End of Week One!

Wow! What a full week! You should really have the family go a few days without any technology and just see how much more time you have during the day. Maybe that is just the feeling here, but it seems like I have already been here a month and it has only been 7 days. I'm really not sure how Wil lasted as long as he did here, it must have felt like forever! Don't get me wrong, this place is amazing, but I am so ready to be at Riverside! And I know this is fairly predictable of me, but something that I really am starting to miss is a nice home-cooked meal. The MTC food is only satisfying for so long.

Speaking of the cafeteria, guess who I saw working there? One Sister Hannah Hall! I was really surprised one day to be walking down the counter, deciding what I wanted to eat, when I hear shouts of "Elder Wixom! Elder Wixom!" from behind the counter. Since then I have seen her a few times working the cafeteria, so apparently she has a job there. Other than her, I have seen many of my friends from home here at the MTC. Some of them I expected, like Elder Colton Marshall and Elder Trevon Beutler, but I have seen at least 3 or 4 others that I didn't expect to see at all!

I have to say that I absolutely love it here! The Spirit is so special here. It is unlike anything I've felt before. And I personally think that this special Spirit has to do with the District and Zone I am in here. A week ago I didn't know who any of the Elders or Sisters were, and now they are as close as many of my other friends after only a week, and I consider my District as my family away from home! But don't worry, they will never replace you guys.

Yesterday we had the Tuesday evening devotional, and Elder Arnold, a member of the seventy, came and spoke to us. And it was AMAZING!!! The Spirit was so strong there! The cool thing though, is that the Devotional was at the Marriott Center on the BYU campus, and it was the first time the the missionaries from the main campus and the west campus in Provo all met together for a devotional. I was lucky enough to sit near the front, and at one point I turned around just to look at the seats behind me, and there were so many Elders and Sisters there that I was just amazed! This work really is a stone rolling to fill the whole Earth! After the Devotional ended and we missionaries had to walk back to the MTC campus was easily one of the highlights of the day though. There were many of missionaries, myself along with the rest of my District included, all singing Hymns and Children's Songs all the way back. I imagine it was a really impressive sight!

While I have been here I have really come to feel that the scripture D&C 122: 7 has really applied to me. Though I have not been thrown into pits or had the sentence of death cast upon me as Joseph Smith did, I still have experienced long hard days, short nights, early mornings, lessons where I disappointed myself by my lack of teaching experience, and many other struggles that I have gone through that I know are all for my experience and good as the scripture says. I have really grown here, and even though I have not been here for very long, I still feel like I have changed dramatically for the better. I feel closer than ever to my Savior and my Father in Heaven. I feel such love for my District, my Zone, my teachers, and this Gospel that I have been called to share.

Keep up all the support I have felt from you! I know that I have been strengthened by your prayers! The Church is true and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to share it!

Love

-Elder Wixom