Drew Mail 7-13-2019 "First Week at the MTC"

Hello everyone! 

I’m so excited to be able to write to you and share a little bit of what I’m experiencing as I go throughout my mission!  When I got to the airport in Boise I was pretty nervous about being the only one on the plane, but it turns out there were three other Elders with me! Elder Hansen, Elder Betcher, and Elder Hascall. They were all super nice and I’m glad I was able to be with other missionaries. As soon as we arrived at the MTC we were going through lines receiving our tags and packets of information, left our things in our residency hall and immediately went to our first class! I could not believe that we were already getting started and that first day we had a few meetings and I got my first companion, Elder Howe. Elder Howe is simply awesome, he has such a strong testimony, desire to be obedient, helps me have fun, and he knows a lot of Spanish so I am able to get help from him! As I have spent more time practicing and learning the language and I know that I am receiving help from Heavenly Father each day. Also I want to say thank you for to all the prayers you have given for me it is amazing and kind of hard to understand but I can feel so much love and strength coming from you all and I’m so grateful for you. The MTC really is an amazing place, it has taken some getting use to and I still have a long way to go, but I love the feelings here and know that this work is of God. It’s kind of funny because as I walk around I see so many elders in white shirts and ties and I think to myself “it’s the missionaries!” And then I remember that I am now a missionary :) .  On Thursday we met our Branch Presidency and they are wonderful! The president is President Rogers, and his counselors are Brother Hogann and Brother Holmes. So how the branch works is there are 3 districts and my district is made up of those in my same Spanish class. We have 6 companionships and only one of those are sisters. So far I have met 7 others who will be going with me to Uruguay including Elder Howe. The MTC campus is really big and we have the elders in our district all in one building but classes and the cafeteria are spread out so we get lots of walking in, which is good because the food here is really good and filling so I would gain lots of weight if I wasn’t careful. We are really taken care of here and it’s a wonderful place to be. Let me know what is going on in your lives and ask me any questions! Right now we really are just adjusting to this lifestyle and spending lots of time studying which is wonderful, but I’ll let you know as I have more experiences. Thank you again for your prayers and love, you are all wonderful. 

Yo se que la Iglesia de Jesucristo do los Santos de los Ultimos Dias es verdadera, y yo estoy agradecido por el amor de nuestro Padre Celestial. En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen. 

-Elder McDonald