First email from the MTC

Guess what - the MTC has email access! Doo doo dooo! I get half an hour a week to send electronic letters to my family. Great, huh?

Except there's a nice ticking clock up at the top of the screen, telling me how long I have left. 24:25 at the moment.

Now slightly less time. I'd better get into this. Feel free to post as much or as little of this as you want on the blog.

After arriving in the MTC, I was a bit lost for a while. Suffering from culture shock (and blown away by the incredibly wide roads and the ridiculously slow speed limits - oh, and the mountains) and missing home comforts a lot, I was ushered in to the building by one of the senior elders who looks after international missionaries. I was given a quick tour before being taken to the health center for a PPD skin test. I "unfortunately" had to explain that the result would come back positive, as I'd only had the BCG a few months previously. Oh dear, I didn't get poked by another needle.

Instead I was taken out of the MTC and down the road to a separate health center where they X-Rayed me. Perhaps I'll develop some super powers or something - I'm certainly getting a lot better at eating. Oh, and yesterday I picked up a car. But apart from that, no powers yet... :P

With very little to do, besides one short class, I chatted with another British missionary, Elder Kerr from Scotland. He had brought a series of mascots with him - a Celtic bear (that is to say, a teddy bear wearing a little Celtic Football shirt), a CD of British music, and a little Royal Guard figurine. I figured I might need more than my T-shirt, but it was too late to go home and get one.

Also in our room was Elder Santiago, a missionary from the far away land of Michigan, who'd had to arrive a day early, and Elder Tukia, a very friendly Tongan elder who is built like the side of a New Zealand barn (I mention New Zealand because he also lived there for several years).

A little while later, I heard a familiar voice saying, "I know this guy," and turned around to see none other than Elder Leah, the British missionary who'd been held by immigration! Behind him was the elder from Finland, Elder Heikennen. Apparently they'd just missed the terminal closing and had to stay overnight in a hotel near the airport. We chatted for a while and he noticed Elder Kerr's Celtic bear. He told Elder Kerr that we were on the plane to Chicago with the entire Celtic team - something I'd not known because I am, of course, athletically challenged. I'd just thought they were some amateur rugby team or something. Elder Kerr was very jealous.

It turns out the reason that I was let through Immigration and all the other six or seven British elders who came in that day from various airports around the UK were held back (all of them were, except me) was that everyone else had shown a letter that had been in with our plane tickets, informing the customs people that we were training to be missionaries. I'd forgotten that I needed to show mine, and breezed right through without even so much as a bag search - so we see, being forgetful and absent-minded is a trait the Americans welcome with open arms!

You know how, in the UK, when I make a smart alec remark, people just roll their eyes and ignore me? Well here, every joke is worth gold. I've had my companion and the other guys in my district in fits of laughter so often now that I'm sure it can't be doing any good for my ego, or my humility. They also particularly enjoyed the customs form - "Are you, or have you ever been, a Nazi?", etc.

My companion's name is Elder Dallin, and he and I are getting along really well. He's been recording audio tapes for his family on tape recorders that are on sale in the MTC book store, and just loves getting me to say things into the microphone for him. Everyone's in awe of my accent - I can understand what Beth was talking about now! Except I'll bet that when she had loads of teenage boys trying to talk to her, she enjoyed it a lot more than I do.

Which leads me to an interesting point - I'm actually the oldest in my room. Everyone's birthdays are around June-ish, so I'm enjoying being the oldest for once - if certainly not the largest in stature. But that's expected in America.

Well, my time's almost up - I've got 3 minutes left, and the connection's pretty slow. I don't want to lose this entire letter because it's not sent yet. Hopefully next week I'll be able to upload some pictures.

There are several letters (snail mail) on the way to you soon, containing replies to all the letters everyone's sent me through DearElder.com. Please write to me very often - I need lots more post if I'm to compete with my companion, who gets stuff almost every day from his family and girlfriend! Also, it's really nice to hear from you guys. You should all write every day, if possible! I'd like that.