MTC Week 4

Family and Friends!

Mom, thank you for forwarding me Tanner's emails, I enjoyed reading them. I did get both of the dearelders so no worries you don't need to resend them. If you could try and do that every week or when you have time that'd be awesome. Just while I'm here in the MTC. ALSO, thank you for the Banana Bread!!! That was this week right?! I lose track of time so easily. But anyway, it was so good and I shared with everyone. All of us Elders in the residence halls have so much food we don't even know what to do with ourselves. But I like food. A lot. So not a problem.

Anyway, home sounds great, glad everyone is doing well. And dad thank you for the story from your mission that is SO cool. I'm glad that you had that experience! I'm glad that technology will help me keep in touch with my investigators after my mission. I also write in my journal every single night! I haven't missed a single night. Sometimes I even write two pages because I have SO much to say!

Things here in the CCM (MTC) are going well! I can't EVEN believe it's been a month already! So many Elder's have come and gone already in the time that I have been here because they are fluent or just serving in English speaking missions! I, however, have 5 more weeks here. I do love this place though. The people are amazing and every missionary has a different story. I have met some truly unique people. One Elder, Elder Uribe is serving in Piura, Peru and leaves tomorrow. He came to the MTC a year ago after being baptized at age 19 but prayed and felt he wasn't ready and went home. He worked super hard for a whole year and was thrown every obstacle that you could imagine in just a short 11 months but he stayed strong until he felt he was ready to do what he knew he was supposed to do. Two weeks after resubmitting his papers, THE PROPHET called his stake president personally and said that they wanted "this missionary" to report in two weeks!!! He literally dropped everything (a job at Boeing and a scholarship at the U) and left. But his prayers were answered and the day before he left, the U called and said his scholarship would be waiting when he returned. Elder Uribe is an amazing example to me. And not only of dedication, but of Christ-like charity and love. He loves and accepts everyone around him and makes them feel special and cared about. He has taught me a lot. So anyway, I have made some amazing friends in in my short time here. So I DO love the MTC. I cannot wait for Argentina though!! There's an Elder Gomez here from Buenos Aires who's going to Mesa! He gets me so excited for Argentina when I talk to him. And I...you know...tell him about how hot AZ is and stuff.

Well, I'm going to cut this short and respond to everyone else but again, thank you all for your letters I really do appreciate them and do my best to respond in the time I'm allowed to write on P-day! Maddy thank you for the pictures I loved them, send me any that you want to share! Also, if I could get Lucas Dixon's address that would be sweet. And I'm printing more pictures in the bookstore today so I'll send them home next Tuesday!

Oh and I have a fever.

BYE

Elder Ryan Garrison

Elder Howard & Elder Garrison

In front of the Provo Temple

MTC Week 3

DEAR FAMILIA

Thank you to everyone who took the time to write me letters! I love getting them so much you have literally no idea! Also thank you Kira and Kamree for the cookies they were delicious! I have written almost everyone back today and still have time to write letters as I do laundry so no worries. Also, it's snowing outside, which is awesome.

Anyway, I definitely heard all about Japan, mom! It's kind of big news here so basically everyone knows most of the facts. But hearing things through the grapevine is the only way I find things out so thank you! From what I hear, every single missionary was accounted for so that's awesome! I was trying to talk to a couple Japanese missionaries today about it (all foreign missionaries report on Tuesdays) but they didn't understand a word I said besides "Tsunami." They're here from Japan to train for their Japan missions. Weird.

It sounds like Saul's farewell was awesome though! There are a LOT of missionaries here and it took me a week to see Elder Whitaker from my BYU ward but I'll still most likely see Saul when he gets here. It's not for two weeks though right? April 6?

