Our District is SOOOO Amazing!

Area:  Provo MTC
Companion:  Elder Wells

Hi everyone!  

I have a few house keeping items to take care of real quick:

1. First of all my flight from the airport leaves at 7 am on the 3rd of September so I will be calling home anytime between 5am-6:45am probably!  
2. Also, I am not sure if skinny ties are allowed in my mission so I might need you to ship 4-5 ties to the mission home before I get there just in case.  
3. I could also use a nice water bottle to have but make sure its not too big, just big enough for a cup holder.  
4. I can't really send pictures while I'm here at the MTC so I'll send them when I get out to the field. 

 I think that's everything!  

So the days here kinda mesh together so I'll do my best at keeping things inline.  Where do I even begin?! Right after you dropped me off I went through a line and got my name tag and room key and stuff like that. Then they got me to my room and unpacked the stuff I would need for class and then put me right into class within the first 20 minutes of being here.  I then met my district and companion!  It was exciting to meet new people and it was so amazing the love I instantly had for each one after only knowing them for a day.  I'm pretty sure I got "Welcome to the MTC!" over 100 times the first day... I took off my dork dot right after dinner haha! 

I ran into so many Elders I know while I've been here!  Elder Geddes, Elder Compton, and bunch of friends from high school.  It's such a testimony builder to see others that you know here as well doing the same thing as me.

  

So Tuesday rolled around and I was feeling tired because I'm not really used to the sleep schedule yet, but the day turned out to be one of the most spiritual day's I have ever had.  The spirit was so thick you could cut it with a knife!  For some reason ever since I have been here you reach a point of tiredness that you just can't focus, but I feel like when you reach that point something spiritual happens and you aren't tired anymore.  It's pretty amazing.  That experience on Tuesday for me was when I was asked to be a District Leader over District 36 B.  That was such a cool experience and it gave me something to really focus on.  

Our District is so amazing!  We are so closely bonded that it makes it really hard to feel any homesickness.  I feel like I have known everyone since the pre-earth life.  We all are such great friends.  We have three Sisters; Sister's Toutai, Daly, and Pulley and six Elders, Elder's Wells, Hansen, Michaelson, Anderton, Tippitts, and myself.  We as Elders have had the opportunity to give blessings to various members of our District which has been an awesome experience as well.

We have been teaching a lot every day.  I have realized that it isn't so much about if I know everything but more about if I can bring the spirit with my companion to connect that line between the investigator and God. 

Sunday night we watched a devotional that was given by Elder Bednar in 2009 or something called "Character of Christ."  My face was glued to the TV for the whole hour and a half along with my hand moving as fast as I can.  That is one of the devotionals you can only see in the MTC and it was so powerful and amazing!  I wish you all could see it.  I guess if you wanted to see it you could just serve a mission. ;)  It talked a lot about how Jesus Christ turns out toward people when the natural man would turn in.  As well as constantly being true to our testimony and what we know is true conversion.  When we think about others as Christ did without even thinking and turning away from the natural man.   So amazing! 

We also had a devotional by Elder Martino of the Second Quorum of the Seventy.  His talk focused a lot on missionary life and how "If it is to be it is up to me" attitude for championships.

So the scripture I would like on my missionary plaque is Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8 and Alma 7:22-23 if that is possible!  If you can only get one on the plaque then use the Alma scripture.

 

I recently started reading the Book of Mormon again and it has had such a different effect on me and I am so grateful for that. 

Well I am out of time so I will send you a letter hopefully next Wednesday if not Tuesday because of my flight is on my P Day.

Love you all! and thanks for the letters and packages family members!

Elder Shoemaker

PS: I wouldn't be against more letters ;)   

PPS.  Oh and by the way.  Elder Wells, my companion, his brother served in Tanner's mission so thats pretty cool.  His brother said he knew an Elder Shoemaker from his mission! How neat is that?