In the MTC

It's been hectic here, and I've been struggling to keep my head above the water, but the Spirit is strong, and I'm really enjoying it. My district is kind of strange, cause I'm in the advanced language program, where we don't study language at all. I'm probably the whitest one here, and the only American. I think I'm the only one who's going to a mission speaking something other than English. It's an unorthodox district, but the elders are a lot of fun. My companion is Elder Peralta. He's a soft spoken Filipino with great English. He's very kind. He's about Julia's size, so I look like a monster next to him. Everyone who goes by says hi to him. He's something of a celebrity, I guess. Strangely enough, he's not rooming with me. I'm with two other Elders, Elder Zanudo and Elder Ziga. They're both from Mexico. They're very cool. Elder Ziga is a big fan of the Jaberwokies (sp?), and he can do the hip hop dance like nothing else. He's really good.

Elder Peralta and I always lost. He kind of just follows me, even though I have no idea where I'm going. It's kind of sad, because we've been late to class a couple of times because we wander the entire MTC campus before we find our building. I'm terrified of going outside...

The first day, I didn't have a companion until the night. I got lost, and just went to the next place that I knew I should be. I cannot tell you how awkward it is to be a lone missionary in the MTC. It's like not having a girlfriend on steroids.

There's an elder here from China. His name is Elder Ding. I rate him 5 commies out of 5, and his ability to read over my shoulder is 10 eyeballs out of 10. It's actually great for him to be here, cause I haven't had an opportunity to study Chinese (I have no time to do so), but his English is not great, so I spend a lot of time translating and teaching him. This morning, as we waited for our laundry to get done, I helped him study English, and he helped me with my pronunciation of the unfamiliar words in the first lesson. I feel like he was sent here just for me, and I was sent here for me. Amazing how good an organizer the Lord is.