Hello from the MTC

Sorry for the LONG wait for the email. I had to wait out an ENTIRE week to write an email. This day and only is my P-day. It's so nice to be able to wear regular clothes and not have to worry about understanding certain doctrines. 

When I arrived at the MTC on Aug 7, they took me to meet my district. They are very nice people who have a burning desire to serve a mission. They then ushered me to all of these stupid orientations. One of these orientations was to practice teaching to an investigator as a big group (+- 100 missionaries). After 5 whole minutes with a new potential investigator, one Elder decided to challenge him to a baptism. The whole room literally laughed him out, I felt so bad for him but at least, he learned a lesson: don't be so overzealous with new investigators. Learning doesn't happen overnight. 

I also got to meet my teachers on Aug 7. One of them is named Brother Harward and he played basketball at BYU and he is super tall. It's crazy! The other teacher is named Brother Burgin and he loves sports but he has cerebral palsy. He and I have a really close connection. It's really cool having a connection with the teachers. They are so awesome at teaching the doctrines of the gospel!

One guy on Aug 8 approached me to say hi but the funny part was the biblical language. He was like, "How art thou, Elder?" It was super hard not to laugh but I instantly thought after that situation was that I should've talked in third person. 

On Aug 8, we had this branch presidency meeting with the new districts.They went over all of the rules which took FOREVER but I was pleased to be knowing all of the rules now. After that, they took each of one of us one by one to have an interview. I aced my interview and as a result (I think), I was called to be District Leader! I am so happy be able to serve the missionaries in my district. Some of the district members (a few days later) complimented on my ability to be a leader which was really really cool. They also said that they love how I give people free agency as long as it complies with the missionary rules.

Elder Tillett is my companion and he is a really cool guy. He is also a very short person so it was weird at first for feeling soo tall! He is a very spiritual person and he loves computers so we talk about computers so much. He also loves computer programming, specifically Java. All of that is a plus. He can be kinda up tight sometimes but he's more relaxed now. I'm happy about it. He is such a great guy. He's from Germany and he and I are the only international (but with American nationalities) missionaries in our ENTIRE zone. The Elders and Sisters kept asking us many questions about Saudi Arabia and Germany. Elder Tillett and some of my district members are going to be serving in the Missouri Independence mission so after next Tuesday (my Departure date), I might never see him again in my entire life but I hope to see him again after my mission.

The MTC is just purely awesome; the food there are okay, not the best and not the worst. It really is all you can eat but I try to limit myself to one portion to limit my weight gain. As a result of that, I can feel myself losing some weight so I'm super happy about that.Elder Gallagher and Elder Gruen are bunking in my room along with Elder Tillett. They are great people (I LOVE my district! I bet you can tell that ;))! Elder Gruen is from San Diego while Elder Gallagher is from San Antonio. They both have a burning desire to serve a mission and they both are very funny people!

Elder Tillett and I are progressing extremely well when it comes to teaching to investigators. I owe that to my teachers. They are such excellent teachers. I love them! One of my investigators is named George and he is an amputee due to some blood clot in the femoral artery. He served in the Vietnam war. He loved me because I was deaf so he and I instantly made a connection but he really didn't like Elder Tillett very much. I kinda felt bad for my companion. George is such a great guy! He really cares about the gospel!

We also got to go to the Provo temple last Sunday and it was just awesome! I love it. I also got to see Rock Shill and it was really cool.

Elder Collin Overall (he's going to Germany and he's one of my best friends) lives on the same floor as me! It was freakin amazing seeing him again! We got to play basketball together as well as some other Elders. It was so awesome getting to see him again. And yes, I saw Jordyn Alstrom at the MTC. She is a really cool girl and it was awesome talking to her again. 

Last night, my district and I got to attend the Tuesday Devotional at the Marriott Center and we got to hear from Richard G. Scott from the quorum of the twelve apostles. He is such a great guy! He talked a lot about prayer. You can't rush an effective prayer. That was my favorite line from him. I can feel the Spirit so strong. I never felt so warm in my life.I have enclosed a lot of pictures! I hope you like them a lot. Elder Gruen is the blond guy and Elder Gallagher is the ginger one. Elder Tillett (my comp) is the short one with blond hair and glasses. I hope you like them. I love it here at the MTC! I think about you guys EVERY DAY! It was kind of excruciating to hear you last Monday that you haven't received my letters yet. I wrote a LOT of them. I hope this email will be sufficient enough to last you guys for the week. 

I know with all of my heart that the church is true. The Book of Mormon is truly an another testament of Jesus Christ and is definitely a companion to the Bible. If you read it, ponder it, and pray about it, you will receive a confirmation of the truthfulness of the BofM. The Doctrine of Christ is just simply amazing. Jesus Christ, our brother, died on the cross for us because He loves us VERY MUCH! Heavenly Father sees us as his children. He sees us for who we CAN be. 

I love you guys so much! I loooove reading your emails and YES, I love the doughnuts. They were extremely delicious. Keep the letters coming! My district is a little jealous. I love and think about you guys every day! Stay strong, mi familia. I love you guys so much! :) Love, Elder Sam McGrath

P.S. Yes, I have been writing in my journal EVERY day! I love it! :)