We received a letter! After patiently (actually, not so patiently) waiting for 6 days, Dylan had his first P-day (preparation day) and sent us an email:

Dearest family,

I miss you!!! Life here at the MTC is insane. Sometimes I feel like I don't even have time to breathe, but it's all worth it. I love having so much time just to read the scriptures and ponder words of Christ. They had us teaching an "investigator" our third day here, all in Spanish. It's pretty stressful, but the Spirit has absolutely helped us as we prepare our lessons and teach Ivis. To answer the questions:

1. What was your first impression of the MTC? Since I checked in at 2:30, my first impression of the MTC was kind of a blur. I missed the first class time and most of orientation. I barely had time to pull my suit coat out of my suitcase and throw it over my short sleeved shirt!

2. Are you getting enough to eat?  I'm getting plenty to eat. For cafeteria food, it's actually pretty good, and since my district goes in last for every meal (breakfast at 8:45!) I'm pretty hungry going in every time. Hopefully I'll be able to gain some weight!

3. Where are you living?  I'm living on the top floor of 14M, and my class (where I actually live) is in the top floor of 18M. It's a lot of stairs!

4. Who is your companion? Where is he from? Is he going to McAllen too? What do you have in common?  My companion, Elder Green, is from good ol' Utah. He and two others in my room are going to McAllen. Elder Green just graduated a week and a half ago. It's crazy! We're both pretty much nerds, he played the trumpet, and we both have the same goofy sense of humor.

5. Have you seen anyone you know from BYU or home?  I've already seen just about everyone I know. Elder Braun and Elder Sant, plus most of the people from BYU.

6. What are the classes like? Are they teaching everything in Spanish yet?  Classes are really long, but really helpful. We mostly practice learning good missionary phrases that teach us vocab and grammar as we go. Hermano Warburton speaks mostly Spanish, but still speaks English when we need it.

7. Have you had any firesides/devotionals yet?  We had an MTC devotional on Thursday from the administrative director of the MTC about getting on the same plane as our investigators. It's so important we really know and love those we teach.

I'm almost out of time, but I don't think there's anything else important... Oh yeah, one of our branch presidency counselors is Brother Monson, and he'll be telling us all kinds of stories about "Uncle Tom." For real! He's so cool! Here's a fun fact: President Monson doesn't eat the bottom of his ice cream cones because his grandma taught him they might have flies in them.

Well, the Church is true! I'm so proud of you for becoming a deacon, Spence! Good luck with finals, Cassidy! I love you all sooooo much!


Elder Young