Elder Tanner Daines: Mexico Culiacán Mission: Week 2: MTC

Hola familia y amigos!

It has been such an awesome second week here at the MTC in Provo. So much has happened and I wish I could tell you all about it!

Sadly, I have not been able to receive an update on my visa status, so I am still not sure when I will get down to Mexico. I was supposed to be leaving for somewhere in the United States by this Wednesday, but there was a delay in submitting my application to Salt Lake, so I will be in the MTC for another week. I should know where I will be serving (until I get my visa) by this Friday. I was super excited to get out and serve, but I know that whatever happens to me, God has a plan for me! If nothing else, it just gives me an opportunity to continue to improve in the language.

Being at the MTC is always very busy! There is always something you should be doing and somewhere you need to be. Even though we're usually just sitting in classrooms or auditoriums, it is a lot of work and it can get pretty tiring! We don't have free time here, we have "Additional Study Time" haha. On the bright side though, we get about an hour each day to exercise, and I've done sand volleyball pretty much every time. It's been awesome to be here at the MTC, because there are over 2500 missionaries here, all here for the same reason: to serve God! I love it so much.

We had a Devotional on Tuesday where Authorities come and speak to all of the missionaries, and Bishop Gerald Causse came, and he and his wife spoke. It was super awesome! They talked about how important missionary work is. They are both from France, and his wife is a convert to the Church. She focused on how missionaries bless families for all eternity. I know that through this Church that families can live together forever! It is so amazing to have that knowledge. Bishop Causse's talk was also super, super awesome. He said, "You will all be heroes to someone", and that really inspired me to be determined to being a better missionary, because I want to help people as much as I can. It is so amazing! I cannot wait to get out in the mission field and start teaching people about this amazing Gospel!

This week we had the opportunity to teach all three of our teachers, who acted as investigators of the Church. It was amazing to see how much better I got at teaching about the Church in Spanish throughout the week! It is really a miracle. I know that without God, there is no possible way that I could improve in the language this quickly. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, we got to teach a woman named Hely, and Elder Arugelles and I were able to invite her to come to Church and be baptized, and she said that she could really feel that we were messengers of God and she also felt this is the true Church. It was so amazing; there were times in the lessons that I was testifying in Spanish, and the words were coming out faster than I could think of them.

We had an In-Field Orientation on Thursday, which taught us about how people are being prepared to hear our message, and that there are people waiting for us to bless them with the Gospel. It's such an amazing thing to be able to serve as a full-time missionary, bringing people closer to Christ, and increasing their faith in Him through this Church!

On Sunday in Church, about ten people (including me) sang "Jehova mi Pastor es" (The Lord is my Shepherd), and it was so amazing. It was so powerful. This morning my companion, Elder Arguelles, left to go to Los Angeles to begin serving in the mission field. He was such an awesome first companion. He and I were chosen to be the Zone Leaders last week, which means we oversaw about 45 people in the MTC, and so we were responsible for going to a lot of meetings and interviews, and it was stressful, but with Elder Arguelles by my side, it was manageable. Without him, and without praying to God for help for more strength, there is no way that I could have made it through the MTC.

I know more now, than I ever have before, that this Church contains the fulness of the Gospel on the earth today. If you want to increase your faith in Christ and learn more about this Church, just do it! Go to mormon.org to learn more. I know that God loves everyone in this world, regardless of what path they choose in this life. He wants us all to be happy, and I know we can find the greatest happiness in this Church, as we come closer to Him. I know that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for the sins of the world, and I know that through Him we can be clean. I know that God hears all of our prayers, and if we have faith, He will answer our prayers and give us more strength.

I love you all so much and appreciate all the love I have received from you all.

Elder Tanner Daines