Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone!

 

I hope that your thanksgiving is going well! Thanks for those pictures of Ember and Tristan, they're soooo cute!!! And I loved the card as well, I have it sitting on my desk in my dorm room. And the packages, I and my district very much enjoyed those cookies, thank you! And yes, I did get the package with the new debit card, sorry I didn't let you know sooner. There's always so many things I want to put into these e-mails, I always seem to forget something.

 

 Good luck with the nursery calling Mom, sounds like you've got your work cut out for you! I'm glad that it is such a good experience for you. I'm glad you enjoyed the tape! Feel free to add onto it and send it on back then I can send you another one!

 

This day is kind of a strange Thanksgiving experience, not being at home, but I wouldn't rather be anywhere else. This morning I was thinking about how you all are getting together with the Cooleys, and I was missing home a little bit. But later this morning we had a devotional and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke! It was so amazing, such a spiritual experience. He brought his grandkids, and had them all sing a song to the entire MTC and said that for anybody who was feeling at all homesick, then don't be. He said that he and his family were there for us to have a family experience, and that we are all in this together. I was so amazed at the selflessness of him and his family members, that he would share his family with everyone at the MTC so that no one was left out in having a very personal and spiritual Thanksgiving. Elder Holland's talk was so amazing, I could tell that the entire time he spoke, he was being led completely by the Spirit. The scriptures and messages he shared about Christ and his Atonement, and our purpose as missionaries really touched me, and made me feel so elated and good about being a missionary!! Later today we will participate in a Humanitarian service project, and then there is a Fireside tonight, I'm very much looking forward to all of it!

 

That's so awesome that Heather is going to come up and spend a couple days with you! Im jealous!!!! I know that you will all have a great time together, and I will enjoy hearing all about it. So to everyone at home, have a wonderfull Thanksgiving, I'm sure dinner with the Cooleys will be a blast haha! And I'm glad to here that the Turkey bowl continues on, I always looked forward to that. Last night one of the elders was sent a pin the feather on the turkey game that he used to play every Thanksgiving with his home ward, where you write something that you're thankful for on a paper feather, and try to stick it on a turkey while blindfolded. It was pretty fun, and our own little family Thanksgiving game. My district has really become my family here at the MTC. We've all grown so incredibly close in the past 5 weeks, it's something quite amazing. It's going to be hard parting from everyone when we get to Romania.

 

Well thank you again for the packages and cards and etc. I really appreciate everything so much! Next week the new Romanian district comes into the MTC, and I'm excited to meet them all. We should also be getting our travel plans next week, so here we go! I love you all so very much, and look forward to hearing from you next week!

 

Love, Elder Myers

 

P.S. "I love you" in Romanian is "te iubesc." Ciao!

Shane's Handwritten Letter

Dear Mom and Dad,                                                                      11/18/10

     Ok so here is everything that I either forgot to say , or didn't have time to say in my e-mail. So my schedule is pretty full....of classtime. An average day I wake up at 6:15, breakfast at 7:30, then class from 8-12:00, lunch for 45 min., then gym from 1:10-2:30, then class again till 5:00, dinner for 45min., then class until 9:00. So lots and lots of class time! Tuesdays nights there is a devotional where a general authority speaks and then my district holds a testimony meeting about the talk. I think Tuesday night are one of my favorite parts of the week! The Spirit is so strong during those testimony meetings!

     Thursdays are P-days, so we go to the temple in the morning, then we have time to do laundry and write letters until 5:00 when we have dinner, then we have class the rest of the night. Sundays are really nice because I get a break from all the classes and get a chance to just relax a bit more. Sundays evenings we have a fireside where someone who works at the MTC gives a talk. I love the first 15 minutes before the firesides and devotionals start because the whole MTC sings those powerful hymns (that's 2000 people, mostly young men). It's very awe-inspiring. I also love it when the MTC choir sings at the devotionals.

     Aunt Coralie e-mailed me today and I'm really looking forward to having her take me to the airport! I hope you enjoy the tape and pictures. I'll try to get more pictures sent so you can post them on the blog. I think I might just send one of my SD cards with all my MTC pictures before I get to Romania. I miss you all and love you so much!
                    Tepup,
                           Elder Myers

Shane Sent Photos!

       Saturday we received a letter from Shane that included several photos and a micro cassette of him speaking Romanian. It was beautiful to hear! Of course we don't now what a Romanian accent sounds like, but he sure sounded good to us. I am posting the photos here, and plan to post a sound bite soon if I can find a way. I am also retyping the letter he sent us via regular mail. It tells about his daily schedule.

         I love this photo. It's so creative.You might recognize the standardized name tags worn by all LDS missionaries. There is one for each of the missionaries in Shane's district.

                     This is Shane with his MTC companion, Elder Brunner, in front of the Provo Temple.

                    Eleven elders and one sister missionary (not in photo)  arrived at the MTC on the same day. They form a district and have been studying and spending most of their time together since then. Shane says they have become a "family" and it will be hard for them to go their separate ways. They will travel to Bucharest, Romania together, and then be assigned to different places throughout Romania and Maldova. The young man on the far right is Shane's MTC companion. Throughout their stay in Romania they will have many different companions and serve in various cities. They generally move around every 2-6 months, but there is no set rule.

