Week one in the land of no fun
First off, that’s a lie. It is pretty fun here; it’s just in the missionary handbook it tells us that we aren’t allowed to tell jokes here. Which ends up making that request a joke itself. Anywho, for everyone that doesn’t know what’s been going down in bean town, I flew out the Salt Lake, Kyra picked me up, we drove and met Alex at Outback and had some good lunch, went to the MTC, said bye, and then I’ve just kinda been going.
At first it was just terrifying how happy everyone was to see me, “Elder Schroeder! WELCOME to the MTC! We’re SO GLAD you’re here!” And I’m just trying to figure how this dude could hold out with that mood for 6 hours a day. But I met my guide, totally forgot his name, sorry man, and got like 30 papers. Naturally I just shoved everything into my pockets and moved on.
Then I met my companion: Elder Farley. He’s pretty cool, but he’s quite the opposite of me. He has ADHD, but who cares, he’s out here serving a mission, good on him. But he loves Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, band, and any other nerdy thing you could think of. Probably. But he’s still a great guy. My only real complaint is that he beatboxes. Like, everywhere. Hope y’all ready for this story right out of the gate: I was going to the bathroom and I hop in the stall on the far left. There are 4 of them. Literally nobody else in the bathroom, and I hear it. That beatboxing. He closes in for the kill. Choosing the stall IMMEDIATELY next to mine, he proceeds to say “Hey Elder! How ya doing?” Now…… there are some things you just don’t do in bathroom stalls. And greet the guy next to you is one of them. After I just manage to get out the “good” with the horrified expression on my face, he BRINGS THAT FUNKY BEAT BACK AND PROCEEDS TO BEATBOX IN THE BATHROOM STALL AT FULL VOLUME. So I got out stat and went back to our dorm.
Now, I don’t hate his beatboxing, and I don’t love it, but like, time and a place, elder. Walking to class outside, I’m not moovin for a groovin, but like, it’s an acceptable place. When we’re walking past a companionship teaching a mock investigator, not as much. So I just try to like ask him a question or say something when he’s in the middle of breaking down that vibe, just so he stops and we don’t disturb people. But I can’t complain. He’s still a cool dude.
Now that you’ve met my companion and have been scarred with that thriving tale, let’s continue. We went through all the orientation things, which almost knocked me out because I was so tired, and it was really just them saying how proud they were of us. But then we went to class and I almost didn’t make it. Like reality would kinda just fade and I would have to make myself not tap out.
Then we ran into this elder that couldn’t find his companion, so we became a temporary trio. His name was Elder Walker. He was quiet and he didn’t really know much about him. Then at dinner I ran into Derek Howells, who was my friend in high school until he moved away after sophomore year. He’s going to Idaho falls for his mission.
More orientation stuff for the next few days, as well as getting into classes and such. Also day 2 we got locked out of our room cuz we all forgot to bring keys to the shower. Never did that since. Should probably introduce my roommates: We got Elder Archer and Elder Spens. Elder Archer is very cut-and-dry go-by-the-book kinda guy, but he’s honestly a really cool elder. Elder Spens has this country vibe to him, but he’s also really great. I’ll be sure to tell you more stories about them. We’re also the only elders on our district that are on the 4th floor, everyone else is on the 2nd. But every night before we go to bed, Elder Spens and I work out for like 15 minutes. SO LADIES: Elder Schroeder gonna be comin back RIPPED. I hope.
Moving on, we had more class and then study time. Now we got another story on the docket, ladies and gents. Elder Farley and I were looking for a place to study, and we found these dinky chairs next to a desk. So we sat down and got to it. After around 30 minutes I stretched really far back in my chair and drooped over the back part like spaghetti. Keep in mind I had just spent half an hour hunched over like Igor reading the missionary handbook. So once I stretched, it legit felt like my soul left my body. I hit THE GNARLIEST STRETCH that I ever have. After losing all the blood in my head, I felt like I had a glimpse of all mankind’s knowledge, before it was ripped away from me and I was slapped in the face by the universe. I couldn’t see for a few seconds after going back to sitting normal, and I just hung around in this state of void. So yeah.
After a few days our district (all 14 of us) started hanging out at meals and during exercise time. We’re all becoming friends and it’s great. Then just yesterday, we found out 3 hours beforehand that we had to teach a TRC. I don’t remember what that stands for, but they’re people who want to learn about the church. And for some reason, everyone’s stress just catapulted off of everyone else’s. Except me, who was like “ok”. But I ended up helping Elder Farley not stress about it too much and that it was gonna be a cake walk. And after we met with Elizabeth (Eli) Elder Farley got SO happy that it went well. Like he was seriously SPAZZING OUT. But it’s ok because he needed that time to be overjoyed. I think it helped him get back on his feet.
Well this email is really long, so I’m sorry about that, but I’ll leave out the other stories until next time. All you need to know is that Elder Spens and I are getting tight and that I love it here. ALSO: We can only send emails on Tuesdays, but we can READ emails from other people anytime. So please send me emails. We end up with quite a bit of downtime between classes. If you email soon enough today, I’ll probably respond. That’s all for now.
Over and Out