MTC - Week 1

Hey everyone the MTC is actually pretty fun.  It's nothing like what Shane and others have said about it. I have two companions so I'm in a threesome with Elder Olivares, he's from Phoenix, Arizona, and Elder Gottfordson, from Las Vegas, Nevada. Elder Olivares and myself we have a lot in common we love baseball and to joke around about everything.  My first day was pretty good for the most part.  We were very busy. We taught three investigators and the food here is very good.  I'm trying to not over eat but it all tastes so good!  It's all the cookies and the ice cream you want and the food is really good overall. I've been having a lot of spiritual stuff here. The gift of tounges is amazing.  On day 3 we were already teaching Juni an investigator.  I can already say a prayer and say my testimony in Malay.  A prayer goes like this,

Bapa di syuga kami berterima kasih atas, hari ini, kuasa imamat, korban tebusan, dan nabi. Kami minta endkou membertkati kami dengan, roh kudos, dan bimbingan. Dalam nama Yesus Kristus Amin.

That means:

Heavenly Father, we’re grateful for today, the priesthood, the atonement, and the prophets. We ask thee to bless us with the spirit, and for guidance. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

So far since I've gotten here I've gotten about 8 letters here and some packages so it has been good. My butt has been killing me. I'm leaving the MTC on Thursday to go to a orthopedic specialist to see what he can do to heal this pain that is causing me so much grief.

Hey Maddie, how's softball? It's going very good here and I'm learning so much here and the language is really fun to learn.  I love you, and respect mom, dad, and the girls… they deserve it.  I'll write you next week.  I love you!

Hey Lydia!  Yeah, I've already made a lot of friends here. The food is way good, it's all the sweets that you could imagine and want. My first day was super busy.  As soon as I got there I was tossed into language class. I'll email you next week.  I love you.

Hey Hannah, "Saya Kasih Kamu" which means, "I love you".  How's softball going? It sounds like things are good. I love you. I'll talk to you next week.

Hey Brooklyn, I like your little section of random stuff. I miss you so much, I love you!

Hey Mom and Dad.  I miss you guys both so much. I know this is what I need to do at this point in my life and I'm loving it so far. I can testify that the gift of tounges works and that it is totally true and a gift I can't believe we've already witnessed.  It is so cool to see how far I've come in such a short amount of time in the language. Yeah, the name for that blog is great and your first post sounds good. I need more spiral notebooks of paper for notes. I got the bottom bunk as well. Like I said, my butt has been killing send me.  Please send some Honey Mustard Pringles too. I love you guys and I'm so happy to be here.  We have 2 Sisters and 11 Elders in my district for my class. I love and miss you guys so much keep using dearelder.com and what are those emails you sent me on here about piraformis???

Love you.  I'll email next week and send an SD card home soon. Love you all!!!!

Enters the MTC

Today Elder Stahle entered the MTC, the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah.  Today being Wednesday, July 18, 2012.  We started our day leaving our house in Kaysville at 9:00 AM.  We met  Grandpa David and Grandpa Debby at the Provo Temple grounds.  It was beautiful.  We visited and took pictures together in front of the temple.  After my grandparents left with Hannah, we went to Walmart for a little more shopping.  I needed handkerchiefs and stationary!  We then went to Olive Garden for lunch and no one seemed very hungry for lunch.  We tried to share an appetizer and three pasta dishes, but most of it was boxed up and taken home by my family.  We then headed over to the church parking lot across the street from the MTC.  There were a lot of people and families over there saying their goodbyes.  It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye to my family.  My time slot to be at the MTC curb drop was 1:25 PM.  I didn't want to be late, so we arrived at about 1:19 PM.  It was true, it was a curb drop and my Dad got my luggage out of the suburban, my Mom hugged me one last time.  This was a shock to our missionary, since he thought we already said our goodbyes!  But, it was fine.  No tears (a lot of tears were shed already at the temple and the church parking lot).  The cute missionary host asked Elder Stahle some questions (name, do you have a cell phone on you, etc!) and away they went...  Our missionary walked away with three suitcases in hand, looking so handsome and excited.

Elder Stahle's Farewell

Today was Elder C.J. Stahle's missionary farewell.  We arrived early to the church and took the second row, and then 3rd and 4th rows seemed to be for extended family.  The whole chapel and overflow was full.  It was amazing to look back and see people even in the very back standing.  Our son gave a powerful talk that was spiritual with a lot of meaning, and was also so heartfelt.  As parents, we thought he was prepared, but with his talk, we realized that our son was missionary ready and so much more  prepared than we ever realized!  So proud of this young man!  After sacrament meeting we went back to our house and hosted lunch for family and friends.  Nearly 100 people stopped by and we were ready with a lot of food.   C.J. even helped to plan the meal, so that was fun too.