24 August 2011 Letter (MTC)

Wednesday, 17 August

Wow.  It is a weird feeling to start consecration week, realize there's only one more P-Day at the MTC left, and also know that in a week and a half I'll be in Hungary.  Hű-ha!   Today I had a great temple session (only one more left for the next two years!) and ran into multiple people.  I saw Zack during lunch (his mission call is still in limbo) and at dinner, within 5 minutes of starting Consecration Week, I met Elder BJ Powell (going to the Philippines) and Elder Blake Dastrup (Finland Mission), but had a hard time communicating with either of them, as I can only speak Hungarian.    Luckily, I know they'll both be here for quite a while, as they just arrived today.  Still, it was very fun and made me happy to see them.  Lastly, we taught Gyula today.  He'll be on vacation until next Thursday, so we'll only meet with him once more before his baptism on the 27th, and then we leave on the 29th.  Our work with him is almost done.  The rest relies on him, the ward members, and the Lord, so I know he'll be in good hands.

Thursday, 18 August

First full day of Consecration Week: complete!  Today I found Elder Powell and Elder Dastrup again.  Once consecration week is over I'll be able to actually talk to them.  We taught Lilla today on Temple Marriage and Eternal Families because we were able to have a member, Bogi, come.  Being married, and having had many experiences, Bogi was a great help during the lesson, and was able to relate a lot of good thoughts and stories....Swett Elder and I don't quite have any marriage experiences yet, or tales of being heads of our own families, so we stuck to the doctrine.  During TRC we taught Daybell Testver about the importance of going to church.  Lastly, something I forgot to write yesterday; during consecration week, I have given up English, Milk, and we're all wearing ties from "The Ugly Tie Rack".

Friday, 19 August

I was tired today.  Enough so that I nearly fell asleep in the middle of a lesson.  This morning I had the idea for us to use "District Study" to all write letters to Harvey Elder; which we did.  Hopefully he's doing well and enjoys them.  We taught Lilla about Moroni 6 and the baptismal questions today.

Saturday, 20 August

Halfway done with Consecration Week.  Today we taught 2 lessons: one to Lilla about the importance of church, prayer, and scripture reading, and one to Hajnalka, Zoltan and Aron on our purpose here on Earth.  Both were improvements from yesterday. 

Sunday, 21 August

Finally, a day with plenty of personal study time to read a decent block of the scriptures. =)  Only one Sunday left here.  We had the long-awaited departure lesson today.  The reality of everything is finally starting to sink in.  I had a great time during the temple walk, and finished the day with a Fireside by Stephen B Allen.  Like always, his talk was great.  He choose to change his talk to focusing on Obedience and the Holy Ghost.  (I say "change" because he was very guided by the Spirit.  He was supposed to speak in 2-3 weeks, and had planned on teaching about something else, but a couple days ago, he felt prompted to ask President Brown if he could speak this week, and this afternoon, within hours of the Fireside, he felt prompted to change subjects).  He obeyed both these promptings, and it resulted in a very enjoyable, very relatable, and very powerful talk.  He finished by having all missionaries memorize the end of 2 Nephi 33:15, in which, Nephi writes his very last words on the plates: "I will obey. Amen."  A very good motto for everyone.

Monday, 22 August

We didn't teach any lessons today.  Gyula's still out of town, and Lilla was short on time, so the five of us spent nearly an hour practicing teaching each other.  We woke up at 5:30 today so that we could be sure to sign up for haircuts, and even then, there were only 6 spots left (and we took 4 of them).  The MTC is just way too crowded.  (Although, I guess that's a good thing, as it means there are lots of missionaries).  This morning we did our last service assignment.  Only a day and a half left of Consecration week!  That's all for today =)

Tuesday, 23 August

Today's been an interesting day.  We taught Lilla this morning about Charity and Service.  It is strange to teach someone about 2 of the things you feel weakest about yourself, although, at the same time, it makes everything seem to relate to yourself as well, and can provide another source of motivation and desire to teach.  We also had a Devotional tonight by Claudio D Zivic of the Seventy.  He was quite possible the most powerful speaker we have had yet.  He spoke of ways to view life and our missions, and things to do to help or to do when we see either a certain way.  Just a sliver of his talk that I would like to quote (although, now I think of two) is, "It takes 3 things to make a Man:  Know where you are; Know where you want to go; Make every effort to get there".  The 2nd was a quote from Ghandi, "Total Dedicational is Complete Victory".

I hope everyone enjoyed this week's post.  My next one will be from Hungary.

I love you all!

Szeretettel,

Shipp Elder

19 August 2011 Pictures (MTC)

"Best Friends on the Lord's Errand"

"The Osi and the Kicsi"

17 August 2011 Letter (MTC)

Wednesday, 10 August

My entry today is going to be brief.  We welcomed a new district of 10 Elders going to Tallahassee, Florida tonight.  They seem like a fun group.  We also taught Gyula today.  He's promised to give up smoking by Friday and to ask his wife to attend our lessons.  Hopefully we can baptize him before we leave.

Thursday, 11 August

Today I taught a 20 minute lesson solo and two 7 minute lessons by myself.  The lesson with Lilla (the 20 minute solo) went well.  I talked about the second half of the 10 Commandments, the Law of Chastity, and following the Law of the Land.  She's continued to read the Book of Mormon everyday and follow the Word of Wisdom.  She's progressing towards her baptismal date nicely.  Also, we had TRC tonight, during which we gave a good lesson on how to better receive revelation through reading the Book of Mormon.  We finished our evening with our last planning orientation and tour as Zone Leaders, along with half of our final set of interviews.  Also, today I memorized the first five paragraphs of my patriarchal blessing.

Friday, 12 August

Today was another "Hungarian Only" day.  We also taught two lessons today, the first to Hinjalka, Zoltan, and Aron, and the other to Gyula.  Both went well.  The lesson with Gyula was interesting because instead of reading Alma 30 & 31, like we asked him to, he read Alma 32, which we had prepared to read during the lesson.  So, I got to improvise.  Also, he's completely given up smoking, so we set a new baptismal date for the 27th, and also asked him to come see Edit's (a different companionship's investigator) baptism on the 20th. 

Saturday, 13 August

We taught Gyula today, reviewing the first part of the Plan of Salvation, and we also taught Hajnalka, Zoltan, and Aron on the atonement and baptism of Christ.  Earlier this morning I noticed that my prayers have partially died out.  I'm working to try to rebuild some of my good habits.  The last two things were the most unique ones for today.  Swett Elder rolled his ankle during gym.  Also, I have the first 10 paragraphs of my patriarchal blessing memorized.  

