MTC Livin'

Sup Fam,

Hope everyone's had a good week, this week has been kinda crazy here at the MTC.

So on Thursday one of my companions (I have two btw) woke up sick again, he got food poisoning the first week from the AMAZING food that they have here in the cafeteria. Jk it's mediocre at best, but we're surviving. Anywayyyy he started throwing up again and so we went to the doctor here and long story short he's had kidney problems his whole life, he had a transplant 6 years ago and only has one functioning kidney so they were worried from the blood sample that something was up, so they rushed us to the ER, got him all checked out, gave him an IV and some medicine, so he's totally fine. But the best part of it was that we not only got to get out of the MTC for a little, we got to take naps in the room while he was getting his IV, got food from the hospital cafe (which was actually pretty good) andddd I got to get DR. Pepper which was so amazing. But even better than that was that he got a follow up appointment for today which was in Salt Lake at the Children's hospital.

So we got up and drove an hour to Salt Lake City to take him to his app, the driver said it's the farthest he's ever driven Elders while he's been at the MTC so I mean that's pretty cool. So I just got to chill in the hospital wait room for 2 hours today. Hospitals are actually pretty nice when you're not the one feeling sick, getting poked with needles or having breathing attacks because your lung isn't working. Fun stuff.

Hmmm that was the most exciting stuff that happened this week. I got to meet my Mission President and his wife on Saturday night which was actually really cool. He's an attoney who's practiced in LA for the last 25-30 years and when I told him my dad was an attorney as well he just kinda laughed and said, "well I'm sorry you have to deal with another one for two more years" I think I'm going to get along really well with him. He seems pretty with it, and is definitly excited and ready to take on Scottsdale with us. His wife is super sweet too, she didn't talk too much but I could tell that her 6 kids mean everything to her and that she's going to treat us like her own as long as she's there. Hmmmm is it just mean or do they sound a little too much like you mom and dad? Idk but hey I got called to this mission for a reason just like them so maybe they're why. Anyways I'm excited.

The Spanish has slowed down a little more, as the stuff we're learning is getting harder. But everytime we teach a lesson I surprise myself with how much Spanish I can pull out of my brain. At the end of everyday it hurts to think in spanish, because it feels like I just have file cabinets full of words, phrases and grammar and I just have to sort through them to find what I want to say. But hey I'm pretty confident in bearing my testimony, praying, making small talk at the start of lessons and teaching that Christ is our savior. But everything else is most definitely a work in Progress.

Anyway hope you all have a good week. Time goes by slow here but in hindsight it's fast, it almost feels like I can't even remember my life before this, something that sounds weird but is maybe the point of the MTC. It gives you tunnel vision to help you focus solely on your mission.

Elder Merrill