Hello from the MTC

Hey all! Thanks for the updates. I have an iPad for my stay at the MTC, so I can read your emails nightly, but have to wait until p-day to respond.

The MTC has been great! My district is all of the advanced Spanish people that entered the MTC on Wednesday, and there is a whole spectrum of language ability. I am on the low end, but not the worst.

Our district is huge, 4 elders and 8 sisters. We make up half of the zone. There are only three gringos in the zone, my companion, me, and Hermana Hurley. Hermana Hurley and Elder Ngatuvai are both in my district and going to Managua South with me. My companion, Elder Auman, is from San Francisco and is going Spanish speaking to Sydney Australia.

MTC District

Many of the missionaries in our zone are here on green cards, so they were called Spanish speaking within the US to keep their legality. There is only one Hermana that struggles to speak English, but she does alright. This makes it difficult to resist the temptation to speak English. Class is in Spanish, church and meetings with the branch presidency are in Spanglish, and devos and other trainings for new missionaries are in English. So all together, I've only had to struggle with Spanish half of the time.

Using the Ipads for a selfie

My companion and I are amazing friends already, and we are tight with Ngatuvai and Meraz (the other elder in the district). This has made the MTC incredibly fun. Also, it's crazy how many friends I've seen here from BYU and elsewhere. I can't stand up in the lunchroom without instantly running into an old friend. I love it!

Everyone lives in the old buildings and has class in the new ones. The new ones are super nice and our classroom is on the fifth floor and has a giant window. We have a sweet view of Provo.

On Thursday my companion was called to be our district leader and me, the senior companion. Then on Sunday, one of the elders in our zone found out he was leaving early for the field. Elder Auman and I were asked to be the zone leaders and Elder Meraz was asked to take over as district leader.

Elder Ngatuvai, Elder Watts, Elder Auman, Elder Meraz

Most people I talked to before coming here have talked about feeling lonely, anxious, nervous, or otherwise not well their first night in the MTC. I haven't felt any of that since before I was set apart as a missionary. Ever since last Sunday, I've felt overwhelmingly comfortable with my call to serve as a missionary. I know that God is with me, and that I am in the right spot. I know that this church is true and I cannot wait to share that message with the people of Nicaragua.

Here's a sweet story: one of the brothers, I'm pretty sure a counselor in the bishopric of the other branch on our floor, was mission president in Honduras. He was telling a story in the lobby on our floor. I guess there was a convert who wanted to be baptized, but needed to interview with the president because he had killed someone before. I guess this was a common occurrence for mission presidents in Honduras . The president asked how many people he had killed. He said he stopped counting. The president asked, was it about 50, 100? The convert said it was more than that. He said when he was 8 years old, he was living on the streets without a mother or father. Someone offered him a lot of money to be an assassin. He took the offer. He found he was good at sniping, and could kill without people knowing who he was, or where he was. This kept him alive. When he was 18, he was going to "work" and was stopped by an angel. He proceeded to perfectly describe the angel Moroni telling him to stop what he was doing. He threw his gun in the dumpster right there and has never touched a gun since. The president sent a request to the first presidency and they authorized his baptism. He was baptized at the age of 46 and became an incredible member of the church. I get shivers as I recount this episode. I know that the Lord's work will go forward no matter what, until the day the Savior comes again. 

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. 

I love you,

Elder Stephen Watts