7-15-2013

Ok well to everyone

 

So I hope that you all can forgive me but I have just been e-mailing a ton of people and I really have just started to run out of time.  So as far as this week goes there is not much of great signifigance that happened.  but I will try to go down the list.

 

So first of all once again I like to start with the thankyou's to all who sent me packages because those people are just awesome and deserve a spot on the e-mail listings.  Mommy thanks for sending the cookies they are delishous and Shari I'm glad that you know the frito bandito and thanks for the bag of fritos =D

 

Well as many of everyone out there knows, the family dog Buddy was misplaced during the week and that was really on my mind during the time.  But I know that through the effort of the family and through all the prayers that were said that our awesome and best dog ever buddy was able to find his way home =)

 

So this week everybody here has been thinking about going to taiwan, the only district that is older than us will be leaving this week and we will be getting out travel plans so I'm getting really stoked about going.

 

So one cool thing is that, and I dont know what it means is that the devotional tomorrow will be recorded, what that means for us is... I dont know but maybe you wiill be able to see it and stuff but if not know that we will sing awesomely and that will be fun. We will be singing nearer my god to thee. 

 

past that Today we had a service assignment in the temple this morning that lasted us 3.5 hours, which I think consisted of cleaning, I say I think because when we got there they picked two people, me and another person and had them be security so we were the ones who would sit at the temple doors and scan the temple recomends which was kinda cool but mostly really really boring.   I almost fell asleep but then I just got up and walked around a little, and just admired the pictures in the temple which was nice.

 

So last night we watched the testiments in chinese and I wasn't really able to understand a whole lot, I think by the end of it I maybe caught about 30-40% of what they said, but I might be a little high in my guess.  it was really cool to watch and I was glad for the opportunity.

 

Well I'm out of time but just to let you know I learned to type my name in chinese, although it was in the mainland style typing so I dont quite know how to type it in taiwan but i'll learn

 

Elder Heaton

He Zhang Lao

何长老

7-8-2013

Hello Everybody and their dog (that includes buddy, make sure to tell him hi =)

 

So this week has been really interesting and stuff.. tons happened, it seemed to take forever and to just fly by all at the same time... so lets begin

 

First and foremost I need to thank some people.  Thankyou to the Crandalls for the awesome plate of cookies, they are delishous!  It was great to get them but because I dont really have your e-mail I cant really tell you that very directly but if you are reading it thankyou. After that I just want to say thankyou to the Jack, the Parents the family and Sara for just being aweome, and whenever I ask for something just getting it right to me like the coolest people ever.  I got the sudoku book and just so you all know I have already finished 7 of them, so the race is on mom to finish the book!!!

 

Well one of the biggest things that happened here at the MTC this week is just that I so happened to be here during the 4th of July.  To all who are curious for the 4th in the MTC they had an extra... mini devotional where they had a person speak for a short time but after they turned on a movie which was 14 miracles, which is about the pioneers and just the random miracles that they had happen to them.  Its rather amazing at the things that they went through and the things that they were able to accomplish but also how they were blessed to have such amazing miracles to help them along the way, some that I honestly would not have believed were they told me, like having a person who was out seraching for food run into a man who gave her a ton a dried meat, or a mother who had given up and a daughter that prayed and a plate of food was placed infront of her.  I think that these are just amazing.  But afterwards they allowed us to go out, not off the campus, and stay up a little later to watch the stadium of fire fireworks, which is actually really awesome as people were cheering and it was just a good time.  However a bunch of people were really looking forward to hearing the music that they play during the event but saddly we couldn't hear anyway so that was a little bit of a dissapointment but the display was awesome and we all had a good time.

 

So beyond that I'm slowly coming to realize that things that really wouldn't have mattered at all to me before the mission are suddenly really cool now.  So on the 5th if you remember there was a light rain with some awesome lightening and everyone in my district wanted to go have class outside but the laoshi (teacher) wouldn't let us, but as we were just sitting in class you would be able to hear the booms and everyone would get really excited, it would make me laugh that I was enjoying the booms as well.  But I have loved the weather this week, it has been really comfortable and nice, we (me and my companion) have been spending a bit of time just studying outside so that was great (=. 

