To answer some of your questions...
"How was your week?"
It has been just a dandy week! I only have a few days left at the MTC which is nice! I like it here but I am so excited to get out to the field.
It has been just a dandy week! I only have a few days left at the MTC which is nice! I like it here but I am so excited to get out to the field.
"How is your district doing?"
My district is doing well this week. We are all use to the MTC and are over homesickness which is nice! This week flew by, just like every other missionary says the second week does! We learned a ton this week and have all grown. I love all the Elders and Sisters in my district, they are real deals!
This week we had interviews with the Branch President as companions which was nice! Since I'm DL he had me and Elder Petersen (my comp.) go last. It was really nice cause the Branch Pres said that without asking about how I was doing, 4 or 5 of the other missionaries had brought me up and said I was doing fantastic as DL, and he said he was impressed by how much they loved me. That was really nice to hear! :) :) We have some of the craziest guys in my district, but also the funnest so it's good! :)
I'm all done with teaching here at the MTC, and I only have 3 more classes!! Tomorrow we have In-Field-Orientation which all the missionary's seem to love so we're excited!!
I'm all done with teaching here at the MTC, and I only have 3 more classes!! Tomorrow we have In-Field-Orientation which all the missionary's seem to love so we're excited!!
"What will you miss most about the MTC?"
I think I'll miss the other Elders and Sisters from our District and Zone the most of anything from the MTC. It's sad how I won't see lots of these people again, at least not for 2 years. I've already grown to love so many of them so much that it's gonna be hard. I'll also miss the devotionals a ton!! We got to hear from Chad Smith (played for BYU and then in the NFL for the Eagles when they went to the Superbowl) on Sunday and D. Todd Christofferson this Tuesday and it was really cool!! You get so many notes and so much inspiration during devotionals!
"What will you miss least about the MTC?"
I think I'll miss sitting in classes the least! While the classes are really good, they start to get old after you have heard it a few times.
"Do you get to go to the Temple every week?"
We get to go to the Temple every P-day at the temple. It is really cool to do sessions there with so many other missionaries! We also get to go walk around the temple on Sundays which is a nice break.
When we were having our interviews this week with the Branch Pres, our schedule said we should study some things in our green book of references. Lots of missionaries from our zone were hanging out in my districts classroom right then and looking at missions and stuff on google earth. Elder Jones and I decided to go out into the hall lounge on exchanges to study the green book so it would be quieter, and pretty soon a few other missionaries followed us which was cool. The Sister Training Leaders for the Zone are in my District and they came over to study with Elder Jones and I. We had a really good study and learned a lot together! After like 40 min Elder Jones had to go for his interview so I started to head into my room to grab a new companion so we could keep studying. The Branch President is a cute and fire-y little older man, and he saw me heading towards my classroom and asked where I was going. I told him I needed a new companion now cause Elder Jones had to go, and he said something like, "It looks like you already have 2 good sisters right there." So I got to be an honorary Sister missionary for 10 minutes! It was a little different to not have any other Elders around, but it was fun! Not to brag, but... the sisters told me that Elder Jones and I are their favorites in the District and they are glad we take it seriously and know our stuff, so that was nice!
Oh, also about Elder Jones, we decided to celebrate "Jones Day" this week! We found out just this week that Elder Jones had a girlfriend who worked in the cafeteria for the MTC!!!! Legendary!! ;) So that night we all got candy and met in a lounge in the dorms building to hear the back story. After he told us all about it some Elders picked him up on their shoulders and ran around the halls with him while cheering Jonezy!! It was a pretty funny night! :)
There are some pretty great nick-names in my District. We have Elder Jones-Jonezy, Elder Thatcher- Thatch the Catch, Elder Glenn- The Warrior, Elder Thorpe- Huckle (because it's his actual name and it's fun to say), and then they call me Elder Branch, Overlord (cause I'm DL), President Branch, and Branchy. It's a party! ;)
In closing, something I've really noticed this week is that as missionaries, who you are is up to you. You have to be the missionary you want to be. I heard a song called I Decide by Dustin Christensen that explained it pretty well. As a missionary you can become by really studying, learning, striving for the spirit and putting everything into becoming who you can become thru the Lord and his atonement. It takes lots of work and study, but doing these things and being obedient is what separates the missionaries. In the words of my 2nd counselor in the Branch Presidency, there are normal missionaries who go to an area and help people and teach them the gospel. When you leave the area some people will miss you. Then there are exceptional missionaries. They go to an area and change lives! When they leave people cry, names kids after them, and always remember them. These missionaries really understand the gospel and they truly love the people. Then, once in a while, there are legendary missionaries. These missionaries learn to understand the spirit. They study for hours, go the extra mile for more knowledge. They dedicate themselves entirely to the lord, not just for their mission, but for the rest of their lives. I though this was really amazing counsel, you can guess what kind I'm gonna work to be. ;)
Love you all so much, thanks for all the emails and love, I sure love all of you and am so grateful for your support. I'm so sorry for any who I haven't gotten to write back to, I'll try to write next week!