Sunday, 14 August

As always, I love Sundays.  Today was our last day as Zone Leaders.   I'm going to enjoy the extra time.  Priesthood Meeting was led by Brother Thompson on the Plan of Salvation, and President and Sister Gamette both spoke during Sacrament Meeting on Enduring to the End.  The Fireside was given by Richard I Heaton, who spoke on "Success".  This was the 2nd time I've heard him speak, and I enjoyed it.  Lastly, I'm almost done with my 3rd maze, Elder (Tyler) Stapleton leaves tomorrow for his German-speaking Alpine mission, and consecration week begins on Wednesday.

Monday, 15 August

Yet another "Hungarian Only" day completed.  We taught Lilla about the laws of tithing and fast offerings (to which she was open to the idea of fasting and fast offerings, but said she had a hard time with the idea of tithing, and would need a day to think about it), and we talked to Gyula about the second half of the Plan of Salvation.  The only other things I have for today are that the picture machine is finally fixed (hopefully I get my pictures by Wednesday), my third maze is complete, and I only have two paragraphs left until I'll have my entire patriarchal blessing memorized.  Lastly, something I forgot to include in yesterday's entry was during Sacrament Meeting, Elder Tialino (a Polynesian Elder going to serve in Tallahassee) passed the sacrament.  I loved the way he did it.  He handled the tray differently than I've ever seen in passed before, but it really looked like he "revered" or "respected" the sacrament, more so than any other way I've seen it passed before.  I really enjoyed it.

Tuesday, 16 August

We taught Lilla this afternoon, checking up on how she's doing.  She said that since our last lesson, she has decided to pay tithing after she's been baptized.  A really good Devotional was given by David F Evans of the Seventy, who spoke on the role of Heavenly Father.  It was actually really surprising to realize how much he really does for each of us.

Out of time…

Love you!

-Shipp Elder

10 August 2011 Letter (MTC)

Wednesday, 3 August

Today was a very successful day.  I'm feeling like with God's help I'm improving towards my goal to being more Charitable, and something I've started doing to help is smiling more.  We went to the temple and did endowments for what seems like the first time in forever.  It was a very spiritual session today.  Also, at the end I realized that they hung up the pictures of the First Presidency wrong.  The temple has been open for 8 days now, so I'm surprised that no one's noticed.  I told the two workers at the front desk that Eyring was on the right and Uchtdorf on the left.  It will be interesting to see if that is changed next week (of course, there is a chance that it's that way on purpose, but I've just always seen the first counselor on the Prophet's right side, and the second counselor on the Prophet's left).

Swett Elder and I taught a quick lesson to Gyula today, checking up on the Word of Wisdom, (he's decreased from a pack of cigarettes to half a pack a day), but while he's making great progress, we told him that we'll have to push back his baptismal date a little.  We also had time at the end to discuss the first 4 of the 10 Commandments.  Lastly, we welcomed a new district tonight.  5 are going to New Zealand, and 6 to Australia.  It was interesting that 3 were from within 3 blocks of the Orem/Lindon border, one went to PG & Oak Canyon with me, and 2 of the other Elders (both going to Australia, but not companions) were identical twins.  That was the most interesting part.  I wonder what some investigators will think if they are taught by one, then the other.

Thursday, 4 August

It's official; I have a fourth tie.  Daybell Testver heard that I only had 3 and insisted I take one of his.  He was quite stubborn about it, but I really enjoyed it.  We taught Lilla today on the Word of Wisdom.  She doesn't smoke, but she drinks on occasion and doesn't understand why she can't have her daily coffee.  Luckily, I think that's something we can handle.  We also had TRC tonight.  Gabor was here again, but the other companionship taught him.  We gave a lesson for the first time using the new curriculum, giving a lesson on "How to Better Receive Answers to Prayers".  It went pretty well.  We gave a tour to the new district today, along with a planning orientation.  And lastly, tomorrow is our 3rd time going "Hungarian Only" all day long.

Friday, 5 August

Today was our third time speaking only Hungarian for an entire day.  Each time it keeps improving, but, despite the improvements, I still don't feel ready to get to Hungary quite yet. =)  I've felt a lot better about my attitude today (smiling often and feeling like I care more about others).  We also taught Gyula about the second half of the 10 Commandments and also the Law of Chastity.  I'm very happy to write that Gyula doesn't have a problem with Chastity or any of the other commandments we discussed.  He has also further improved concerning the Word of Wisdom, to the point where he said he doesn’t drink alcohol, coffee, tea; and the last remaining concern, smoking, has decreased to 5 cigarettes a day.

Lastly, we have three new investigators: Zoltan, Aaron, and Hinjalka.  We spent some time just getting to know them, and covered the first half of the restoration.  (They are all siblings, 2 brothers and 1 sister, the brothers live together.  The sister is very religious, but the two brothers aren't quite sure what they believe).  I don't know how often we'll meet with them.

Saturday, 6 August

This next week is going to be crazy; we are doing 2 days of Hungarian only and are going to teach at least 12 lessons!  We taught Gyula on tithing and fast offerings.  He was very interested as to if the "blessings that we have not room enough to receive" include more money.  I'm happy to write that as of 12:00, he had not smoked a single cigarette (so next time we may be able to set up a new baptismal date) and he's also begun looking for a new job which will allow him to go to church each Sunday.

      

Sunday, 7 August

Today was my second Fast Sunday since beginning my mission.  Fasting went great and I'm sure I'll receive help on all I fasted for.  This morning we had Mission Conference, during which both President and Sister, Nally and Brown spoke. I enjoyed President Brown's talk on the Holy Ghost (the Light of Christ, Personage of the Holy Ghost, its Power, and the Gift of the Holy Ghost).  In the evening, Merril J Bateman (Emeritus Seventy) spoke during the Fireside on "Developing Faith in Christ", a talk which, while really good in doctrine, didn't have anything really hit me.  We finished the evening by watching the film, The Testaments, for our second time.

Other than that, two things happened.  The first was that we had Fast and Testimony Meeting, but it was way too packed for me to bear my testimony, so instead I made the resolution to share it through example and actions during the next 7 days instead.  The second thing was Swett Elder and I discovered that we are being released as Zone Leaders next Sunday.  We'll find out who the new ones are on Tuesday.

Monday, 8 August

So, a couple things happened today:  We taught Lilla about Following the Prophet, and checked up on how she's doing concerning the Word of Wisdom.  She's given up everything, including coffee!  Also, she was able to get off work last minute on Sunday and went to Sacrament Meeting.  It made me so happy =)  We also taught Gyula, talking to him about the Word of Wisdom (he's down to 3 cigarettes), how his search for a new job is going, and checked up on his BoM reading.  We used the time we had left to read most of Alma 7 with him, and I committed him to read the part we had left.

Also, two last things.  Today was another Hungarian Only day, and while it was good, I didn't feel it was quite as successful as Friday.  Also, Barker Nover is back from Washington, so we have our all three of our teachers again.

