First off, my address at the MTC is the following:
Carr. Tenayayuca-Chalmita No. 828,
Col. Zona Escolar, Deleg. G.A. Madero,
C.P. 07230, México, D.F.; México
Letters take approximately two weeks to arrive from the States, so any mail you wish to send me should be sent prior to the beginning of September, seeing that I leave the 17th to go back to California.
This first long week has been extremely tiring, rewarding, enlightening and challenging all at the same time. I´m going to do a day-by-day breakdown.
Tuesday, August 6th:
I left from Yakima at 6 AM and go to Seattle by 6:40 before leaving for L.A. at 7:30. I had a three-hour layover in Los Angeles, in which I did not have a single person to talk to. Finally, about thirty minutes before the plane was going to board, I ran into some Sisters also heading down to the Mexico City MTC. I met Hermana Barney from Sacramento (who eventually got transferred into my district) and Hermana Carter, who I ended up sitting by on the plane after trading seats with a very kind gentleman. We got to Mexico City at 8 PM but didn´t leave until 10 PM because of baggage delays. We got to the MTC really late; however, I met Elder Haws from Nebraska, who is also going to Arcadia! I went to my room for the night, where I met my two companions (yes, I´m in a trio!) Elder Mask and I are great buds, and he is from Gilbert, Arizona and will serve in Philadelphia. Elder Metro is a bit quiter, but we get along fine. He is from Orem, Utah and will serve in Chicago.
Wednesday, August 7th:
The first day went horribly slow because there was so much orientation-type stuff to get through. I met my district today! We have 9 Elderes and 3 Hermanas (the Hermanas are also in a trio). There is Elder Hernandez (going to Tucson, Arizona), Elder Karren (going to Philly), Elder Low (going to Arcadia, like me!), Elder Mathis (going to Bakersfield, California), Elder Bench (Dallas), Elder Grigg (going to El Salvador), my companions and I, Hermana Barney (who was on my plane - going to Provo), Hermana Bennett (going to Honduras) and Hermana Despain (also going to Honduras). I absolutely LOVE my district. Everyone knows how to have a good mix of focus and fun at the same time. We had an intro. by President and Sister Pratt, who are the head of the MTC. My Spanish is improving so rapidly; it´s insane!
Thursday, August 8th:
Today, I was called as our District Leader! It´s quite humbling and a great responsibility to undertake. I will work with the other District and Zone Leaders to better help our branch, which consists of five zones for a total of roughly 55 misioneros. I learned today from a teacher that ´the Lord doesn´t expect perfection, but He expects progress.´ We had another meeting with President Pratt, and he emphasized the importance of obedience. Not going to lie, I wish I had my first P-Day today, like I should have had. I never had the chance to fully unpack, so things have been a bit rough adjusting with closet space and the sort. Our zone leaders, Elder Blad and Elder Dias, are totally awesome! I´m really good friends with both of them, especially Elder Dias, who will be a running back for BYU after his mission! I have also run into Tanner Mangum (tell Matthew Finch for me!) a couple of times, but I haven´t introduced myself. Tanner Mangum won the Elite 11 out of high school in football, and will be the best quarterback in the nation at BYU after his mission.
Friday, August 9th:
Today, we had our very first lesson with a (pretend) investigator! I was so nervous about teaching the whole thing in Spanish, but you learn quick that the Spirit is the best communicator between persons. My companions and I are quickly improving our Spanish vocabulary and are learning a ton of new gospel terms in a foreign language. I cannot stress enough how important scripture masteries have been in seminary. Since I know the reference in English and what it´s about, I can go to it in Spanish and work my way through translating in my head. We helped Andrea understand that ''sufferings'' in life are really meant to be tests by God to try our faith. As we are tested, we learn to need to rely on Him to overcome our difficulties. The Spirit was so strong during the lesson, and Andrea was able to learn to pray during the lesson through our instruction to her. After the lesson, I experienced my first ''mirago'' (miracle)! I can now, somewhat, roll my r's in Spanish. As missionaries, we are blessed with the gift of tongues, and it is definitely felt. This has nothing to do with anything else, but it is also the 10th year anniversary of my baptism!
