Letter from Elder Eisert - April 30th, 2013

These first few weeks in the MTC have been interesting. A mission is not at all what I thought it would be. I have always thought that I would have some supernatural power that makes me into some sort of awesome Elder and that the whole thing would feel as awesome as watching LOTR. I must say that there is a very intense power here that I have never felt before in my life. The Gift of Tongues is real. I have felt 'quickened' by the Spirit many times. The retention rate for learning the language is crazy. We go through one concept every class period and we are able to apply it to our language skills immediately. It is awesome. Also, the experiences here are almost exactly like they would be in real life. I feel a spirit here that strongly encourages living the gospel principles. There are many ups and downs, but the ups are so much higher than they used to be.

They are sending people to a new facility they made out of Wyview to accommodate the estimated peak of 90,000 missionaries (total - in MTC and out) that there will be in the world. I cannot verify this, but that is the rumor. They have been changing up our schedules to accommodate that, and we will see what happens from there. Just as a note, I hear that this change is temporary and that they will move out of Wyview next year when things slow back down to semi-normal. So, that is cool.

I am excited to go to Danmark and to get out of this country. I am a bit worried about my visa because the people before us have had a few issues with it. They left the MTC to other missions in the USA about 4 weeks ago and still have not been able to get in. They Applied way back in Dec/Jan and I applied in Feb. I guess we will see what the Lord has in store for me.

So, I guess there are a few things I can say about the MTC that I would have liked to know:

-DON'T DRINK THE ORANGE JUICE.
-Be careful about the green beans and 'steamed' vegetables that come along for the ride.
-The food is actually super awesome in considering that they have to feed over 2000 missionaries 3 times a day.
-The first couple of days are harder than the rest- at least they feel that way. Just make it to Sunday.
-Satan will work on you SUPER hard your first days here, and will continue to give you thoughts like that. Don't give in.
-Be prepared to work, yes, but it isn't as hard as you think. The hard work comes when you are forced to change your lifestyle. You need to find the humility and diligence to persevere. It gets easier, I promise.
-The Spirit is here, and the gifts of the Spirit are real. Find the faith to trust the Lord AND yourself AND trust that the Lord trusts you. It will help to make your experience much better.

Anyway, it is time to go. Vi Ses!