Week 5 at the MTC

The days are flying! It feels like I just wrote yesterday! I'm trying to slow things down because I really need to get this language haha. I can already tell that these two years are going to fly by, and I'm trying to get as much out of them as I can. 

Thanks for the Dear Elders and Emails!! 

Our MTC president is president Nally! He and his wife seem like really nice people. I have avoided talking to thewm though because once they get to know someone than that person becomes a potential for being called up to bare their testimony or share an experience in front of the MTC crowd. There are 600 in the choir. In that pic i sent you of the auditorium it is from the middle bar left of elevated seats. (I hope that makes sense) 

Say hi to all of the extended family that you see for me! Mom, I read the Elder Bednar talk! It was great!! I'll try and be quicker to observe. Elder Baldwin is pretty good at that. He has an eye for the craziest details! Best of luck to Andrew on Sunday! I can't wait to see him! With any luck they will put us down for hosting the new missionaries. We haven't got to do that yet! 

Thanks for all your letters, thoughts, and prayers! 

I have been really trying to give up speaking English! It is hard because I as with all of the other Albanians am not very good at the language. Up until this point the language aspect has been very overwhelming! Its so much to digest. In Albanian there are many different things that have to be done in order to put a simple sentence together. We have been slowly learning each of the concepts, and have been trying to implement them and match them up in the sentences. It is quite the challenge. There are a lot of things that have to agree. Masculine/feminin, present/perfect/imperfect, participles, clitics, articles, demonstratives. That is just a few. Its a lot of stuff that is not necessarily found in English, or in any other Language. It is a process!! I'm staying calm, and taking my time, but also trying to work super hard to get a lot of it down.

This week we got some snow as well. Not enough for an MTC PD day (I can't believe you got one of those haha) but enough to cancel the Elder Ballard Devotional! It was too bad, but the devotional that did happen by the previous St. George temple president was very good! There are still supposed to be more General Authorities coming in the next couple of weeks!

We received a ton of Elders and Sisters here at the MTC this week! We hadnt received any for two weeks due to Thanksgiving, but had still been losing so the MTC was pretty quiet on Tuesday. There were a ton of Empty rooms. MTC turnover rate is very high. It go t loud again yesterday though!

We had a very exciting tie trade this week. The fins started it, and we had a ton of Elders come in and join the fun! i got myself a christmasy tie. It is red and white with a little blue, It kinda looks like a candy cane! I also got a bright Orange and Yellow tie. Brother McGlothin says the Albanians love loud ties, and then I realized "Hey so do I." It was a good time had by all. Try to figure out what two ties I traded! I don't think you will be able to. 

The christmas lights look great here at the MTC! Elder Baldwin is good! Classes are good. Food is good! Gym is really fun! I've made some great new friends. Hopefully I'll be able to hook back up with some of them in two! I am having a great time! I love the spirit of the work, and of the MTC environment!

Take Buddy On walks!

Love, Elder Stewart

The ties after the trade. He's right...we can't tell which ones he traded!

No offense intended, but his ties were not hung this neatly at home! :)

First big snowfall in Provo. We had our first big one at home this same week resulting in the first snow day in Lethbridge since 1986.

Parker's comment for this picture in his letter was "Elder Stewart has a heavy load." :)