Jan 29, 2013

Hello Everybody! 안녕 하세요!! I am doing really well and the first week at the MTC has been great. To answer Mom's question, I went straight from the curbside through a few short check in things, but then right to the classroom. From the moment I opened the door, the teacher was speaking all in Korean. It was a bit intimidating, but also really excited because I wanted to see how much I could catch. I didn't get much, but I was able to catch some and that was pretty fun. Since then, the language has really been coming along. It is incredible how much and how fast we learn here in the MTC and I am so grateful for the power of God and of the Holy Ghost that makes it all possible. But more than just learning it quickly, we are really expected to practice using it and appying it right from the start. We taught our first lesson to an investigator in the MTC on Friday, had a follow up lesson on Saturday morning, and had our third lesson just yesterday. It was really scary at first since we don't know most of what we want to say, but it has been getting a lot better. And as intimidating as it is preparing to give a lesson in complete Korean, every time I come out of a lesson, I am so surprised at how much I was able to understand and to communicate. In our second lesson, I gave my first fully Korean prayer (although it was pretty simple). But the lesson we had yesterday was the best so far and was one of my favorite experiences I have had so far in the MTC. There were plenty of rough spots in the lesson, but I was still able to catch quite of bit of what whe was saying. We were teaching about the Book of Mormon, we bore our testimonies to her, then we had her say the closing prayer. Her prayer was beautiful (at least what I could understand). She seemed to be expressing her heartfelt desire to know if the Book for Mormon was really the word of God and if Joseph Smith was really a prophet. When she finished her prayer, I asked how she felt and she went on about how she felt peace and happiness and just good, so I testified that that means this is all true. Then I testified in Korean without a script with a few simple sentences and it was so powerful to be able to tell her, in Korean, what I know. It was an incredible experience. But aside from the crazy Korean language, which I'm loving, everything else is also good. The first couple days were tough because I was still trying to adjust to the schedule and I didn't really know what was going on most of the time. I've also been sick pretty much the whole time I've been here so far, but I think it's just a persisent cold. It seems to be getting better, so hopefully it will clear up soon. As for my other struggles, I had my first two bloody noses in the MTC and I think I hyper-extended my elbows doing pull-ups on Saturday. So those haven't been too fun, but they are all just temporary things and as I have learned to focus more of my efforts and more of my heart on the work, my experience here has been incredible. I think the biggest turning point for me here so far was Sunday. On Sunday we had so many incredible talks and stuff, but the devotional given by Brother Heaton and a film we watched afterward of a talk given by Elder Holland were inspiring, to say the least! Throughout the day, and especially during these talks, I was really reminded of the significance of missionary work and really that my success as a missionary is dependent upon my relationship with God and how willing I am to devote my all to Him as I consecrate my life to Him in this work. Elder Holland talked about how we do not realize how blessed we are to be in this last dispensation. Why are we the ones who have been saved for this great day to accomplish this great work to shich every generation in the history of world has looked with avid anticipation? How are we living up to the responsibility to lead this last dispensation - the one which finally will succeed - to the great even of the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?! It just inspired me to really put my whole soul into being a missionary and a representative of Jesus Christ as I lay my life on the altar for two years and allow Him to change and reach out to other through me. I am so excited to give my very best each and every day and I know that He will bless me and others as I do so. To answer a few other questions, I am in a double bunk, not a triple, and unfortunately, I haven't even seen any triple or quadruple bunks here so far. Maybe they will wait to use them until summer... ;) Also, my companion, Elder Kyle Hughes, is an awesome guy. He is pretty quiet, but he likes to work hard and he is nice and easy to get along with. I think we will be an effective companionship. I like the food so far and it actually kind of bugs me when people try to tell me that I'm going to hate the food soon. Why hate the food that you're stuck eating for the next few weeks? I'm not hungry during the day like Garrett was, but if you want to send some snacks, that would be more than ok. I have seen Tucker and he seems to be doing well. I see quite a few people I know and it's lots of fun. I hope that you all are aware of DearElder.com. It is awesome! If you don't know about it, I would be delighted if you would like to use it! It is really easy, completely free, and I get it really quickly, so if you want to send me a letter, thats a great way to do so. That's pretty much it for the first week. Thanks for your love and support! I love you all!!! -Elder Tolman

The Beginning

We dropped Elder Tolman off at the MTC... It took 3 minutes (They are so efficient these days).