Well ahoy mateys!
Looks like its time for the weekly update! Things don't exactly
change a whole lot around here, so hopefully I can find something
interesting to talk about!
First of all, I'd like to apologize that going on a mission didn't
change my extreme dislike for carrying a camera around with me- so most
of the picture I have sent home came from Elder Vitel's camera, and very
few came from mine. I am also sad to say that I didn't actually ever
get a picture on my camera with Elder Davies or Elder Haines, who are
both out in the field now, bu I'm sure you've seen the ones they got so I
don't really care too much!
Thanks for all the letters you've been sending- they are a serious
moral booster around here! Plus, it would sure be nice if someone could
clarify whether or not a massive meteor landed in Siberia, because thats
the rumor floating around, but we never actually hear real news in
here... so nobody is sure if that one was fabricated or not. Sometimes
we feel like zoo animals... we live our little lives inside the walls of
the MTC, and we see people driving around outside. And when they drive
by they point and scream "ITS A MISSIONARY AHHH I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE
BEFORE" or something ridiculous like that. After four weeks you begin to
forget you used to be one of them... and you forget what real food
tastes like. Sometimes I forget I haven't been waiting in cafeteria
lines my whole life for sub-par food. But today we should get our travel
plans, and we will know the details of our flight to Germany! Two weeks
from this moment... We'll be somewhere over the atlantic, headed for
the eastern hemisphere! Sweet moses... I can not wait. my whole district
is getting more antzy on a daily basis! Sometimes it seems scary, but
more than anything I wanna get out into the wild blue yonder and spread
the gospel, even if those people have no idea what I'm saying!
Some points of interest from the week: Tuesday night we heard from a
certain... ELDER BALLARD! And my district camped out and sat in the
third row (right behind the reserved section!) it was amazing the power
with which he testified that Christ truly is the center of our work and
message as missionaries. When he got up to leave and the whole room
stood... whooooo that was powerful! Wednesday we were uprooted from our
classroom and moved into another building because of renovations- the
good things: really nice new chairs and desks. the bad things: its
pretty far away, its in the basement, and the room is TINY! with 10 of
us, plus the teacher and desks, we can't even kneel to pray! Oh well, i
moderately enjoy the change. Just moderately. Also, on wednesday we
found out that tomorrow, our district gets to be host! So if happen to
read this, and you are coming into the MTC tomorrow- keep an eye out for
me on the curb! I can show you the ropes! Thurday, Friday, and Saturday
were pretty uneventful- a few funny stories though: about noon on
friday, Elder Vitel and I were in the bathroom. I was washing my hands
when Elder Vitel discovered a spiget sticking out of the wall with a
handel. He decides it will be a brilliant idea to pull the lever, just
for fun. It then proceeds to shoot water like a fire hydrant, soaking me
completely from the waste down. yay elder vitel. Another funny story,
they call missionaries down to the main desk from the residences every
night for lost items and such- and the last name on the list: "Sister
Catalin Vitel" I think our whole zone died laughing when they repeated
it three times. It was his missing name tag at the front desk that had
HIS PICTURE on it. still hilarious. Sunday was a seriously powerhouse
spiritual day- over the course of mission conference, district meeting,
sacrament meeting, devotional, and film, we talked about the atonement,
obediance, deciphering the holy ghost, value of testimony, and the key
role of the Temple. Talk about an amazing day! the speaker at devotional
was the Provo temple President- and his wife grew up in LeGrand Oregon-
does Grandpa know them?
German is coming along well. We set the goal (a more reasonable
goal) to speak only German monday, thurday, and every other day during
meals and class. Yesterday, I did pretty good! It was incredibly hard
sometimes to communicate my obscure ideas, but it was actually really
fun! I am seriously loving the German language- and I'm positive its the
language I was meant to learn. I can understand 99% of what my teacher
says to me now, but I hear other people speaking spanish, or chinese,
and I can't even pick up basic meaning. German is the language for me!
Life is good! I am loving everything about the mission- the
struggles and the good times. Some elders are beginning to lose focus,
but elder vitel and I are working hard to keep the drive going in our
zone, and for the most part, elders are working hard and progressing and
most importantly- keeping the rules. we haven't had to deal with
anything major yet.
Living with Europeans is weird- they all come from very wealthy
families, and make it a regular game of making fun of my "fat american
suits" because theirs are all incredibly tailored fancy suits. It
doesn't bother me-I know that a mission isn't a fashion contest, and
hopefully this will help me adjust to European life!
The time is now gone and past- I love you all very much! thanks for the prayers! keep sending me letters- I promise to respond!
Adventure is out there!
Elder Bartholomew
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