Saturday, August 10th:
It is great to finally feel like we have a ''routine'' schedule going. It was very similar to Friday, except that it absolutely flew by. The joke around the MTC among missionaries is that ''the days are weeks and the weeks are days.'' As missionaries, we have so many things to do everyday, but looking back, time flies by. We taught Andrea the full lesson about the Restoration of the gospel and the significance of the First Vision in our beliefs about the divinity of each member of the Godhead. The most amazing thing happened: we were teaching the lesson according to the plan we had prepared, and at the end of the lesson, I was inspired to instruct Andrea to read Alma 32 before our next lesson with her. The Spirit spoke through me in the very moment I needed to share exactly what Andrea needed to know. Alma 32 speaks of faith, and it is faith that our gospel is predicated upon.
Sunday, August 11th:
The first Sabbath in the MTC was a little different than home. I loved that every meeting was solely focused on the Savior and His infinite Atonement that we would be inevitably lost without. I had the opportunity to go to my first District Leaders meeting with the Branch Presidency, and they are so inspiring! President Romero, the Branch President, has an absolutely incredible testimony of the gospel. During the evening, we had a giant gathering to watch the John Tanner story. PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO IF YOU TAKE NOTHING ELSE FROM MY EMAIL. John Tanner is the greatest example of taking up the cross to follow Christ´s example. He found the Pearl of Great Price, and he took every step to achieve it. The video reminded me of Joseph Smith's quote about religion requiring the sacrifice of all things, in order to achieve the faith necessary unto salvation. I was also reminded of Brother Griffiths' quote: ''The will to prepare to win is more important than the will to win.'' The gospel is predicated upon preparation through faith in order for the Spirit to take full effect.
Monday, August 12th:
After a break from the usual grind of Español, we were back to more - you guessed it - Español. I focused most of my efforts on learning the vocabulary related to the lesson in Preach My Gospel about the Plan of Salvation. Today definitely seemed to have somewhat of a ''Sunday Hangover'' from the break; it was very hard for a lot of missionaries to focus. Elder Mask, Elder Metro and I didn´t prepare as well as we should have for the lesson, and it definitely showed while we were teaching Andrea. We didn´t do well splitting up the time, and I ended up taking the lead for almost the entire lesson as I described how our actions will lead us to be judged, and consequently, what Kingdom of Glory we will inherit. Our district always breaks down how every lesson goes after everyone is finished teaching, and our lesson was the worst of any companionship by far. On a better note, I feel closer and closer to my district. Everyone talked about their families, home life and various other things about themselves. As a leader, it is important to know the background of people's lives so you can effectively serve them to the best of your capacity. I LOVE MY DISTRICT.
Tuesday, August 13th:
Today was beginning to feel like a ''cookie-cutter'' kind of day. I felt like I was aimlessly going through all of the tasks throughout the day without the purpose I need. It's my own fault that I didn't have the same enthusiasm as usual. We can control our own attitude, and clearly I needed to be more excited to learn the language. It is very difficult for me because language is not my strong point. However, Ether 12:27 tells us that the Lord can make weak things become our strengths if we humble ourselves. The night was fantastic, though! We had a direct broadcast from the Provo MTC for our Tuesday Devotional, and Richard G. Scott from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke on the importance of prayer in the mission field! It was so inspiring, and he invoked his Apostolic authority to bless every single missionary with the gift of tongues that needs to learn a foreign language! I have almost never felt the Spirit so strong before. It was also extremely humbling to hear Richard G. Scott say that when the Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency meet in the temple, they pray for the success of missionaries. It is truly a divine calling of the Lord.
