LIFE IN THE MTC

We got this letter from Zach.....he's doing great but wants to hear from lots of people!

January 26, 2012

Hola Familia!
Yes, it is faster to send me a letter because i can only check email on P-days (Fridays).  Thank you all so much for all the treats, but stop sending them for now.  I will tell you when I'm done with them!  Thanks for sending those jeans because once a week we have a cleaning assignment and we aren't allowed to do it in shorts or pajama pants.  So, I was forced to do it in my dress pants.  So thanks.  Life here is excellent.  All the food I can eat, a billion elders and sisters to meet, and the spirit, it seems, never leaves.  Today has been rather discouraging.  Our investigator (a teacher in disguise) has been doing so well.  He has completed every commitment we extend.  It seemed his faith and testimony was growoing.  Today we taught him an awesome lesson on the Plan of Salvation, and after, we invited him to follow the example of Christ and be baptized.  He said no.  We asked him why and he said that he didn't believe in our words.  At times like that, you wonder if you are doing something wrong, or if the teacher is trying to teach us something important.  It was hard because all of the other elders in my district were getting theirs to commit!  But I have decided to make this a learning experience.  Hopefully my (our) teaching will improve.  As I study the language and the scriptures, I know the Lord will help me to learn everything I need.  I often try to compare myself to the older elders (who are only a few months older than me).  But then I remember that they have been here longer and have sat through more classes.  Wednesdays are my favorite day.  I get to see all those new missionaries come in, which means I am no longer the "noob."  I love hearing about what is going on with everybody!  Keep sending me that information.  Me gusta mis amigos.  Also, I LOVE LETTERS!!!  Tell anyone to write me at anytime, and I can promise them a swift return letter.

I love to hear from everybody.  Don't be afraid to write me either - even if you don't know me.  I love to get and write letters.  And if you could tell everyone to include their contact information on dearelder.com that would be lovely cause many elders get frustrated because the dearelder.com doesn't have a return address, too bad.

The MTC is a place of many scents.  Think of it.  2,500 elders and sisters all cooped up in one place, all fed three huge meals a day, sitting in just one room most of the day, only getting 50 minutes of excersize a day.  Everyone is bound to have some gas problems.  Interesting thought.

Probably the most important lesson I have learned from my first week is that if you want to teach the Lords work, you need to have the Lord with you.  It is impossible to correctly teach without the spirit.

If anyone has any cool conversion stories about anyone, please let me know.  As a messenger of the Lord, my potential is growing and I have tried to make it a point to identify those key elements that help to convert different kinds of people.  That would be very helpful.

Never have I been so close to the Lord.  It seems, that the closer we come to Christ, the more faults we find inourselves.  yet, the more we fix in our minds a determined resolution to progress and strengthen our relationships with Christ.  It is very important to find the role of Christ in ou lives.  Oftentimes, we get discouraged, but wee cannot give up!  I am struggling to learn this new language.  I really wish I would have paid attention in High School Spanish class. Instead, I was flirting with the girls in front of me, so I learned how to flirt instead of speak Spanish.  No Bueno, and I'm still horrible at flirting.

Yeah!  So far that has made me a great missionary.

Keep my in your prayers, because you are definately in mine.  I love you all, and good luck with everything.  Buenos Suertes!

Elder Zach McEntire

First Report From MTC

YEAH! We got our first email from Elder McEntire! Here it is:

Hello family!

I am doing very well. The MTC is a very busy place. It's nice to be doing something productive instead of sitting around all day. My companion is Elder Bulkley. He is a very big guy. When we went to the gym he was bench pressing like 150 punds. Pretty crazy. I thought I was going to miss my bike but they have many stationary bikes here so I can ride a couple miles each day. The spirit is very strong here, everywhere you go there are messengers of the lord, and it is very cool to see. Elder Bulkley is from Pleasnt Grove. There are eight elders in my district: Elder Grimaud (from San Jose California), Elder Johnston (from Arizona), Elder Drouday (from Toole Utah), Elder Rodriguez (my good friend from school. We have pretty much grown up going to school together, he is from Spanish Fork as well), Elder Stafford (from North Carolina) and Elder Chapman (from I don't know where). It is very exciting to get to know these elders. The second we all got here, we were completely submerged in the spanish language. Our instructor only speaks spanish and almost all of my high school spanish is coming back to me. How are all of you? I sent a test letter with a list of things I forgot to pack. It would be nice to get those items ASAP. You will hear from me again sometime next week. I am excited to hear from you. Chiao!

~Elder McEntire

Time for a mission?? Holy crap it's here!

Well here we are, time to start counting down the hours down until I enter the MTC. That was a quick nineteen years. In preparation for my mission, I have created this nifty little blog which my family will be updating and regulating and every other thing. I have also created a Facebook page about my adventures teaching the gospel. The name is Elder Zachary McEntire. Come here to read letters sent home, and facebook to read short updates. I'm excited to get out of Utah, but more excited to serve the Lord. Good luck everyone!