First Letter from the MTC. P-Day is Friday!

Subject: What!? you guys haven't written me yet?

Date: October 18, 2013 11:49:08 AM MDT

So I came in the first day and I didn't have a companion!~

I've been in a three-some since Wednesday and supposedly "Elder Bishop" from England is coming today, but I haven't met him yet.

When I arrived my teacher would avoid English at all costs. His name is Christensen Hyung jei neim (Brother 형제님). He's been off his mission 10 months and is teaching us heavily so as to prepare us for a practice investigator tomorrow. I admit that I am ahead of everyone else in Korean, yet I've seen everyone participate in the gift of tongues and focus heavily on the language. I know that those Elders and Sisters in my district were called of the Lord and are prepared with the gifts they will need to be successful as missionaries in Korea. They are all remarkable and are armed with firm testimonies. 

One of the Elder's in my district is a red-head who beat-boxes just as good as me. We basically hang out with our district all the time: lunch, class, district meetings, fake investigator practice, ect.

I've absorbed an intense amount of information in these my first 3 days. Mostly I've learned that despite all that is expected of us and among all the things we have to do, the most important thing to have on your mind is your purpose which is to invite others to come unto Christ. We're not learning Korean to know the language, we are learning Korean so that we can be better tools in the Lord's hands for engaging in his work. If the foremost thing in my mind is to keep the Holy Ghost as my companion and guide, super hard things are then possible. 

I'm grateful for the spirit here in the MTC. I've never felt anything safer, more worthy, or more focused then this environment at the  MTC. There is no time for sin or distractions. Everywhere we go is planned out and everything we do we do in the name of Christ. You can feel the Holy Ghost as if it were a silent member of your party, just walking with you and brushing you and your companions shoulders constantly. My heart is always warm. The only problems we think of are, how to prioritize our time, or how to make it better fir the investigator, things like that.

I recommend figuring out how Dear Elder, the website, works.
http://www.dearelder.com/

Most of the Elder's in my residence hall use that. If you write through that website, I'll get the letter in the mail the same day you submit it to their site. Mail-day is every day... and hearing my district leader say, "Mail's here Elders!" doesn't follow with that skipping heart reaction from me as it does all the other Elder's. I feel a little down that I won't be able to hear from you until on Fridays / P-days by checking this mail as I am doing now.

I love you guys, and I'm working hard. The spirit is strong and I have so much to do to prepare... everyday is full.  Thanks for your prayers.

Elder Buckwalter