Wednesday, August 14th:
One day until laundry! Can you believe I have had to go so long without doing ANY laundry? Me either. We have a five-hour long block of language study in the morning, and I can't lie, but it is quite a drag. It's so hard to stay focused when we just want to teach. It is also so frustating not to be able to say everything in Spanish very quickly. I can understand better and better by the day, but speaking is another challenge in and of itself. My companions and I had the fourth lesson with Andrea tonight, which went MUCH better than lesson three. We taught Andrea about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as found in 2 Nephi. We need to repeat the steps of Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost (this and baptism done through the Sacrament), and Enduring to the End. This message is the center of the Church. The lesson went so much better because we ''taught the person, not the lessons.'' I'm continuing to learn that although Preach My Gospel is important, it is merely a guide to help teach people hear what they are searching for. I forgot to mention, but we committed Andrea to baptism (well, if she was a real investigator, she would be committed) and the other companionships of Elders have as well. I have a feeling that Andrea is being harder on the Sisters because they are so much more well-versed than we are as Elders. Andrea isn't being as receptive to the Sisters, and they have been feeling really down on themselves. Successful missionary work isn't measured by the number of baptisms, but rather by how much we as missionaries have succeeded in our preparations to help people hear the truth. It is up to them to choose for themselves if it is true or not. Regardless, all of the Elders in my casa (meaning every Elder in the District, except Elder Bench and Elder Grigg) said a prayer that the Sisters would feel at peace and cheered up. It is just like how God feels when we are sad or depressed. He wants us to be happy, and I hope the Sisters will feel at peace again. Today was the first day here that I have really been a little home-sick. It just means I need to work harder and focus.
Thursday, August 15th:
P-DAY AT LONG LAST!!!! We got up at 5 AM, instead of 6:30 to be able to finish up like 15 loads of laundry. We have one washer and one drier for seven Elders for ten days worth of clothes, so we had to make a few runs down to the laundry place in the MTC too. After our laundry, I printed out all of the emails so that I could read them on the bus to the temple. It was so refreshing to hear how home is and that people are thinking of me. I appreciate your prayers and support. We went to the Mexico City Temple today, and it was incredible. The temple is about an hour away from the MTC, so we drove through Mexico City. Did I mention it has about 26 million people? It is MASSIVE. When we got to the temple grounds, there was a different feeling there that only comes through the temple. It was tough going through the session in Spanish, but it was so rewarding. It is so great to see the exact same doctrine in the Church taught in different countries and different parts of the world. It just shows how unified our Church truly is. I loved entering the Celestial room and receving inspiration. I even had an impression that I will have the witness conversions during my mission. I almost cried. I'm actually finishing this email after teaching Andrea the final of our five lessons, but her boyfriend was there too (in the scenario of teaching). We worked really hard to get him to look past his Catholicism and try reading the Book of Mormon. The Spirit spoke through my companions and I during the discussion about the First Vision, and he accepted the invitation to read and pray about it. We will find out more about our teachings from Andrea when she becomes our teacher everyday, starting tomorrow. It will definitely be interesting.
Hopefully that's good enough for the first week! I won't be able to write this much in the future because, although I can type fast, you wouldn't believe how fast an hour goes by. Mom, please forward this email to whoever you can think of (i.e. Bishop, my friends, etc.) and give my email address to other people. It's good to get emails from people to hear about home life. Thank you for the box you sent, too! Hopefully, it will arrive soon. I'm doing great and ran into Brian today here for the first time, and it brought a smile to my face seeing another person I know! He looks like he is doing well, too. The food is hit and miss. The rule of thumb is if there are rice and beans available for any meal, put them onto everything! I have eaten a bunch of corn tortillas with rice and beans, along with whatever meat is available. Other meals that haven´t been so good are spaghetti with whole carrots (who came up with that?) and this pudding-like stuff that is gross. The juices are also strange sometimes. This one I had today was a reddish-brown color and had the worst aftertaste. Overall, though, I love being here! I have a month until I get into the field, but I'm excited to serve the Lord.
I´m attaching some pictures to show you my district and life here. I´m going to send another email to you all with more pictures because the email is too big.
Love you all,
Elder Gabriel Valley
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