Tuesday, 9 August

Today we taught Lilla.  We were very short on time, but we set a baptismal date for the 27th! Finally!  We also talked about the first half of the 10 Commandments.  Funnily, the only concern she voiced with us was that she said she was worried about there not being many young men to marry at the church.  I think we'll find a way for things to work out.  They called new Zone Leaders today: Pendleton and Cox Elder.  They will be replacing us on Sunday.

Tonight the Devotional was given by Cecil O Samuelson of the Seventy.  He spoke of being "an example of the believers", a topic I'm very familiar with as it was our ward's young men / young women's theme for a year. 

That's the end of the blog post. 7 seconds left. Love you! Bye!

3 August 2011 Letter (MTC)

Hello again! Guess who this is? =D ME!!!

Wednesday, 27 July

Today was a great P-Day.  The temple was open today and Elder Swett and I had the opportunity to participate in sealings, which I've never done before.  I enjoyed it a lot.  It made me look forward to when I'll be able to be sealed with a family of my own, but for now, that is several years away.  (The next day, we found out that if we had come to the temple 5 minutes later, we would've been in the same sealing session as our teacher, Moody Nover.  That would've been funny to have us be sealed to her as our mother. =D) We also found out tonight that Stromberg Testver is going to be a dad.

We taught Gyula a very brief 15 minute lesson.  We mostly asked questions, working to find out how his testimony is growing.  At the conclusion we got him to repeat his commitment of working towards August 15th as a baptismal date.  Lastly, we received our Kicsi today: 4 Elders and 4 Sisters.  They are all social, with the two most outspoken being Johnson Nover and Forsyth Elder.  I look forward to getting to know them all better.  Lastly, I left my CTR ring in the computer lab, and it was missing soon after.  Hopefully I can find it soon.

Thursday, 28 July

Today was the second day with our Kicsi.  They are all great and we're all getting to know each other really fast.  Tonight we gave them the planning orientation and tour of the MTC.  This morning we had an amazing and spiritual lesson with Lilla, just discussing and talking about the basics and finding out how her beliefs and testimony have grown.  She still doesn't have a baptismal date, but each lesson we're obviously getting closer.  We also had TRC where we went shopping for clothes and met the clerk, Tibor.  We talked to him about the Savior, Restoration, and Book of Mormon, taught him to pray, and gave him a Book of Mormon and he committed to read and pray about it.  Tomorrow is "Hungarian Only".  Hopefully it proves helpful and works out.  It will be fun to see how much we can communicate to the Kicsi with body language.  I also found out that I have a new cousin.  Corinne had a new baby girl; her name is "Ivy".  Sadly, I won't see her until she is almost 2.  That just adds another thing to look forward to. =D

Friday, 29 July

I'm not sure how to begin today's entry.  Things are moving along.  Today we tried our second time to go a full day only speaking Hungarian.  This time we were much more successful, and only stopped for a couple minutes to speak English when we had to read something and in a short interview with Barker Nover in the evening.  The Kicsi learned how to pray today, and are slowly understanding bits and pieces of our conversations.  Also, today Swett Elder and I found the first thing about which we don't get along: 4-Square.  We're both competitive in sports and see each other as threats, so we're constantly killing each other in the games.

Saturday, 30 July

We taught Lilla today, beginning with Swett Elder and I singing "There is a Green Hill Far Away" in harmony, followed by a lesson on the atonement, emphasizing the Savior's sacrifice so that we can repent and be saved.  We asked her to think if there's anything in her life she feels guilty or bad about and testified that no matter what it may be, she can repent, and receive forgiveness.  I'm feeling progress in the language again.  I also filled my day to the brim with what I tried to make earnest, sincere prayers, during every open moment.  I'm striving to be more specific in what I ask for, always be full of thanksgiving, and always remember the Savior.  I'm also trying to give time to hear and feel the Spirit and make prayers a 2-way conversation, not a monotone order for blessing, paying with a couple lines of thanks.

Sunday, 31 July

Tonight at the Fireside, the hymns and topic focused on "Love", and the speaker, Robert P Swensen, spoke of Love and Charity being infinite in potential, and that we should not "attempt" to hold any back to try to "save" it for something else.  That is not how love works.  We need to exercise and express our love so it will grow.  Also, we should remember that the greatest commandment is to "Love the Lord, thy God" with all thy heart, might, mind, and strength."  And the second is to "Love thy neighbor as thyself."  With being surrounded by children of our Heavenly Father, there are endless opportunities to love. 

Finally, we got pictures with our Kicsi at the temple today.  I also got pictures with Elders Ethan Shipp, and Wilson Ormsby, as they both are departing early tomorrow morning.

Monday, 1 August

It's August! I leave later this month to Hungary!  During lunch we had an unexpected guest come sit with us.  President Brown joined and talked with us for nearly 20 minutes.  It was very interesting and enjoyable to get to talk with him in a setting like that.  He has an amazing memory.  Upon sitting down, he was able to remember where all 8 of our Kicsi were from.  He also knew all of our Branch Presidency and talked to us about them.  We had to leave him at the end, excusing ourselves, as we were already 5 minutes late to class.

Lastly, we taught Gynla.  It was our first time teaching the Word of Wisdom, yet the language and the lesson just flowed.  He has a problem with every part of it, but was very humble and committed to try to change all of it.  The only thing I see him having a really hard time with is smoking, but the Lord can do many wonderful things.  I’ll just do my best to do my part, and let the Lord do the rest.

Tuesday, 2 August

We taught Lilla on the final part of the Plan of Salvation (which we’ve never taught before), and finally are close to pinning a specific date on her.  The Devotional was given by Gerald N. Lund, Emeritus Seventy and the author of “The Work and the Glory”.  He gave a great talk on Faith, teaching how to exercise and learn from it.

I'm out of time.  Bye! =D

2 August 2011 Pictures (MTC)

Hungarian Book of Mormon & Name Tag

My District in the classroom

Missionaries going to the Provo Temple

My District

Cousins (RJ) Shipp Elder & Elder Shipp (Ethan)

 

July 4th at the MTC

(Glowsticks compliments of Mom!)

1 August 2011 Testimony

27 July 2011 Letter (MTC)

Hello Family!!!

Here's my weekly email, beginning with the blog posts:

Wednesday, 20 July

The Residence Hall is crowded again.  Elder Swett and I welcomed 19 new missionaries, including the new Albanian District.  We checked the Narnia holes (Narnia does exist, but I must refrain from saying more, lest I lose my memory of it, or cause harm to fall upon it), and passed along the boxes from the previous Albanian District.  They seem like they should be a good group, although, for now they walk into their rooms and close their doors (aren't very sociable).  They'll probably open up and socialize over time.  This afternoon we cleaned the temple for 4 hours, wiping down walls, dusting shelves, cleaning lockers, and moving furniture.  Elder Swett and I got lucky and the worker we were with gave us a tour for a short break halfway through.  We got to see all over the temple including the furnace and ventilation room, the Sealing Rooms, stand directly under the chandelier in the Celestial Room, find the workshop in the basement, see the Brides' Room, and we also stopped to talk to three of the workers and hear what they did and how it was going (for example, in the Celestial Room we spent about 10 minutes talking to the man in charge of all the gold leafing on the ceilings and walls, and heard some cool stories).  Lastly, we taught Gyula today.  We had another member join the lesson, Bea, and we asked about Gyula's prayers, reading, and testimony of the Book of Mormon.  Most importantly, we finally got him to commit to working towards being baptized on August 15!  Happy Day! =)  We plan on working hard to help make sure he's worthy and ready by then.

