MTC Overtime: Week 7 - How's Your Ankle?

 Hola! I hope you had an amazing week. This was my first week as a compo and it got a little boring. I think my emails until I leave the MTC might be a little shorter because I don't have as much to write about. My p days are now on Mondays, so look forward to an email from me each Monday!


This week Elder Sorensen rolled his ankle pretty badly while playing basketball. It was quite swollen and he walked around in a compression sock and sandal for a few days. The cripple jokes increased and everyone will continue to ask him how his ankle is even when it's healed, as a running joke. That night I gave my first ever priesthood blessing to him! I don't really know how to describe it, but giving a blessing is a special feeling. I felt that the words were coming to my mind and was overwhelmed with the spirit. I hope that I'll be able to give many more blessings on my mission!

I attended the temple for the third time this week, and the Lima temple is still as beautiful as ever. Our session was earlier in the day so we didn't have only 3 hours between lunch and dinner. I also had the opportunity to exchange money again today, but this time we walked to the building instead of driving. It's annoying we still have to wear 2 masks in the city, but hopefully the mandate will be lifted here soon. It was my first time going on a walk throughout the city. Never, ever, ever trust the drivers here. They're crazy and will not stop for you. I'm itching to get out into my mission now and be able to walk the streets of Trujillo!

Since I'm no longer in classes, I have to plan out my day all by myself. No one oversees what we do, so we have to be responsible for ourselves. My district spent our entire days in the computer lab. The elders in my district spent almost their entire time on Duolingo and did only Spanish, while I spent almost all of my time doing gospel and scripture study. I need to do better and practice the language, but it's kind of hard to stay motivated to do so. I also found myself forgetting what I had done each day when I went to bed because everything is meddling together. I feel so unproductive. We also spent some time on Geoguessr and doing online quizzes because we can only do so much Spanish study at a time before we're burnt out. This week we're going to spend more time out of the computer lab and do more things together as a district.

We're still trying to keep things light, however. Elder Haymond would always write in his journal how Elder Sorensen "destroyed" me in Geoguessr even though the amount of rounds we one was probably even. We also can't help but get annoyed with and make fun of Branch President Catron, or as we call him, Megatron. He wears his mask in such a weird way and always expresses his opinions whether they relate to the question or not. He also flat out tells us we're wrong and doesn't hesitate to criticize us. I'm feeling a little mean just writing this, but it's kind of funny, and I don't think anyone really listens to him. Elder Frasure did an excellent impression of him on Sunday during our district meeting. On Saturday night it rained for quite a while, which is super rare here in Lima. So much so that we all went outside and danced in the rain for a while. We all had black spots on us afterwards because the rain was pretty dirty. Elder Sorensen attempted to thank God for the rain in our prayer but said, in Spanish, "we thank thee for the novia, which I think is rain," we burst out laughing because novia actually means girlfriend. Sorensen then doubled down on his statement and thanked Him for novias and novios. The elders in my district had dance parties in our dorm every night to the Wii Sports theme. It gets pretty crazy sometimes, but it's really fun, even if it is bending the mission rules quite a bit. We'd also allow Elder Soward and Elder Fluckiger to join as well. Some things that happen in the dorm have to stay in the dorm though, so sorry I can't share all the funny things that happen there. I'll just say that Apostasia Michael sometimes comes to visit. Other nicknames we've come up with include Hitler Haymond, Judging Jonathan, Bishop, Scoliosis, Sword-fighting Sam, and Christ-like Christian, all for various reasons. Our dorm is also a hot spot for hangouts, so we had to create a password so we wouldn't let anyone else in when we wanted to get to bed. The password varied for all of us, but they were all Mario Kart courses. Mine was Rainbow Road.

We learned that President Jackson is the great grandson of Joseph F. Smith and had the copy of the Bible he was reading when he received the revelation that is now contained in Doctrine & Covenants 138. It was so cool learning about this and President Jackson was interviewed for a church video made on the revelation. After the Sunday evening devotional President Jackson spoke to us. We had another batch of Latinos and Americans come in, so he spoke to them as well. One of the Latinos is actually from Sweden and many of the Americans had to stay overnight in various airports before coming here because of weather delays. Anyways, President Jackson then spoke to us who have been stuck here longer than we should've been. He said he felt prompted to promise us that the Lord would make it up to us somehow. He didn't know when or how, but he felt that the Lord would bless us if we stay diligent while stuck in the CCM. It was such a cool moment and I'm going to do my best to focus on the work and prepare myself for the field with the extra time I have. I trust in President Jackson's promise and know that I will be blessed by the Lord for having to spend extra time in the CCM.

The CCM received a shipment of weights for us to use during exercise. We got dumbbells and kettlebells, but they aren't very heavy. The heaviest is only about 12 pounds, but they're still nice to have and easier to grip than the bricks we've been using. I've also started practicing my fencing again during exercise time. I use a plank of wood I found that's a little too short and an old soccer net. It looks really weird but everyone seems to enjoy it because it's unique and they think it's cool. One time I tried to run away from some missionaries who were jogging while I was doing some footwork practice. It felt so awkward but definitely looked even weirder. Elder Haymond is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and he demonstrated a few of his moves for me.

As compos we're now being used as investigators for those who are still in class. I happened to get paired with a Latino trio. I thought it would be hard, but all I really have to do is nod my head and say "sí." I'm actually understanding a lot more than I thought I would, although I'm still working on having an actual conversation with them.

That was my first week as a compo! I'll do my best not to go insane doing the same things everyday! I'll try to keep things light and rely on the Lord. I hope you stay sage and have an awesome week!

Elder Jensen

1. Branch President Catron impression
2. Don't know who this is but it was a cool statue
3. Fountain photo outside the CCM
4. Our everyday setup
5. Last photo with Hermana Aranda
6. Rain!









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