Hey Mom,
First off, thank you so, so much for the chocolates. They were totally, completely unexpected, and so wonderful. I definitely shared them, because I wanted them all to get eaten, and if I tried to do so myself I would probably die. I even gave some to my teachers. I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but I basically had the best teachers here. :)
I'm really honestly OK with going to Mesa. I think it'll be fun to teach in English for a bit and get used to "real" missionary work without also having to struggle with the language, and even though I'll be an English area (probably) I've been told I'll still have language study time. And, if I remember right, I think Isaac's older brother might be in Mesa, I know he's in Arizona, so it'd be way cool if I got to see him or get trained by him. As for the visa, I think it has less to do with time and more to do with how many visas France is willing to grant to the Church at one time, but I don't know for sure. I've been told I'll probably be in Mesa for a transfer or less, but you never know for sure. As soon as my visa comes in they're supposed to send me as far as I know. I did find out today that even this visa-waiting assignment was assigned by an Apostle, so I think that's cool. What all family do I have in the Mesa area? I don't even really know for sure, so you'll have to let me know, maybe send some pictures or something, that'd be great. And is Jason's Mom a member? If not, she will be soon. ;)
....the BYU Men's Chorus was here yesterday for our Sunday devotional, and they were AMAZING. I don't know why, but I just started crying at the end of their last song. I didn't know it off the top of my head, and I can't remember the name, but suffice to say the whole concert was just amazing. There's nothing like music to instantly bring the Spirit to people, and I love how musical our family is.
Hopefully I'll get to fly out tomorrow, if not, I just figure we need to wait here in the MTC until our visas come in too. I forgot to mention, Elder Graham and everyone else had to come back to the MTC. Their first flight out to San Francisco was delayed to the point where they wouldn't be able to make their connection so they're back here in the MTC until they can get new flight plans. It was crazy to watch him walk into the cafeteria. I'm kinda happy to have him back (as selfish as that is) because he really is awesome and we've grown way close. It was hard to watch him walk away to fly out, so maybe we're all just meant to leave together. Whatever happens though, I know it's for the best.
I can't wait to call and talk tomorrow, and whatever happens I should be able to call, Elder Graham did even though his flight got cancelled. Not sure what time still though, but I'm thinking I'll try for around 7 AM.
Thanks again for everything, I love you so much.
See you soon,
Elder Miner
*I find it interesting that even his visa-waiting assignment was given by an apostle. I'm also glad that he is in an area that is similar in climate since he doesn't have cold weather gear,
Elder Miner's last letter from the MTC:
Hey everyone,
So, this is where it all ends, pretty crazy. It's funny, I came in to the MTC knowing absolutely nothing about what to really expect, and now that everything here is old hat, I get to go and adjust to something else completely new. I'm super excited though, I feel like I've learned about as much as I'm going to here, especially in regards to French.
This week went a lot like all of the others, with a few differences. We taught a lesson to one of our fake investigators, Guillaume, pretty much every day this past week. His story was real and from our teacher's mission, and it was amazing to watch him progress from someone hard-hearted and bitter towards God into someone who was praying and feeling the love of God in his life. I can't wait to watch that happen in investigators' lives for real. We also had a meeting called "in-field orientation." It was different from a lot of the MTC experience, mostly in that it was all in English. But really though, it was a big meeting where we talked about all different aspects of our purpose as a missionary alternated with breakout sessions where we then applied those things we learned in activities. We practiced things like contacting, planning, and keeping our attitude and expectations high. All in all it was pretty useful.
Funny story though, so I'm sure by now most of you have heard that I am destined to visa-wait in Mesa, Arizona for a bit along with 3 other people from my district while the other half of our district head to Vanuatu. Well, those going to Vanuatu were supposed to leave yesterday, but that didn't quite work out. Apparently their flight from SLC to San Francisco got delayed to the point where they wouldn't be able to catch their flight from San Francisco to New Zealand, so they just came back to the MTC. We're still waiting on new flight plans for them. Part of me wonders if maybe we're all just supposed to stay together until we all have visas. Guess we'll see what God's plan is for us.
I really have enjoyed my MTC experience. While it was a little hard adjusting to how things work here, it really wasn't that bad. It helps that my companion and I get along really well and work really well together. He's been amazing. My French comprehension has increased far beyond where it used to be, and my ability to preach the Gospel in French actually exists now, and is pretty darn good I think. I've also learned what it's going to take to have the Spirit with me all the time. The answer really is strict obedience and constant prayer. It's cool when the Spirit just speaks to your mind and you know what you need to say right in that moment. I've had that happen more than once, and in a lot of different ways. Everyone is different and needs the Gospel unfolded to them in a different way, and that's why there is a need for everyone to serve a mission. Your call to serve a mission could potentially be for one specific person that only you can touch. I truly believe that. My next email will be from the mission field.
See you out there,
Elder Miner
PS My apologies for the lack of pictures this week, I have no way to get them off my camera here at the MTC anymore since our SD card reader is packed away. I promise an extra dose next week.
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