Thursday, 21 July

Today was yet another, full, busy day.  Funny how life is actually busy during a mission... Anyhow, we taught Lilla this morning, focusing on Christ, his baptism, resurrection, atonement, and love, and concluded by asking her to be baptized, to which she again replied "possibly".  This evening we had TRC, where we taught Jared, Cece, and Gabor about the restoration.  We finished the evening giving the Day 2 orientation and a tour of the MTC to all the new missionaries in our Branch.  I'm starting to remember their names and faces. 

Friday, 22 July

Surprise! Yet another busy day!  We taught Gyula tonight, checking up on his feelings and commitment concerning baptism and taught him about listening to and following the prophet, as well as keeping the Sabbath Day holy.  We also talked about stress this morning and ways missionaries can recognize and cope with it.

Saturday, 23 July

Not a whole lot happened today.  I've started memorizing the First Vision in Hungarian and we taught Lilla the first part of the Plan of Salvation (Pre-Mortal through Earthlife) and tried to set up a baptismal date (third try in a row).  She's changed from "possibly" to that she would like to, but not for another 2-3 months.  At least we're progressing.

Sunday, 24 July

Today was Pioneer Day.  I gave the District lesson (an hour long) on Humility.  Just as its opposite, Pride, is the universal sin, Humility leads to all other Christ-like attributes, including the magnificent "Charity".  This evening we watched "Legacy" (not my favorite church film) and listened to a Fireside given by Stephen B Allen (one of my all-time favorite speakers).  He used multiple Mormon Messages in his lesson, and finished by having us sing "Come, Come Ye Saints" with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (on CD).  The second verse stood out to me especially: "Gird up your loins, fresh courage take, our God will never us forsake.  And soon we'll have this tale to tell, all is well.  All is Well!"

Monday, 25 July

41 days down, 35 to go!  I have officially mastered behind-the-back shots in 4-Square, and wrote my testimony in Hungarian.  Tonight we taught Gyula about following the prophet.  Today was Sister Barker's Birthday, and the night ended with me creating a new fencing drill: popping bubbles with the collapsible pointer. =D

Tuesday, 26 July

Today we taught Lilla about the purposes of our Earthlife and keeping the commandments.  I retook the Christ-like Attribute Assessment, and saw a lot of progress.  It's good to see how I'm improving in more than just the language.  Tonight the Devotional was given by Dennis M Simmons (Emeritus Seventy).  (We seem to listen to a lot of speakers that are Emeritus Seventy, which isn't a bad thing, just something interesting I noticed).  He spoke of the two purposes of a mission: Serving the Lord, and Sanctifying Ourselves.  He mostly focused on the latter, listing the long cycle of sanctification, using the "gift" of the Holy Ghost, and remembering who we are; Children of God, each containing a spark of deity.  I'm looking forward to tomorrow: going to the temple (since it's finally opened again), getting our Kicsi, and sending off letters and emails.

Oooh! Our first Kicsi just walked in, and I have 30 seconds left.  Tell you more about him later!

Hope you enjoyed this email.  Please keep sending me mail. J

Love you all,

Shipp Elder

20 July 2011 Letter (MTC)

Hello again!

Wednesday, 13 July 2011

Today we taught Gyula and asked him to be baptized.  He's having a hard time understanding that other churches don't have the priesthood.  We'll have to continue trying.  Our temporary companion, Elder Kay, received some really exciting news this morning.  They announced over the intercom that he will be leaving tomorrow morning for Albania!  He'll arrive only two days after the rest of his district.  Tonight (literally two minutes before I started writing this) I heard someone call my name, "RJ?".  I turned around to find Elder (Cyrus) Penrod, who arrived earlier this afternoon.  He is serving in the Los Angeles, Spanish Speaking mission and will be in my hallway for the next nine weeks, so I'll definitely be seeing him around.

Thursday, 14 July 2011

We started off today by playing kickball, Kicsi vs. Osi.  Although this was their last gym time and found hard, we still managed to win =).  We didn't teach any of our usual investigators today, but in the evening, we had TRC (Training Resource Center), where we met James and his wife, Zaphne.  We helped them move a little, and ended by teaching them the first half of the Plan of Salvation.  The rest of the evening was spent as Elder Swett and I helped Elders Knight and Walker give a planning orientation to the new missionaries, along with a tour of the MTC.

Friday, 15 July 2011

Today felt long and empty.  The Osi spent all day in departure lectures, which made gym especially empty.  Elder Swett and I taught Andi today.  It was not our most spiritual lesson, but I managed to lead a discussion of the Plan of Salvation, teaching about everything from the Pre-mortal Existence to the Atonement (the furthest we've gotten in one lesson).  We also taught Gyula about Gospel Dispensations, the Apostasy, and the Priesthood.  We are continuing to work towards baptism, and committed him to come to Sacrament Meeting.  We ended the day interviewing the District Leaders, yet another step towards taking over as Zone Leaders.

Saturday, 16 July 2011

We had the opportunity to teach Lilla, in which the lesson was really short, but went well.  We had a chance to discuss Alma 32, focusing on faith and how, if we pray, attend church, and read the scriptures, our faith can grow like a seed.  Like a seed, faith needs to be nourished and cared for to not only grow, but to survive.

Sunday, 17 July 2011

Today was our last full day with the Osi, but I'll come back to that at the end.  Branch Council this morning went fine.  We'll have two new districts (and 19 new missionaries next week).  In Priesthood, Brother Thompson talked of the Atonement, and the three things that block peace: Our Sins - lifted through repentance; The Sins of Others - lifted through forgiveness and thinking of Christ; and Circumstances Out of Our Control - lifted by being thankful and finding happiness in the many blessings each of us have received.  During Sacrament Meeting, the Osi sang a Hungarian Medley, and President and Sister Gamette spoke on repentance.  During the Fireside, President and Sister Sonne spoke on staying focused and "unweariness".  So, tonight was goodbye and the transfer of power from Osi to Kicsi (we also went and took group pictures at the temple).  We received that Flag and the Ark, learned of Hungarian History, visited one last time, and finished with the "Talpra Magyar".  Overall, a very powerful and draining night.

