This past week was my last week at the MTC, and as much as I couldn't stand that place, Imma miss all of the wonderful missionaries and teachers that I met there. I'm going to miss my teachers Hermano Astorga and Hermana Rindlisbacher and all of their great Spanish and gospel lessons that have helped me with my teaching abilities and have helped me grow my testimony. I'm going to miss all of the Elders and Hermanas in my district, with whom I had to spend so much time struggling and having fun together, and I can't wait to see all of them after the mission. Finally I'm going to miss the coolest MTC companion ever Elder Stephan, who has seen me at my best and my worst, has helped me to have a bunch of fun at the MTC, and has made me realize how much of a positive effect he's had on my life these past six weeks after leaving for his mission a day sooner than I did.
Also, I hadn't gotten my Visa in time, so I've been temporarily assigned to the Utah, Salt Lake City West mission! It was right in my backyard, so I only needed to take a bus and a train to get there. I met my awesome mission president and his wife, the Mcbeth's, who care so much about each missionary, I can't help but feel at home already.
I also met my new companion, Elder Clark, who has been the best trainer to help me ease into the mission life. He's from Arkansas, he's seven months into his mission, he's a Spanish speaking missionary as well, and he's also the district leader, which means we both have a lot more work on our hands. Right from the get go, on my first day in the field, we went out into the neighborhood knocking on doors. We didn't have much luck the first day, since not one door was answered, but I consider that a blessing cause I was pretty stressed out.
However, on the second day we experienced one of the biggest miracles. On our way to dinner, as we were walking, a man in a red car stopped in front of us. He said, first of all, "Sorry, I don't speak English," to which Elder Clark responded "Perfect, we don't speak English either!" in Spanish of course. He then went on to say that he just came from Columbia, and that he felt that he needed to go to church, but didn't know where one was (which is funny cause we're in Utah), but we told him where a church building was and even set up a lesson date as well. This is a miracle since things like these never happen in this mission; a majority of the population are either members or have heard about the church already - no one ever just goes up to the missionaries asking to join the church.
We also had the big CoronaVirus scare this week, where it was announced that General Conference could only be seen over technology (and I was looking forward to seeing it in person), we can't shake hands or touch anyone for that manner, and all church meetings are cancelled. We were also told to stock up on food in case we get quarantined in the near future, which we haven't... yet.
This first week in the field has been amazing. The members are the best and most generous people ever, and I have great experiences every day here. I can't wait to see what'll happen next.
Elder Terry
(I also realized I didn't take any pictures of anything since I've arrived at SLC, but you'll see more these next weeks)
Fotos:
1. Building R6 Fourth Floor Squad
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