First Email from the MTC/CCM

The MTC, or CCM for Spanish missionaries is awesome!!! Right when I got here, I had to take a Spanish evaluation. I was still a little bit shaky from having to say goodbye to everyone, and I failed miserably. They put me in the beginning Spanish class, and my companion's name was Elder R. He was pretty cool, but we didn't really click. Pretty soon, it became apparent that I was far above and beyond the level of the class, so they transferred me to the Intermediate class. It is such a blessing to be in there. We learn so much more. I know that I will be a better-prepared tool in God's hands when I am done here. I am now in a three-way companionship. My companions are Elders Hunter and Wagner. They are awesome! We get along really well, and definitely have a lot in common.

The studying here is INTENSE!!! We have class for like probably 8 hours a day, then we have our own studying, called MDT (missionary directed time) for like three hours. I love that time. It is time I get to work on things I need. I usually study the language for about an hour, read from El Libro de Mormon for like an hour, and then we have companionship study. My maestros, or teachers are awesome! Well, my hermano is awesome haha. His name is Brother Brodegard, and he actually served a mission in Chile. He takes us on walks when he knows we are getting tired. Its really hard to stay awakes sometimes because our days are just jam-packed. But he is a really good teacher, and you can totally feel the spirit in our class. The other maestro is Hermana D, who is a really good person, but is kinda boring sometimes. She tries really hard, and we are blessed to have her as our teacher.

My favorite days here are Sundays. On Sundays, we get to, "Unwind, not Unravel." There are so many funny rules here, but I am doing my very best to follow each one. We also get to go on a temple walk, and just be on the temple grounds for a hour. Its nice to just relax. And to talk with the Elders in our district. I love my district so much! They are all so funny.

Mom thank you so much for the package and the letters. I love getting letters here! They are the only outside contact we get in this place! but thank you so much for the treats and such. My new address is the same as the old one, except my mailbox number is 147. And, the departure date code is 0705, not 0706. That is awesome for me, because that means I get out of here one day earlier!! You have no idea how awful the food can be here!!

How is the family doing?? I found out today that I can Email anyone in my family, so if you could email me the emails of my family members, that would be awesome. I want to know whats going on there!!!

So, today I got to go do a temple session. It feels so nice to get out of the compound that is the MTC. The temple is such a relaxing place where I can go and plead for help with Spanish. The one thing that is holding me back from teaching the Chileans is my Spanish!!! Hopefully I'll be able to figure it out soon because in 8 weeks, I'm there. I still haven't heard from my mission president yet. It would be nice for him to just let me know that he knows I'm coming!!!

We also did laundry today. We call the laundry room the chamber of secrets. When we walk out of the room, we whistle the Harry Potter theme!! ha Its so funny. The Centre de Capacitacion Missional is a fun place, but it is stressful at times. Like times when the timer only has 3 minutes left. I am running out of time!! I love you all!!!

I'm praying for you!!!

Love, Elder King