MTC, Week 3

Happy birthday Conner! I can't believe I've been gone for 3 weeks! I feel like I just got here, but at the same time I feel like there has never been anywhere but here. P days are really nice cause we get to get away from the MTC for a little bit. The routine is enough to drive you crazy. We have different teachers at the MTC that play the role of different investigators. We knock on their door and every second we're with them is like we're teaching a real investigator. In French. It's been a really good experience. This week my teacher, Frère Taki told me that he considered me fluent in French. That was a real confidence booster. It seems like no matter how much we learn here though, we won't know the language until we're in the field. We've been getting to the point where as a district we will communicate with each other in French whenever possible. It's really cool when you can have a conversation in a different language. It's also really cool when we get to talk to the native French speakers and we can understand each other. The next batch of missionaries came last Friday. We have the biggest group of missionaries that the Ghana MTC has had so far. Every single bed is full. They said that they're almost done building a new MTC by the temple though. It will be finished in January. It is supposed to be able to hold a couple hundred. The Lord is hastening His work. In response to all of your questions, yes I am keeping a very good journal. The MTC president said that the best way to send packages is through DHL. The customs officers won't touch it because DHL will hold them accountable. However, it takes a few weeks to get here, so I won't be able to receive anything while in the MTC. Letters don't have an issue getting here. Yes we are very well fed. It's probably going to take the rest of my mission to lose the weight that I'm gaining here.... At first I couldn't finish a single meal, and I was stuffed all day long. But after eating like that for 3 weeks, I can finish the plate and be hungry in a couple hours haha We had an interesting meal this last week. They call it stock fish. But they dont fillet their fish. They clean it, descale it, chop it into chunks and cook it. I'm not sure how much I liked it... This last week has been a good one though. A lot of the frustrations of the first couple weeks are starting to resolve themselves. There are still some cultural barriers, and I still have a hard time understanding my companion sometimes, but it's improving. We're starting to enjoy our experience here more. We are all really excited to get into the field though. It feels like its forever away. Have a great week!

Love, Elder VanAusdal