My week here has been great though. It's weird because I feel like I have been here for ten years. Three weeks sounds much shorter than it feels. But at the same time, I feel like it was JUST p-day. I am, of course, learning so much every day. From the awesome devotionals (no apostle last week it was Richard J Maynes, 1st Quorum of the Seventy STILL COOL, maybe one will come tonight) on Sunday nights and Tuesday nights, to class discussions, to studying the scriptures and Spanish all day long! I love it. My teacher Hermano Gneiting is such an example to me because he's only been back for six months yet he's a spiritual giant! It really proves how much one can grow. He showed us this talk from Elder Holland (called Miracle of a Mission) that he watched while in the MTC and he said that it was one of the biggest helps for him on his mission when times got hard. I have seen Elder Holland get passionate about what he is saying but I have honestly never seen a talk like this one. It taught me so much about making my mission count. He said, "be bigger and older and bolder than you've ever been." And that we're doing the most important thing that we will ever do. He said that to this day, he has never done anything harder! And he's an Apostle!! But that it was worth it because of how he has been blessed since. He then stressed the importance of obedience and faithfulness and finally about how the atonement must be central to our message. After which he said that he'd finally finished the introduction to his talk but was out of time.

So basically that is ONE example of an hour lesson I learned on ONE day of THIS week! This place is awesome! The language is coming along and my district is really cracking down on speaking Spanish all the time, especially in class. My teachers won't even speak English anymore unless absolutely necessary. What is cool though is that I understand every word they say! I can also mostly understand the scriptures when I read them in Spanish.

Anyway, it's hard to find things to write about when every day blurs together so sorry! Once I get to Argentina (in 6 weeks) I'll have much more to say! Maddy, I wrote you a letter so hopefully it got there! Please someone, tell Jordan about my blog, he doesn't know about it because he deleted his facebook. Tanner wrote me and I can't respond to anyone but family while in the MTC so I have to wait :( But mom can you forward his letters to his family to me through dearelder? That'd be awesome. I'll write Kim and Jen letters through the mail because I'm almost out of time and Stephanie; I already wrote yours today so I'll be sending it in a bit.

I love you all and appreciate all the sacrifices you make for me, especially you mom and dad. Thank you for your letters, I wish I had more time to respond to them individually but I don't... don't stop sending them though! Until next week.

-Elder Ryan David Garrison

MTC Week 2

Ok here I go. Turns out we can print our letters but it takes off 5 minutes from my time. But that's better than last week!

 Thank you so much for the package family! It definitely made my day when I got it. Elder Howard got one the next day and now we have so much food at the desk in our room we don't even know what to do with ourselves. Which is nice because the food here has started to taste disgusting! It's ok though, I find things that I like. Also, Mom the dearelder.com letter came too and it works awesome! So if you want to send me those every once in a while, go for it.

 Anyway, Aaron Jackson from EFY in 2009 reported last Wednesday and we happen to have the same meal schedule! So I see him every day which is AWESOME. He's only here for 3 weeks though since he is serving in an English speaking mission. The MTC is awesome though. I LOVE it. I learn so much every day from my teachers Hermano Gneiting and Hermana Alarez. They know so much and are both fantastic teachers. The language is still seeming overwhelming and I get so excited to study the scriptures that I sometimes neglect to study the language but Elder Howard and I have new resolve to hit it harder. I can pray in Spanish though, it's so cool! And we just began working on the first lesson in Spanish in class.

 Also I have had some amazing speakers in the devotionals. Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, the Provo Temple President, the MTC presidency, etc. Every talk is amazing and I can hardly take notes fast enough! On Tuesdays, the MTC choirs sings and on Sunday, Elder Marriott from my district and I did a companion split and went to Choir practice so I'll be singing in the choir in the devotional on Tuesday! Maybe an Apostle will come?! That'd be amazing. They said they get one every month or so and it's been TWO months since the last time they had one! So maybe!!

 I am always tired and dread waking up each morning. But unlike with roofing when I dreading the actual roofing, I only dread being tired, not studying. I love studying. We get several hours a day just to ourselves. I lose track of time all the time and the days are starting to slip by faster than I can describe!

 My district has 4 Hermanas (sisters) two of which are going to California Spanish speaking (one to Fresno like Taylor Gygi!) and the other two to Phoenix Spanish speaking! As for the Elders, one is going to Colombia, one to Paraguay, and then two to Buenos Aires Norte, one to Neucan (not sure how to spell that), and then Elder Howard, again, is going to Bahia Blanca like me. I love my district though they all seem to have trouble keeping on task and not getting distracted! IT DRIVES ME CRAZY. But I have been praying so hard to have patience and I have been working hard at it and slowly but surely I have become less quick to anger and also, they have gotten better at focusing.

