Hello!!!! The MTC has been a good, bad, interesting, boring, busy, and spiritual experience. When I first got here I was taken around the campus and picked up the things that I needed. I was then thrown into a class room for to long... There I met my companion Elder Miller. He is a good kid from Cache Valley Utah. He really likes sports, but still manages to be a good person, thankfully. We have not had any problems as a companionship, especially compared to the other Elders in our district. I really like my district, we have gotten really close really fast. They are all really cool. The rest of the first day was fairly generic get to know you and here is where stuff is. We met with the zone leaders as well as the rest of the zone (it was apparently supposed to be just the new districts). I was not a fan of the rest of the zone because they tended to be rather obnoxious. I was grinding my teeth throughout the entire meeting. This is people found out I beatbox and they had me demonstrate, like usual when I introduce myself. That night we also did this activity called "People and your purpose." This was really cool because we had "investigators" (people acting as investigators) in different rooms and then we went to talk with them. This is where I realized that this is going to be HARD! I tried to talk to one of them and she had questions that I could answer, but not in a language that someone who isn't mormon would know, and the people before me didn't give me the best hand off. It was still really fun though. Everyone got better by the third and last room.
The first few days of class went by so slow... We are in class for 6 hours everyday. It is like high school again, without subject changes or walking between classes (you think that doesn't make that big of a difference, but oh my word, it does.) The classes just felt like they were dragging on and on. Everyone kept looking forward to gym time, I wasn't really. I got dragged into a game of basketball. I'm not good at basketball. I didn't do well at basketball. People kept trying to compliment me, but basketball (as well as most sports) I have just accepted that I am not very good at them, which I am completely ok with. There is a reason I sing, act, and beatbox. I don't like sports. That night we met the branch presidency. President Menlove was the president (he was just released on Sunday). His wife's brother is actually Paul Monson, Jared's Dad! She actually saw me in Les Mis when Jared was in it. Small world! My companion and I were called as Zone leaders there. I am really glad for the opportunity to serve the zone, and to keep things at a less obnoxious level. Something that was really interesting was that night I stood in the circle for blessings for members of the zone. I was asked by the Elder that particularly bugged me and I found rather obnoxious to give him a blessing. That was weird to give this Elder, that I almost instantly had contention for, a blessing. While I was giving him the blessing I felt at least some of the immense love that our Heavenly Father loves him. Very much an eye opening experience.
Another Elder said something that I really like: "Don't study deep doctrine, study basic doctrine, deeply." That was something I really needed to hear because I have really enjoyed learning about the deeper doctrine because they are interesting to me. But those things are just going to confuse investigators not help them come closer to Christ.
Sunday was really nice because we weren't classrooms all day. Sacrament meeting was really nice. I didn't have enough breakfast that morning though. During priesthood meeting I started to feel like my blood sugar was low and had major cold sweats. That was really hard to focus on the spirit. It was interesting though because when I started to share something, my gross feeling went away, but once I stopped I continued to feel gross. Once I got to lunch I downed a glass of chocolate milk and felt a lot better and was able to get through the day. I went to choir for the devotional that night. That was phenomenal to sing with I believe about a thousand Missionaries. (Mom I think the director was the same person who directed the seminary teacher choir you and Dad were in.) The speaker was Lloyd Newell, the guy who does the announcements for music and the spoken word and conference. I really enjoyed what he had to say, but I did have anything to write down what I wanted to remember and I am kicking myself for that. After I went to a recorded devotional from Elder Bednar called the Character of Christ. That was really good. There was one statement that stood out to me the most. "Working harder and harder doesn't make you a Saint, it makes you CRAZY!!! A saint is someone who is trying to be like Christ." I really like that statement. That will be a huge help to me so that I don't work to the point of complete exhaustion. Also when he said that, I had an overwhelming feeling come over me and I wrote in my study journal, "I AM A MISSIONARY! I AM A MISSIONARY!" That is when I knew that I am now a missionary of God, and I am very grateful for that realization.
The last realization that I think that I need to mention is how my theater background is going to help me. Because I am good at theater and thing associated with that, I will have the confidence to speak to and in front of people, but I will not be the person to convert people. That is the spirits job, not mine. There is a quote in Preach my Gospel by Brigham Young on page 199, that made me realize this. I encourage everyone to go read it.
I am grateful for this opportunity to serve. I do enjoy and love being on a mission. I can't wait to get out to the mission field. Thank you for the letters a packages.
I love you all,
Elder Hayden McKay Cannon
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| All of the Elders in my district from left to right: Elder Miller, Me, Elder Headrick, Elder Van Slyke, Elder Taylor, Elder Sutton. |
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