 

So every saturday we have what is called TRC which is where we go and just give a short message to someone in chinese.  So last saturday the people we visited were really cool, first was a Group of 3, the Father who learned his chinese from what I think he said was by listening to tapes in the car, and 2 little girls who were in an immersion program, the funnyest thing was just that the girls chinese was better than ours but we had a great time visiting with them and just talking.  After we finished talking with them we met with two people, an RM from I think Taiwan but i'm not sure and a Nonmember from Shanghai which was really cool, however during that lession the lady asked us a question and once we didn't undersand what she said the RM took over and we were just kind of sitting there listening to this rapidfire chinese that they were blasting out.  It was cool to listen to and try to pick up words but it really made me realize that my chinese was not that good and that I will be totally lost once I reach Taiwan.

 

So heres a quick story to be laughing at, I would have uploaded pictures from it but for some reason the computers here are just plain out stupid and wont really let me access my sd card so you will just get words.  So I was just finishing up in the restroom and had just finished washing my hands when two of the elders from my district walked in, one without a shirt on and the other had a pie in his hands, so they yelled to me "hey elder heaton can you help us out real quick?"  So I ran and grabbed my camera and he handed me his and I took a couple of pictures as they slammed this pie (it was apple by the way) into the other elders face!!! So that was really just something funny that happened just this morning.

 

Every sunday they have a couple of clips for us Missionaries to watch and this time our district decided to watch the Joseph Smith movie, which was just a really great movie as I really love the Joseph Smith story.  But during it I had come to realize that this is one of the things that I have a really strong testimony about, and I would like to just quickly share that with you.  This I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, I know that he restored this great church under the guidance of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  I know that he saw the vision that he tells and that through him we now have the priesthood keys restored in these latter days.  I know that these things are true in the name of Jesus Christ Amen

 

Elder Heaton

He Zhang Lao

7-1-2013

Hello everybody!!!!

 

Well lets just kind of start and see where I go.  First of all there was an awesome devotional that happened on Tuesday so it has been awhile but I hope that I remember some of it,  the speaker was Janice Kapp Perry who was a song writer for the church and one of the coolest things that happened during the devotional was that she just had us all singing songs and it was really fun... But I didn't know this at the time but I realized that she had written one of my favorite church songs, which saddly I dont know the title to, or maybe I do and dont know that I do, but its a 2 sided song where the guys sing "Mine is a home where every hour..." and the girls sing "I see my mother kneeling.." and the reason that I love that song is that my family sang it when we attented our previous ward right before we moved and we sang it in sacrament meeting, so that was really cool.  Also Sister Perry had the funnyest husband.  During the Devotional while she was sharing the first line that he ever delivered to her which was while she was warming up for a Flute or some other blowing instrument that he wakled up to her and said "Those lips look like they were made for something other than playing the flute." at that moment he just walked up there and kissed her, and the whole MTC just started cheering, it was hilarious.

 

Anyway So saddly today the Temple is closed so we serent able to go do a session or anything like that for P-day but it has been a very relaxing day where I have just been able to just kind of do what I want so its kind of ups and downs, although I think next week during P-day I will probably have to go clean the temple or something so =/

 

So as some people know, while your in the MTC every satuday they have what they call TRC where they get some volinteers to come in and you just get to share a message with them and just talk your language.  But this last saturday while we were doing it, you normally meet with two people but they said that there weren't very many mandarin volinters this time so we would only have the chance to meet with one person, and the person we met with was a Brother White and he was cool, served his mission in Taipei and had a great time... but afterwards I was talking with the other elders and one companionship was talking about how the person they talked to was an actual investigator! so that was interesting but after we went back to the classroom our teacher comes in and tells us that we have time to meet with another person, and that he wants us (me and my companion) to talk with the investigator!!! I was really intimidated but we went in and just started talking about it and it was really cool.  Due to the fact that I can't speak chinese I wasn't able to really get to know him but we gave him a short lesson about the BOM and went on our way, but it was a really cool experience and I hope that I didn't mess him up too much with my bad chinese.