Monday, 18 July 2011

The Osi are gone.  Our hallway is empty.  However, Elder Rosen and Elder Snyder moved in with us today, and Wednesday we'll be receiving 19 new missionaries (17 Elders, 2 Sisters) into our Zone.  We also had the blessing of teaching Gyula today.  We had a good lesson, and I was able to do plenty of talking again.  We finished the lesson (which was on the Spirit World, Baptism, and the Holy Ghost) by asking him to be baptized, to which he replied that he would think about it and talk to us on Wednesday.  Hopefully the spirit touches his heart and convinces him to be baptized.

Tuesday, 19 July 2011

Today was a full day and tomorrow will be as well (despite it being P-Day).  This morning we gave our first lesson with a member present, as we had Christy attend our lesson with Lilla.  Lilla attended Sacrament Meeting and committed to coming to waffle night later this week.  We talked about the blessings the gospel brings to families, gospel dispensations and apostasies, and Christ's Baptism.  We asked her to be baptized, to which, she replied "probably".  While I know Hungarian well enough to give the lessons, I wish I knew it better so that we could've asked her if it was alright to set a day 3~ish weeks down the road to work towards.  Hopefully it all works out.

During Personal Study Time, I looked up Bednar's talk on "Choosing to Take Offense", Uchtdorf's talk on "Potential", and Wirthlin's talk "Come What May and Love It".  All of which are talks that I have, and will continue to remember.

The Devotional tonight was given by F Melvin Hammond (Emeritus Seventy).  His wife, Bonnie Hammond, spoke of Elder Peterson from BYU's football team, leaving their championship team to serve in Bolivia, and his interviews with Sports Illustrated, telling them why he chose to serve a mission.  She also asked all of us to always "Be Cheerful".  Elder Hammond spoke of how the Book of Mormon is the Keystone to our religion.  He mentioned the 4 promises made in the introduction that come from reading the Book of Mormon:  Knowledge that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World, gain a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true, know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and know that the Church is the Lord's Kingdom on the earth.  He also told of Parley P. Pratt's conversion and finished with a story from Bolivia. These two lines stuck out to me the most: "How do you know the Church is true?" "Because I have the Book of Mormon. Read it. You can know too."

That's everything. 10 seconds left!

Love you all!

- Shipp Elder

13 July 2011 Letter (MTC)

Wednesday, 6 July 2011

I have now been in the MTC for three weeks!  I saw another familiar face today, Sister Perry, who is preparing to serve in the Argentina Mission.  Also, and more importantly, all the Osi came into our class today and each bore their testimony on the importance of the work and our Lord, Jesus Christ.  It was a very powerful and spiritual experience.  They started their Consecration Week after lunch, and will only be speaking Hungarian until next Wednesday, so communicating with them will be fun and probably involve lots of body language.

Thursday, 7 July 2011

Today was a very emotional and crazy day.  Everything from this morning feels a little distant.  I’ve always liked to think of Jesus Christ as the Only Begotten Son, and Heavenly Father as our Eternal Father.  Sometime soon I hope to explore Mosiah 15 and better understand how the Nephite prophets referred to them, so I can better understand the scriptures.  This morning one of my companions, Elder Harvey, received word that something has come up back in Michigan which required that he return home.  We spent the evening taking pictures, singing, hugging, and wishing him the best of luck.  It is strange to think that I’ll be in a companionship of two tomorrow.  It feels strange and sad, and made me wonder if this is partially what some of the transfers out in Hungary will feel like.

Friday, 8 July 2011

This morning, at the start of class, we just sat in silence and thought for a little while before moving into the lesson.  Near the end of class, President Gamette came and pulled a couple of us aside.  Sister Hudspeth has been called to be a coordinating advisor; Elder Rosen has been called to replace Elder Swett as District Leader, so that Elder Swett and I can replace Elder Walker and Elder Knight as Zone Leaders.  I’m excited for the opportunities this calling will bring to work with new missionaries, but am also a little sad to lose the many hours of Personal Study Time each Sunday.

Elder Harvey should be in Michigan by now.  In three days all of the Albanian District will be leaving, and the following week all the Americans in our Zone, and all our beloved Osi will be leaving, leaving the four of us: Elders Swett, Rosen, Snyder, and me as the only ones in our Zone!  Quite possibly the smallest Zone in the MTC!  However, these next two weeks won’t be completely sorrowful and empty.  Two days after the Osi leave, we’ll receive a new Albanian District and probably a new American District.  The following Wednesday our Hungarian District (our future Kicsi) will arrive, filling our hallway once again.  But, for now, that’s 2½ weeks away.

Last, but not least, Elder Swett and I taught two lessons today.  The first was with Andi.  The lesson was great and both of us did a lot of talking with very little confusion or misunderstanding.  It was the most spiritual lesson we have taught since our second lesson with Jozef.  The other lesson was with Gyula.  That lesson proved equally as spiritual, with both of us talking large amounts as well.  While the language was not as fluent as with Andi, we accomplished everything we aimed for, and he has started keeping commitments!  He read the scriptures, prayed, and committed to continue reading, praying, and plans on coming to Family Home Evening, as he cannot attend Sacrament Meeting.

Saturday, 9 July 2011

There was little out of the ordinary today.  It was our second day in a companionship of two.  We taught Lilla her second lesson, teaching her of prayer, faith, the Holy Ghost, and the Atonement.  She seemed to understand what we were trying to tell her about prayer and the Atonement, but at the same time, she said she wasn’t sure if she actually has faith in Christ.  We’ll teach her again on Thursday.  Today was also our last gym time with the Albanian District, and resulted in an amazing game of 4-Square, which I was able to stay in the King’s Square 21 turns in a row! J  I will miss their District.  Tomorrow’s schedule seems incredibly busy as I will have to attend five additional meetings for being called as Zone Leader.  Finally, I wish we got mail on Saturdays.  (And I’ve found the downside of Girls’ Camp.)

Sunday, 10 July 2011

Today was a busy, but good, Sunday.  Brother Pinegar was the speaker during our Priesthood Meeting.  I really enjoy him as a speaker.  This week he spoke of Adam and The Fall, explaining that Adam was preordained to be the first man, the first Prophet, the Archangel; presiding over mankind and over the priesthood, both Aaronic and Melchizedek, and preordained to fall.  It was under his instruction that John the Baptist, along with Peter, James, and John restored the priesthood to Joseph Smith.

The fireside proved equally as interesting with Richard Heaton being the speaker.  He spoke of Daily Repentance and how over time Satan has changed the sound of it from the positive Hebrew “Schub” meaning “Turn towards God”, to a neutral Greek “Metanoia” meaning “A change of mind”, to a negative Latin “Paenitieve” meaning “To feel regret or contrition”!  Lastly, all the shadowing of Elder Walker and Elder Knight at Zone Leader meetings went well.  We also found out Elder Kay will be heading to Canada to serve until his Visa comes through.

Finally, I found the answer to my question of Christ being referred to as “The Eternal Father”.  While Heavenly Father is the father of all things spiritual; Christ, as the creator, is the father of all things physical.

