Volume 1: First Email!

Salut tout le monde!

 

 

To start off I would like to apologize for not sending my email yesterday, it was a busy day! Saturday is my PDay, so that’s when I will be sending my emails from now on!

 

 

I’m going to be honest, my first week of the MTC was definitely amazing. It is so crazy how we can feel the spirit, even if it's through zoom! This week was also pretty stressful, we got into everything very fast! Let’s start with the things that were stressful, well, I really should be saying "thing". Any guesses? Well, it’s learning French. The French language is definitely something you can’t take lightly. I have learned that you need many, many hours of practice inside of class, as well as outside... and then even more after that because it's still not enough. But that’s what you would expect from learning a brand new language in 6 weeks! My elementary knowledge can only take me so far! Luckily, I have been able to become familiar with my new schedule, and I’m beginning to get in lots of studying everyday! Now let’s move away from stressful things and talk about all the amazing things I have experienced my first week! I would like to start off with my district. They are an admirable group of people, each one of them! On day one, we all clicked instantly which made me feel so much better about everything because no one likes awkward silence, right? Luckily, we are never silent, and we always are able to create new conversations both gospel related, and casual! There are 10 people in my district all from places such as Utah, Arizona, Oregon, Wyoming, Massachusetts, and we even got another Albertan! I’m so grateful to have been blessed with this amazing district! My companion is Elder Depew, he is so sick! I feel like we have known each other for years and it’s only been 5 days! We have learned so much from each other already, and I can’t wait to learn more! We even have been late to class together... I hope someone bet money on that! Next, I gotta talk about my amazing teachers, Sœur Holt, and Frére Miller. They were some of the best teachers I’ve had! Sœur Holt is the happiest person I know, she always knows how to make us laugh, and we have the best discussions in class. She taught us that our best is always enough, and in doing so the Lord will bless us for our efforts! Frére Miller has such a kind heart! He has been teaching us the majority of our French lessons, he is very knowledgeable about the French language, and he is even trilingual! He has helped me so much in my French studies and I am so grateful for that! Sadly, we only had them for this past week because our other teachers are finishing off the week with another district. They will be missed! Now, my first PDay was one for the books! I was able to spend the afternoon with my dad and my brother going to the license bureau, and going to Costco. This may sound boring, but for a missionary it’s quite fun! I also had the opportunity to spend time with some family friends. We had lots of fun, and ate a lot! We ordered 12 dozen wings, and we ate them all! Definitely the dinner of a champion, and an elder.

 

 

Finally, I would love to share something that really stood out to me in my personal study. It was when I was watching the movie “Meet the Mormon’s” which is on gospel library for those who don’t know. The last story is of a Mission mom, and her story really stood out to me. She had gone through numerous trials in her life, one of them being a miscarriage. Through her personal experience, I learned that God is always looking over us, even when we think we are alone. He gives us these trials in life to test us, so we can stay spiritually strong, and press forward through them each time they come up. In doing so, we will be able to overcome anything put in our way. We have to remember that we can’t shut ourselves out from God when things get hard because that’s when we need him the most. God knows how we feel, and he knows us best. Even though it may not come instantly, we have to have faith that God will be our light in a mist of darkness. I know that if we do this, we will be able to overcome any trial that comes in our way. “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives, but everything to do with the focus of our lives.”-Russel M Nelson.

 

 

I hope you guys take the opportunity to watch Meet the Mormon’s, it is such a powerful movie that I think anyone would enjoy!

 

 

If anyone wants to email me, use this email! orin.may@missionary.org

 

 

PS... Christmas music is a big hit in this household!

 

 

Bonne semaine!

Love Elder May

 

 

Pictures:

1-District holding hands with Frere Miller

2-PDay with the Rushtons (peep frans huge muscles behind me)

3-District with name tags, and Soeur Holt