MTC Week #1: Off to a Great Start!

Hey!!! This first week at the MTC was so fun. I'm having such a great time and everything is going so great. I'm with a lot of awesome Elders and it's so fun. I'm in a room of 4 people. My companion is Elder Kelsey, he's super cool and an awesome person, and very spiritual. He's from Orem and we get along really well. He just graduated high school two weeks ago too, and he's on a mission now! Crazy. Anyway, the other elders roomed with us are Elder Zhu, who is from China and is hilarious, and is 21, and Elder Carlson, who is from Utah and a really cool guy and funny too. We all get along great and have an awesome time, and we're all going to the France Lyon mission which is so cool. We're all in the same class too, for French and everything else, and pretty much do everything else with eachother. There are 4 sisters in our classes too who are all awesome people. Our branch is the funnest branch I've ever been in!!!

Classes are fun, I love the French language. I'm learning a lot here and getting so much out of everything I'm taught. I'm a little bit more advanced in French than most of our class, so its cool to work with everyone and all learn together while I teach them things and they teach me. We all work together and its the best learning environment I could think of. Our teachers are so cool, Frere Sybroskey sounds like this super friendly awesome French guy with the perfect facial expressions and everything. He's American, but knows French like none other. Soeur Echols is our other teacher and is super nice and also has a perfect French accent. I love learning from the two of them, and it's so amazing how the spirit can help someone learn in such amazing ways. I really do get a ton out of each lesson.

Days are long, hard, and our schedules are booked. We might find 10 minutes to hit the store a day if we're lucky. We've started teaching an investigator (or pretend investigator, since our teacher's have practically told us that he's being an investigator he knew really well to help us learn, but he is very convincing! Haha, but very hard to convince. I'm a terrible teacher. I mean so terrible. Nick, when you told me you were a bad teacher, now try teaching in French!! Haha, I get along, but our last lesson (2nd one) he told us at the end he was Truly Confused about all we'd been teaching him. Anyway, I know things will get better as the spirit comes more strongly to me and I learn to teach and invite the spirit in every lesson.

P-day's more lenient, and awesome, since we got to go to the temple this morning! The spirit was very strong there, and while there at one moment I was hit with a presence and spirit that was so strong, that told me what I was witnessing was real, and I couldn't begin to understand, but it bore such a strong feeling, and I need to really improve myself to understand the things of God and what He wants to tell me so badly.

I feel the spirit everyday here and it's so cool. I've gained multiple testimonies in the last few days about things I never even prayed to know. The spirit is strong with his missionaries, and we are all working hard. However, I know we can work even harder, and I'm going to do my best to be my very best. We got to see "The Character of Christ" speech by Elder Bednar, and it was so amazing. I've never watched that video, and I am so glad I got to. I may watch it again! Anyways, he teaches and reminds us that we aren't out here for us, it's not about me, but it's about everyone else, about serving them. I'm going to do my best to follow his council.  I know now that I need to, as he councils, turn away from inward selfishness, the natural man, and turn outwards, to God, and to others. My life has been so much about me in the past, and I am determined it won't be from now on. I want to server others, and I love everyone so much more now. 

Now that I am on my mission I know I just need to love every minute of it and not give up, and give it my best!

Sincerely,

Elder Laney (Josh, not Nick)

Je suis tres content ici, et vous me manquez beaucoup, mais je sais que je preche la parole de Dieu. Je sais que je suis ou je devais etre. Au revoir, et Avez une bonne somaine!