure wouldn't be very happy with you." The best part, though, was that he told us how they expected us to be just about perfect.
After his talk, the Spirit was burning within me so strongly I felt like there was nothing in the world I couldn't do. Remember the hymn "I Know My Father Lives," there's a line that says "the Spirit whispers this to me and tells me that I can." It's the truth--remember Nephi, who said that the Lord won't command us to do anything unless he will help us do it. I know he's helped me in learning Chinese. Actually, on Thursday night he helped me memorize Ether 12:6 in Chinese. In 20 minutes. The gift of tongues is real.
I'm down to my last five minutes. I'm trying to think if there's anything I need to tell you that I haven't yet. Um...well, yesterday my companion forgot his suit at the dry cleaner, so he had to borrow a jacket from one of the zone leaders, Elder Tito. My companion's tall and skinny, and Elder Tito is Samoan. Yeah, it was hilarious. I took a picture of it. Looks like he's wearing a trench coat.
Um, so I better close. I love you all and I always look forward to your letters. Tell me about anything that happens. I never think anything that goes on in your lives is boring.
Love you all,
Carter
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