From: Eric Heaton <eric.heaton@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Jul 29, 2013 at 1:48 PM
Subject: Farewell Provo and lots of devotionals
To: Judy Heaton <judyhe@provo.edu>

Hello everybody... and then some.

 

So this day has been really weird, I have spent most of the morning just getting all my bags packed up and ready to get on the plane so thats just weird.  but thats all the way on monday lets see what else happened.

 

So oddly enough the whole week has just been really weird.  So starting on Wednesday was the begining of the weirdness.  So when we got our travel plans they also had a slip for me and my companion that said we were going to be doing the investigator experience devotional for the newbies.  Now what that is is on your first day of arriving to the MTC at about 7 PM or so they have a devotionalish thing where they have a "investigator" and they spend some time talking about them and after that they have some missionaries visit them and get to know them then once a doctrine point comes up they turn it over to the newbies to really start to try to teach them.  It was really fun and kinda interesting to do but it really made me realize that teaching in english is... really really hard, and I say that because I haven't actually taught a lesson in English since I got here so I was totally out of practice. 

 

But between the morning and that we had the opportunity to be hosts for the new missionaries which was also really fun. I was able to host two of the new arrivals, I dont really remember their names but one was going to brazil and the other was going to California they were really nice and it gave me something new to do.

 

Now all of that happened on Wednesday so moving on to Thursday our entire day was spent on what they call "in-field orientation" which... didn't really prepare me much for the field at all but it was cool nonetheless.  What they did was highlight like 5 or so points about in field missionary work (I think it was doctrine, finding, teaching, working with members and something else) but they had like a skit along the way as well as just some cool people to talk to you so even though it litirally lasted the whole day it kept me interested and engaged for most of the experience.

 

So that was Thursday, friday was acutally normal and I think Saturday was as well but Sunday... There was a lot that happened then.  So what normally happens on sunday is we would wake up and about 10 ish we would have priesthood (the sisters would be doing some other meeting for about 2 hours) after that we would have a district meeting where a companionship would teach a lesson on some topic followed by sacrament meeting at 2 and a temple walk at 4 and end the day at 7 with a devotional followed by a movie or talk depending on what you want to watch.  But this sunday afterpriesthood we had a departure district meeting, I call it a district meeting but it was with everyone who was leaving with us and the branch president was leading it, after that we had a Departure devotional where everyone who was leavign that week would attend.  that was kinda cool they were really just talking about the rules and how to make a good first impression with the mission president, and after that was the normal devotional which was really cool I forgot the speakers names but they were nice.  And after that we watched the film titled Missions are forever by elder holland, which was just a talk he gave in the MTC, and it was really inspirational.  He was telling us how kind of like what president Warner says when he released Jack Jess and Sara from their missons how he released them from wearing their nametag but he couldn't release them from being a missionary because that was a life long commitment.  But it really made you pumped for being on the field and being able to talk to the people and acutally doing something rather than studying all day.

 

Well I'm pretty much out of time and there hasnt really been any big happening here on monday so I will just end saying that even though I am kinda scared to be in this new country where I can't effectively speak the language and even though it's not like me at all to walk up to complete strangers and talk church with them, I know that the lord had called me to the island of Taiwan to help an awesome people recieve the gospel, and if I were to go anywhere else in the world it would not turn out the same, I know that Thomas S Monson is a true prophet and that he guides these latter days, and I know that Joseph Smith really saw the first vision and communicated with God and Christ.  I know that this gospel can help others and that that is why I am out here, to help others and invite them to come unto christ.

 

I love You all and hope that you are all able to find happyness on all that you do.

 

Hope for the best and remember to keep smiling as that will help others as well as yourself

 

Elder Heaton

何长老