 Monday, 11 July 2011

Today was the last day with the Albanians.  4-Square was empty and many pictures were taken this evening.  Also, my pictures and multiple letters came today =).  Elder Swett and I had a chance to teach Gyula today.  We focused on the Creation and Purpose of Our Life Here on Earth, and introduced the idea of baptism.  As with the previous couple lessons, I was able to teach as much of the lesson as Elder Swett.  I think I've finally caught up with many parts of the language (but he still has better grammar and a slightly bigger vocabulary).

Tuesday 12 July 2011

Today we received a third companion again.  While it will only be for the next two to six days, Elder Kay (one of the Albanian missionaries) will be in mine and Elder Swett's companionship.  This morning we had the opportunity to teach Gábor.  Once again, it was a good lesson, and I was able to keep up in all the conversations, and give a large part of the lesson (which was on the Restoration and Baptism).  Unfortunately, Gábor is not a religious man, and it looks like it may be some time before he even considers baptism.  The Devotional tonight was by Richard H Winkel of the Seventy, who spoke on the Atonement and Crucifixion.  While it is incredible (overwhelming) how much physical pain Christ endured, it is even more unbelievable what spiritual pain he must've gone through.

Wednesday 13 July 2011

This morning, Elder Kay, our temporary companion was called over the intercom in our residence hall.  They announced that he has been cleared and will leave tomorrow morning to Albania, arriving only two days behind the rest of his District!  He's been excited ever since.

Serettel (with Love),

Shipp Elder

9 July 2011 Pictures (MTC)

Posing with "The Missionary" statue

Us and our Osi (minus the Sisters)

Having a lightsaber battle!

Our District at the Temple

6 July 2011 Letter (MTC)

It's P-Day again, and time for another email.  Here's an update from this last week:

Wednesday, 29 June 2011

Today was our second P-Day, which was much less stressful than our first.  Today we did laundry, got haircuts (my hair is super short), and had our second trip to the temple (and our last one for 4 weeks, as the temple will be closed).  We also taught Gyula how to pray.  I have now been in the MTC for exactly two weeks and have exactly two months left.

Thursday, 30 June 2011

Thursdays are not nearly as relaxed, fun, or fast as the first half of the week.  Today we had our first TCR.  It went fairly well, and we taught Ashley (our newest investigator) an hour long lesson on the Book of Mormon and the Restoration.  I am definitely starting to pick up and understand the language, but at the same time I have a whole lot that I don't know (the majority of the language) and am in dire need of expanding my prayer vocabulary.

Friday, 1 July 2011

Today I got to show off my fencing skills by going against the rest of the Hungarian missionaries in a fencing drill for 40 minutes.  We also taught Andi today.  I didn't have much to say at all in our lesson.  We'll teach her again tomorrow.  Hopefully, it will go better.  It just goes to show that the Spirit is not a constant thing.  Today was, hopefully, just one of the lower fluctuations.

Saturday, 2 July 2011

Today went much better than yesterday.  While there was no gym today, we started our day by teaching Andi.  Although our lesson was short, Elder Swett decided that after yesterday's lesson, he'd do less talking, so I gave the majority of the lesson, and we managed to find out a lot more about her personally, and take some time to better introduce ourselves and explain our purpose.  By the end, we all thought it was a successful lesson.  Because there was no gym, we had an hour at the Residence Hall.  We decided to play a giant game of Sardines, with the entire building acting as the boundaries.  Finally, tonight was the Stadium of Fire, a special devotional, and our 4th of July Celebration.  We started by singing "Yankee Doodle" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy", which, when women were mentioned, caused a lot of shouts.  The speaker for the Devotional was Steven Stutterd.  He served as an assistant to three Presidents (US Presidents, not Church Presidents), and is currently a Branch President here at the MTC.  He gave a very powerful talk about the Spirit of God being behind Freedom.  He spoke of our nation's motto: "In God We Trust".  He spoke of a couple marine stories and of their faith and dedication, and also a very sorrowful story of a Serbian family, whose father had to strangle his three year old daughter so that the other fifteen members of their family could remain hidden, and eventually live in freedom.  We finished with a parade of flags and a group on the bagpipes as they played, and we sang "Praise to the Man".  Afterwards, we headed outside, got ice cream, put on a bunch of the glow sticks my family sent me, and watched the fireworks from Stadium of Fire.

Sunday, 3 July 2011

Today was Fast Sunday.  The day started with Mission Conference, at which President and Sister Bratasso spoke.  President Bratasso spoke of Enduring to the End and being saved by grace, something members tend to overlook the significance of.  During Sacrament Meeting, all the Albanians, and some of the new missionaries, got up to share their testimonies.  This past week has amazed me at how many missionaries come here while being the only member in their family.  The Fireside tonight was a little different.  The speaker was Jenny Oaks Baker, who is a renowned violinist, and Elder Oak's daughter.  She played "Amazing Grace", "I Need Thee Every Hour", and two other songs, and her three daughters (ages 6, 8, and 9) played a violin/piano/cello trio of "I Am A Child Of God".  We finished the evening by watching "Mountain of the Lord" on the building of the Salt Lake Temple.  Lastly, while we no longer sing "Called to Serve" or "I Believe In Christ" at every meeting, we have switched.  We now have sung "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" at three meetings in a row, and "We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet" at the last four meetings in a row!

Monday, 4 July 2011

Today was the 4th of July! Yay Independence Day!  Other than that, nothing impressive happened today.  The main event of the day was the 20 minute lesson we gave to Gyula on the Plan of Salvation.  Unfortunately, he claims to have forgotten how to pray, so we'll have to teach him again when we see him on Friday.  

Tuesday, 5 July 2011

I love Tuesdays.  They go by fast, you learn a lot, and get a short, but great, Devotional.  Today we got a new investigator, Lilla.  She is from Pest (in Hungary, the residential side of Budapest), is 21 and a student studying Psychology.  One of her friends, Nefi, is a member of the church, and gave Lilla a Book of Mormon.  Although she has not read much of it, she's interested in learning about the church, and we've already scheduled our next lesson for Thursday morning.  Lastly, we had an amazing Devotional tonight by Cree-L Kofford (Emeritus Seventy).  He spoke on obedience and the Spirit, teaching that faith is given as a gift from Christ for being obedient, have regular silent meditation to hear, feel, and recognize the Spirit, and also that success in a mission will come through sharing Feelings of the Spirit.  He finished his talk by sharing the journal of Colonel Kain and his visit to the abandoned Nauvoo.  Those entries are something I'd like to look up when I come home.

It's hard to believe that I was dropped off here exactly 3 weeks ago.  The Osi (older Hungarian group) leave in a week and a half (they started their Hungarian-language-only week today), all the Albanians on Monday, and my group leaves in less than 2 months. 

