Hola amigos!
¡Es la última semana en la CCM! (This is the last week in the MTC!!)
This week has been a blur, so hopefully I don't miss anything important.
Why don't I start where I left off last week? GENERAL CONFERENCE!
Ahem... THAT WAS THE COOLEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE IN LITERALLY MY ENTIRE LIFE! I got to sit in the best seats in the conference center! So on Saturday Morning, Élder Clarke and I got up and ate breakfast and went to rehearsal. We all gathered in one of the chapels on campus. We ran through all the songs, but we were just so excited that we were basically yelling. After that, they lined us up by height and we filed onto the buses. I LEFT THE MTC!! We drove for a good long while, maybe an hour, until we came upon Salt Lake. Not long after we saw Salt Lake, conference began and we listened to it over the speakers in the bus. Then we pulled up to the conference center, oh what an exciting moment! We filed off the busses and into a back entrance in the conference center. It was some sort of receiving center for food deliveries or something like that. We walked down until we reached a security stop at which we were briefly checked for dangerous tie pins. Then they lead us into the conference center. We went up several flights of stairs until we ended up in this theater. It was laid out very similarly to the conference center choir seats, except instead of the general authorities on front of us, it was a stage. A projector screen was showing live general conference. As we all started taking our seats, we heard the 2 hour church announcement and everyone was buzzing about it. When everyone was finally seated, Brother Egget turned off conference and we proceeded to practice for somewhere around 2.5 hours. Then our time came. We walked into the conference center right behind the general authorities' seats. We found our spots in the choir seats and I could see over the whole conference center. We practiced a bit, and let me tell you, that organ sounds so cool close up. And by close I mean we could literally touch the pipes.
At one point, Elder Neil L Anderson came up with a family. He then pointed out an elder and had him come down. The Elder went and hugged his family before sitting down again. Everyone was trying to figure out who this guy was. I eventually found out that he is Elder Ballard, the grandson of Russell M Ballard. Then, on the saprano side, Elder Holland came up and pointed out a sister, his granddaughter. She came down and gave him a hug. Then on my side, a little while later, we saw all the apostles start coming in. They all stood in a group and were talking with each other. Then Elder Holland, from the bottom of the stage, pointed at Elder Ballard and beckoned him to them. He went down and hugged his grandpa and a few of the other apostles. I realized that it was his grandma who had just passed away. Then he came back up and sat down and totally acted chill like it was nothing. Being the child of an apostle would be so whack.
I was there, right there! when Russell M Nelson and his counselors walked in. I saw them and I felt this powerful spirit hit me. I was almost emotional just looking at him. I realized the magnitude of his calling and validity of it. It was almost like being in the presence of the Savior.
Then conference began. I could clearly see the back of the speaker, and it was crazy! I will never forget the moments where the lights turned on and the choir was raised and I could see 22,000 people who were all watching, not to mention the 6 million other people watching. I'll never forget singing with all my heart and preforming a service that could actually make a difference. I will never forget being able to sing the prophet's favorite song "Hark All Ye Nations" for him and actually being able to give him something real. I will never forget being chisen to represent not only the thousands of missionaries all over the world, but Jesus Christ as we sang praises to God wearing his name on our hearts. I actually got to check something off my bucket list and it was one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had the opportunity to experience. I was incredibly blessed to have this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Anyway, in other news, I got my travel plans! I leave for Colorado on Wednesday Morning! I am so excited!
My Spanish is coming along more or less. I think the hardest thing is remembering all the words I learn. I just love learning Spanish though, and I can't wait until I am in the field using it for real. I have so much more to learn, and I can't wait to do so.
Anyway, sorry this email is so short, we had a long temple session today. Also my last session in Provo.
I just want y'all to know how amazing the MTC is. I know there are lots of sayings out there about how awful it is, how bad the orange juice is, how a week feels like an eternity, or how awful the food is. But I just want to let you know that even if all that were true, the benefits still heavily outweigh the cons. I have learned so much here that I couldn't have learned anywhere else. I know more Spanish from these 6 weeks than I ever learned in 3 years of High School. I have had more time and opportunity to study the gospel than ever before. I have felt the spirit more on a daily basis than ever before in my life. Don't dread the MTC, it's an amazingly well-put-together training center and it's a once in a lifetime experience... That is, unless you go on more missions. All that being said, I can't wait to get out of here lol.
Hasta próxima semana,
-- Élder Davís
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