First Letter

June 4th, 2010

Family -

The MTC is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Wow it is so great here & everything that has been going on is great. My companion is Elder Shurtz (shirts) & he's a straight arrow, works hard, strong testimony, impressive knowledge of the scriptures, etc. Love him. We work great together. I wish I could tell you everything but literally every minute of every day is planned out for us if we are diligently working.
Our district is SO GOOD. There are 10 (2 of which are sisters) & we're all going to Utica! How exciting to know all these people there & its quite rare for that to occur. Seriously they're all trying very hard to grow and learn & really a strong bond between us all has already formed. Last night we met our Branch Presidency and they assigned a District Leader after meeting with each of us. I was chosen. I love serving my District & trying to bring everyone together as we all grow here. It's really awesome.
The best friend I've met here so far is Elder Olea* (THE KID WHO TOOK OUR FAMILY PIC AT THE MTC SIGN!!) So random! He's in our adjacent District so in our Zone and lives 1 room away. Such a great guy. He's a convert to the church, joined after high school and the only member in his family. He has such an amazing story & amazing spirit.
The teachers we have are good (we have 2), especially Elder Davis. He's a RM of 6+ months & is so enthusiastic of the work, it's so encouraging. The food is surprisingly good. I seriously love it here. The first day (Wed.) I was pretty uncomfortable just as everything was so foreign but now it feels so natural (the schedule & everything, not the teaching the gospel aspect -- YET).
But I love and miss all of you and really wish I could tell you everything but so far there really hasn't been the time. P-Day is Tuesday. I get only 30 mins for email so pretty limited, but I can write letters. I love you all and know this is where I am to be.

Love,
Elder Christensen

*Note - when our family was taking pictures there was one other elder taking pictures at the MTC Sign. We asked him if he could help us out and take a picture of our whole family. Michael talked with him for a bit and found out his name is Elder Olea, from California and serving in New Mexico. This was the only person Michael met before entering that day - what are the chances they end up being good friends in the MTC!