1 week under my belt

Mexico City MTC or (CCM)

I think the best kept secret about the MTC is that it is in a time warp. . .  I really have been here for about one year. I’ll be honest, I imagined the MTC to be a super EFY with amazing devotionals and just flying high all the time, but really it is TONS of hard work. I have never been so tired in my whole life. Saturday night I was so tired I accidently brushed my teeth with my roommates toothbrush....haha. Hers is lime green and mine is white......That night I didn’t have the best attitude, I was so tired and just done, but that night was daylight savings and that extra hour of sleep was the biggest blessing I have ever had. I woke up happy and ready to go. The next day was Sunday and we had several devotionals on obedience, working SUPER hard, and trusting in the lord. I decided to apply all of those the best I could and rely on the lord to help me. I now get up at 6:30 on the dot and won’t get into bed until the clock says 10:30. It has been amazing. No matter how long or hard a day has been, I wake up refreshed and ready to go.

I can’t even begin to describe the amazing experience it is to completely remove yourself from the world and focus on the Lord. It is humbling and me dio cuenta de que era muchas cosas en mi vida antes que no estaban importantes.

The first day here I had to use more patience that I have in a long time. For some reason my spanish was never tested and I was assigned an amazing and wonderful companion (Sister Pratt) and placed in the beginner class. I spent the first 2 days in a class with people learning how to say my name is, i am # years old, etc. I was so frustrated, I’m here to learn as much as I can to be an effective teacher to others and I was just wasting mine and the Lords time.

Finally they decided to move me up to the advanced class (the highest class before entering the native speaker track of 2 weeks in the MTC) .....meaning I had to leave my companion and district (all whom I had grown so close to in just 2 days) and join 2 other sister that are in the advanced class. I am now in a trio with Hermana Clegg and Hermana Blackard (both amazing)!  All the girls that had come into the MTC on the same day as me were placed in one house....4 rooms with 4 beds and a bathroom to each. When I changed districts (the class we meet in and ward me meet in) everyone in the house had to change rooms to make room so the three of us could be in one room together as companions. It was a pain, but it is done and over and all is well now!!

This morning we got to go to the Mexico temple! We will get to go three times while we are here. The first time we can have translation, but the last two times it is all in spanish. The advanced class is about like my spanish class in high school. Thankfully the teacher speaks all in spanish though so we get some emersion. Other than when we are in class with the teacher (about 5 hrs a day) everything is in english, including church. The majority of people here came in with no Spanish knowledge. I am grateful that I am able to help them, YET, I can’t beleive it, They are learning more in one week than I learned in a whole year. Learning by the spirit is one of the most powerful things I have witnessed here. I am also learning a good deal of spanish, mainly the religious vocabulary.

  INTERESTING FACTS; this MTC started out with 800 missionaries, but is now down to about 500. There are 75 percent elders and 25 percent sisters and it sounds like the numbers are continuing to drop.

Each day we get to teach an ¨"investigator". Thank goodness they are already members or we would scare they away from the church with our broken spanish. The lessons have been going really well, usually because the “investigator” knows where we should be taking the lesson so he askes perfect questions, like teach me how to pray?.....haha Unfortunately last time he asked some more difficult questions and we found ourselves trying to explain the restoration without knowing any of the vocabulary. It was horrible, and really made me want to work SOO hard. I never want to be in that situation with a real investigator where I know the truth but can’t communicate it. Thankfully I am with two amazing hermanas who also want to learn a lot. We are constantly studying and memorizing things togther. The rest of our district if filled with six 18 year old elders...the hermanas and i do most of our studying outside to be able to focus better ;)

So the Mexico MTC (CCM) Centrol de capatiacion misional is beautiful and truly designed to be an MTC. It is fairly small but the second largest MTC in the world. You can cross campus in about 5 min. walking. I love sitting outside in the warm sun and watching the parrots fly from palm tree to palm tree.

Food here is very authentic. I think I had cactus for breakfast yesterday, though I thought it was just weird green beans....haha Lunch is always meat and tortillas, and dinner is small, usually some meat mixture to put inside tortillas.

The church is true!!! Know that when you are meeting people don’t assume that you are making the first contact with them for the church. The lord did that a long time ago and you are just a servant in the Lord’s hands to help them come unto him. God is so mindful of us in every situation. Being a missionary is an amazing experience and I am just starting to understand. There is so much to learn about the gospel, but it is the simple truths that make all the difference. KNOW that the knowledge that God lives is not just a testimony or thought to have......it is a way of life. Because we know we must live it. Our knowlege is a way to live life. Live your life each day KNOWING that there is a God and a plan for you.

OK MTC advice for Elder David Ogles....Study as much as you can out of preach my gospel before you come. The MTC’s main focus for language learners is the language. We of course learn valuable teaching skills but I have had little time to study directly from PMG. Also bring anything you need to help you study (flash cards etc) though you will be able to buy most of that at the MTC. also wear your clothes and shoes before you come for at least a bit....I’m finding I really like one pair of shoes and not the others ;)

Love you all, sorry it was so long  sure not everyone will read all of it but, wanted to share as much as I can about the work going on here.  I am doing amazing and growing each day as if it were a year.

Love you all and send letters or emails!!! ;)

Hermana Lydia Ogles