Hope everyone is doing well, and I'll talk to you all again next week.

Love you!

Elder Shipp

29 June 2011 Letter (MTC)

Well, this week´s update is much shorter than last week´s, due to it no longer being my first week here, and only having to talk about Saturday through today.

Saturday, 25 June 2011

Today we received a new investigator, Gyula.  He is from Northeast Hungary.  He's in his 50's and has 5 children (2 sons and 3 daughters).  He lives here in Utah with his wife, while his five kids live in various cities back in Hungary.  He also works in a factory, reads the Bible, and prays regularly.

Sunday, 26 June 2011

Today was our second Sunday here.  We took a few light-saber pictures this morning, and then a lot more pictures on our temple walk this afternoon (it was sunny this time =D).  We had a combined priesthood and a combined sacrament meeting.  I've learned that they really like to use the same songs over and over here at the MTC, as we've sung "I Believe in Christ" and "Did You Think to Pray" three meetings in a row and "Called to Serve" in nearly every gathering!  The fireside tonight was very lively and entertaining.  The speaker was Stephen B Allen, who involved the audience throughout the entire devotional, as he talked of Satan pushing our buttons, being unafraid of repentance, and how little we've really given up to be here on our missions.  There was also a beautiful quartet sung by 4 Elders in harmony that ended up actually singing twice, with the rest of us humming along the second time.  The Priesthood combined meeting was given by Roger Conners who spoke of the gift of prayer and "Having our own 'Sacred Grove' every morning."  Lastly, we watched "The Testaments", a movie I've been wanting to see for some time now, and one that has been, and continues to be, one of my favorite church movies.

Monday 27 June 2011

We got another new investigator today: Andi.  She's 27, single, and knows a little about the church because she's been taking English lessons from the missionaries.  She wants to become a Biology major, and currently works at the zoo.  We only had 15 minutes to talk to her today, so we introduced ourselves, and gave/introduced her to the Book of Mormon.  We also had a 40 minute lesson with Gyula today.  He had a bunch of questions from reading the introduction, (which we asked him to commit to reading the previous lesson), and we were able to answer most of them.  I felt like that lesson went very well, that we definitely had the Spirit, and that it was by far the best in language and communication.  I think I finally caught up to Elder Swett in how often we speak during the lesson.  That part only added to the joy.  Also, on a side note, the second half of the cafeteria, and the gym, are both open to missionaries again.

Tuesday 28 June 2011

Today I received a letter from Heather that contained an uncommon, yet good scripture: 2 Peter 1:4-8.  Also, we had another devotional tonight, given by Elder William R Walker of the Seventy.  He spoke of the "Ten Keys to Being a Successful Missionary".

That's about it for this email.  Looks like I managed to include everything in this week's email (with three minutes to spare!) =D

Talk to you all next week!  

-Shipp Elder

27 June 2011 Letter (MTC)

Sorry this week’s blog post is a bit late.  There was a miscommunication with some of the other companionships, resulting in us arriving to our 30 minute session, and me being journal-less.  But, while the sharing of my experiences may be a little later, it does not at all change what has happened.

Friday, 17 June 2011

Today has been the hardest day yet.  We spent over 10½ hours in the classroom, and even though we learned the most today, I feel completely overloaded.  We taught our first lesson today to Joszef.  The lesson lasted 15 minutes.  I said the opening prayer, four lines of a brief testimony, and read two verses, but his answers and questions were, of course, unrehearsed and I got lost immediately.

Saturday, 18 June 2011

The gospel is true and prayers are answered.  I felt much better this morning.  I tried to keep a prayer in my heart as we studied Hungarian this morning, and while we memorized fewer lines for our lesson with Joszef, all three of us felt like it went much better.  (On a random note, I found that Hebrews 11:34 talks of Flying Alien Armies!  First time I’ve heard that one before.)  Studying on the computer has been my fastest and most successful way of memorizing vocabulary.  Unfortunately, we only get three to four hours per week.

Sunday, 19 June 2011

Today was my first Sunday here at the MTC.  Sundays are my favorite days here.  It is a day of rest (from both Hungarian and classes) and allows plenty of time to personally study the scriptures.  We have to remain in suits all day, but it’s not too bad.  It rained today, and while it limited opportunities to take pictures of our first temple walk, it was still a nice experience.  The fireside was enjoyable.  The speaker was Kay McIff, the younger brother of a counselor here, and we finished by singing a powerful version of “Called to Serve”.  We finished the evening by watching the “Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration” movie.  Also, during sacrament meeting our Branch President asked me to give a five minute talk on the Holy Ghost.  After the sacrament, he got up and said: “We will next have a five minute talk by Sister ____, followed by a talk from Elder Shipp on the Holy Ghost.”  Lucky for me, I was able to remember enough parts of my farewell talk to give a good impromptu lesson.  Apparently, in three weeks it will be someone else’s turn.

Monday, 20 June 2011

I’m just going to start by saying that today was AWESOME!  After doing our first service assignment this morning, we started just talking about and discussing fun scriptures.  Gym was outside, where I played Frisbee (but not Ultimate, as it is not allowed for some reason), ladder golf, and 4-square.  I covered about thirty sections of the Doctrine & Covenants during personal study.  While I failed completely at reading the Book of Mormon in Hungarian (A Mormon Konyve), we still had a great lesson with Joszef.  Days are starting to go by faster and I feel the Spirit more strongly.

Tuesday, 21 June 2011

Random Fact: Today was the Summer Solstice.  Things are starting to be blocked off for the Mission President Orientation that is happening the second half of this week.  We learned past-tense compositions and conjugations today.  Also, tonight we had a devotional by Elder Paul Sybrowski of the Seventy.  He spoke of Moses 6 “Walk with Me”, preaching of the strength of missionary work.  These past two days I’ve really come to notice the importance of the Book of Mormon.  It is the physical manifestation that each missionary, each member, can carry and hand out to show that there is modern day revelation, there is more than just the Bible to testify of Christ, and that it shows there is an important difference between us and other churches.  We are not “just another Christian Chruch”.  Tomorrow is our first P-Day.  I look forward to a day of rest, going to the temple, and replying to letters.

Wednesday, 22 June 2011

Today was my first P-Day here at the MTC.  Looking at the schedule and from what usually happens on a P-Day, we expected it to be a fairly relaxed day… it wasn’t.  At all.  Within half an hour of waking up, we began cleaning and vacuuming our rooms.  Quickly went and got breakfast, ran to sign up for haircuts, did laundry, ate lunch, experienced that fastest 30 minutes ever trying to email, went to the temple, ate dinner, gave a 45 minute lesson to Joszef and his wife Tundi, had class, followed by planning, and now I’m back here (in my room).

