The Oldest Kid on the Block

*Dane wrote this a few days ago, but I'm a slacker getting it on here. Sorry!

Hey Everyone!

 

So this last week was pretty awesome. My lessons are improving so much, we learn more and more french everday which just helps us to be able to do so much better in the lessons. We are making some awesome progress with our Athiest investigator. She has started praying which is a huge step for her and it took a lot of effort.  We also have been learning a lot teaching by the spirit. We now are not allowed to use notes or anything so we have to memorize and hope that the spirit will let us know what to say and how to say it. I am feeling good about our lessons. I am definately the dominate one when we give lessons so I feel like I am getting lots of opportunities to speak and improve. I am struggling with my comp a little because he doesn't say much in french or in english. I am trying hard to ask him what he thinks which is hard because I have always been the type of person who just expects people to speak up. We are getting a lot better though at working together. being with someone all day everyday or Toujour Chaque Jour in french is teaching me lots of patience which is something I need to learn.

 

This week the older missionaries all left to go out in the field so now my district and the other districts who came in the day I did are the oldest ones. It will be interesting because we don't get new missionaries for a while. the bad thing about being the oldest is we now have to do more, for sundays they don't ask a specific person to talk beforehand. everyone prepares a talk and they just call on whoever so it sucks because now that we are the oldest our chances of getting picked just skyrocketed. I guess I better start spending more time on my talks haha. I was sad to see a lot of the older missionarys home. there were a lot that I really liked and that helped us out as we struggled to learn french and prepare lessons. I got some pictures with the missionarys that I really liked so I will be mailing those home soon. It makes me excited because its really not that long til we all go. Time here at the mtc is a crazy thing. The days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. It feels like yesterday that I was dropped off at the curb.

 

Every sunday and tuesday we have a devotional. Last tuesday Elder Oaks spoke to us. It was crazy awesome stuff. He spoke about the importance of the spirit and about teaching with the spirit. He brough something up that I had never thought about and that was the importance of partaking the sacrament because when we do we are promised to have the spirit with us.

 

We have some super exciting stuff going on the next two days. Tomorrow the french abassador is coming to our class. He is touring the Mtc and is speaking at BYU so we have the opportunity to meet him. they made it a super big deal when they told us about it because when the have troubles with visas they call this guy and he helps out. I am excited to meet him and to hear a little about France.

 

On thursday I get to go to San Francisco with my district to pick up our visas and meet with the french consolate. I am excited to have a day to get out of the MTC aka spiritual prison. While we are there I have one hope and that is to have clam chowder and sourdough bread. I think I will try to buy enough sourdough bread to have some for the next week or so.

 

Well that is all for this week. I hope everyone is doing well and I love you all.

 

 Elder Lerdahl

Second week in the MTC

This last week here at the MTC has just been the usual. I am so tired of class but have been learning so u much. I also restarted the Book of mormon and am already almost done with second Nephi, It is amazing how much more the scriptures become when there is no tv, music, or pretty much anything haha. I have made it a personal goal to read the New testament before I finish my mission. In my scripture study I have been reading a lot about the savior and his earthly ministry and I decided I want to read all about that good stuff. My french is slowly improving but it is rather frustrating when we teach lessons and cant figure out how to answer the questions. IT is so much easier to understand what others are saying than it is to speak. We got two new investigators this week. One is being played by frere corbett. He is from the congo and is a evangelicist or something. we asked him to pray and he tried grabbing our hands. Kinda the most hilarious thing ever I started laughing so hard by my comps reaction that i literally put my hands over my face because i couldn't look at anyone without laughing. needless to say we taught him how we pray. Our second investigator is being played by Soeur Lindsay. She is playing an athiest with hodgkins disease, yup pretty much the hardest person you could ever try to teach because she is saying that if there was a god she wouldn't have a disease. Yeah don't know how we are gonna go about that one but we will figure it out. I like that the teachers play as investigators because they can give us feedback which is helpful. My teachers are awesome they are so nice and want us to succeed to bad.