 Anyway, I have twelve minutes more to write emails to others so I am going to. BUT I CAN ONLY EMAIL FAMILY. So please send me letters, friends!! I sent 5 out last Tuesday and I plan to write a few today too in response to the couple letters I got this week (thanks allie and emma!) Thank you to everyone who has contacted me in any way! I have plenty of time to respond (tanner was crazy) and I will be sure to respond as soon as I can! I can only compose and send them on Tuesday though! Thanks again, I miss you all, love you all, and will keep you in my prayers. Thank you for all the updates and advice!

 ps-someone send me CHRISTIAN HUTCHINSON’S address. He gave me a letter in person but I don't have his address!

pps-congrats Cory Robinson on the call to Taiwan!!! Send me your address too!

One week at the MTC (OK, 6 days)

I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN. First off, I am timed on the computer. I get 30 minutes every Tuesday! I have 18:45 left. So I apologize if I cannot respond to everyone's email! I'll try my best.

Anyway, SO much has happened in just a week! I literally can't keep time straight! Sometimes I think something happened days ago when it really happened that same morning. We are so busy all the time! We never stop studying, learning, eating, etc. My schedule at the MTC is pretty basic. We have about 4 to 5 hours a day that we are to split up into personal study time, companion study time, language study time, etc. My two teachers Hermana Alverez, who served in Chile, and Hermano Gneiting, who served in Buenos Aires West, both spend about 3 1/2 hours with us each day, teaching us lessons. For the first few days it was mostly introductory lessons but starting yesterday (Monday) we really got into the swing of things. And we have fifty minutes of gym time at a scheduled time every day which is really fun.

The first day was the absolute longest day of my life. It lasted an eternity and I was exhausted all day. The next day was similar but, slowly, the days have started to speed up as I got used to this schedule. BUT I LOVE IT. The spirit here is so strong. I am learning every second of every day. The Spanish seems very overwhelming at the moment but when I see Elders that have been here 8 weeks speaking in spanish at almost all times, I know that it is possible. Elder Howard and I have discovered some very effective ways to study, using Predicad Mi Evangelio, and through that, I have begun to be able to read the scriptures and mostly understand everything! It has also helped in understanding my teachers, who speak ONLY Spanish (unless they absolutely have to speak English). But it is slowly coming. At this point, we have worked on praying and bearing testimony in Spanish. And almost everything I learned in school came right back.

The MTC is awesome though because it is so cool to walk around the halls, which are filled with Elders and Sisters (and I am surprised that there are way more Sisters than I thought), all of which are speaking different languages! It is very diverse! On Sunday we had a huge Mission Conference during which the entire MTC Presidency and their wives spoke. I was so furiously taking notes that I thought my hand may fall off. And then later, we had a fireside (the conference was only for fast sunday) and the Provo Temple President spoke. He was very powerful and his stories were very interesting!

My district drives me absolutely crazy though because no one knows how to focus. Elder Howard is awesome though. We are alike in soooo many ways. Everything from our height to our humor! We get along very well and I am grateful to have him as my companion. I was scared that I would end up with someone I can't stand but the Lord knows me well and Elder Howard is just the kind of person I need right now. His example is a great thing for me to have.

Well I only have two minutes left, I feel like I have not written enough but we are so busy every day that I can't keep it all straight! Thank you, family, all for your emails and your kind words of advice. I'll try to respond to everyone next week! I am doing well, learning a lot, and know I am where I belong. I love you more than you can even understand and I will keep you all in my prayers.

Love,

Elder Garrison

Just Arrived at the MTC

I have arrived safely in the MTC! In case you were wondering...It is amazing to look back thinking that it was only just today that I was dropped off because so much has happened already! I'm so glad I was able to see my friends at BYU, it meant so much that so many came to say goodbye. But now I am so ready to get to work here! We've been given a few minutes to send an email letting you know that we're alright. My companion Elder Jacob Howard is awesome. He's from a small town in Utah in the middle of nowhere but we are so much alike! I can already tell that it is inspired that we are companions. He will also be serving in Bahía Blanca.

This place is amazing and I love every bit of it already. The spirit is SO strong and the excitement I feel increases every moment. And on a side note, I've already ran into some friends from BYU too.