 

So this week will be the fourth of July and, as sad as I am to not be able to be with my family, they seem to be trying to do a lot of things to make the missionaries feel a little bit better about it, I think that they will have an extra devotional on the fourth, (I really love the devotionals here, they are awesome and you get 2 a week) then they will let us just watch the statium of fire fireworks which will be cool.  So there's that. But one thing is that during the tuesday devotional, the chior instructor picked out Faith of our fathers for us to sing for this and I'm really excited to be singing it as it sounds really great! Man I realize that I have started to get really excited over really little things, but its kinda cool, hope i'm not too weird when I get back from taiwan...

 

It has been really hot lately, has anyone else noticed that??  During our temple walk yesterday, before we even got to the temple grounds past the gate, we had 2 of our elders decide that that wasn't worth the heat and they just turned back, but man was it hot.  My companion is actually really funny about the heat in that basically if its even the slightest bit hotter than normal or if he has to wear a suit or something hes just always saying its too hot, so I normally give him a hard time about that.

 

So as a district we have been studying the first vision and trying to memorize it in chinese.  I finished that before we started that so I just study while other people practice but I have really come to realize how amazing of a thing it is and how important it is to be able to say the first vision with the spirit, I know that as I have said it in english, not so much in chinese, that I have felt power behind those words and that I have slowly come to realize that this is true, that Joseph Smith saw what he said he saw and that he communicated with our heavenly father and Christ at that time.

 

Well I'm out of time but know that I love you all and that I pray for your well being all the time

 

Love you always

Elder Heaton

He Zhang Lao

6-24-13

So first of all and probably the biggest thing that happened this week happened just yesterday or sunday which was the lovely Worldwide Mission Broadcast thing... Which was really cool.  So I think that the most interesting thing that happened during the whole conference happened at, if your looking at the video on LDS.org, 1:54:11 which was the point where you could see ME during the broadcast, so look for that Im the one in the purple tie and probably the most shui (or handsome for all you english speakers) one there.  but as far as the actual broadcast goes I think that really the biggest thing that stuck out to me happened during the Like first bit of the broadcast when they announced that they would be implimenting a short time in the morning where the missionaries would be doing what I call e-proselyting in the morning, because as most of you know I just love to be on compters and so that was probably the thing that made me excited during it.  I was really excited to see the massive group of the first presidency and the apostles there in one place but there was (just) 11 of the 12 there, I think that was because Monson was feeling a bit sick that day so he couldn't make it. but it was still an amazing experience that I wouldn't give up.

 

So there seems to be a bit of an influenza that is striking the MTC at the moment and it seems that everyday there is a new victim in our apartment.  I was able to start the whole thing off with a night of pucking, but after a full day of just sleeping that is all behind me and now I just get to look on at all the other missionaries that are getting the flu.  But because of this the MTC is trying to crack down on cleanlyness and telling all the people to not be hugging or shaking hands as well as in the Cafe they have replaced the silverware with plastic to just try to be as clean as possible.

 

So for those of you who know much about the MTC they have the big main building that they call 1m and inside is where you do a lot of your day to day stuff.  Well that has been closed most of the weekend because I think that the apostles and First presidency were either staying in there or just holding a bunch of meetings in there, but it has been interesting to see how they (the MTC staff) has accomidated to it and just moved everything around.

 

As many of you know on P-days missionaries get to go to the temple to do a session of their choice but unfortunately for me throughout the month of July they will have the temple closed and so I wont be able to visit it for the rest of my stay here at the MTC.  So today was my last chance to go and it was good but it's interesting to think that I wont be able to go until I get to an appropriate area in Taiwan to go to the temple in Taibei.  But I though that that was interesting.

