Halfway Point (MTC)

Howdy Friends and Family,

This week was great, as usual.  And my time is brief on the computer, so this e-mail will be too. :)

In shocking news, I got to go on a field trip across the street to the BYU Student Clinic, because my companion hurt his ankle and we needed to get an x-ray.  Luckily it was just a sprain and he is healing quickly. The Lord does bless his servants.

Other than the field trip, it was a regular week in the MTC.  I reached my halfway point on Wednesday.  Exciting.... But crazy.  Time flies by fast in the MTC.  I have been learning and growing a lot.  I have learned that the only way to have a good day or lesson or life is to choose to have it.  The day is here, so it is time to seize it!  We must make the choice to become better and to have the Spirit, and as we live worthily and humbly, the Lord will bless us to achieve our righteous desires.

K. Brett Nattress came to speak on Tuesday night.  He started by asking: "What think ye of Christ?" I love that question - what do I honestly think of Christ.  It is a great question to ponder.  He then continued to say that Christ has commanded us to be like Him.  It is the ultimate goal, so we have much to do.  I testify that Christ is perfect and that He loves us perfectly and that through Him we can return to God, to be in a state of perfect righteousness and happiness.  I know that He loves us and will support us!

The gospel is real, the church is true to the gospel, the prophets lead the church according to the desires of God.  God will support us if we humbly ask Him.  He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving.

I love you all!  Thank you for your prayers, thoughts, and support!

Keep the faith!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love you,

Elder Weenig

The map pic

MTC = Utopia

Howdy friends and family,

Well, I would compare the MTC to a Utopian society.  Yet, despite what all of the books on the AP reading list say, this utopia does not end in nuclear warfare.  It is great!  I have learned a lot and am growing very much!

On Sunday, we had a devotional, Vai Sikahema came to speak to us.  He talked about using our influence for good and to bring others to the gospel.  I really liked how he said that we could talk to people everywhere and invite them to Christ in both our actions and our words.  It was a great talk.

On Tuesday, we had another devotional (if you can't tell, devotionals are my favorite part of the MTC... aside from sand volleyball.... :)  ). Lynn G. Robbins and Jan Robbins spoke to us.  They said that developing Christ-like attributes is the most important thing that we can do as people and as missionaries. (It is chapter six in Preach My Gospel)  I am trying to work on becoming more Christ-like, and I know that through prayer and sincere effort, we can all become more truly like Christ.

The gospel is true.  God is real.  Christ truly died for us and loves us.

Keep the faith!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love you all!

Elder Weenig

Our District

Look who I ran into -- Elder (Kai) Barlow

Laundry time

Week Two in the MTC

Howdy friends and family!

I love you all so much!  I can definitely feel your prayers uplifting me and sustaining me!  I always thought it was weird when people would say that, but it is real.  I can be on the verge of mental chaos, when suddenly the Spirit comforts me and the language actually makes sense.  It is great!!

The MTC is amazing... Contrary to my thoughts the first couple of days.... :)  I have learned so much and I can feel the Holy Spirit so much!!!  God uplifts and sustains us here, otherwise there would be no way to make it through.  I have learned how to humble myself in sincere prayer and study.  I have come to love God as He is our loving Heavenly Father!

Elder David A. Bednar came to speak to us on Tuesday night for a devotional.  He taught us how to study and teach.  Look for the principle, look for the invitation to act, and then look for the promised blessings - and he said that the promised blessings are really promised to us!!!  They will come to pass. Also, I got to sing in the choir. Whoot.

We also got to watch one of Elder Bednar's past devotionals on Sunday.  It is called the Character of Christ.  He said that the character of Christ is to turn outward, not inward.  My mission is not about learning a language or fulfilling a priesthood duty, it is to serve others and truly caring for them.  I loved his devotional so much!!!  He also said that when we take notes, we should write down the notes that the spirit prompts us with - not just what the speaker is saying.  AH, I want to write so much more about his talk, it was amazing!!! However, I am out of time, so I must go.

The church is true, the gospel is real, the prophets will lead us to truth, God loves us, I love Him, and I love you all!!!

I love and pray for you!!!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love,

Elder Weenig

A blessing to run into good friends (Maile Fisher and Madalyn Udall)
 at the Provo Temple (Thanks for the pic Madalyn).

First Week

Howdy,

I am now in the Provo MTC.  It is.... the MTC.  It is everything that I expected and yet nothing like what I expected.  We have classes and study time from dawn to dusk.... Plus a few hours before and after that.....  The language is definitely not English.  I have learned a lot considering that it is the first couple of days, for example:  I  know where my classroom and residence room is.... And yeah....  Also, one thing that I didn't expect, but I guess I should have, is that the people here are human.  Weird, right?  Like, they breath, make mistakes, and have no idea what the teachers are saying either.  So, yep.  Go team.

If I were to compare the MTC to anything, it would be boot camp.  Which makes sense, because we are the Lord's army.  That's all I'm gonna say... LDS boot camp.

My companion is Elder Sagapolu.  He is from Taylorsville, Utah.  He is very pleasant and nice.  We've been getting along great!  Our roommates are Elder Anderson and Elder Bolton.  It is great because they are all willing to follow the schedule with exactness.  It is awesome.  We all wake up 30 minutes early (6:00) so that we can beat the rush to the showers. Yep.  I have pretty great roommates.

My district:  We have seven elders and two sisters.  It is great.  Our classroom (as well as my residence room) is on the fourth floor.  That's right, the top.  So, we kind of get a view from our window, but we also have to climb several flights of stairs on a very regular basis.  We are in the islander zone.  So, there are 6 or 7 languages in our zone.  It is pretty cool to have such a diverse spread of languages.  Yep.

I hope that you are all having a great week - remember that life is what we make of it.  Now, my time draws to a close, so I will end.

Thank you for all of the support and prayers - they are definitely felt.

Love you all!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Weenig 

With Elder Sagapolu (Taylorsville, UT)

With Elders Anderson, Bolton, and Sagapolu