Week 1 in the MTC

Nothing in the world like a new missionary's first letter home!

Day1 was a bit hectic. Within 15 minutes I had my luggage dropped off, I was given a ton of books, and put in a classroom. The teachers here are fantastic and I've made a good amount of progression in the language. Also the teachers don't speak English, it is by definition, the refiners fire, which is awesome! It's all about your attitude here, and you can tell who is making the most of their experience here, it's the ones smiling and treating every trial the way it should be treated, as a way to grow. Many describe the MTC, especially the Asian language branches, as drinking out of a fire hose. That's okay though, it's actually pretty refreshing if you're thirsty. Just don't be a debbie downer, my least favorite people are the one's who treat and call the MTC "Spirit Prison". We had an investigator, named Ohira-san, within the first 2 days, which was interesting since we barely know the language. The first lesson was a bombshell, she asked a lot of questions and out of all of them the only 2 my companion Elder Chab and I understood were "What's the Atonement?" and "What's the difference between this church and the Presbyterian church?" On the upside, we knew what we were going to talk about in the next lesson. We've met with her 4 times now, and the most recent lesson was fantastic, she's been getting started on The Book of Mormon and we got her to pray with us! Sadly she's flying home to Tokyo on Thursday. But Shimpai Shinai ( No Worries ) this investigator we were given were to help us get over our nerves, and really teach us how to prepare, invite, follow up, make commitments, and overall get the basics down in working with an investigator. We were definitely not expected to convert her within a week, but at least seeds were planted and she's got a general idea of The Gospel. My companion Elder Chab is incredibly smart, he got called as district leader, which was good for him cause at first he was really quiet. He's really came out of his shell since day 1 and he is AMAZING. We've got a very similar sense of humor, and he's very laid back. Which makes sense since he hails from Long Beach. He is The California Kid. My District is amazing, they're a bunch of fun guys who are incredibly strong in the spirit. Also our Branch Presidency are the coolest dudes on the planet. The days seem long since your schedule is packed from 6:30 AM - 10:30 PM, but the longer your here the faster they get. It's amazing here at The MTC, I've been having an absolute blast, the best parts are the hard parts, because that's where all the growth happens. The food may not be the best, and the beds aren't too comfy, but the spirit is strong here, and that's what counts. We had a devotional with a member of the Quorum of the 70, I forgot his name, but his wife spoke, and she had a stellar quote. She said, " I hope you Elders and Sisters haven't lost your ability to smell the roses, even though you are working in a flower shop." meaning that we can still feel The Spirit, even when we're constantly surrounded by it. I can tell you right now that those roses smell wonderful. 
In other news, our Zone likes to get together for soccer and beach volleyball, it's been so much fun. We play just for fun, plus the best part is the smack talk. Ever hear Missionary Smack talk? It's the cleanest comedy roast you'll ever experience. Also I know you guys said I'll get fat in The MTC, so far I've lost weight. We have pull up bars in our residence hall, and one of the elders that's been here for 6 weeks is a calisthenics instructor who organizes workouts at 5:30 AM on top of whatever we do at exercise time. I've been joining him and the other elders on the that, and it's awesome! They do similar workouts to what I did with County Fire. Push ups, pull ups. sit ups, squats, wall sits, and leg lifts until you cry. There hasn't been a day that I wasn't sore and I'm really toning out. So jokes on you guys. Also it's not hard to eat healthy here, they've got a large salad bar and hot meals. Also one of the other Elders that reported on the same day as me is a rock climber! He's in the other district, His name is Elder Epel, He's a white guy, Very small and thin, has a very gentleman like British accent, and went to school in Singapore. Very humble guy and we've become good friends, he brought a portable hang board which is a workout tool climbers use for finger strength, so we've been having fun with that. 
There's so much more I'd love to tell you but I only have so much time to write this, also my laundry is almost done. I've got a couple things for you guys to read, first being Section 6 of Preach My Gospel. It's called "Christlike Attributes" I challenge you guys to pick 1 of those attributes a week, read up on it, and set goals on how you'll develop it. This week I've chosen to work on Hope.
Also, I want to leave you with one scripture reference, and I want you to feast on it. 2 Nephi 31: 14-21. It's not much, so you have no excuse, also don't read it, feast on it, there's a difference.