"Do you get to go to the Temple every week?"
We get to go to the Temple every P-day at the temple. It is really cool to do sessions there with so many other missionaries! We also get to go walk around the temple on Sundays which is a nice break.
When we were having our interviews this week with the Branch Pres, our schedule said we should study some things in our green book of references. Lots of missionaries from our zone were hanging out in my districts classroom right then and looking at missions and stuff on google earth. Elder Jones and I decided to go out into the hall lounge on exchanges to study the green book so it would be quieter, and pretty soon a few other missionaries followed us which was cool. The Sister Training Leaders for the Zone are in my District and they came over to study with Elder Jones and I. We had a really good study and learned a lot together! After like 40 min Elder Jones had to go for his interview so I started to head into my room to grab a new companion so we could keep studying. The Branch President is a cute and fire-y little older man, and he saw me heading towards my classroom and asked where I was going. I told him I needed a new companion now cause Elder Jones had to go, and he said something like, "It looks like you already have 2 good sisters right there." So I got to be an honorary Sister missionary for 10 minutes! It was a little different to not have any other Elders around, but it was fun! Not to brag, but... the sisters told me that Elder Jones and I are their favorites in the District and they are glad we take it seriously and know our stuff, so that was nice!
Oh, also about Elder Jones, we decided to celebrate "Jones Day" this week! We found out just this week that Elder Jones had a girlfriend who worked in the cafeteria for the MTC!!!! Legendary!! ;) So that night we all got candy and met in a lounge in the dorms building to hear the back story. After he told us all about it some Elders picked him up on their shoulders and ran around the halls with him while cheering Jonezy!! It was a pretty funny night! :)
There are some pretty great nick-names in my District. We have Elder Jones-Jonezy, Elder Thatcher- Thatch the Catch, Elder Glenn- The Warrior, Elder Thorpe- Huckle (because it's his actual name and it's fun to say), and then they call me Elder Branch, Overlord (cause I'm DL), President Branch, and Branchy. It's a party! ;)
In closing, something I've really noticed this week is that as missionaries, who you are is up to you. You have to be the missionary you want to be. I heard a song called I Decide by Dustin Christensen that explained it pretty well. As a missionary you can become by really studying, learning, striving for the spirit and putting everything into becoming who you can become thru the Lord and his atonement. It takes lots of work and study, but doing these things and being obedient is what separates the missionaries. In the words of my 2nd counselor in the Branch Presidency, there are normal missionaries who go to an area and help people and teach them the gospel. When you leave the area some people will miss you. Then there are exceptional missionaries. They go to an area and change lives! When they leave people cry, names kids after them, and always remember them. These missionaries really understand the gospel and they truly love the people. Then, once in a while, there are legendary missionaries. These missionaries learn to understand the spirit. They study for hours, go the extra mile for more knowledge. They dedicate themselves entirely to the lord, not just for their mission, but for the rest of their lives. I though this was really amazing counsel, you can guess what kind I'm gonna work to be. ;)
Love you all so much, thanks for all the emails and love, I sure love all of you and am so grateful for your support. I'm so sorry for any who I haven't gotten to write back to, I'll try to write next week!
Elder Hunter Branch
Doing laundry
Elder Jones
Well, Elder Branch, OVERLORD - I hope you are a benevolent overlord. Good report. I know you have been a great DL and that you will do well in the "real world." Be careful, be powerful, but be humble - love you, Elder. Coach Dooley
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