MTC 8 - Last P-Day in the MTC!

Here is our letter from Elder Davis! It's his last one from the MTC!

 

Bonjour family and friends!

Crazy to think that this is my last P-Day here in the MTC. This is the start of my 9th week here and also the last email you will get from me while I'm here in the United States. Next time you hear from me I'll be somewhere in France (or Belgium or Luxembourg)!

So the exciting news for this week is WE GOT OUR TRAVEL PLANS!

We leave the MTC around 2 pm on 2/18/2013. Our plane leaves the Salt Lake City airport at 4:55 pm. and then we land in the Paris, Chas De Gaulle airport at 11:25 am France time. I think it’s a 10 hour flight plus an 8 hour time difference from here in Utah. We will be traveling in a group of 12 missionaries (11 elders, 1 sister) who are all serving in the Paris mission. We are all extremely excited and I'll send some pictures that illustrate that excitement. Mom, I'm not sure what time exactly, but I'll be able to call home from the airport sometime between probably 2:30 and 3:30. I bought a special card here at the MTC that allows me to use regular pay phones for long periods of time for cheap. What I'll do is call home (using some quarters) then once you answer and I know you're there I'll hang up and call back using the money on my pay phone card. I don't know if dad is working that day or not, but let me know so I can plan on making more than one phone call if needed. I am only allowed to call immediate family. I'm excited to talk to you guys!

I got to host again this week which was exciting. We had 850 missionaries enter the MTC in one day which (I was told...) is a record for the most missionaries to enter the MTC in one day. I also got to see my good friend Elder Damon Roberts! He is doing great and enjoying his time here at the MTC. He will only be here for 12 days and actually leave the day before me! He will bless many lives. Elder Ragsdale also left for Nevada today and he is super excited to get there and get to work!

This week I met a couple missionaries from Tahiti and Guam. They both speak French, but don't know any English! They are here in the MTC learning English and going to the Montreal mission. It was really cool to run into them because I was able to talk to them in French! I was so excited that I could easily communicate with them. Their French was really good and we just small talked about the United States and Tahiti/Guam and missionary work. From what I hear though, people in Paris speak French MUCH faster than they do in Tahiti/Guam so that will take some getting used to once I'm in France.

We got 36 French missionaries which made our "zone" so big that we had to split in half. Now there are 2 French zones.

Oh Elder Williams and I had an awesome opportunity this past Wednesday. Every Wednesday, on the night when all the new missionaries come in, there is a big meeting where the new missionaries practice teaching investigators. However, before they teach the investigators, a couple missionaries who have been in the MTC for a while get the chance to demonstrate a few different teaching principles and basically show them how to get started. Me and Elder Williams were recommended and chosen to demonstrate this for hundreds of new missionaries. It was pretty intimidating. We had microphones and wires all hooked up to us and we started teaching. Believe it or not, the hardest part was teaching in English! Elder Williams and I have gotten so used to teaching in French that teaching in English was challenging. I found myself constantly wanting to use French words. Anyways, it was a great experience and I'm grateful for the chance I had to teach in English.

On some days, I feel like I'm amazing at French, but other days are very humbling and I feel like I know about as much French as a rock. Overall though, I'm doing great. I've learned a lot here at the MTC and I'll never forget the experience I had here. This place is amazing; I've never before felt the spirit as strongly or as consistently as I have here. I know God is our Heavenly Father and that He loves us. I know Jesus is the Christ and that, because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can someday live with our families with our Heavenly Father after this life. I promise that this life is just a small step in a bigger plan that our Heavenly Father has for us. At times, the world we live in is a scary and sad place. I'm thankful for the opportunity I have to take a message of joy, hope and peace to a world that is in desperate need of it.

Thank you for all your love and support. I pray for you all often. I pray for many of you individually. I hope you continue to stay healthy and happy and I wish you continued success in all of your many endeavors. For those of you who have the possibility of serving a mission in the future... All I have to say is there is no greater thing you can do with your life than serve a mission for your Savior Jesus Christ.

Thank you again for all the mail and prayers.

Talk to you next week!

 Love,

 Elder Davis

 

Per request, I'm sending a few more pictures this week than normal. I'm sure once I get in France I'll take a ton of pictures.

(At first, we only got 3 pictures from him, but then at like 8:00 at night we got a ton more! Turns out that the computers weren't working earlier, so he sent them a lot later.)

 

 

#1 Me and Elder Ragsdale in the cafeteria on Monday, the day before he left for Nevada

 

#2 Me and Elder Roberts pointing on a world map where we will be serving our missions. (He is serving in the alpine German speaking mission which covers parts of Germany, Switzerland and Austria)

 

#3 Elder Williams excited for travel plans

 

#4 Elder Jambor and I on the night before he left for Tahiti. He insisted I also used his funny little hand gesture haha

 

#5 Me with my itinerary!!!! Exciting day!!

 

#6 Elder Williams being a nerd haha

 

#7 Me wearing the tie Collin Park gave me. (Mom, sister Park wants a copy of this picture to send to Collin. Please email it to her. Thanks)

 

#8 Itinerary

 

#9 Some of the Parisians with their itineraries

 

#10 Me with my itinerary

 

#11 Goofy picture of me after hosting

 

#12 Another hosting picture