Week 2 - Elder Lundberg Settles In At MTC

This past week has seemed pretty long. It's weird to think that only a week and two days ago I was being dropped off at the curb without the slightest idea of what was going to happen next. I was so nervous! Fast forward eight days later and here I am! I love it here and all that waiting was worth it! The only thing that makes me nervous now is the cafeteria food. Last Tuesday we did some service as a district and I guess I got an "inside look" at what happens behind the scenes as the cafeteria employees were preparing lunch. It wasn't horrible but......eh. Just seeing that lady slice up a huge vat of some kind of egg material with a butcher knife was.....different. But I was trying not to focus on that as I carried boxes and pallets back and forth from the kitchen to the loading dock. I also got to see a mixer literally the size of my whole body (a real MAN's mixer as one of my companion's called it haha). It's amazing how much effort they go to to feed over 2750 missionaries for three meals each day. I just wish it could be a little less......digestable? Haha it's not THAT bad but I've learned to avoid the orange juice and the breakfast potatoes because of their........detrimental affects.

Anyway, enough about food. Oh wait. We went to the temple this morning for a session and got to eat the temple food. AAAAHHHHH!!!! So good. Temple food is definitley a highlight of my week now.....and endowment sessions of course.

The language is coming along really well. This past week we've been teaching a couple  "mock investigators" named Valdecir and his "spouse" Miriam, who are actually teachers just acting as investigators. We've made a lot of jokes about Valdecir becuase he was sort of frustrating to teach. He would eat skittles in the middle of our prayers. Pick at his sock incessantly. And fall asleep literally EVERY time I or anyone else would bear their testimony. And he wouldn't keep commitments very well. We finally decided to come up with our own verb.......Valdecir (derived from the spanish words "vale" and "decir"), which means "to evade" or "to pick at one's sock constantly." Haha we have some good times as a district.

However, the last few lessons have been really great. Even though it was kind of frustrating at first, I've seen a lot of improvement in my ability and the ability of my companions to communicate in Spanish. Although we still have a long ways to come, it's also been a testimony to me that even if we can't speak perfectly, the Lord makes up for that when we let the Spirit do the teaching. We also have to remember to teach people, not lessons. I love how Preach My Gospel allows such flexibility in letting us give a lesson according to the needs of the investigator. Even though these investigators aren't real, I think the Lord gives us these MTC opportunities to develop our own testimonies before we actually go out into the real world. I can't wait to bring the joy and happiness that this gospel brings to the people of Peru!

About Peru, I'm hoping my visa will come in time. Apparently, visas have been a little bit delayed for most of the Peru missionaries. I'll find out probably on Monday whether or not I'll be leaving on the 25th or staying for several more weeks. I'm praying that it will come because I really want to be immersed in Spanish down at the Lima CCM so I can really feel confident in my own speaking of the language.

Well, time is running low. I guess I'll finish off with a spiritual thought of some sorts. This past week we've been talking about the Doctrine of Christ a lot and how it relates to our purpose as missionaries. The purpose is "Invitar a las personas a venir a Cristo al ayudarlas a que reciben el Evangelio restaurado mediante la fe en Jesucristo y su expiacion, el arrepentimiento, el bautismo, la resepcion del don del Espiritu Santo y el perseverar hasta el fin." Sorry if you don't know Spanish, but I don't know it as well in English! Anyway, I just love this gospel and the simple message that it brings. I would challenge you to read 2 Nephi 31-32 because it really puts my purpose and our purpose as members of the church into perspective.

Love you all and God bless you until next time I write!

Elder Lundberg


P.S. The Church is true!