August 4th, 2016
 
So this has been the first week in the MTC and its been crazy packed with stuff. By the end of each day you are mentally exhausted. Though when we're not busy we pretty much don't know what to do. Most people in my district, which consists of about 8 elders and 2 sisters, are mostly focused on the language. Its been incredibly difficult, but we are learning pretty fast. We can pray, bear testimony, understand some stuff, and sort-of teach in Tagalog! Its been a blast, I already feel like I've added some more family members. I'm in the MTC choir and have miracle worker teachers. So my companion is Elder Elms and he's from Michigan and a huge Michigan fan (funny that a Clevelander and a Michigan guy are companions). I do my wrestling workouts all the time but it's definitely not a wrestling friendly environment, but I'm working with what I got. So something I've learned this week is actually from this great talk that you should check out called Characteristics of Christ by Elder Bednar. He states how  Man's natural reaction to anything is "to turn inward" (like self-centered things like "I, Me, Mine") and it's relatively true. If we have some sort of misfortune, we want sympathy or attention to ourselves. What we should do to be more Christ-like is to "turn outward" (like being selfless). To love, have compassion, and give service to other people. Even when some one really irritates or hurts you, sort-of like how Ghandi's peaceful efforts were more effective than the wars. If we can really work on this, our problems no matter what they are will be lessened and we can really help other people. See ya all in another week!