Chapter 2. The Sock Vigilante

March 12, 2025

Hello friends and family! This last week was my 2nd week as a missionary. I have officially been at the Provo MTC for one whole week now. I've been learning so many things and getting used to my busy schedule as the Lord's servant. Classes, workshops, schedules, devotionals, etc. We also have the practice investigator appointments that are called "Helping Others Apppointments." 

I am very grateful to be a missionary, but I must say this weekend was a brutal battle. I felt very intense discouragement. It was painful. I was able to open up to my companions and then my branch president. With their support, I'm back on my feet! I've developed solutions to lessen and hopefully, overcome those discouraging moments.

Yeah, it was scary to open up. But I understand now the strength that comes from "being one" with my companions and my district. When we share our true strengths and our true weaknesses with each other, we can support one another through trials. I know that now personally. It's hard for me to share my burdens with others because I don't want to feel like a burden to somebody. 

But something a counselor told me was that you should never feel like a burden to someone else. We ALL take turns supporting one another. We cannot be the strong one all the time. So it's been difficult to accept my weaknesses at first, but it's liberating now. I feel so much support from my comps and my district and those around me.

Quotes of the week:

- "Yeahhhhh" -Elder Larsen

- "When there's a whip there's a way" -Elder Smith

- "¿Como se dice?" (In a very deliberate english pronunciation) -Elder Stout

- "That's your head voice?" -Hermana Yanguez"

- "I'm black and I do not care" -Elder Mandaba

I'll be sharing excerpts from my journal entries that I took throughout the week. That way I can save time and I don't have to recall what I did each day.

● Wednesday, March 5

     Wow!!! First day at the Provo MTC! I am so honored to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and have the privilege to serve a mission.

     Today was a busy day. I got through orientation, got my materials, went to my first class with my district, met the MTC presidency, went to some devotionals, had dinner, and was filled with the Spirit. 

     My companions Elder Larsen and Elder Stout are really amazing guys! I can already tell we're going to have so much fun and grow as brothers in Christ.

● Thursday

     Day 2 at the MTC! It has been amazing so far. I've adjusted super well. I'm handling responsibilities quickly, meeting new missionaries, growing in responsibility, and most importantly, tuning into the Spirit and becoming more like Christ.

     We exercised in the morning, went to Hermano Weech's class and got to meet him for the first time in the flesh!

     During one of our breaks, me and a few other missionaries in my district went and explored the teaching building. They have majestic murals on every floor, full of epic Book of Mormon stories. They're really inspiring.

     Tonight, when we met the branch presidency, they assigned the district leader for our district. My companion, Elder Larsen, was selected to be our district leader! 

● Friday

     Today has been an amazing day! I feel myself already getting used to life here. 

     As a companionship, me, Elder Larsen, and Elder Stout have seen progress in our ability to teach together. We gave a surprise lesson in the middle of class to our teacher.

● Saturday

     Honestly, today was very, very, rough. I feel very discouraged right now. Class with Hermano Weech was kind of a train wreck. I'm feeling all the responsibilities and they just keep piling up. How do I get out of this...

● Sunday

     Today was worse. I tried so hard to get out of it, but I can't seem to pull myself out of this hole. I've tried so many things. How did I get here? I just want this to stop.

● Monday

   Ok, today was better. I was able to reach out and get support. It was very relieving to talk about my pains. I felt like I had to keep them all in. I'm ready to accept my weaknesses.

    Oh yeah, I also received vaccinations today. 

     Oh, and another thing happened tonight. There was an Elder who appeared to us in the hallway when we were getting ready for bed. He appointed himself the "sheriff" of district 14, and he was doing an investigation because somebody put a sock on his doorknob. He kept calling himself a "deputy" and was being really self-righteous about it. He was like a self-appointed detective. A total NPC. After he left, our whole district broke out in laughter. We think his companions did that just to mess with him. We have nicknamed him "The Sock Vigilante."

● Tuesday

     What a day today has been! I'm finally feeling better! I understand more personally now the meaning of Ether 12:27. My weaknesses make me humble. 

     This morning, at 6:45, our district had our weekly service assignment. Me and Elder Larsen were assigned to clean the emergency exit stairs, all the way from the top floor in the massive T4 building. The whole way down, I drilled some Spanish phrases into Elder Larsen HARD. He's never gonna forget how to say "We are on the stairs."

     And of course, there was the big Tuesday evening devotional. I got to sing in the choir and it was amazing. The speakers were Elder Carpenter of the Seventy and his wife, Sister Carpenter. They spoke about the importance of garments and the strength we receive from holding them sacred. It was very insightful and profound.

Ok, well that's it for this week! I made a Google photos album, so I'll put the link at the bottom.

Oh yeah, spiritual thought. Ether 12:27. I kinda already shared my thoughts at the beginning.