 

Well Starting about this Wednesday I think it will be about my halfway mark here in the MTC to get out of this place and so i'm totally excited for that.  I'm not gunna lie i'm getting really bored here.  Its not that I'm not doing fun things its just that I feel like I've done most of them before and it's just starting to get a little repititous so I'm really excited to get out of here and be in the beautiful land that is what i've heard called Chinas Hawaii =)

 

but to follow up on that I have been going onto mormon.org a lot lately as I've found 3 profiles where the person in there speakes chinese and so I spend some time listening to each line and seeing what I know and how it translates and its just really fun.  It's interesting to see the grammer in chinese and how you would say certain things and I think its also a ton of fun to see what I would be able to hear and translate from a native speaker who isnt slowing down their speach for us... they talk really really fast.

 

Another thing that happened this week was when president Dunn pulled me and my companion aside and told us that my companion would be the new district leader for the next 3 weeks, which was really exciting news.  So i'm now the companion of the district leader.... and I think my first thought was, oh no, no more lazily sitting around after meals just getting comfortable because we now need to go get the mail for the district. but I'll live I guess.

 

But beyond that seeing as how we have been here for 4 weeks our district had decided that we would like to try hosting and so I might be able to be hosting for the next wave of arriving missoionaries, which means that I might be able to be the host for Sean Bandley which would be a cool little thing if I got it to work.  but anyway just know that I might be doing that.

 

Also I'm dying to know how Sharies been doing, no one has really given me any information on it and it would be nice to know that she is doing ok and stuff so if someone wants to give me an update on that they would be cool.

 

Now onto more spiritual things.

 

One of my big goals while i've been here is to try to fell and under stand the holy ghost and to recognize its gudance during my stay here.  I have been hard at work and prayer constantly asking for its companionship and guidance and I have occationaly been able to feel it.  I just wanted to say that the spirit is awesome and that I have been able to feel it during my time here, helping me which my Chinese, helping me teach the mock investigators and helping me stay awake. It is a real blessing to have and it is one that I have taken for granted for a long time in my life.  I hope that you can all be able to feel its influence in your lives as i have been able to here.  I know that as missionaries we can teach nothing except that it be by the spirit and that it is fundamental to our work.

 

So i'm just about out of time but as a final note of something to think about.  during the talk by holland titled the character of christ he made a reference to the natural man and said something like "I WANT COOKIE NOW" and so I decided to learn how to say that in chinese.  but as part of that heres your word of the week and I'll have a new one for you each week

 

Cookie - Bing (like the search engine) pronounced in a low tone of voice Gan (guh-an) pronounced in a high tone.

 

Anyway i'm out of time but I love you all and wish you all the best of blessings that the lord has to offer

 

Elder Heaton

He Zhang Lao

6-17-2013

Dear Just about everybody because I know that everyone you ever have met ever will be reading this blog (and more specifically to my Family because their cooler than everyone else)

 

HAPPY FATHERS DAY DADDY, I HOPE THE FAMILY MADE IT AWESOME AND EVERYTHING =)

 

I would have tried to send you a letter or a present but seeing as how i'm at the MTC right now and not somewhere cool like taiwan I figured an e-mail would just suffice.  But I do want to know what the family got you so for this week you need to tell me everything that you got.

 

So on to the subject of this letter.  I have discovered that we have sone a lot of unusual things during my stay at the MTC first and foremost but I think it was happening before was that they have Missionaries (chuan zhao shi in chinese) living in wyview apartments, (I hope that that is how its spelled but I dont know)  but beyond that theres just a ton of cool stuff going on.   First off I gave Jack the SD card because these computers just really dont like me and so I just gave it to jack to copy over and he'll bring it back to me tomorrow so you can look at that.  Theres a couple of pictures there of just a huge crowd of people, just so you know, that's all missionaries walking from the MTC to the Mariot Center, and I think all the ones that I was taking pictures of were all in the chior as well so that just makes it that much cooler but I think most of them just want to participate in the awesome devitonal thats going on then chior attendence will DROP like a rock but its cool for now. But beyond that we also had the first devotional ever to be actually performed at the West campus (the wyview apartments ect.) instead of the main campus and so that was awesome.  The speaker there was a really high up guy who worked closly with all the mormon commercials and so he showed a bunch of those and it was just a really great devotional.

