Called to Serve: Week Four in the MTC

I apologize for not updating you guys on my progress last week. A lot has happened, good and bad, but I'll save you the time and just talk about the good! So what I think is pretty awesome that happened in the last two weeks is the fact the three apostles ( Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Quentin L. Cook, and Elder M. Russell Ballard ) came and spoke at devotional ( Sunday, Tuesday, Sunday) all in a row!! I felt like they spoke directly to me; all of them had a piece of advice that I felt was especially for me. I am so grateful for all the experiences here, and as hard as it is, I see change in myself and the way I view things.

I just said goodbye to a few friends the other day who just went off to Tahiti and I can't wait to be with them again - five more weeks!! I feel like the time here goes by really quick, but it feels like eternity. It's crazy to think that for the next two years I will be serving people who I would've never thought I would and speaking two languages that I grew up with, but never thought to speak. It really is a blessing to be called to Tahiti and I thank God everyday for that blessing. I know I was chosen to serve the islands because over there someone, even if it's just one person, needs to hear the message that I have learned to teach and come to love. Someone there is waiting for me and that is the most exciting part- I can't wait to see that person's face, to see so much happiness... to feel like I changed the world for the better. The purpose of a mission for me at the beginning was to see how this journey could change my life, and it has, but I see now that the real reason of a mission isn't for me to get all the benefit from. I've found that it's for the people... for that one person that I will have the privilege to change, and to help them feel joy in their lives. That's why I serve, that's why I am here, that's why I stay when all I want to do sometimes is go home. But for that exact purpose, I stay.

My French is coming along; it's weird to see how much I've learned in just 4 weeks. I feel so comfortable speaking; I can almost carry on a conversation. But when you finally feel like you are picking it up they cut you off and have you start learning another language from the beginning.... In a week I will be learning Tahitian, what the heck!?! I just started to feel good aabout my French and now they want to kill my brain with another language... Oh well, it is what it is!

Anyways- it's been hard, it's been fun, it's been up and down, and all of the above and more being here. But with all of that, it has ultimately been the greatest thing being out here and I can't wait to see what else is in store on this journey.

Merci beaucoup et au revoir!

Elder Todd