MTC Time Warp

Elder Andrew Schwartz's most recent email home (from 4/10/13):

Sorry, no pics this time...oops!  Cousin Kelley (who works at the MTC) tweeted this recent sighting of our beloved missionary (in his P-day attire).  Don't know the details, but might assume that is Elder Bond behind him....

Hey All!

Man, time is so strange here at the MTC. It's like the days feel super long while your in class, studying, teaching, etc., but whatever happened a week ago feels like it just happened yesterday. It's so weird, but that's how I can best describe it.  So we have a mix of both language lessons and teaching lessons here.  We usually have two 3 hour block classes a day filled with a lot of study all throughout the day.  At the beginning of each lesson we recite: Our Purpose, The Baptismal prayer, the First Vision, James 1:5, Dilligence in Preach My Gospel, and D&C 4, all in Portuguese.  And I already have four of them memorized!!!  The Portuguese is coming along really well! I'm able to understand the majority of what my teachers/"investigators" say.  I can also come up with responses and, I can pretty much go a whole day speaking Portuguese. Those days I don't talk that much, though.  Elder Bond is doing well! We make a pretty good team because he knows every single scripture reference that can apply to any situation, and I am good enough at Portuguese where I am able to understand what the investigator is saying and adapt our lesson to apply it to them on the spot!  We have two "investigators" (our teachers) now, so we have been teaching almost twice a day. Our district is getting along great!  I got them all into volleyball, so that's what we do pretty much every gym time.  And I can at least handle myself when I play, which I should probably thank Pops for that!

Thanks for all the food and for the birthdayl package!!! I got it on Wednesday!  I enjoyed all the little gifts and goodies that you guys put in there!  We already put them into good use!!!  Also thanks for the cookies and cinnamon rolls!!  It's nice to have a treat and to get away from the MTC food.  Like today we went to the temple in the morning and had breakfast there, and it was DIVINE!!!  It's not that the food is bad here (in MTC), it's just that it isn't very high quality.....or nutritious.

It sounds like the campout you guys had was fun and was a good spiritual experience for the youth that went!  Also you started bike riding again?!?!  That's so cool!  Cousin Cole is already 12?!?!  Man he's gonna be so big when I get home.  It seems life is going great for everyone and that makes me glad!  It's also good to hear that the bay area is killing it in sports!  Keep me updated!!!

I want to finish this letter with my testimony in portuguese!!!!

Eu sei que a Igreja de Jesus Cristo é verdade e que José Smith é um profeta de Deus. Jesus Cristo expiou por nossos pecados. Eu sei que estou servindo o missão de Deus e estou fazendo Seu trabalho!

Amo vocês, 

Elder Schwartz

P.S.  Elder Schwartz loves mail -- via DearElder.com, via email andrew.schwartz@myldsmail.net, or via snail mail:

Elder Andrew Schwartz
MTC Box 127
BRA-SPS 0603
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT  84604

Since no photos are available to post, we have to use some oldies -- Elder Andrew's uncles from their MTC days.....

Cousin Carrie, Uncle "Elder James", and Kurt circa 1982

Uncle "Elder Steve" circa 1979