 

Also a cool (and a little sad for me) thing happened this sunday which was that for the first time ever they split the Mandarin branch and so our sacrament meetings will now be half as big.  The reason that it's a little sad for me is that I was part of the newly formed branch (branch 25) while all the old presidency other than president Frishneckt ( I hope that's how you spell it) stayed in the old branch (Branch 39) so I will miss the old presidence, also most of the new presidency for me doesn't speak chinese so that will be interesting.

 

Also within the pictures that I sent with Jack is a picture of my nametag and I just wanted to say that it is totally awesome and I know what it says... Yesu Jidu Hoqi Shengtu Zhaohui so you can try to figure out what each part means but I just wanted to say that mine is cooler than all of yours =) not that its a competition or anything.  I also have been thinking a lot about how long I will be here and I realized that I will be here longer than Jessica, Sara and Jack COMBINED!!!! So thats... sad as I'd rather be in Taiwan than here but the lord wants me to actually be able to talk to the people so I guess this is a necessary evil.

 

Dear Mother I have realised that I was a real slacker and even though I was reminded twice I never did get my information over to Sister Jakeman about my Missionary Plaque ( I really hope I spelled that right (= )  but I have finally decided what my scripture will be

 

The name should say

Elder Eric Daniel Heaton

Taiwan Taichung Mission

(if you can find the characters from like google translate put them here but if not thats ok)

Joshua 24: 15

Choose ye this day who ye will serve... But as for me and my house we will serve the lord

 

I think that that would be the best scripture for it and that is the one that feels the most right... for the longest time I was thinking of 1 Nephi 1:1 but that really didnt get what I wanted across but this... this did and I'm happy that I finally found it.  but if you could get that to her and tell her i'm really sorry that would be great.

 

Oh yeah ben will like this one.   I would have sent this to him personaly but seeing as he DIDN'T WRITE ME!!!!!! I'll just put it in the mass e-mail.

 

So I went to the temple this morning at about 7:30 and as i'm walking out of the MTC gates and up to the cross walk there was this kid wearing a green shirt who stuck his hand out to shake it.  so I shook his hand and he says "dodging is way better" and leaves with the other runners he was with.   so I just start cracking up and all of my district who was around me was just like "Did he just speak chinese or something" because no one heard what he said or if they did they didn't under stand it but it really made my day.  If this doesn't really make sense let me explain.  Ben has a lot of friends come over and I hang out with them and talk to them because their all really cool and stuff but one of his friends plays Dark Souls and has beaten it multiple times.  So one day I say to him that I wear the highest def armor and pump up my vitality really high and I just tank through all the dmg that the enemy deal but he (having beaten the game many more times than me and is probably more knowledgeable about it) insisted that dodging is the way you need to go.  And so it has been a lasting argument.  But it really made me laugh.  but I will have to say that its all about the tanking and dodging can roll off a cliff =).  Well that gets my Gamerness out into the open.

 

anyway family I hope that everyone is doing good

mom - I think that all the weight you lose just will be coming to me while i'm in the MTC but thats ok because its cool =)

Dad - AC instilation sounds rough but good thing you got it figured out.  Before in the classroom the ac was broken and it was toasty in there but they have now fixed it and now everytime we walk in all the girls in the district just start shivering.

Jess - From the dear elder sounds like you are going/ have had a good evening with Red, you should totally write me and tell me how that went

Sara - Your Still awesome and you should stay that way.  I sent a bunch of picures with jack home and so i'm totally saying that counts as 2 weeks  so you can decide what that means =)

Jack - It's awesome seeing you at the Cafe and I am glad that your their.  Just remember that after I leave you will need to write me to be able to talk to me, so dont forget when that time comes =)

Emily - ...Your getting so old... and i've only been gone for 3 weeks!!! Its weird thinking of you as a senior but I know that you will be totally thriving in college when I get back so i'll just have to get used to the fact that your really old!!!