 

So far things are good here. I look forward to the Dear Elders and the letters. It was super nice of the Waltons to send a St. patricks day package and I appreciate it, thank you. I have been enjoying the snacks. Aunt Franking tell the boys that school is a lot easier but not nearly as much fun and It feels great to be around the spirit all the time.

 

I am out of time so I cant write more. Love you all

 

 - Elder Lerdahl

Elder Lerdahl's First Week in the MTC

Well Its official I have made it through the first week here at the MTC aka "spiritual Prison". The first day was crazy! they had you your books and you go drop off your bags then you seriously have class. In class the instructors only speak in french so the first few days you are completely lost! Luckily with the gift of tongues I have been able to learn pretty quickly and can pray, bear my testimony, and have taught three lessons. The investigators are all teachers here at the mtc but they act like real investigators so the first few lessons were pretty bad, but we are getting a lot better as we learn more.

 

In my district there are three sisters and six elders. The sisters are Souer Pulapuna, Souer McGhee, and Souer Jenkins and the elders are Elder Fish, Elder Beckstrand, Elder Porter, Elder Lundberg, and my companion Elder Burningham. We all get a long very well and all have different things to offer to help the district. Elder Beckstrand is our district leader and he does a great job. Elder Fish gets my humor and I would consider him my favorite Elder here. Souer Pulapuna is from tonga and she calls me Baby brother because we get a lot very well and like the same tv shows and the same kind of humor.

 

My residence has six elders ( we are way to full) Its me and Elder Burningham and then four guys from another district. Elder Morin, Elder Davis, Elder Stephens, and Elder Christianson. We all get a very well out of the Elders in my room I really like Everyone but elder Morin is chill and I like talking and hangin out with him.

 

My instructer is Souer Lindsay, she went on a mission to Quebec Canada and is a student at BYU. She is super nice and wants us all to be successful. She is a great teacher. Between her and the Gift of Tongues I have no doubt all of us will be speaking very good french.

 

Our day is crazy! We wake up at 6:30 then have a half hour to get ready. We then have an hour of study then breakfast for a half hour. We then are in class and have study time til 12:45 when we go to lunch for a half hour. then yup you guessed it class. We have a break for gym and then study til dinner at 5:45. After dinner we go back to classes and generally teach our investigator. At 9:30 we go to the residence and have 45 minutes til quiet time and have to be in bed/llights out at 10:30. I have never been more tired in my life! Today for pday I got to take a nap and I was the happiest person in the world. Despite the fact that we are in class for like 12 hours I really like it. I can't think of a better place to be then here. We work hard but also have a lot of fun. Its weird how something can be the greatest and the hardest thing you have ever done. On sundays we get to go to a devotional and a lot of the time a general authority will talk. It is pretty great to get to hear some of the leaders of the church. We also have a devotional every tuesday night so I am excited for that tonight.

We got to go to the temple today! It was pretty awesome to get away from classes and stuff.

 

We are only suppose to write on pday so you all will probably not get letters all that much. I kinda have been breaking the rule and I wrote on sunday because to me its a family day so writing my family is no big deal.

 

The food here at the MTC is just like the experience here. Its the greatest but worst thing ever. Its basically an every day all day buffet but it does make you pretty sick. You also have to be picky about what you eat because some of it is pretty disgusting. I try and eat a lot of salads and of course me fruit and veggies. The best thing about the food is they have the best chocolate milk ever! I am pretty sure what weight I gain is going to be from the chocolate milk. I have been trying to hold myself back and drink more water but I am afraid it is a losing battle.

 

One of the highliights of the week is tie trade. All the elders trade ties. It is the most intense farmers market thing you have ever seen. We make chinatown look like weaksauce. I traded my blue flower tie that looked like grandpa petes couch for a blue,purple,and gray striped tie. It was more for the fun of it but It was fun.

 

Well That is pretty much it for whats been happening.

 

Love you all hope everything is great! Whats been happening in the news and sports? We don't hear about much here.