Elder Bryson Farley: Week #1 MTC Oct. 28, 2017

Dear Family & Friends,

Well? The MTC isn't too bad at all. I am actually doing alright which is weird because many around me keep talking about how stressed they are and others are even crying themselves to sleep. I guess I am just here and simply chilling. After all, it's only chaos haha. I was able to get settled in no problem and to adapt to the MTC faster than most it seems.

I love my district here. Very funny and friendly people who happen to be pretty sarcastic at times as well, which is nice to see because I no longer have to be concerned about offending others haha! I am writing home on my tablet while I am waiting for laundry to be done, so I am unable to send in pictures from my camera, but I will get to a computer and send those pictures. Not much, just a few of my companion and my district.

My district has 4 sisters and 6 elders. Our missions consists of Roseville, California and St. George, Utah. In my zone/residence building, the missionaries I have been in contact with are going to Santa Rosa, California...Anchorage, Alaska...Colombia, South Carolina...and Winnipeg, Canada. All English Speaking. Elder Saxton is two doors down from me, so I get to see him often. I did run into Elder Evans twice. Once during my first 20 minutes arriving, because he was walking with his companion eating a bag of chips and second when he found me after lunch to let me know he is being sent off to the Brazil MTC on Monday. Elder Schneider is one of my roommates and in my district (the Lord of The Rings fan I met before MTC). My companion, Elder Hawkes, and I get along well and I wouldn't say we get on each other's nerves. I mean, after all, I didn't get angry with him when he forgot his ID and we had to use lunch time to find it. He was assigned District Leader, which makes me the only permanent Senior Companion in my district. Elder Hawkes is the quiet one. He isn't very shy but he is very much focused on being a missionary and I think the only thing that kind of bugged me about him was when he found out he was District Leader, it was THEN that he started talking to everyone and immediately displaying a sense of confidence with a hint of pride. Trust me, you could tell. Other than that, I appreciate that he takes his duty seriously and he isn't a pain in the butt. We are both small town guys too. He is from Paul, Idaho. He listens to country and he is understanding. He had a fallout with the gospel at one point too so we can connect quite a bit. One of my favorite Elders is Elder Greenwood. He is from North Carolina and is serving in St. George. We tend to laugh the most when we talk. We can joke about anything. The Elders I roommate with tend to get along really well so we all enjoy downtime to talk and get to know each other. It is what we refer to as bro time.

It has only been 3 days and I have already ran into a few funny moments. One was when Elder Schneider and I went to use the restroom at our residence, he looks at me and says "I just realized that I am about to take my first poop at the MTC!" He enters his stall and I went down a few stalls and ended up next to another Elder who I could tell has been there a while, because he simply said "So, first poop at the MTC, huh?"

"Nope, wrong person, it's my buddy a few stalls down."

"Ahhh well where you from?"

Welcome to the MTC, where stall convos seem to be normal. And yes, the other Elders and I had a pretty good laugh about it when I approached Elder Schneider about what he got me into. Oh and thanks for the Laxative pills, I can now help other Elders who have THAT problem, but I guess it is a real issue here because Sister Storms got a letter from her mom saying "Have you been pooping?" XD. Elder Schneider wasn't feeling too hot last night and Elder Rowe (his companion) simply asked "Did you take Elder Farley's laxatives?"

Another funny moment was our first night and Elder Greenwood pulled out a picture of Jesus from the top of his bunk that he noticed right before sleeping and Elder Schneider just looks at him and says "I guess that's just a sign that Jesus is always watching!"

Elder Rowe is a funny guy too. One night we were all talking about girls back home. Elder Schneider confessed his love for his neighborhood crush right before leaving, but he did so over Snapchat and while drugged up from getting his wisdom teeth out. Elder Vann didn't really care to date much I guess. Elder Greenwood showed us his personalized calendar which was him and his girlfriend. I simply talked about Hannah because she was my last and we are very close and showed them a picture from my farewell. Then, Elder Rowe says "Well here is my girl..." and shows us a picture of him with a stick figure drawn right by him. Needless to say, we are some funny guys!

The Sisters are great too. Probably the most sarcastic, but you can't be sad or angry around them. I would say the closest group would be me, Elder Hawkes, Elder Vann, Elder Greenwood, Sister Barnett, and Sister Gray. We do a lot together.

Today, as a District, we went to the Provo Temple to do Endowments. Made it through a lot smoother than last time haha and it was amazing to be with my friends and do such a sacred ordinance together. Our testimonies have grown and we are all encouraging each other to be better each day and to strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Elder Hawkes and I are teaching two investigators on Monday, one of which we are almost sure is not a member. We felt a prompting to talk to one or the other (He said one and I said the other) so we went with both and the Holy Ghost led us to people who we clicked well with and who we understand. We are excited to teach both of them :) Elder Hawkes has trouble with introductions and small talk so so tend to lead there and I find that I do really well with it. One investigator, Emily, spent a lot of time in Huntsville and loves small towns. She is agnostic and isn't sure what to believe. Aubrey is Baptist and somewhat shy and socially awkward which makes her pretty funny to talk to. I see how Dad can talk to people. You simply find one thing in common and it leads to another and another. I hope we can teach them well and I plan on helping Elder Hawkes with introductions.

As far as further spiritual feelings, it has all been rather personal this past week. Nothing too amazing other than a greater desire to serve and acknowledging that I am accomplishing my mission statement: To serve God, my country, and family. Devotional is tomorrow so we will have to wait for more spiritual experiences! Endowment was spiritual but I cannot share much on it publicly, as Temple Ordinances are sacred.

BTW, only the sisters have received mail so step it up, the Elders need love XD But if you could send me some long sleeves/flannels, snacks, and Mom, if you could go to CTR Ring Shop and get me that elvish CTR Ring, that would be bueno. It is getting colder faster and and as far as P Day I am lacking warm clothing. Anything else anyone would like to send me, I'll gladly look forward to it! I love you all and I look forward to hearing from all of you. I can't remember my address so Mom, if you could post it in this email and the blog, that would be great. Love You!

With Love,

Elder Farley