Ben - WRITE ME otherwise I will have to think that you didnt survive survival because you havn't really said anything sense then, I hope that your not like stuck on a cactus somewhere. are you keeping my starcraft 2 profile up in the gold league?????

 

anyway thats all the time that i've got but I love you all

 

Elder Heaton

He Zhang Lao

6-10-2013

Hello Family friends and whoever else that this letter gets shared to or read by (did I cover all my bases there?)

 

So this week was pretty interesting... man its weird thinking of all the stuff that happened this week and think wow that was only 1 week!!

 

So the first and most interesting thing that happened was that there is this requirement for a Taiwan visa that is as follows, they need a stool sample... now for those of you who dont know what that is in the words of the nurse "That is your POOP" so I had to go out and poop in a cup... yeeeahhh. But after that there has just been so many things that happened that... I can barely remember them all.

 

So there is a lot of studying out here and I get really bored while i'm doing it but I try my best and have been trying to feel the spirit while almost falling asleep after a 2 hour study session.

 

My Chinese has been going pretty well but I still havn't really found a good study habit for me.  I have been slowly learning all the people in my district.  The computers don't seem to want to let me upload any pictures right now so I cant upload anything but know that their there and hopefully next week or so I will have some good ones then.  So how our weeks work out, if I didnt tell you this last week, is that Sunday is basically a day of rest even in the MTC followed by Monday which is P day then there is Tuesday which is devotional day and so we have a section of rest followed by a section of work, now I dont know if this is how I like it or not but its how it is so =/  I have been trying to read the BOM while I am here and let me tell you that it really puts me to sleep.  But I have been feeling prompted to read Alma so I started reading that today and I have been enjoying it so far so thats how that is going.  If I seem to just be rambling that probably because I am, I need to make some notes or something so that I can be a little more focused on what I talk about during these letters but I dont have any this week so bear with me.

 

So now as i'm in the section of rest my mind just keeps turning to the last devotional that we had which was by one of the higher ups here at the MTC whose name is... BROTHER HEATON, which was totally awesome, it was completely focused on how the first few moments of being introduced to an investigator are the most importent and crucial and how that the first impression effects how every lession that you teach from then on so try to make a good one.  Then later that night we listened to a great talk from a Christmas devotional by Holland titled "The Character of Christ" which totally blew away all of my roomates but as I listened I felt like some of his points of humor, while hilarious, just didnt put me in the most spiritual mood and so I wasnt as blown away by it, but he talked about how the character of christ is to really just focus your attention outward and toward other people even during the most trying of times and so that was very good.

 

Everyone at the MTC says that the best thing ever is to join the chior and so I did and I couldn't have come at a better time.  On June 23 at 4:00 PM there will be a MASSIVE mission CES fireside or something like that that will have 1500 Missionaries and 1500 Members singing infront of the 12 apostles and the first presidency and I have the opportunity so I expect everyone who actually knows me to be watching that and to find me in the crowd (I'll be the one wearing the suit)  but on another note, music has become a very happy thing for me and I ablsolutely love singing and so the chior has been a great thing and makes me think of my family

 

So I have been spending more time in prayer here than I ever have really during most of my life and its quite an amazing thing.   I never really thought about it before but while in prayer, and this is emphasized quite heavily here, you have a DIRECT connection with our heavenly father.  It has been rather astounding to me when I think about it especially during a lot of my prayers in the past that I dont really think about how amazing that that really is.  As I have come to realize this I have been attempting to make my prayers as sincere as possible and that is rather hard as I keep trying to pray in Chinese.  So you know the most astounding thing here at the MTC is that they really set the bar rather high.  when I first got here, on day 2 I learned to pray in Chinese and on day 3 I had a 100% Chinese lesson with a mock investigator and it was a rather humbling experience to say the least, but I know that as I study hard, work hard, learn all I can and then after that I pray to the lord for help I know that he has answered all my prayers and has given me the help I need when I needed it most.