4th Week in MTC

So I just got Dad's email, and I'm betting that it's too early in the day for Mom to have written one yet, so you might just get a letter if I don't end up having time to write a second email later today. Thanks for the advice Dad, I have been keeping a journal, writing every night - way more then I've ever done before!! And I'm actually really enjoying it. It's really awesome to records thoughts and impressions that have come to me from talks, or from scriptures I've been studying. I can't believe I've been here for a month already!! Concept of Time in the MTC is very obscured....especially when most of your day is spent in a classroom! I really appreciate what you said about having patience with my companions. The Lord has definitely been teaching me patience with Elder Bruner. He's a great guy, our personalities just don't mesh well all the time, and I find myself having to just tune him out when we are walking to and from class, or just hanging out in the dorms at night to keep myself from getting too impatient. Its surprised me too, because I've always thoguht of myself as someone who is pretty patient and flexible, and I guess I still am, its just harder when you're with the same person 24/7.

Thank you so much for all your support, love and understanding. I love getting emails and letters from you all, and I just want you to know that even if I'm not thinking about you all the time directly, I've found myself turning back to every bit of advice and everything I've learned from you, Mom, my friends, my siblings, and everything is all interconnected in the gospel. This past week I've been thinking and praying a lot about how I can become a better missionary, and have greater faith. I've been reading in Alma about Alma, Ammom, and the sons of Mosiah, and the amazing missionary experiences they had and what exemplary missionaries they were. I connected with those stories more then I ever have before, because I'm a missionary. So I've been thinking about how I can have faith like Ammom, Aaron, who converted entire cities of Lamanites, and how I can be as great of a missionary as them, and my answer came in Tuesday's Devotional. Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the 70 spoke about finding you divine identity, giving your whole self to the Lord, leaving behind everything that you thought you were, and letting the Lord take care of everything. So that is what I'm trying to do. He said the day you reach your full potential as a missionary is when you can look in the mirrior and say, "I am a disciple of Jesus Christ." This really changed my perspective on things. Last week one of the teachers told us that the Romanian Mission doesn't allow any fretted instruments, and I'm not going to lie, that really brought me down for the rest of the day. But my patriarchal blessing says that I have been endowed with a gift of music, and that I will use it in times when my words won't be as effective, and I will be able to touch the souls of those who need it. So after hearing Elder Pearson's talk, I realized that I need to stop thinking of myself as Shane Myers, who is a musician, artist, and student, and is on a mission, but as Elder Myers, a missionary, disciple, and son of God and Jesus Christ who has God-given talents that will help me accomplish the work that the Lord has in store for me.

I'm so excited to get out there and start teaching the gospel to those Romanians that have been prepared to here from no one else but me, and I'm doing everything that I can to make sure that I will be in the right place at the right time for that to happen. It's amazing being able to have a  taste of what it's like to know that you are always guided by the Spirit, and that as long as I'm doing all that God commands, I will recieve blessings promised to me, and I will be able to have the faith of Ammom, Aaron, Alma, and so many other amazing missionaries that performed wondrous miracles. I also recently read Hebrews ch. 11, which talks of faith, and the miracles that were performed by men because of their faith. It's a really good pep talk to get you going if you're feeling stuck in the gospel, or just not very motivated.

Thanks again for the awesome emails, I look forward to them so much every week! I love you all!! Va iubesc! Oh, and I'll send a tape today with some Romanian on it!

Love, Elder Myers

3rd Week in MTC

Dear Mom and Dad,

 

Its so wonderful to read your emails every week, I look forward to it so much!! There's so many things that I've been experiencing that I want to share with you, but I never have enough time to say everything. Yes, my departure date is Dec 14th, so I will be in Romania for Chrismas! It sounds beautiful in chico, the way you described the trees mom. It's been pretty cold here the last week, and snowing off and on. It actually snowed the week of Halloween, which was really cool! Things in my district are going well, we are all continuing to grow and learn more about the gospel, ourselves, and each other. It's really amazing to see the growth in myself and in the other missionaries in my district. Things with my companion Elder Bruner could be going better, nothing horrible, I'm just finding that we have personality differences that tends to try my patience sometimes. I'm trying my best to be Christ-like and patient, he's a great missionary and a good guy. This week an Elder from Romania came to the MTC, he will be serving in Italy! His classroom is on my same floor, so the night he came he stopped by and said hi to us all.

 

This Tuesday Elder Bednar spoke at the devotional! Three aposltes in three weeks! I never would have imagined that happening. It has been such a blessing to all of us to have three aposltes of the Lord speak to us and give us direction, guidance, and blessings. I think Elder Bednar was one of my favorites. He talked about how we need to teach doctrines instead of focusing on applications and principles. He spoke of home teaching as an example, saying that more often than not home teaching relys on silly gymics or incentives for members to get it done, when really if everyone truly understood the dotcrine behind home teaching - which is to be there to support and love those that you home teach, then everyone one would want to do it no matter what kind of incentives were involved. His whole talk was so insighteful and taught me a lot. Something else that just about every speaker who we've heard from has said, in the beginning of their talk, is that instead of taking notes and really listening to what they were saying, we should be focusing on what the Spirit is communicating to us and wright down any impressions we get, because that is where we are going to learn the most. I've been focusing on the Spirit so much here and it has definitely paid off! Things haven't been to hard for the most part. I've really been relying on the Lord and the Spirit and because of that, my yoke has been made easy, and my burden made light. Just as Jesus promised. Something that Elder Bednar said that really spoke to me is that problems don't change, people do.

