Happy Thanksgiving!! ... from the MTC

Thanksgiving in the MTC  Thursday, November 28, 2013

The dinner was really great! We had real potatoes! Pie, some weird yummy broccoli, delicious turkey and I loved their green beans. The only thing I didn't like was their yams.

There's a member of our district who is a little off on the holidays.... don't know why.... but it was weird sitting next to him as he grudgingly ate a bowl of cereal on Thanksgiving day. It was weirder having sister Pratt fast on Thanksgiving, what was up with that?

Ya, my first Thanksgiving away from home or family. It was powerful like unto all the thanksgivings, but not MY thanksgiving. I would've liked to go around the table being thankful, or drawing turkeys on the paper-cover of the table, or going to get a christmas tree, or playing games or watching movies or singing songs. Without those things, it was a bit sad. But the MTC people did the best they could do with us, and it was definitely a fun holiday anyways. 

We did a service project.... We made 350,000 meals for the church's humanitarian program. Their just like rice and oats that you can add water to and heat up... but for those in need of humanitarian food.... I'm sure it's a miracle and we all helped save lives!

We also watched a wonderful movie about the willy handcart company called Ephraim's Rescue. It's kind of like the mormony version of thanksgiving... the pioneers.

But the funniest thing we got to do... and I don't know if you'll be able to find a picture of it from Ellsworth or Smith or Bishop.... but the four of us.... okay... hold on....

So The president's wife held a primary program. Seriously. She had us sing "over the river and through the woods"... we did a lot of childrens songs and childrens games. I swear she must have been a primary leader before she was MTC president because she must have done this program before and we loved it.

We told the story of thanksgiving. She was the narrator, and whenever she mentioned a character in the story, whoever was playing that character had to run up to a microphone and say a phrase.

She gave us pieces of paper before the program started, while we were singing prelude songs, and when the time came, we all walked up to the stage to get dressed in our costumes and learn our lines.

The pilgrim men had those big hats and had honker guns, and whenever Sister nally said, "pilgrim men" in the story, the pilgrim men in their big hats (with buckles) walked up to the microphone and said, "bang bang bang!" as they honked their guns. It sounded like the honkers and dingers on sesame street. 'bang bang bang!" (honk honk honk) it was hilarious.

Their were indian men who said deeply, "big and braaave"

Indian woman who said, "shh shh shh"

Pilgrim woman who said, "mercy mee"

a Pilgrim minister who held up a bible and shouted, "Haaaaalelulia!"

And me, Bishop, Ellsworth and Smith were the turkeys that got hunted and shot by the honker pilgrim men.... Whenever she said "turkeys" in the story... we had to go up to the microphone in our funny glasses with a red balloon hanging off of our necks and a bunch of crazy feathers and go, "gobblegobblegobblegobble" as we flapped our elbows up and down.

... And we died and got eaten.

Oh oh oh oh oh oh!! and the musical numbers today were a bit lax, because it was more of an activity instead of a devotional.... so the musical numbers were not hymns but one of our musical numbers were actually the Joseph and Technicolor dreamcoat medley! So a girl with a great voice went up as a narrator and sang a verse or two from all the scenes in Joseph and summed up a bit of the entire musical. She sang things like, "A pharo's story, go go go joseph, way way back many centuries ago, ect."  and we all singed along going, "ah-ah, any dre-e-eam, any dream, any dre-e-am" it was way fun!!! it made me miss you guys and cry a little bit but I had soooo much fun at the thanksgiving program! :D

Snippets from Elder Buckwalter's Letters

The truth is, all good things come from God. All negative things come from Satan. Our minds are both divine because we are spirit children of our heavenly father. but our minds are also fallen because of the flesh and natural man within us during this probationary state. The only means by which good things happen to us, is by God's grace. Every good thing you have or can think of, is a gift to you from God... and I'm sure there are many you don't even know you have. If we are wanting or needing or required to do any thing, it is only by God that we can do it, he gave us our bodies and he gave us the gift of agency to choose how to use it. He oversees every action and occurrence and there is nothing that happens on this earth save he would allow it. He will not tempt us above that we are able. 

......

I know God has called me on a mission. Knowing that purpose helps me a lot. I often think of home and desire to do some of the things I left behind when I came here. But it's always for an instant at longest that I think of those things. Because right after I think of that, I am reminded of my purpose and why I'm here. I'm reminded that I've been called to people in Korea, and God needs and has asked me to help him bring his children back to him. I think of how important this work is, that I couldn't be doing anything better than the things the Lord has need of me to do.

Weeks go by so fast!

Every day feels long and relatively the same, but every week feels like only days.

I feel like I wrote all of you just 4 days ago.

If you've seen the picture of my teacher/investigator.... he said he would commit to baptism on December 14th if he could know it was true. He's already a member of the church but, it still feels super real and so awesome.

This week has been the hardest working week I've had here yet. I think it's because I understand better what I want to do here and I realize how much ground I still have to run before I'm the missionary I want to be.

I should have been studying those scripture masteries and those key doctrines relating to lessons in PMG. If I just generally knew what each lesson was and a key scripture to use for each, I'd be so ahead right now. Seriously, I need to get those scriptures down!!! and I just wish I had experience in the field cause I'm such a greeny.

 

 

Hey, by the way, thanks you guys for the things you've said to me, the love you've shared with me and the advice you've given to me. I'm grateful for your support with the things I need and the funds and everything! I hope you guys are feeling your blessings from the Lord and I can't wait to tell you about the people in Korea who will be blessed because you guys sent me out here!

You know, the things I've learned the most in here are actually kinda weird. Like the blessings of goals and scheduling. The blessings of a healthy diet and sleep schedule. Just how to be social in general, because a lot of people I'm forced to hang out with, I normally wouldn't hang out with. I'm a lot more social than I ever have been, to types of people who I never would have thought I'd be friends with.

 

 

Honestly, I don't think I'm going to ever be the same again. I've learned how to work so hard. I sometimes wish that I could go watch a movie or take a nap, perhaps play a video game or read a fictional book. Normally, those desires would work in me and I'd probably go turn on Netflix imagining a false truth that I'd actually get back to cleaning my room after just one show. Here not only is that option non-existing, but so is the desire. Doing absolutely nothing but stare at a screen for 2 and a half hours seems like such a huge waste of time! Oh my gosh! I could have learned 50 vocab in 2 and a half hours. I could have memorized a whole lot of Korean phrases on prayer or recognizing the Holy Ghost plus good scriptures to go with those lessons in such time like that. If you gave me 2 more hours to use in my day, you bet I'd use it, holy cow! I only have 2 years out in Korea to find people who could truly use God's help in their life. My mission concerns things of eternal importance, and there is nothing I could spend my time doing right now that would be worth more than serving this mission!

 

-- Elder Buckwalter

 

Oh oh oh oh oh Wait!!.....

Elder L. Tom Perry is coming to speak to the Missionaries here this Tuesday

 

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

Wesley at the Logan Temple before entering the MTC.

Last weekend Wesley entered the temple for the first time.  He chose the Logan Temple and it was a very wonderful experience for Wesley and his family.  

Elder Wesley Buckwalter is ready to start his mission.