Week 3 MTC

Hello Everyone!!! 

     This week has flown by for reals!! Sunday, we had a pretty good devotional by Brother Durant! He was the one who gave the ponderizing talk in general conference awhile back! He was awesome! He had the whole MTC laughing so many times, he was amazing! It was great to learn some new insights from him. Then on Monday evening I had a really amazing experience with teaching it was sikt! So we'd prepared a lesson for our “interested people" they don’t want us saying investigators anymore.  So it was just our teacher pretending to be a person she taught on her mission. We prepared a lesson and my companion and I we’re going over how we were going to go about things and then said a quick prayer and went in. It’s kind of hard for me to do these sometimes because they're just pretending to be a non member so I feel awkward at times but I really try to just put that aside and pray for the person and feel the spirit during the lesson. So we went in there and started to talk with her to get to know her all in Norwegian. It started off good and we then opened with a prayer. We then asked her how her reading in the Book of Mormon was going this week and she continued to tell us about it. I was not being a good teacher because I was thinking about what I was gunna say next and trying to say it in Norwegian instead of listening to her and the spirit. Next thing a new I heard my companion say Joseph Smith and his desire to know which church was true and turn and look at me. The lesson we prepared had not even talked about Joseph Smith and so I was like oh crap what did she say and what did he say and I was like that was not in the lesson plan. But I realized that the lesson we had prepared wasn’t the lesson that Armarie needed! And so I let the spirit take over and I started to bear testimony of Joseph Smith and his experience. We then tag teamed and recited the first vision in Norwegian that we had just memorized a couple days before and it was soooooo cool! Aghh, I was so dumb to think that I knew what to teach and that we needed to follow a lesson plan. The lesson went so good and we could both see the gift of tongues in action. Our teacher complimented us and said that it was our best lesson yet and it amped me up so much! So then we had TRC lessons on Wednesday night which is where we go and share a spiritual thought with members who can speak the language. We took the knowledge of listening to the spirit instead of doing it our way and we killed both of our lessons and felt the spirit so strong. I’m so grateful for the experience I had and for the gift of tongues. It truly works miracles and I’m grateful I get to witness those blessings. 

     Anyways, this week was good and I can’t wait to get to Norway to have more experiences like that I’m so stoked!  We also had this workshop this week, where a story was shared about President Monson when he was a mission president. He had an area where there was only two baptisms in eight years and all of the missionaries said they didn't want to serve in that area and would always complain about it. So President Monson closed the area and took out all the missionaries from Kingston Canada. He waited a couple months until a bunch of new missionaries started coming in and then started rumors about how back in the day this area used to have lots of baptisms. And how he was going to open the area back up, all the missionaries started to get super excited and wanted to serve in that area.  It changed their mindset and they ended up having 80 baptisms in one year. So that just motivates me to set aside all the stereotypes that we have as a mission and just get to work and work as hard as I can. 

    

  Love you all send me emails and pictures of all the stuff you guys are doing, I can read and see them all and respond on Thursdays! 

Love,

Eldste McSpadden

Our district!

 Eldste Jackson and I after the devotional, feeling the spirit!

 MTC

 Wanting to get to Norway!!!

 Always studying!

 One of our teachers is headed to Germany for a study abroad!

 Trevor and Wes High School buddies!

Elder Jackson and I!

Week 2 MTC

Hallo friends and fam! 

       This week went by so quick it’s crazy! It’s been a good one tho so that’s awesome! Tons of my best friends have come in and I’ve been seeing them all the time which is soo cool! I love that we’re all out here forgetting ourselves and goin to work!

        On Tuesday, William R Walker came and spoke to us and it was so cool! He gave us ten tips on how to become successful happy missionaries! He said something that really touched me and motivated me to worked as hard as I can! He said “ be prepared to come home and when your stake president releases you as a missionary you can say I worked my hardest and I gave it my all! “ so that’s one thing I’ve been trying to do is just give it my all every day! I want to be here and return home without any regrets. He also shared a cool story that made me feel the spirit so strong. He said his son the last couple months of his mission got stuck with a missionary who hadn’t gotten a long with anyone and was going to be sent home if he didn’t get along and start working with his next companion. His son had a mindset that he was going to get along with this kid and be his friend and that’s exactly what he did! The kid stayed out and finished his mission. The son said it was hard but they became close friends. Later Brother Walker was a mission president in Japan and he was visiting with some Stake Presidents down there and one came up to him after the meeting and said “ your son changed my life, he helped me through some of the toughest times I’ve ever had and I’m eternally grateful that he saved me! “ I just thought that was so dope and it made me want to be that way when I have a comp who is tough. I don’t have to worry about that right now tho because my comp is such a stud and we get along super well! Then a funny story that happened, so we were sitting there studying Norwegian and all of the sudden Eldste Affleck ( an elder in my district ) goes what the heck is that garbage truck on fire!? So we all run up to the window and sure enough there is a garbage truck with flames coming out the top 😂 the driver was frantically running back and forth not knowing what to do so he jumped in the truck and opened the back and dumped all the burning garbage in the parking lot and we started laughing so hard! Then out of no where this little cute grandma comes sprinting out of the mail office where this was happening and jumped in her car that’s right next to the fire and jumped the curb in front of her and drove on the grass and we just LOST it! I was laughing so hard I couldn’t stand it, it was awesome. Then the fire trucks showed up and cleaned everything up and no one was hurt but it was so funny I love it. Anyways it was a good week love you all! 