The trip to the Provo Temple was good.  Tonight we taught our lesson to Joszef and (for the first time) his wife, Tundi, on the Restoration.  We didn’t, unfortunately, feel the Spirit nearly as much as we would’ve liked, but we have a new plan to try teaching tomorrow.  I did find it really cool that three to five minutes into the lesson, Tundi asked me if I spoke French.  Apparently, I have a very French accent when I speak Hungarian (in addition to my English accent too, of course).

Thursday, 23 June 2011

Today we had our fifth and final lesson with Joszef.  It went much better than yesterday’s. 
We read only a couple scriptures, then continually testified of the Holy Ghost, God’s love, the importance of families, and of baptism.  We opened our lesson by singing “I am a Child of God”, and closed by inviting him to be baptized.  He said he wasn’t sure, but he would try to be later.  Things are crowded with the 600 missionaries that arrived yesterday.

Since my last letter, I have had many more opportunities to get to know all the other Hungarian missionaries.  One of my companions, Elder Harvey, is 23 and is from Michigan.  He’s already graduated from BYU-Hawaii in automobile mechanics/repair, and spent three years in Japan.  My other companion, Elder Swett, is from New Hampshire.  When he was born, his family lived in Denmark, but they moved to the States while he was a kid.  He attended Tuff’s (?) College near Boston this last year, has studied French for six years, and has close ties to Hungary.  His grandparents are both Hungarian, and his older brother served his mission there.

There are three other missionaries in our group.  Elder Rosen is from Sandy, and is the tallest in our group.  He enjoys mountain climbing and attended the University of Utah for a year.  His companion is Elder Snyder, a short read-head.  He’s from near Atlanta, Georgia, and attended BYU this last year.  The last missionary in our group (the Kisci, pronounced “Kee-chee”, meaning “young ones”) is Sister Hudspeth, who is from a small town about an hour and a half south of here.

The Osi (pronounced “oo-shee”, meaning “old/ancient ones”) is made up of seven missionaries, who will all leave for Hungary in three weeks.  Elder Walker is the District Leader of the Osi, making him pretty much the head of the Hungarian Missionaries.  He’s originally from Idaho.  His companion is Elder Knight, who is from England and is very competitive.  Elder Peterson is from St. George, and lived in Texas this last year.  His companion is Elder Johnson from San Antonio.  Elder Orban and Elder Bullock form a companionship.  Elder Orban is from Idaho.  He’s the shortest of the male Osi, but by far the strongest.  He works out every morning, gym session, and evening.  Elder Bullock is the tallest of all of us.  He is from Alberta, Canada, and has played baseball and basketball.  Last is Sister Hall, the only sister missionary in the Osi and is Sister Hudspeth’s companion.

I have also seen many missionaries who I’ve know before coming here, including some new ones in this last group of 600 that arrived Wednesday.  Now that I’ve had a chance to get into the groove of things, I get an enjoyable half hour of personal time before bed.  This week and next we’re having a variety of teachers as our main one is getting married! J  There is also a no-handshaking rule still in effect.

Finally, because of the New Mission President Orientation, we have heard that many General
Authorities were here.  We just barely finished a special fireside, at which, half of the Apostles were present, including: Elders Nelson, Oaks, Ballard, Scott, Holland, Bednar, and Anderson (along with their wives).  Elder Bednar was the speaker during this devotional, giving an amazing and inspiring talk which he titled, “Becoming a ‘Preach My Gospel’ Missionary”.  He divided his talk into five main steps, and concluded by repeating his testimony that “we can do this!”

I think that about finishes this letter.  While it was late, I think that it was much longer and more detailed than I ever could have typed in a 30 minute email.  Talk to you next week!

-  Shipp Elder

18 June 2011 Letter (MTC)

June 15, 2011 Day 1 in the MTC

After being dropped off, the Elder that was there immediately rushed me to registration where I picked up my nametag, and a packet of forms.  Then we headed over to the bookstore where I received a giant package of things, including the "Green Monster", followed by swinging by my room, dropping off both suitcases and my backpack and immediately went to class ten minutes late.  There are six of us in the class together: five Elders and one Sister.  We have two teachers.  Unfortunately, because I was rushed around and told to leave my backpack in the room, I didn’t have any paper or pens to take notes today.   Afterwards, we had a fireside and ate dinner.  After dinner, we spent two hours role-playing with fake investigators, followed by another thirty minutes in the classroom and a quick tour of where the mailroom and the gym are located.

I am in a group of three.  Our P-Days are on Wednesdays.  We are allowed to wear casual clothing during gym, P-Days and while in the Residence Halls.  I got unpacked, but can’t hang much up until I buy hangers next Wednesday.  On that note, missionaries are only given $6 each week.

Along other notes, I am surprised at how much security there is at the MTC monitoring the missionaries.  The buildings all look alike, so it’s easy to get lost.  Finally, schedules are packed, only allowing ten minutes to move between activities (some no time between, and gym is the one exception, giving thirty minutes to shower).  This first day, and even the next couple days, is the easy part.  A couple days are easy to pass off as a vacation, camp, or fencing tournament.  It’s once the realization that it really is a full two years strike that this will really become difficult.

June 16, 2011 Day 2

Got up at 6:15 this morning, showered, and immediately headed over to the classroom for half an hour of personal study.  Afterwards, we sang a song and went to get breakfast.  The breakfast here has a lot more variety than Penn, but also a lot bigger crowds.  We had an hour and a half workshop, then 45 minutes of gym.  The thing I found strange about gym is they have Frisbee out on the field, but no Ultimate.  Anyway, it looks like my MTC gym experience will involve a lot of 4-square.  After showering, we all went to finish immunizations, where I received a typhoid shot as expected.  They also said that the Tetanus…

(I started a new page because I left the notebook in the classroom on accident, and with free time being non-existent, I need to continue writing without it.)

So, immunizations were today.  I got the expected typhoid shot and also a tetanus booster, since, even though it’s supposed to last ten years, the MTC only allows five year intervals, with my fifth year being in a few weeks.  So, tomorrow I need to swing by the office and pay $100.  Would’ve it been cheaper to receive the shots beforehand? 

In class today, we learned basic phrases and greetings, such as, “Hi, my name is Elder Shipp”, “How are you”, and “Good morning”.  Personal study was cut to only 15 minutes, due to the introduction and visit of our Branch Presidency.  So ends day two.  I think that not being able to shake hands or have any physical contact with anyone is only adding to the feelings of isolation.

June 17, 2011 Day 3

I plan on sending this letter this morning, so I won’t get a chance to tell you about most of today’s events.  Just a couple last things I wanted to be sure to include.  While I can receive mail every day, I can only send letters on Wednesdays.  Please keep these letters in good condition (possibly scan them).  As free time is so limited, I have yet to even open my journal and will use these as my entries.

Also, today we learned how to pray in Hungarian and will teach a 30 minute lesson tonight.

Talk to you on Wednesday, and let me know how you are all doing.

Hear from you soon!

Love,

R.J.

Shipp Elder