 

Quick note to the family, I miss you all, you are my family and I love you but I know that while I'm out here I will come to know and love the people that I teach and that I will be able to become someone important in their lives, I know that this is a good work and while I miss you and would at times rather be there with you instead of spending hours studying PMG, scriptures or Chinese, I know that I will be able to have unreplacable experiences when I finally get out to Taiwan

 

Mom - You are amazing for all that you do and I hope that during this summer you get to just sit back, relax and just have a break from all the teaching and learning that you do

 

Dad - Your ability to come out and just talk to random strangers is something that I have admired about you and have been working on aquiring for myself. Also good luck in Pharmacy school and that Phlabotamy class

 

Jessica - Your musical talent is something that I wish I had.  good luck in school and during the time after. I know that whatever you go into you will be great!

 

Sara - You are my buddy and we have had so many good times together, I hope that you are in the coolest appartment ever and that you enjoy doing things that aparment people do

 

Jack - It has been a great comfort to me to be able to see and talk to you during my meal times and I just want to thank you for looking out for me even when I'm in the MTC

 

Emily - You will be a weird graduated person by the time I get back, dont change too much and stay awesome, I wish you the best in all your endavors

 

Ben - Did you survive survival???  I dont know because you DIDNT E-MAIL ME I want to hear about it so write me =)

 

anyway I'm a little over time so I have to go but know that I love you all and wish you all the best.  Pray for me I need it too

 

Love Elder Heaton ( The coolest one )

He Zhang Lao

6/3/2013

Hello everyone who decided to be reading this.

So My first week at the MTC is just plain ol crazy.  when I was dropped off they sent me into the building to get my stuff give me my nametag and do all of that.  Then afterwards they showed me where I lived, I was the first one in my apartment to arive, pick a bed then find my PMG and scriptures then they took me to class.  I guess we were running behind because when we got to the classroom one person pulled me aside to go watch an introduction video but before I was able to even start watching it the same person pulled me away just pointing to his watch (I think he only spoke chinese) and took me back to class so that was weird.

But enough about that.  My companinon for the whole 9 weeks is named Elder Ward hes a soccer player from bountiful and basicly knows just about everyone here at the MTC, we really cant walk like 5 feet without him yelling out to someone new and begining a conversation with them.  My other 2 roomates are elder Oberg and Elder Teerlink, both are really nice.  We have a great companonship within the room as Elder Ward and Elder Oberg both went to the same highschool, so we spend most of the time as us 4 in a group just chilling together.

This whole week is what everyone calles the hardest week mainly because there isnt really a set schedule they just have something set for this week to get you familiar with the mtc and after that they put you in a normal schedule.  I'm not going to lie but I was having a really rough time for most of the week thinking of all the things that I could be doing at home  and thinking of my family and it was just causing me problems however when we finally got to Sunday when I was just about to break we made it to the devotional where we heard the account of Joseph's Smith's Marterdom, it was there that I was finally able to feel just a little bit of the spirit saying to me that this is where I needed to be and no matter the trials and homesickness that I feel it will be alright.  So afterwards we went and watched Legacy which was a great uplift to end the day of just a more spiritual level.

My Chinese is going ok.  On the third day out, which was friday I think they had us teach a mock investigator by the name of Frank, in 100% chinese, when they told me that I almost laughed in their face until I realised that they were serious and so me and elder Ward quickly sat down and jotted down some good notes on a quick first lesson.  so we made it through but it was intense, I didn't really understand most of what he was saying but I caught some of it but it really opened my eyes on what I need to reach before I make it to Taiwan. But they really dont roll out any training wheels for you its just put them into the fire and hope that they make it.  It is definitally a different teaching method but it seems to be working so I hope that my chinese improves to a useable level before they throw me into taiwan.

Well I hope that everyone is doing well.  It sounds like sara is working on finding an apartment, good luck on that Sara and Ben is off to survival.  I hope that you are all going to have a good summer and know that I miss all of you and hope that these next 2 years fly by for me.  I love you all and wish for the best for all of you

Hugs to all of you and wish you all the best

Elder Heaton

P.S.

When I arrived at class they had a name written down for me which is He on a rising tone so I am now He Zhang Lao (pronounced Jang lao)

Bye!!