Eldste McSpadden

      Oh and there is one of the branch presidency members who for some reason forgets my name and says Elder McFadden instead of McSpadden even tho I remind him every time so now everyone in my zone calls me McFadden so that’s funny! 

Burning Garbage Truck

 Me and Reedo

 Me and Trevor

My favorite study area!

 Preparing for street contacting!

Week 1 MTC

Yo waddup fam!!!! It’s Spaddy here ( Eldste McSpadden) 
       My first week was so good!! I have learned tons and felt the spirit all the time it’s so cool! The first couple days were pretty stinking long but it’s because we didn’t get our exercise time in but now we do so I’m chillin!  Its so cool to be surrounded by a bunch of kids who have the same goals as you and it brings the spirit to things so strongly! My district is so cool even though we're all really different from each other. The language is coming pretty slow because I’m with a bunch of GENIUSES which is hard cuz they’re cruising with the language and I’m just over there sayin “ hvordan seirman dette er engelsk?” What does that mean in English? 😂😂 it’s alright tho I just need the gift of tongues to kick in reeaaal quick. My language teacher doesn't like to joke around much either but sometimes I try to get her to lighten up and say a few things just so I can stay awake. The days are long for sure!  All that tutoring helped me a ton but none of the other Elders did it and they're already all caught up with me!  I do believe I have the lowest ACT score and took the least amount of AP and honors classes in high school out of my group! I think all the straight arrows come to Norway!   My whole district sung in their high school choirs and are musically inclined in some sort of way. They told me I was a bass and are trying to teach me to sing, I let them know I just sing country songs in the shower! But they've made me join the MTC choir and I'm embracing it! They're putting together some musical number as a district but I wasn't invited to participate so I guess I'm not quite ready to perform in front of others!  I do love to sing the hymns in Norwegian because I feel the spirit so strongly when I do, it's amazing! None of the Elders in my district have ever been to the gym or lifted weights so I'm going to teach them what I did in high school and put them through a workout! It will be fun!!! They made me the district leader the day I arrived at the MTC so that means I have to go pick up everyone's mail and deliver it to the missionaries in my district. Well, I'm the butt end of everyone's joke because I haven't received one package, letter or email from my family since I've gotten here. They all say, "Wow, your family really did just drop you off and head to Lake Powell, did they forget about you?"  I just laugh, hope you guys had fun! Other than that it’s the same schedule every day wake up, daily plan, go get breakfast, go work out, get ready, do language study, go to lunch, then go to language class, then language study, then go to language class till it’s time to go to bed. Nothing to interesting except we had some AMAZING devotionals which were super spiritual and sick! If you have time watch the devotional "Character of Christ" by Elder Bednar with the fam.  It's so powerful and the spirit was so strong when we all watched it, I loved it! We got jipped last week and had to skip p day but it’s here now so I’m good.

This will be my MTC mailing address so y’all can send me stuff too!! Love ya!!

Elder Truxton Alan McSpadden

AUG12  NOR-OSL  Unit #228

2005 N 900 E

Provo UT 84602-1793

Love you all have a good week! 

Eldste McSpadden 

Eldste Jackson, McSpadden, Jones, Holbrook, Affleck

 Elder Church and I (friend from high school headed to Germany)

 Elder Brown and I (friend from high school headed to Bolivia)

 My district!  Sisters Deere and Bradshaw

 Elder Brown, Elder Church and Elder McSpadden

MTC arrival

Hey Momma!
   I’m doing awesome I love it here and I feel the spirit so strongly :) My p day is Thursday but I don’t get it till next Thursday so I’ll email you then! Send me tons of pictures and a list of all the fams emails! Love ya tons! The kid in the blue shirt is my comp! He’s so sick and way chill. He’s from American Fork and we get along really well and we're gunna kill it! The other two are in our district and they're going to Mongolia! Our zone is fire and we have 5 Elders and 2 Sisters. They're way cool and I’m stoked!

Elder McSpadden

Elders McSpadden, Jackson, Jones, Holbrook, and Affleck

Sisters Deere and Bradshaw

A friend of Dillon's from Jr. High that works in MTC, Jared, sent a pic. (Notice he took the red dot off pretty quick!) 

MTC Drop Off Day!

July 3, 2019

   Today's the day Elder McSpadden officially enters the MTC and begins his 2 years as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! Families Are Forever! We love our missionary! 

Yes, we dropped him off in an underground garage!

First pic from the MTC! One of our neighbors from our old neighborhood, Gerberta Black, sent me this a few minutes after we left him! She was the one to welcome him and place his nametag on his suit! Sweet tender mercies so we know he's happy and ready to serve!

And yes, we did kind of head to lake Powell after dropping him off! Best decision ever, such a hard day but this made it continue to be a day of celebration rather than a day of sadness!