First Letter from Elder Urry!

We got Ross's first letter from the MTC today.  Sounds like he is going great!



Hola familia! Como estan Uds?

MTC has been so amazing! From minute one to now it has been a complete adventure. My host for the MTC was my best bud Elder Andrus (Greg) fom up at BYU. So the MTC started off on a good foot. Not real awkward. Getting the hallowed and coveted black name tag was a cool experience. It finally hit me that I was finally a missionary. Preparing to do what I have dreamed about my entire life. 15 minutes from being dropped off I was already in class and then went to the orientation meeting (what they used to invite families to come too). We sang "We'll Bring the World the Truth" they changed the lyrics from "We will be the Lords missionaries" to "We ARE the Lords missionaries". I took the "dork dot" off immediately after I got to my room for the night. It was fun at first but got old real fast when everyone says, "welcome Elder". However, I am looking forward to the newbies coming in tomorrow and returning the favor haha. I have found that the food is not as bad as what people make it sound to be. Dont worry Mom, I am eating canteloupe and watermelon every meal. The second day a missionary came up to me and said that I probably am new because I didnt know about the "Forbidden Fruit Juice" which is the orange juice. Apparently people have problems when they eat the OJ here. My companion's name is Elder Wilde and he is from Holliday, UT. I get along real well with him (which is a first) and we have made lots of progress over the last week. Sometimes he doesnt want to study the whole alotted time or wants to not follow the schedule we were given but I make sure that we do. I promised myself and the Lord that I would be 100% obedient and I will keep to the promise. I know that I will be greatly blessed for being obedient. Third day at the MTC was when I gave my first discussion to an investigator by the name of Daniel (mtc teacher Brother Pinnock) who was from the Congo and travelled to America during the Civil War there. It was so hard. We were all over the place and he rejected our challenge to be baptize. He said "I was baptized Protestant, why do I have to be baptized again?" That is a hard question that I did not know how to answer. Afterwards Bro. Pinnock said that we focused too much on the Restoration doctrine and not enough on his needs. That was hard to hear. Before coming on a mission, I would have thought that you want to focus on the doctrine but boy was I mistaken. Here at the MTC they make sure that you know that you need to care for the investigator and ask meaningful questions and let the Spirit guide you to answers that will help them. Our second lesson with Daniel went a hundred times better! We asked about his family and he said that he missed his family because they were still in a refugee camp in the Congo. So we tailored the appointment around the doctrine that families can be together forever through the authority of God's Priesthood. They will be together after we die in this life. He loved that idea! We told him that in order to be with his family, he and eventually his family would need to be baptized by the proper authority. He accepted our challenge to read the Book of Mormon and pray to find out for himself whether or not it is true. We told him that if the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was a true prophet, called of God and that God's priesthood authority is back on the Earth. He said that if he found out that the Book of Mormon was true then he would think about being baptized. We had a TRC (no clue what it stands for) appointment with a less active member. Her name was Manette and we had absolutely no plan going into it. We spent 10-15 minutes talking and found out the her husband had been laid off and had a job that did not utilize his college degree. They were going through some rough times. She believed in a God but didnt believe that He knew her and cared for her. We testifed that God knows her and loves her. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ to suffer for everyone. Jesus knows how you feel, the pain you experience, the mistakes you've made and that he carries you when you are going through hard times like the poem "Footprints in the Sand" talks about. We talked about how she can come to know God through reading the Book of Mormon. The Spirit was so strong and she actually started to cry (good cry) and I almost did too. I shared stories of when I felt alone and the Savior was there to comfort me. There is no doubt in my mind that the church is true! I have fervently studied it that last week and my testimony has grown so much! I have run into so many people at the MTC. Alicia Stevenson and Kathryn Haynie at the cafeteria. Elder Carter and Chapman from the stake. And Elder Howe, Myler, McKell, Andrus, Preece, Davis and Wasson from up at BYU.


PS.. Sat next to an elder mcConkie the first day. He was instantly my best friend. Ute fan though....


Love ya



Elder Urry

LiveStrong


Never let the adversary get to you. You need to livestrong and rely on the Savior