First Week at the MTC!!

July 04, 2022

First Week at the MTC!!

What up, what up, what up?! I guess the first thing I am obligated to say is... Welcome to the Blog! Or if you are one of my fellow missionaries out in the field, I'm praying for you, wherever you may be! Anywho, let's get to what you all are really wanting to know!

Fun fact of the week: Chinese is absolutely crazy! There are 18 different meanings for just one word! It is so hard to keep track of! I could now refer to my father as Steadman Zhǔ Jiào, which would mean Bishop Steadman. But you must be very careful because if I referred to him as Steadman Zhū jiǎo, then I would be calling him Pig Foot Steadman. Which I think in every culture isn’t super flattering… So there’s a fun fact. I pray for my future bishop because the odds of me messing up on that at least once are pretty darn high.

This first week has been just great! But I would lie if I said I haven’t been so exhausted at some points that my personal study is rudely interrupted by the backs of my eyelids. Luckily I have an amazing companion who was also completely exhausted on the first day so we took a quick recess, got up and walked around, and then shared what we had read. So there are two things you can learn from this: 1) If you ever fall asleep while reading the scriptures, you’re a failure. Haha just kidding, it happens to the best of us! 2) Maybe try reading the scriptures with those around you! I have felt so blessed to get completely different insights from my companion. He will say things I never even thought of!

Speaking of companions, my companion's name is Elder Stevens! He’s 5’10," made of pure muscle, from Seattle, and is a college grad. This isn’t your normal comp. He’s already graduated in Psychology, which is pretty dang awesome! We really get along on pretty much every front! We just see eye to eye on everything. He’s so mature and I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Now let’s talk about some highlights from the week! First, I’m an emotional guy. And I continually prayed for extra strength when I left my family and walked into the MTC. And I am here to tell you, there were angels surrounding me the second I walked through the front doors of the MTC. It was an amazing experience to feel arms around my heart comforting me, and helping me to take my next step. My teachers are absolutely amazing! I have this one teacher named Brother Truman who is just so darn funny! We only speak in Mandarin in class, which is pretty difficult because we really don’t know what they’re saying. So there are quite a bit of charades involved, and I just love games! I feel like I’m in this 3-hour guessing game that is just so funny! Mandarin is very difficult but that definitely softens the blow! Another highlight has been such an amazing district! My district is awesome! There are 8 of us, 4 sisters, and 4 elders. It has been so much fun getting to know them, and I can tell that these people will be my close friends for years to come! I can’t wait to hear all about their adventures for the entire time they are serving! I also have the coolest branch, which is really just my district and another district! And guess what?! One of my very best friends is in my branch! Sister Benson! We’re great pals from college! So that’s been a blast! The entire branch is just so close. We will go and play sand volleyball together, we’ll play basketball together, and eat all our meals with each other. It’s just an absolute party! I’ve also run into a couple of my college buddies! So make sure to check that out in the pictures below! But I’ve also come to meet so many amazing people who have been a blast!

Okay, now my time is running out so I need to wrap this thing up, I feel like I’ve really just rambled on and on. So, I apologize to everyone who is reading this. But if you’ve made it this far, hang on because this is the best part! It’s time for some spiritual insight! I can’t lie, I was struggling at the start of this week. I had just left my family, my friends, and overall, just my life. So I was talking with Brother Truman (my amazing teacher, mentioned earlier) and he told me to turn to Mathew 4:18-20 “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they STRAIGHTWAY left their nets, and followed him." We all have nets in our lives, things we’ve used to gather our means of happiness or even our livelihood. These fishers used these nets each and every day to provide for their families and their overall well-being. I’ve had many nets in my life. I’ve had my amazing family, I’ve had my great friends, I’ve had my leadership positions through the years, and so much more! But sometimes, the Lord calls on us to leave our nets. And it’s not to casually start using them less and less. It’s to STRAIGHTWAY leave them. Now, none of the nets I mentioned earlier are bad, they’re all great things, and I know that the Lord will preserve my nets while I’m away and they’ll be there waiting for me when I’m back. But I’ve also realized that there were lots of nets that I had that weren’t pulling up any fish. So what are those for you? Are there nets in your life that simply aren’t catching fish and are just weighing your boat down? This has been no easy task for me, but as I’ve come to rely on the Lord, it has brought me an overwhelming amount of comfort. I was able to receive an amazing priesthood blessing from my teacher that completely reset my experience and has left me smiling since. Ask others for help, go talk to someone who is worthy and holds the priesthood, sometimes we all need that extra strength, and we ALWAYS need guidance from God! I’m so grateful for this gospel! Just in this first week, I’ve realized how grateful I am for the Savior and his atoning sacrifice for me! I feel like I could put a million more things into this email, but I’d imagine none of you would ever come back to read my letters. So I’ll leave it at this:

God is good. You are enough. His arms are extended towards you ALWAYS.

I love you all!

Zàijiàn,

Elder Steadman