 

Dad, thank you so much for your words of support. Whay you said about pushing through the hard times really gives me comfort. Although things haven't been terribly difficult for me, there are times when I will have moments of fear, claustrophobia, doubt, and just overwhelmed with the task that's ahead of me. But i'm finding more and more that when I just give my whole self to God's will, things are made easier for me. Before I got set apart I expected to have kind of a hard time not being able to play or write any music, or really have any alone time and get homesick, but none of those things have really bothered me. I've been able to just focus on being a missionary and put my whole heart and soul into it. I do miss all of you a lot, and I miss being back home, but I know this is where I'm supposed to be, and because of that I've been able to just work, work, and work.

 

I'm really sorry to hear about President Brown's wife. I will be sure to keep her and the Browns in my prayers.

 

A few days ago I recieved a care package from Sister Landerman, that was so nice! Give her a big thank you and a hug for me. Oh yeah, and so although I "can" print out pictures, they're only in black and white and a part of the emails you've sent. There isn't a photo printer here that will print off emails. And I'm sorry I haven't sent any photo's yet, I'll send some as soon as possible!!

 

Thank you so much for the emails, I love reading them. The best part about p-day!! I love you all so much, and I'm so thankfull that I have such a wonderful family. I keep you all in my prayers always. Can't wait to here back from you! Oh, and I'll send a tape asap as well. Well gotta go, clock's a tickin! I love you!

 

-Elder Myers

A Taste of Romanian!

I know this letter is hard to read, but it adds a personal touch that no font can duplicate!
Maybe after people have struggled with it a while, I'll transcribe it. We'll see.

*Lacie*

2nd Week in MTC

Dear Mom, Dad, and anyone else who ends up reading this email,

Thank you so much for the emails! It's so incredibly wonderful to read about everything that's going on back home. I had no idea that my decision to serve a mission would bless my family so much! It gives me a lot of comfort and makes me even more motivated to be the best missionary I can possibly be. So Chad's in already? I was wondering when he would be, I'll keep my eye out for him! And yes, I can print out the pictures you sent me. They're so cute!! Man, I can't believe how big those two are going to be when I get back. This week has gone by really fast, and I can't believe how much I've experienced and learned already! Yes, Bucharest is pronounced Bucuresht. The language is so beautiful, I will be sending you some tapes of me speaking Romanian. One of our teachers is native, so its awesome to be able to hear her speak the language.

So remember how I said Elder Richard G. Scott spoke last week? Well this week Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke!!! I can't believe that I've been able to see two apostles of the Lord speak in the past two weeks! Their messages have been such a comfort, motivation, and inspiration for me. Things in my district are going well, we all get along really well. I truly believe that we were all placed in the same district for a reason. After Elder Ballard's talk on Tuesday my district held a testimony meeting and the Spirit was so strong! We all have such strong testimonies and it is so incredible to witness other missionaries growth and experiences. They have literally become my new family here, and it will be hard to separate once we're in Romania. Yes, all 11 missionaries are going to Romania. There is another district about the same size that is leaving on Monday for Romania, they have helped us a lot with the language. There are currently about 80 missionaries in the Bucharest Romania Mission, so the two districts here at the MTC will make up a quarter of the missionaries in Romania!! So incredible. I can't wait to get out there.

I got a letter from Grandpa Gary and Grandma Linea today, it was really nice. I'm so glad to know that all of my family members, immediate and extended have so much love and support for me and my decision to serve a mission. I can't imagine what it would be like being here without every one's prayers going out to me and other missionaries. It's really such a huge blessing. Missionaries literally live off of prayers and tithing! I never really knew what that meant before now. So thank you all for the pictures and letters, I will be sure to send some pictures of my own. I've been meaning to do it, but my days are so busy that I never think of it until it's too late! 

I wish that every member of the church could experience the MTC, even if its just a couple days. The amount of spiritual and personal growth I've experienced in just the past two weeks has been so incredible! Mom, what you said about how you've started to pray morning and night and how you've been feeling the Spirit so much really touched me. It almost made me start crying here in the laundry room! And Dad, I'm sure you'll find a movie buddy to replace me ha ha! Eli, good luck with the braces thing man. It'll hurt for a few weeks, but you'll get used to it. I miss you all so much! give a hug and kiss to Ember and Tristan for me! Oh and Mom and Ally, I just want to say thank you so so so so so so so so so much for all the love and support you've given to Heather. I could never ask for a better family. I hope Erik's new living situation is going well for him. Well I can't wait to here back from everyone. I love you all so much!

Love, Elder Myers