Damon's First Letter From the MTC

Hi everyone, this is my first email from the MTC! It's awesome to be on a computer again using a keyboard! Because computers are so strictly off limits here except for this purpose, I feel almost guilty. It's like that feeling when you eat on Sunday the week after Fast Sunday, you have to keep telling yourself that it's ok and you're not doing anything wrong!

The MTC is really cool, the Spirit here is so powerful. My best descpription of what it's like is Efy with no girls, combined with a BYU spring semester of school with no grades and no girls. :) It's an awesome environment to be in, and it's cool to see all the missionaries here. I don't feel quite so young anymore, because the Elders here are all about my age and maturity! I've always been intimidated by the pictures of missionaries and movies of missionaries that you always see, because I think most of the actors are returned missionaries and so it makes them look a lot older than they are. The Lord knows what he's doing, but it's an insane concept that He's sending out 19 year old guys on missions to do the greatest work in the world, the work of bringing souls to Christ so they can experience the blessings of the gospel. It's a very sobering thing, and I'm trying to really take my call seriously.

My companion and the guys in my room are awesome! There are four of us in the room: me, my companion Elder Robertson, Elder Johnson and Elder Breeze. All of them are from California, and all of us but Elder Breeze went to BYU last year, but he's planning on going when he gets back. Crazy thing, my entire district is going to the Houston Texas South mission speaking Spanish! I'm the only one going anywhere else, and I'm from the area they're going! Another crazy thing is that I knew Elder Johnson a bit before I got here, because he was the boyfriend of my cousin Auna's friend Alexis (which seems really distant but I actually hung out with him a couple times)! It was the craziest thing when he walked through the door in our room and we were like "woah, I know you!!!" My entire district is awesome, and I really like the zone as well. My district has 12 missionaries, 10 Elders and 2 Hermanas (sisters. It says Hermanas on their badge though).

I've got to go, I only get 30 minutes for email every p-day. Use DearElder.com to send me letters, they arrive the day you send them! Be sure to include your post address though so I can hopefully send you mail back! I'm super busy, sorry I can't talk more!

The church is so true! Take care everyone!

Love, Elder Janis