Shane's First Letter

Dear Mom,

 

It is so wonderfull to hear from you!!! That is so amazing about Eli, and Erik, I'm really glad things are going so well! Things are absolutely insane here at the MTC, after you dropped me off i had about an hour and a half before I was in class meeting my companion and district and learing Romanian!! The Spirit is so incredibly strong here, it is unlike anything I have ever experienced, and the atmosphere is absolutely wonderfull. My first few days were hard, I had a tough time adjustingl to the intesity of everything, but now things are smoothing out. I have grown to rely so much on the Lord and the Holy Ghost, without them none of this would be possible. I'm sorry about the whole email mix up, I didn't really know that would be an issue. Oh my goodness, there's just so many things to say! I'm so excited to be learning the language, and the lessons are coming along very well too. So far we have done some roll play teaching that has really opened my eyes to whay missionary work is all about. The days are starting to go by faster the more I focus on the work, and I think I will be in Romania before I know it!

 

Last tuesday I went to my first MTC devontional and Elder Richard G. Scott spoke to us!!! It was such an amazing experience. The Spirit was so strong, he talked about learning how to recognize the Spirit and used experiences from his own life to teach us. At the end of his talk through the priesthood power he holds as an apostle he gave everyone there the gift of tongues, and invoked a blessing of protection and comfort. It was so amazing to here him speak those words, and to know that he holds the same priesthood power of Peter James and John.

 

My companion is Elder Bruner from American Fork UT, he is a pretty cool guy. He spent a semester of his high school senior year in Ruwanda, which is something he likes to talk about a lot. My district is really cool too, we all get along really well and I truly believe that Heavenly Father put us all together for a reason. One of the Elders is from Norway! His name is Elder Horgmo and he is from Oslo. He's a really funny guy, and speaks English very well. It's really interesting to here him talk about how American culture has leaked into parts of the world. Kind of sad actually...a lot of really stupid stuff from American culture that you would never want other countries to adopt.

 

This morning my district went to the temple to do endowments, and that was a really cool experience. The Provo temple is very beautiful. I still can't believe that a week has already passed by, so many things have happened. I got two letters from Heather which I absolutely loved, but no others. So tell people to write me letters! Haha but seriously, getting letters is one of the best feelings in the MTC. That is so wonderful to hear about Heather, I know how much you all care about her and I am very thankful for that. I hope that Erik's new living situation works out for him. I plan on writing to him often. I mailed you a letter about the language, hope you get it. Well I'm almost out of time, but I can't wati to hear back from you! I love you all so much!

 

Elder Myers

Check Back Soon

Shane has been at the MTC for a week now. He will be assigned one day of the week as a Preparation Day, or P-day   as the missionaries call it. On that day he does laundry, shops, writes letters and has some fun. Shane will have his first P-day any day now and he will be able to e-mail us and tell us about the first week of his adventure. I will post his letter here as soon as it arrives. 

Sending Shane Off

Shane was asked to report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on October 20th at 1:15 PM. We decided to drive him there and visit  Mort's family who live in the area. The Provo Temple is right across the street from the Missionary Training Center, and we decided to say our goodbyes there. The MTC was under construction, so there wasn't anywhere else to do it anyway. Before we even got through the temple gates we met another family sending their first son on a mission to El Salvador. We met another missionary going to Belgium and even one going to Romania. They were all doing the same thing we were--taking photos and saying goodbye while awaiting their check-in times. And so Shane began his transition to the MTC life. Mort gave Shane a father's blessing while we sat on a nearby bench as out of the way as possible. That made the tears flow. We kept reminding each other of the good things waiting for all of us once we get through this transition stage. We absolutely know that when we make sacrifices to serve others in any way, tender blessings of love, strength, and perspective come to us. All of us who love Shane can share in the adventure and the blessings! I look forward to that.

The sidewalks of the MTC were lined with missonaries wearing tags that read HOST. There must have been close to a hundred of them smiling and waving as we were directed to the next available drop off spot. It made me smile and feel excited for Shane to join that body of positive energy. We got out of the car to unload Shane's luggage and four or five missionaries approached Shane immediately to help with suitcases, welcome him, and ask questions. "Where will you be serving? Do you have your immunization record? Do you have any cell phones or keys still on you?" One humorous elder added, "Or any guns other other dangerous objects?" All answers were short, and their was no time for any of us to shed the tears that were welling up as we realized this was it! We were no longer at the precipice of this great adventure, but were jumping off. Forgive the metaphor, but those missionaries were like a body of ants that had found a precious lump of sugar and were carrying it back to their hill. Shane seemed to respond immediatley to the game plan. He followed them and didn't look back. It felt right. I think that's exacltly what he needed--no more limbo time--no lingering or wallowing--just a quick and cheerful envelopment in the Lord's work.

*Lacie*