Week 4 -- MTC

I'm definitely having a great time here at the MTC! I completely agree with you, just lasting Sabbath to Sabbath is tough sometimes. But definitely more doable than trying to last 100 weeks all at once. Like I've been saying, I know I'm in the right place, and now I know that as long as I'm not focusing on myself, the time goes by a lot faster. So hopefully, before I know it, I'll be back home and going to school and being stressed about homework rather than about the message I'm sharing with investigators. 

Conference was awesome. I've never been focused on the talks like I was this session. It really is a different experience, listening to find out answers for someone other than yourself. It's cool, because not only do you find answers to what you're looking for in order to help someone else, but you also get answers for questions that you might not have even realized you had. Seeing three new apostles get sustained was definitely a unique experience, and I'm glad that I got to witness that while at the MTC.

That Sunday, we got a devotional from Vocal point! It was pretty awesome. They sang, of course, which was amazing. But in between each song, each of them gave us a short message and bore their testimony. It was amazing. It was a really cool way to end conference weekend. Plus, i mean, it was Vocal Point! They're awesome! We also had a devotional from Linda K. Burton, the General Relief Society President. She basically talked about having faith in the prophets, and about the importance of having a testimony of Christ. It was really powerful, and I'm glad we got to hear from her.

The only really other interesting thing to really talk about my experiences this week would probably be about our investigators. We have three, in case I haven't actually mentioned that before: Travis, Marisól, and Diana. Travis and Marisol also happen to be our teachers, Hno. Draut and Hna. Lamb. Travis thinks that the Book of Mormon is true, and feels good about it when he prays, but doesn't want to commit to baptism before he knows for sure that it's true. Marisól is super interested in the Plan of Salvation, and in being able to be with her family forever. She seems really receptive to what we're saying (as long as we're talking about things that relate to her, we learned that the hard way), and I think she is really starting to feel the truth of it. And Diana is currently trying to decide if the Book of Mormon is true, and she says that she hasn't received any answers as of yet. But we talked with her a little bit about prayer and the Spirit, and I'm really hopeful for her. Then on Wednesday, we taught a woman named Ivette. Ivette is actually a different companionship's investigator, but yesterday, she was just walking around and decided to pop into our class during study time. And then she just... asked for help. So, as a district, we gave her a lesson. And it was probably one of the most powerful lessons I've ever been a part of. I can't even describe it. It was just... beautiful.

As for housekeeping, I got the package, and I loved it. You put some stuff in there that I didn't even know I wanted, but that I definitely needed. And yes, my room is now squeak free. I'm drinking that Dr. Pepper warm, and I don't even care. Caffeine is del-- I mean... Dr. Pepper is delicious. Yes. That is definitely what I meant. 

For the stuff that you want to know, my district is definitely quirky, to say the least. I love each and every one of them, and they are my family away from family, but they're all crazy. I'll actually be trying to send a couple of letters by snail mail, so I'll talk about my District and companion in those. As for what's been challenging, definitely the language, but also learning how to ask the right kind of questions at the right time. It's harder than it sounds. The food is okay, but there's definitely a lot of it.

I'm out of time to email, but as always, I love all of you, and I really do enjoy any Dear Elders and letters and emails that I get from ya'll. It's good to hear from people who I don't spend 24 hours a day with (again, love my district, but after about 500 hours with a person, things start getting.... interesting).

Love

Cooper

edit from Aimee: If you want to send Cooper a DearElder letter, scroll down to week 2 for instructions. It's a free service and he gets to read them the day they come, not just P-day. Just make sure you pick the Provo-MTC mission, NOT Nicaragua.